Harry Potter Closet

We have this wonderful closet under our stairs, we call it our Harry Potter Closet (for obvious reasons).

This is the perfect place to store seasonal items that we aren't using, Winter coats go there in the summer and flip flops in the winter. We also keep gallons of paint and paint supplies in the very back since the closet is wonderfully deep.

It also happens to be a convenient place to shove things that don't really have a home. Like unused carseats (one of which was crashed and can't be used anymore!)

Before:

Got rid of the crashed seat, stored the other one in the nursery for now.
Several of my shoes are from my days as the office manager at a local opera house. I had to dress up regularly and wore heels a lot. All of those fancy heels went in the yard sale pile, along with many other pairs of shoes that I don't wear anymore, and haven't worn in a very long time.
Army backpacks went in the closet with my husband's other Army gear (go figure!)
Maternity clothes that were given to me, but are either ugly or way too big, went in the yard sale pile.
Hat on the door went upstairs with my other hats.
Yoga mat.... I used it once, the day after I bought it.... probably 3 years ago.... Yard sale.
Outdated phone books - recycle bin. (who even uses phone books anymore?)
A big pile of manuals and various notes left by the previous home-owner has yet to find a home. I am working through our 'filing' boxes today though. They will soon have a proper (and useful) place.

Embarrassing story time:
This winter we got a leak in the ceiling of the playroom. It was caused by an ice dam in the upstairs porch, which was caused by too much snow on the roof above it. We hired someone to come clear the snow and the leak went away.
While cleaning out this closet, I re-discovered all the notes that the previous homeowner left us. Right on top was a note telling us to clear the snow off that roof because it will cause leaks.
Homeowner Fail.

That is what poor organizational skills and clutter will do to you.

Aaaaaaanyways, I know you are ready for that after picture now!

We actually wear all those coats at various times throughout the year. Darn New Hampshire weather.
The 2 pairs of heels/wedges that I actually wear. Plus a pair of flats (my other 2 pairs of flats joined them)
Our flip-flops hadn't come out for the year yet.
2 bags stayed on the door because they have winter hats and mittens in them (one bag for my stuff and one for the kid stuff)
Basket of winter boots and maternity sneakers. Mr. Crunch's winter boots don't fit in the basket.
A single backpack (far right) that Mr. Crunch actually uses pretty regularly.
Paint and supplies in the back are actually accessible now!!

All in all, this turned out to be a super successful project.


Chime in!  Leave your decluttering victories (or failures) for this week in the comments.

Homemade Orange Cleaner, with a bonus superpower!

Every frugal homemaker has come across the idea to use vinegar as a cleaner. But I don't like the smell of vinegar on its own, I'm also not sure I trust its supposed disinfectant qualities. So instead, I make an orange infused vinegar cleaner. 

Orange peels have lots of great qualities that make them perfect for cleaning. These qualities include being anti-microbial and anti-fungal source 

To make the cleaner, you will need

2-4 Large Oranges

White Vinegar

A Large, Clear Jar (Approximately Quart Size)

Start by eating a couple oranges. Feed them to your kids, your husband, or some random person on the street. SAVE THE PEELS. 

I let her play with her food when I need cute pictures.

I'm told that orange peels will stay good in the fridge for several days, but I've never needed to try that because we can easily eat 3 or 4 oranges in one sitting.

Stuff the peels into a large, clear jar. I use a quart size mason jar. My oranges were big, so I only used 2. Loosely filled the jar about 2/3 full.

Fill the jar with white vinegar and cover with a plastic lid or plastic wrap. 

Vinegar can corrode metal, so avoid metal lids. 

Place your jar in a bright, warm place to aid the infusion process. Also, so you don't forget its there.

Mine goes on the cookbook shelf in my kitchen. Nice and high where the Minion can't reach it, but out in the open where I can keep an eye on it.

Let the infusion work for about 2 weeks. I check it every couple of days to make sure that none of the orange peel is sticking out of the vinegar. It has the potential to turn moldy if it sits above the vinegar for too long. Just push it back down and stir it in every so often. 

Another tip is to write the strain date on your calendar. I never remember when I started it, so if I don't write dates down somewhere, it ends up sitting for a month. Not a big deal with this infusion, but it turns out a nasty apple cider vinegar. 

It's also a good idea to label your jar. I sometimes have a couple different infusions or fermentations going, so its nice to know exactly which is which.

After straining the vinegar, put it back into the glass jar.

To use: for everyday cleaning, dilute it about 50/50 with water. For more intense cleaning, you can dilute it less. It won't hurt anything to use it straight.

I promised to share the bonus superpower of Orange Vinegar. 

It Repels Ants!!!!

I don't know if that is as exciting for you as it is for me. We have an ant colony living  under our driveway, so they are bad. I haven't had a single ant on my counter since I started cleaning with this orange vinegar. I scrubbed the playroom with it, and no more ants. I will have to do that room again I'm sure, but that's only because I don't already use the cleaner in there on a daily basis like I do in the kitchen and dining room.

That's about it! Super easy. I'm going to try an infusion with Thyme and Lavender soon too. I heard that it smells amazing.

Chime in!! Do you use a homemade cleaner in your home? What else do you make yourself?

Perfect Cinnamon Pancakes

I know, I know, everyone claims their recipe is the one and only perfect recipe. So I will just say that these are perfect for my family. We can't get enough of these when I make them.

Yes, we sometimes sit on the floor to mix pancakes.

Since we don't eat them often, I splurge and use all white flour instead of half wheat flour like I do with every other baked good. Although I have tried using half wheat flour and they are still very yummy.

The secret is the melted butter. That is irreplaceable. If you are one of those people who thinks butter is evil, I recommend reading up on healthy fats and then adding some real butter into your diet. I promise, you won't regret it!

Mickey Mouse pancakes are hard....

One more thing, I ALWAYS double this recipe. Even if I'm just cooking for myself and The Minion. These freeze really well and I love having homemade grab and go foods on hand. I just throw them in the toaster to defrost and reheat, Mr. Crunch microwaves them, either way works.

It annoys me when people type up a huge blog post and all I want is the darn recipe, so I will get to it.

Perfect Cinnamon Pancakes
Adapted from this recipe.

INGREDIENTS
1 and ½ cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 and ¼ cups milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla

METHOD
1. Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
2. Add milk, egg, butter, and vanilla to dry ingredients.
3. Whisk until a smooth batter forms. Heat a skillet over medium heat.
4. Pour ¼ cup batter into circles.
5. Flip once bubbles appear and sides are lightly golden.

These are also really good with fruit in them. Blueberries, strawberries, apples, whatever!

Fixing the Printer

Sometimes all it takes is to sit down and mess with settings.

Our printer wouldn't connect to my husband's laptop (which is currently the only one we own). Turns out we needed to send documents to the printer marked as Samsung, rather than the one marked as Samsung Copy 1. Simple fix, no clue how it happened.

I've been printing things at my parents house for 6 months because I didn't take the time to declutter the desk, which is what turned a 5 minute problem solving task into a 30 minute cleaning task.

Now I have a working printer AND space to use it!!

My advice today, JUST BITE THE BULLET AND DO IT.

Also, don't forget to check the printer when you have toddlers around....

Before and After, Bookshelf Declutter

I am FINALLY getting around to some of the decluttering projects I've been meaning to do. 

Today's was fairly simple. The bookshelf next to my work desk. You know, the work desk that is covered in all the junk that *should* be on the bookshelf...

Here is the before:

Consolidated some things, got rid of a stack of magazines, moved another stack to a more useful place, threw out a couple scrapbooks from years ago that have no relevance to me now, and found a lot of trash....
All in all, a lot easier than I expected!

Aaaand, here is how it looks now!

Plenty of space for the rest of the stuff hanging around the house that belongs here. But I also expect that this bookshelf will appear here again, that's still good bit of stuff.

Chime in: What have you decluttered this week?

To-Do List Derailed

Yesterday I had every intention of tackling the 5 loads of laundry waiting to be finished and folded.

Instead, while I was filling the dishwasher, I walked into the playroom to see if any cups had been left in there. I discovered something so awful, so gross, so cause for skin-crawling, that I had to ignore the laundry for another day.

'What was it' you ask?

ANTS. Completely covering a single veggie straw that had been forgotten in the middle of the floor. I was so grossed out that I didn't think of taking a picture before I scooped it up with a fork and threw it to the chickens.

That picture was taken when I came back in. There were at least three times that many just on the veggie straw. So gross.

Anyways, I took the rest of the day cleaning and scrubbing the playroom. I also took the opportunity to remove the random toys that somehow end up in there, some that should be in storage, some that belong to friends, and a there few mystery toys, no clue where they came from or how they got here.

It's insane how often I have to re-purge since I only have an 18 month old. But it's good to do every few months.

I also changed up the storage for a few things, that's a story for another day.

Sometimes things don't go as planned, and that's ok. Make the best of it, your to-do list can wait.

Why I Pay For A Meal Plan

Frugality is usually my goal, so paying for something that I can do myself doesn't make sense to a lot of people. Heck, it didn't make sense to me for a long time!
But every season of life is different, challenges change. Sometimes we, as mothers, need to put our priorities elsewhere.

That is exactly what happened to me, so I pay for a frugal, real food, meal plan. I get a month of meals, including breakfast, lunch, and one dessert a week, shopping lists, prep lists, and lots of tips and tricks. We only have to spend $350 a month on groceries, usually a little less because we don't eat every meal on the plan.

We include the small cost of the meal plan in our food budget. It meant giving up a couple snack foods per month, but those aren't good for us anyways!

But WHY would I pay for a plan when there are so many wonderful and free meal planning resources?

1. Time
I was spending a couple hours every week making a meal plan, writing grocery lists, and matching the lists to store flyers, coupons, and money earning apps. I tried a variety of ways to shorten the work time, but none of them ended up being a good fit for our family. I wanted to invest those hours doing other things, like actually preparing meals, and making snacks or breads. Now I don't even go to the grocery store ever single week, which frees up more time! I'm currently taking a short course on natural remedies for children, something that would have been too overwhelming before.

2. Creativity
I kept getting stuck in a rut of using the same meals over and over. I tried having a couple of 2 week menus that we rotated through, but we got bored. I was also trying to change it all the time to add more healthy foods, or switch out meats based on what was for sale. Which meant I was spending all that extra time on the 2 week plan, so it wasn't worth the time I had put in when I originally wrote it.  Plus, I just plain don't like meal planning.
Now I don't have to be creative. I know our meals are healthy and we always have salad on hand.

3. Adventure
I am picky. There are so many foods I don't like, it's not even funny. I'm also not the least bit adventurous when it comes to trying new things. I could probably be happy with my very limited meat and carb diet, but my long term health and weight would suffer.
My husband is not picky AT ALL. Sure, there are a couple things he doesn't like much, but he will still eat them if I serve them (which I try not to do often). He enjoys it when I offer a variety of foods instead of sticking to 14 meals that I like.

Most importantly though, I don't want my kid(s) to be picky. I want to expose them to large varieties of meats, fruits, veggies, and anything else I find. Combating my own pickyness has to come first, but I can share with them at the same time. I give someone else the power of choosing our meals so that I stay true to my commitment to trying new foods and eating more healthy options.

4. Money
This one is obvious. It's easier to stick to a budget when your shopping list is premade for you. I still struggle sometimes with snacks, fruits and veggies are the best options of course, but breaking our habit of processed snack foods is hard.

In this season of my life, paying for a meal plan is what works best for my family. If you think this is something that would work for you, go check it out from Tiffany at dontwastethecrumbs.com. She offers a free 2 week trial for anyone interested. There are lots of other options for paid meal plans, so take a look around if that one isn't for you.

Share! Do you pay for a meal plan? If not, what works for you and your family?