15 min. to Holiday Bliss!

Hey! We've been doing 15 minutes a night this week to get ready for the holidays!!! Let's catch you up and let us know how it's going....

Get rid of anything in the fridge that is expired, went bad or simply stuff nobody likes.

‎15 minutes tonight: a quick and dirty. You've decided what you're keeping in the fridge. Take everything out onto the counter keeping like with like. Do a quick wipe down of the shelves and drawers. Return everything to the fridge- again- keep like with like. Most importantly, make sure you can SEE everything you have. If you can't see it, you won't use it! If there's time, do a quick wipe down on the outside, too.

Tonight's 15 minutes: You'll need certain food items for the holidays and they'll be going on sale soon so let's get to the pantry. Decide what portion you will want to work on tonight, whether it's a shelf or a whole cabinet. Same as the fridge, empty items keeping like with like. Check all expiration dates. REMINDER: If it's something nobody likes or you can't imagine when you'll use it - this is a great time of year to donate those items! Do a quick wipe down. Put items back - like with like - and establish the one in, one out rule. (You have to use something before buying another.) Let the kids help!!

Tonight's 15 minutes: If you have a large pantry, keeping working on that tonight. You want to complete a task rather than skipping around. Plus, we want to make sure your pantry is in tip-top shape! If you completed your pantry last night, let's make a shopping list for the holiday. REMINDER: Shop at home first. Can you tweak a recipe and use what you have? Can you make cherry pie instead of blueberry? You get the idea... Once you're done- pop the list in your wallet so it's accessible in the store. When an item goes on sale, scoop it up! If it's not on your list, ask yourself do you really need it??

Okay...you're all caught up!! See you tomorrow!

Time for the Pantry!!

Time for the pantry!! Empty the cabinets- Keep like with like, baking supplies, soups, condiments so it's easy to find. Get rid of expired items, or open items you are no longer using.  Donate what you and your family won't use, be honest - if nobody likes sardines..why do you have three cans?? Right? Take the time now to wipe it clean. You want to be able to see and find everything that you have. Keep snacks down low and easily accessible so you know who isn't tearing through the pantry! And stick to the one in, one out rule!  Establish limits for how much your pantry can hold. Once you do this, you must use something before you can buy another. If you go shopping once a week- you really only need a weeks worth of an item. No cramming items in- remember- you want to see what you have! You'll save time and money at the market when you are only buying what you need- no roaming the aisles and no duplicates!

Let's get down to organizing! : D

One of my clients (we'll call her Awesome New Homeowner) had a wonderful problem...she went from a one bedroom apartment to a gigantic house!! Because it was easy to condense everything into tiny spaces in the apartment, Awesome New Homeowner thought it would be a breeze to move into their beautiful new home. When they unpacked, however, they had so much space that they were able to spread everything out- who wouldn't?! We started in the kitchen. First, we walked around the kitchen and removed what didn't belong- "I know the lantern doesn't go in the kitchen but we had a spot for it!!" Lantern off to the garage. Then, we walked around the house to find out what belongs in the kitchen. Dish towels, place mats and fancy napkins were moved from the linen closet to a great drawer in the kitchen for quick and easy access. Two great pantry cabinets quickly became cluttered because they were so big, they could buy a ton of stuff at once. We emptied both cabinets onto the counter (Awesome New Homeowner giving a quick look to make sure they used everything- a couple of items were sent to the car for donations), separating like with like. Soups together, pasta together, veggies together, etc.  ANH decided she would like one cabinet to be for snacks/cereals/baking and the other to be for the food used in preparing meals. Sounded great to me! ANH catches on quickly! Keeping like with like, ANH decided what items they needed to reach often and quickly and placed those on the lower shelves and less frequently used items were put on higher shelves. The trick is to be able to see everything you have so you can use it. This prevents wasted food, wasted money and wasted time shopping for items you already have. The problem with filling the cabinets is that it makes it difficult to see everything you have. My client goes shopping every week so she really only need a weeks worth of food in the house.  We established the one-in, one-out rule. When something was used, she could buy another one. Remember just because you have a lot of space doesn't mean you need to fill it! Leave a little breathing room and see how it feels...