New Spice Holders

Okay so I confess, I have a weakness for mason jars, I just love everything that they stand for. For the last 4 years I have had a counter top spice rack with all the extras stuffed into a cabinent. On the one hand this is okay because everything was always within easy reach but I was ready for some change so I made a spice drawer, then repurposed my spice rack into a medicine rack.

I didn't think to take a before picture, but this is the style of my old spice rack.

Olde Thompson 20 jar spice rack

First,I bought a case of the 4 oz jelly jars (anything else is too tall to fit in the closed drawer) and used chalk board paint to spray the lids.

When the lids were dry I filled the washed jars with my spices and used the bands to secure the lids in place. I currently have the labels on the bottom because I don't have any chalk, but here is a picture of the final product. Did I mention that I LOVE the way this turned out, not only is it pretty and of the counter but the spices are much easier to use because I can dip a TBSP in or easily pull out a pinch of what I am using. 

 I finished the project by using a sharpie marker to color the black part of my spice rack lids (to cover the spice labels). Once filled with medicine I can simply use a silver or white paint pen to label them as Advil, Tylenol, Vitamins etc. The new medicine rack has found a home in my linen closet, but I have not rounded up all the medicines to put in the jars as of today.

Homemaking Journal Part 2

As promised, here is the second half to the Homemaking Journal. As it turns out my husband had the tools I needed to complete this project with him in North Dakota so this post is significantly delayed, which I apologize for.

To make the journal itself you will need a piece of card stock cut to the size of your papers to use as a stencil, chip board (I didn't have any so I substituted foam core but determined it probably isn't going to be durable enough to last a year), a selection of scrapbook papers to decorate the cover, glue, hemp cord or other binding string, Duct Tape, Drill with small bit, Filling pages of your choice and scissors.

 1. Trace the outline of your paper on chip board 1 time (front cover).
2. Trace the outline of your paper on chip board plus 1 cm in length to create the back cover.
3. Cut the front cover along the short edge at 3/4 inch from the edge.




4. Using Duct Tape (Or masking tape, but I think the duct tape is more sturdy) tape the two pieces of the front cover back together leaving a 1 cm gap (both covers should now be the same size).



5. Decorate both covers to your liking.
6. Organize the filler pages as you would like them (mine are organized in sections with a piece of blank colored page separating them).
7. Clamp pages together using binder clips.
8. Add covers and clamp together with large binder clips or garage clamps.
9. Using your drill drill a hole in the smallest piece (where you taped) every half inch to 3/4 inch.
10. Starting with the 3rd hole from the top "sew" through the holes until you reach the bottom hole then start back up the opposite side so that all the holes have been gone through twice but there is only one length of string on each side. When you reach the top sew back down the opposite side until you reach the original hole. At this point securely tie string into a bow.

Homemaking Notebook or Journal Part 1

Part 1: Find your inspiration and evaluate your needs

In the art of becoming and staying organized I have decided to embark on the creation of a homemaking journal/notebook. I haven't quite determined yet what the final product will be, but I suspect it will be a combination of these lovely and gasp sometimes practical versions I found.

The visual journal: 

This model is a visual diary type journal, plus one giant to-do-list. I think I would like a section of mine that has things like this, but to do the entire journal this way would be too time consuming for my way of life. 

Click here for an amazing tutorial from the original blog poster

The Three-Ring-Binder:

I don't think I will use a 3 ring binder and tab dividers in my homemaking notebook (As a recent college graduate I have seen enough of these for a while). However, I LOVE how this one is organized into so many sections. It never occurred to me to include something like bills in my homemaking notebook and I will be following this guide in organizing my notebook.

Click here for the original blog

My sections will be:
1. Keeping the house
2. Food (menus and recipes)
3. Money
4. Blog ideas
5. DIY  projects
6. Contacts/birthdays
7. Dreams (dream house ideas)
8. Journal section


** I am working on making the journal now, pictures and directions will go up tomorrow with part 2**

The benefits of the 50s housewife experience

So while I admit that I didn't really stick to the complete 50s housewife experience that I had planned a month ago, I did stick to a modernized version of it. My house is clean, my husband was fed, and I have a sense of purpose (outside of teaching, which of course I am not currently doing).

I have to say that the most inspiring part was surprisingly, the dress. I know it seems incredibly old fashioned, and goes against common sense, but I got up every morning and put on a dress. I then promptly covered it up with an apron and dug into my never ending list of daily chores. One day when my husband was home and we had plans in the afternoon I put on a pair of jeans and a nice shirt and it was my least productive day of cleaning. Simply said, Looking nice makes you feel nice, and feeling nice makes you act nice. And as a modern 50s housewife cleaning quickly, efficiently, and happily is the nice thing to do. 

I have found the system that works for me, what chores to do, when to do them, what to make for dinner etc. and I believe that although I can share my experiences with the world, everyone will have their own take on this part of their own 50s housewife dreams. The one thing I recommend everyone do is to behold the power of the dress and apron, it really helps you step into the role you have designed for yourself.  Just be careful to remember when you are not wearing an apron. I managed to wipe my hands on my dress a time or two when I took off the apron when guests were over.

House Keeping Schedule

My husband was driving back to North Dakota today listening to the radio like most people do on a 12 hour drive when he heard an old radio comedy. The topic of the comedy was about striving to be a better housewife, based on my recent efforts he couldn't wait to call and tell me about it. When he came into the story the husband was laying on the floor in the garage because he was afraid to mess up the couch. In the end the wife tells him that she still wants a perfect house, but that he can make messes because she likes to clean up after him (yeah, right). When the husband asks her why she responds by telling him that she went to the neighbors house and the husband was sitting on the couch with his feet up on the table smoking a cigar (I imagine every man dreams about this). Long story short when she asked where the wife was, the husband replied, she is tied up on the porch so he could live in the home she made for him. This got me thinking, It shouldn't be that hard. 

Over the last month I have become pretty good at keeping my house. I confess, I am not perfect when it comes to keeping up with everything every day especially when my husband is on days off, but my overall schedule has turned out to be quite effective. For the first week this took me a couple of hours every day, now I can breeze through most of it and most days only take me between an hour or two. The one exception is Wednesday or as I have come to call it Kitchen Day. Thoughtlessness, when cleaning the kitchen takes time, even if you do it every week. I almost find it comical that my favorite room in the house is my least favorite chore. 

This is my cleaning schedule and if you are having a little trouble finding motivation with an area of your house, or just want a new routine give this one a try, all the check off marks are super nice to see. This is the list that works for me, I dust, sweep, and vacuum more than might be necessary for others because I have two dogs. You should modify this list to fit your needs.

Monday
Make Bed
Wash Darks
Walk Dogs (or exercise if you don't have the dogs)
Quick Clean Kitchen
Quick Clean Living Room
Quick Clean Bedrooms
Deep Clean Bathrooms including
     Tub/shower
     Toilets, including sides and tank
     Rugs
     Mirrors
     Check light bulbs
     Sweep/mop floors including edges
     Empty trashes
Dust Living Room
Sweep and Mop Kitchen, Dining Room, and Entryway
Vacuum Living Areas
Wipe Down Washer and Dryer
Pick up Back Yard

Tuesday
Strip bed
Wash bedding
Walk Dogs
Quick Clean Kitchen
Quick Clean Living Room
Deep Clean Bedroom including
     Dust all furniture including the bed
     Windowsills
     Dust picture frames
     Dust ceiling fan
Dust Living Room
Sweep Kitchen
Vacuum Living Areas
Make Bed
Wipe Down Washer and Dryer

Wednesday
Make Bed
Start Darks Washing
Walk Dogs
Start Oven Cleaning
Quick Clean Kitchen
Quick Clean Living Room
Quick Clean Bedrooms
Quick Clean Bathrooms
Dust Living Room
Sweep/Mop Kitchen and Entryway
Vacuum Living Areas
Keep Clean Kitchen including
     Pantry
     Fridge
     Wipe down oven
     Shine stove top
     Microwave
     Organize any cupboards
     Wipe down cupboard faces
     Dust china hutch
     Windowsills
     Mop edges
     Plan meals
     Take trash to the curb
     Freshen garbage disposal
   
Thursday
Make Bed
Wash Towels
Walk Dogs
Quick Clean Kitchen
Deep Clean Living Room including
     Ceiling fan
     Entertainment center
     Dust picture frames
     Vacuum couch
     Vacuum edges for all carpet
Quick Clean Bedrooms
Quick Clean Bathrooms
Sweep Kitchen
Vacuum Living Areas
Run Errands, Grocery Shop


Friday
Make Bed
Wash Whites
Walk Dogs
Quick Clean Kitchen
Quick Clean Living Room
Quick Clean Bedrooms
Quick Clean Bathrooms
Dust Living Room
Sweep and Mop Kitchen and Entryway
Vacuum Living Areas
Wipe Down Washer and Dryer
Deep Clean Office Including
     Clean desk
     Dust guest bed
     Dust book shelves
     Window panes
     Windowsills
     Dust blinds

Saturday
Make Bed
Wash Dedicates
Walk Dog
Quick Clean Kitchen
Quick Clean Living Room
Quick Clean Bedrooms
Quick Clean Bathrooms
Dust Living Room
Sweep Kitchen
Vacuum Living Areas
Wipe Down Washer and Dryer
Basement, Garage, Car

Sunday
Make Bed
Walk Dogs
Quick Clean Kitchen
Quick Clean Living Room
Quick Clean Bedrooms
Quick Clean Bathrooms
Dust Living Room
Sweep Kitchen
Vacuum Living Areas
Water Plants
One Time a month Chore (Rotate)
     Windows
     Baseboards
     Outside of house
     Closets

Menu, week 1

Okay so I have been terribly busy as of late so I haven't gotten much fun stuff done that I can share with you. I have however just finished planning out a weeks worth of lunches and dinners so I can go shopping tomorrow. I decided not to include breakfasts because I am on a low-ish carb diet (meaning I am eating lower carb foods and using mostly low carb recipes, but don't count carbohydrates and allow myself things like low carb bread, fruit, and low carb tortillas) and writing in scrambled eggs every day just isn't fun. It may take me a few hours, but I will share all the recipes with you.

Friday Lunch: N/A I will be at my mother in laws building a fence
Friday Dinner: Lemon Chicken Packet

Saturday Lunch: N/A I will be at a going away to the ARMY party for my cousin.
Saturday Dinner: Steaks, Salad, Baked Potato (only one, this is my husbands last meal with me for two weeks so I figured what the heck, he deserves meat and potatoes).

Sunday Lunch: Steak Caesar Salad
Sunday Dinner: Summer Squash Spaghetti, Salad

Monday Lunch: Green Salad with Chicken
Monday Dinner: Open faced Italian Sausage Sandwich

Tuesday Lunch: Chef Salad
Tuesday Dinner: Meat Loaf, Green Beans

Wednesday Lunch: Tuna Salad Stuffed Tomatoes
Wednesday Dinner: Italian Tilapia, Romaine Artichoke Salad

Thursday Lunch: Chef Salad
Thursday Dinner: Pork Chops Citrus Strawberry Spinach Salad

Friday Lunch: Salmon Deviled Eggs, Ben's Strawberries
Friday Dinner: Pork and Cheese Enchiladas

How To Organize The Pantry

Okay so I have more on this project over in the organizing page of my blog, but it's taking so long I decided to make my post in it's incomplete stage and update it later (hopefully today). To keep me motivated this is the plan.

                                                    My current pantry(before photo):

                                                     What I think my pantry would look like in a perfect                                                                                    
                                                        world (P.S., in a perfect world, this is NOT my 
                                                     pantry, just what my current pantry would look like).

                                          Now someday...in the perfect house that I might finally be able
                                          to afford when I'm 90, this is what my pantry would look like.


Wish me luck, and check here for progress and steps.