Wednesday, August 27, 2014

There'll Be Some Changes Made

Last week and the leaving of #2 Son for college have kicked off some changes here at Chez Sluggy.

Lots of changes both big and small.

First off was the clean out of #2 Son's room.......
 

I am still in the process of that one and I suspect it will take about another week to get it livable again. ;-)

Before #2 Son left home, he helped Hubs with this change......

Now you see it.......

Now you don't......


They took the rusted out pool down.


It got folded down into a flat steel package and they shoved it into the minivan and Hubs dropped it and all the metal support pieces off at the recycling yard last Saturday.


My backyard now, sans pool.

Later on last Saturday we took all the pots and pans out of the cabinet and all the foodstuffs out of the pantry.
Here is what the kitchen looked like then......


The lower cabinet to the right of the stove in the photo is where all my pots and pans were stored when not in use.  I have always detested this arrangement because that cabinet has no pull out lazy susan or other arrangement and I can't get to things in there with my short arms.  Plus it's like a dungeon down there and I can't even see what I am trying to reach!
I knew there had to be a better way.


The kitchen island filled with food from the pantry.

More pantry contents on the table.

The pantry had become a jumble of stuff mainly because #2 Son would go out into the stockpile in the garage and bring something in to cook/eat.
Then he would promptly change his mind and instead of returning said stockpile item to the stockpile whence it came, he'd just open the pantry door and shove said item in there.
Ugh!

As a result the pantry had devolved into a mish-mosh of both opened goods and stockpile duplicates of said opened goods.
This is the same child that would open a new ranch salad dressing when he wanted some, instead of using one of the already opened FIVE bottles in the fridge.

So everything from the pantry was sorted and returned to it's proper place and here's the pantry AFTER.....


Then I put all the pots and pans into a Rubbermaid container which will live on the floor of the pantry.....

I keep a lid on the tub to keep the pots and pans clean of course but removed it for this shot.

This arrangement lets me reach everything and SEE it too.  Not as convenient as having them next to the stove but I can manage the walk. lolz

And that dark, unreachable cabinet I despise?
Here is what is in there now......


A dish draining rack which holds the pot lids, pushed to the front of the door.
On the shelf above are my cast iron pans that I don't use as much as the other pans and behind in the depths of the cabinet is an electric griddle, which also isn't used as much as other items.

 
And the photo above is all the items I am getting rid of or giving to my older children if they need anything.

We cleaned out the other kitchen cabinets with dishware, glassware and serving/casserole pieces too and that is where some of this came from.

I still need to clean/clear out the island shelves and one cabinet under the microwave and the drawers to the right of the stove(which store towels/potholders, cutting boards, phone books and take-out menus)and then the kitchen will be done.

Plus I need to find a new home for the Bread Machine as the tub of pots displaced it from the pantry, but this will involve working on the Garage, which is next on my list of cleaning/organizing for the house.

And the latest change around here was yesterday.

Going.....


Going.......



GONE!


1 of our 4 cars is now at the Auto Auction.
And the minivan will be disposed of by the end of September which gets us down to 2 vehicles.

Updates later as they become available.

I am off now to go inform the insurance agent that the car went bye-bye and get my auto insurance lowered.
Woohoo!!!

Have you had a big change in your life lately that led you to change/clean/move things in your home?





Sluggy
 

13 comments:

  1. Wow! Those are some big changes! I remember when we took our pool down (in PA). We tried to sell it because it was an all aluminum pool and well made, but no takers. We sold the ladder, the pump and the aqua bug. Then we finally decided to sell the pool itself for scrap and we got about $80 for it.

    Yay for less cars and lower insurance. That will save you a lot! We're planning on ditching cable very soon which is a big change and will hopefully save us $75 a month.

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  2. "This is the same child that would open a new ranch salad dressing when he wanted some, instead of using one of the already opened FIVE bottles in the fridge."-Both Anna and DJ did this to me with ranch dressing and ketchup. Bless their wasteful hearts.
    I'm ready to junk the entire house. LOL. Maybe you should come work on my house for a while.

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  3. You've been busy! I have a feeling I'm going to have lots of time for changes too, as soon as DD has flown the coop for college in a few weeks. I can just imagine me emptying out cupboards and drawers.....

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  4. I need someone to take all those things out of the cabinet next to the stove. I cannot get up if I ever get down that far.

    There has been no big change and not lately. The change is devastating and over time. But, I have had to move pots to the top of the stove in order to ever use them. I am slowing removing very high dishes, things I rarely use but still will use. Exbf has to be here to take things from my hand while I am on a stool and spot for me and call 911 if I fall. I need to clean all the things on top of my cabinet and get rid of them, pack them up, or put them back.

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  5. So wish I could do this lol brilliant

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  6. We always have pickles open, several jars, and it runs in the other side of the family.
    We are back up to 5 vehicles again, we picked up a little used Jeep for our 90 mile each way commute to our rural cabin. Otherwise it's always a battle to downsize as much as we can.

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  7. I have tried to do what you did on your kitchen... a lot, at my parents' house. Never works for long. They have 17 frying pans, a dozen of pots with no lids, and another dozen pots with mismatched lids. About 4 pots have correct lids. The pantry is a DISASTER! There are things I KNOW they refuse to use (anything Mexican... figures), and stuff left by my other siblings... but they refuse to throw away because "they may use it". Drives me nuts. Good for you. Wish I could just trash the whole thing!

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  8. I know you will miss your son, but honestly, your life will be easier with the cleaning and organizing now. Things stay where you or your hubby leave them, and you only have the two of you to blame for the mess. My hubby used to blame everything on the kids... now I know who kept leaving wrappers on the kitchen counter :) it wasn't them.

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  9. I'm moving in with my BF this next month, so lots of little projects here & there.. i.e. decluttering both our houses (I've done a lot of that already in previous moves), sprucing things up (coat of paint, etc), etc.

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  10. I have been working on my townhome - hard to get stuff the way I want since it's been 14 yrs being cluttered but I started a couple of years ago and have been off and on - this year I got more serious as I had to start emptying my parents' house so we can get it ready to sell. I finally have the front half of hte downstairs (the 'formals') done the way I like (well would've liked to cram in more furniture but I understimated the space a teeny bit...and dont like being crowded. the dining area is packed enough but still ok once I'm actually in the area. I keep finding stuff and it's like Christmas shopping from my own house! ok a bit like an embarrassing Christmas but still...my kitchen has been off and on and it's one of the next areas on my 'list' - I want to cook but my rotating 12 hour shift makes it difficult - I have pans and dishes crammed everywhre and it's time to re-evaluate what I have and what I'll use- I already went through once but didn't make it through all the cabinets. I dont' think I need 3 blenders and one dish I need to figure out what the heck it is (thanks a lot QVC for sellling this clay pot with a steam funnel but nothing on it to say what it is but think it's some kind of indian thing - supposedly sits on top of a pan of boiling water and cooks rice and stuff...sigh...I seldom eat rice but I have to admit it looks pretty cool so maybe I'll look it up online and see if I can find some recipes...)anyways I hate getting on the tile floor and digging around in the bottom cabinets and all that bending over. comes from being plump and out of shape I guess. :-( but I'd sure like to have my kitchen emptied of stuff I don't use or want and have stuff I use where I can get to it easier
    Susanna

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    Replies
    1. sounds like that clay pot with funnel is a "tangine". You really should use that thing, I hear it makes great chicken.

      De-cluttering is a process and doing it correctly and thoroughly takes time....I've been at it about 9 years now myself!
      Are things ever the way we want them? By the time I get something the way I want it, my needs have changed and I no longer usually want now what I wanted back then. lolz
      But keep on keepin' on.....

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    2. exactly! it's constant but I have to try to stop bringing in more while I'm getting stuff out! I just got serious a few years ago and it's hard when I'm tired all the time but hey I'm getting there! I've actually been tossing stuff - the books I thought would be the hardest but I can't read print books with my eyes and ebooks let me store a ton in such a small space and change the font size.
      tangine..will have to look that up! I really like the uniqueness of it just need to figure out how/what to cook in it! I think Judy used some kind of clay dish so maybe this will season like her terra cotta did...miss her blog :-(
      I'll keep on keepin' on!
      Susanna

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  11. We are still trying to dig out from our move. Yes, our move 2 months ago. Hubby has not been able to do much due to his foot issues and I have been working a lot. But, we have no unpacked boxes in the bedroom, bathroom or kitchen, so we are getting there.

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