New Years Are Like New Baby's Clean Bottoms.....

...they sure are cute but can cause quite a stink! And so the New Year is here and I have resolved to de-clutter my house. What  better time than after I pull down the Christmas decor but before I put out my old standbys again.

Wednesdays in the Simple Life Series are for YOUR CLUTTER (and yes, it multiplies in my home too). I will let you know what I am doing to make simple changes in my own home to clear out my clutter. I hope you follow along and try some of these steps yourself. Please let me know how you are coming along by leaving comments at the bottom of each post. Tell me what works, what doesn’t, if you are bored – whatever – we are learning and growing together.

Over the past few years, many "gu-rus" have spouted that a "cluttered home is a cluttered mind" or a "cluttered mind is a cluttered life." I, for one, agree. On the material end, if you have alot of clutter around your home or personal space, it's hard to work, relax, and rest with all that stuff in your way. On the spiritual side, it's hard to work, relax and rest with your mind jumbled with too many thoughts crowding around!

No, this is NOT my house - is it yours? 

We all have stuff. Some of us have more stuff than others, but we all have things that classify as clutter. Clutter is not just the trophies collecting dust on your book shelves or the piles of magazines by your bed you haven't read yet. It is really ANYTHING that is in your personal space that you don't love, don't use, don't want, don't need, have duplicates, or otherwise just need to clear out.

 It could be:

- those boxes of things that you moved from your old house and never unpacked
 - the three weed eaters and four rakes piled on the back porch,
- the dried homecoming corsages from high school you can't part with, or
 - serious clutter like the things you stored from Aunt Alice's house when she passed, 10
   years ago!

Whatever YOUR particular definition of clutter may be, it's time to get it moving - and by moving I don't mean looking through the box and moving it to the back of the closet. Having clutter is like having extra weight on your shoulders. You can't relax when you are surrounded by stuff because all you can think about is "when am I ever going to get to cleaning up this stuff?"

Take heart. I happen to be obsessed with sorting through, organizing or getting rid of clutter. I have come to realize that what works for me doesn't always work for others, but I can give you some starting tips. Take my tips and apply them to your own clutter - they may just stop the mounds from multiplying further!

For a good laugh on how I became crazed on clutter, visit Kendal Kleanz It Out

Later, we will tackle the big stuff head-on, but for starters, let’s review the schedule and how this things works. Each "mission” will have 1) a mission statement 2) an assignment 3) extra quick tips and 4) a brief explanation on why each mission helps you clear the clutter from your personal spaces. I will be personally completing these assignments and posting my triumphs and hope you will post your adventure too.

CLUTTER SERIES SCHEDULE:

                             Wed. Jan, 11th -Mission One: Purging Your Pantry - Consistency is the key.

 Wed. Jan. 18th - Mission Two: Uncovering your "undies" - yes, your underwear! - If it is broken, torn, damaged, dirty or otherwise in bad shape - don't Duct tape it -get rid of it


Wed. Jan. 25th - Mission Three: Tackling your towels - Find YOUR method to YOUR madness.


Wed. Feb. 1st- Mission Four: Sorting the dreaded sock drawer - Sometimes, less is more

Wed. Feb. 8th Mission Five: Books - Reduce, Recycle and Repurpose


Wed. Feb. 15th Mission Six: Magazines and Catalogs - Reduce, Recycle and Repurpose


Wed. Feb. 22nd Mission Seven: Multi-Media - Reduce, Recycle and Repurpose


Wed. Feb. 29th- Mission Eight: De-constructing your dinnerware - Simplicity is a proven clutter reducer

Wed. March 7th- Mission Nine: Home Office Horror - Clearing your clutter helps clear your mind


Wed. March 14th - Mission Ten: Pruning the plants, house plants that is - Small steps make big impacts

Yummyday Tuesday - Homemade Pasta Sauce

Homemade Pasta Sauce - Novelli Style

If you've watched Bravo's Chef Academy - then you've seen how this wonderful sauce is made. I tried it at home to see if it was easy enough to add to my catering recipes and, you know what - it was - and it's one of the best sauces I've ever tried. I can't wait until summertime to use home-grown tomatoes! Please note: Don't let the cook time scare you off. You can leave this on the stove and take care of other things around the house without worrying about it burning up.

For a family of five:
3 ½ # Heirloom Tomatoes

2 Star Anise (I used Anise Extract but plan to order the Stars online for my next batch)

½ Vanilla Pod (again, I used the extract this time but will use a pod next batch)

Sea salt & Cracked Pepper, to season

White Sugar
1 Spring Fresh Thyme

1 Bay Leaf

Infusion:
Fresh Garlic

Fresh Basil

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions:

Place a heavy cast iron pan on the stove top to heat up (do not add oil). Core and then halve the tomatoes. Put them into the hot pan and season with salt and pepper.

Add just a touch of sugar. Add the anise and vanilla. As the tomatoes heat up and start to soften, mush them with a masher to release their juice. Add the bay leaf and thyme. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1-2 hours.

The online recipe doesn’t tell you much, but if you watch the video Chef Novelli explains that you are trying to remove all the juice from the tomatoes. Cook them until you have a tomato paste.

Once you have a paste, crack the garlic with the flat side of a knife. Don’t slice or mince – you want large pieces. Add this, along with whole basil leaves, to the paste. Simmer for about 20 minutes more. Add olive oil to achieve desired consistency of sauce.
 I put my sauce on a plain chicken breast on a bed of rice pilaf. It was amazing! Online recipe says you can freeze this sauce up to 3 months, but do not add the infusion until ready to serve.

 

Sunday Night is for SHOPPING! or not........

Recycled Post from November 2009:

Twice a year I impose a "no-buy" period to clean out my pantry, fridge and freezer.  Here's how it works and how YOU can do it with me:

We are going to clear out our pantry, fridge and freezer - all without lifting a hand! Starting TODAY, we are not going to go to the grocery store. Not for meat, not for fresh veggies, not for bread. Don't look at me like I am crazy - NOTHING this week. Use what you have for meals. Pull out that frozen roast. Eat up the last of that head of lettuce. Put together meals from canned items in your pantry. Be creative. Next week you can add milk, meats and veggies from the store, but for one whole week, use what you already have (NO, you can't just eat out every night this week!) This process clears out the fifteen cans of green beans and your stock pile of almost-out-dated frozen items. You will be surprised what you can create AND you will be de-cluttering without any effort. Try to do this for two full weeks (or three if your pantry is stuffed full.) Make it a game with the kids. I do this in my own home twice a year. My neighbor knows when I am doing this when she opens the fridge for a drink and all we have is two jars of pickles and a stick of butter!


Before I started:

My pantry after Week One of the "Purge"

At the end of the 2 weeks, without lifting a finger, your fridge, freezer and pantry will be clean AND you will have a jump-start on your New Years Resolutions (the same ones from LAST YEAR) without even realizing it!

- You saved money buy not buying more groceries
- You reduced your waste by eating up what was left in your fridge


- and, if you let your kids create the meals this week, you've lost weight!


Before you head off to the store to restock, go through what is left. Throw out any out-dated items, pull anything you won't ever use (donate it!) and make a list of what you REALLY need to replace. Don't go out and buy three kinds of salad dressing and two kinds of jelly unless they are something you use on a daily basis. Flour, cornmeal and spices cook best when fresh. Wait until you are planning to use a staple good before you buy it. AND USE A COUPON!

$TIP - Coupons used to a real pain to use. First you had to search through the flyers, cut out what you wanted, somehow keep them organized so you didn't drop the on the grocery store floor, hassle with the lady at the register -all for what? To save $2 on something you probably wouldn't have regularly bought? Things have changed! There are websites out there that do it all for you. They tell you where the coupons are, where the best deal can be found and when an item is on sale that you already have a coupon for! Before you head to the grocery store, surf the web and find great websites that do all your coupon research for you. Sites like Southernsavers.com and Couponmom.com are local and pull from your area's grocers and pharmacies. It saves you the time AND money! Some websites offer local workshops that will even bring you all the coupons along with a shopping list to guide you!


While the shelves are empty, clean your fridge, freezer and cabinets really well with soap and water, wipe the bottoms of all the jars going back into the fridge and organize restocked pantry items by type.


TIP: Keep a notepad in the kitchen for when you run out of something. You don't really need a master list (we are trying to keep it simple remember?). When you use the LAST drop of oil or salt (or shampoo), or you are down to 2 eggs, jot it on the list. Use the list when you go shopping so you don't overbuy or forget something you need!

GREEN TIP: To cut down on multiple cleaning products (and reduce your packaging waste) AND help reduce water pollution, I use a product called Basic H2 by Shaklee Corp. (www.ShakleeGetClean.com) . One bottle of concentrate creates three different products, depending on how much you dilute it with. You can make window cleaner, an all-purpose cleaner and a degreaser.


REASON THIS HELPS YOU WITH YOUR CLUTTER:The fridge, freezer and food pantry are places that you and your family look at every day, sometimes several times a day. Anyone who cooks, makes a snack, or gets a drink -unconsciously takes in the cluttered view. Having to move items around to search for a can of peas or not being able to find it when you KNOW it's there, is irritating and a time waster. By keeping your kitchen orderly, it puts you and your family in an "orderly" state. It reduces stress you don't even realize is there. You may even find yourself so at ease, that you apply this mission to other areas, such as your medicine cabinet or cleaning product cabinet (hint, hint!) You also cut down on added food, personal care, office supplies and cleaning product expenses. How many times have you bought peanut butter, paper clips or Glass Plus only to get home and find you already have three of each!?

Time to Make Your List

SIMPLE LIFE SERIES DAY ONE



Mondays in the Simple Life Series are for YOU (and me). I will let you know what I am doing to make simple changes in my own life. I hope you follow along and try some of these steps yourself. Please let me know how you are coming along by leaving comments at the bottom of each post. Tell me what works, what doesn’t, if you are bored – whatever – we are learning and growing together. Hopefully by the end of this process, you will have a better view of your health, your money, your lifestyle, your dreams, your regrets and use these findings to make steps to improving your life overall.


To begin our series, let’s take a look around. What is it I want to accomplish? Do I need to clean house? Do I need new friends? Do I need to change jobs? Am I unhappy with my health? Do I just need a new start?


I personally had a really crazy 2011. I know that everything will not disappear now that its 2012, but I plan to use this new year to move forward from those experiences. I want to take everything I learned, no matter how bad it was, and turn it all around to make me a better wife, a better mother, a better friend – a better me. As I have read on many of the blogs I follow, this seems to be the year for ME. Maybe it’s my age. Maybe it’s everything I went through this past year, but I think it’s just time.


Looking at my past lists of resolutions, most have not changed – I still want to lose some weight. I still want to write that book. I still want to save for a trip to Italy. I still want a maid to all my laundry. Some things I actually can cross off my list: Paying off bills can be changed to maintaining bills - I spent this past year paying everything down, shopping less (and more wisely) and did not acquire any new debt. Focusing on my business can be changed to expanding my business as I put extra effort into my business and it is finally taking off. I no longer stress over every piece of dust in my house so the hopeful house-cleaner can go (just not the laundry lady, still hoping for her!) Then there’s the NEW list. Spend more time on me. Get rid of negative people in my life. Branch out and find new friends and activities.


What’s on your list? Is it the same list from last year? It is reachable? Your assignment today is to make a new list of 10 things you want to change/finish/do this year. The first 3 can be from last years un-resolved resolutions. 5 are to be totally new resolutions. Think out of the box. Be specific. Don’t say, “I want to learn something new.”Say, I want to learn to paint. I want to write a children’s book. I want to tell my sister she can’t smoke in my house anymore. The last 2 on the list are for something you think is unattainable. You want to go to Ireland. You want to have a baby. You want to be the Mayor. After we work through some of the steps in this series, I hope you will see that nothing is out of reach. You may not have a book published by the end of the year, but at least you will have started the process.


Don’t think too hard on this list. Warm up the tub, pour a glass of wine, take YOUR NEW NOTEBOOK and write it on the last page. We won’t be visiting this list for a while.


Come to think of it……I think I left my bath water running……..


Next Monday, starting a Life Audit.

Simple Life Series Intro Part One - The Schedule

Welcome to the Simple Life Series

 Join me as I chronicle my own journey into the New Year and the new me – and maybe tweak yourself along the way!
 “What is the Simpler Life Series” you ask?


The Simpler Life Series will guide you towards a clearer mind and soul. Each step will motivate you to move on from your past and towards what really matters today.

On Mondays, the series will focus on YOU. Little steps you can make to decrease the stress in your life. Sometimes it’s a simple as straightening that crooked picture in the hallway that irritates you and sometimes it, well, not so simple.

 Wednesdays will focus on YOUR CLUTTER. Being un-organized, unclean and living with clutter has a huge impact on your mental well-being as well as your health. My steps are easy and will motivate you to look past your attachment to things, redirect your bad habits and get you on the track to living a simpler, but more fulfilling life.

 Thursdays will round it all out by helping to give you a different outlook on the things you can do to reduce stress (and clutter) you bring into your life in the first place.


Pair this series with our Yummyday Tuesday Recipes, Friday Freebies, Shopping Sundays and all the in-between ramblings from me to have a rounded out week of laughs, rants, soul-searching and well, new beginnings.


If you missed our pre-planning post, check it out before reading on to DAY ONE