Coming in the next week or so as I find all the flash drives that they handed out with all the terrific info.

So why the long silence? Well, I had a baby about 8 months ago. I work full time from home and I just haven’t been feeling very organized in my home. I am trying to remedy that since we’re talking about moving to a slightly bigger place very soon. I’ll need all my organizational mojo to manage a move with two little ones under foot.

Pray for me. Please.

I love food. Always have. But as an adult, I really learned how to mix flavors and play with recipes to get what I want out of them. I love that. Sometimes, though, even when we’re comfortable with preparing food and managing our kitchens, we need help. Or inspiration. Have you ever gotten stuck in a rut? I have. It’s so easy to do. And last week I got a kick in the pants — something I desperately needed.

It’s easy to be lazy. Rely on processed, packaged foods. Buy what’s cheap. Convenient. After a long day of work & kid wrangling, I don’t feel like cooking. And don’t forget the cleanup afterwards. Ugh. I don’t have the energy. And that’s part of the problem. What I’ve been eating makes things worse. Low energy, lethargy. Weight gain. Oh, and don’t forget increased risk of diabetes! FUN! (Yeah, not really.)

What’s a girl to do? Lots of things, according to Chef Julie Frans of Dining Details here in San Diego. The biggest thing, which we all know we should do, but don’t, is watch what we eat. Use fresh ingredients. Avoid processed foods. Cut back on your sugar and caffeine (and stay away from those sugar substitutes). Use organic food when you can, especially when it’s food that is easily contaminated (“dirty dozen“).*

Julie cooked several dishes for us, including quinoa, millet, and lentils. As she cooked, she explained the ingredients and how they are good for us. Not only that, but watching the food you eat can naturally balance your body’s pH. And that can help you maintain better health, proper wait, and help strengthen your immune system. Did you know that? I did not. See why I said I liked what I learned?

It was just the kick in the pants I needed. No, really. Later, on Twitter, she asked if any of us drink Coffeemate. Oh, so guilty over here. I buy the 1/2 gallon at Costco. Hanging my head in shame. BUT, Julie gave an alternative. Try half & half, organic brown sugar, and a dash of real vanilla extract. So tonight I bought some half & half, mixed it with some brown sugar and vanilla in a jar. That will sit in my fridge and go in my coffee in the morning. You know what? I tried a little bit of it and it tasted just like vanilla ice cream (well, okay, melted ice cream. but still…). And I can’t wait to try it in my coffee in the morning. Not only that, I know it’s much healthier for me. Yes, even with the real fat and sugar. I may need to adjust the proportions (I did more than just a dash of vanilla), but that’s easily done.

See? Already trying to make healthier choices! I have a lot more to tell you, like a little more detail about the dishes she fixed, the awesome vinaigrette she made, and what else Dining Details does, like healthy, quality school meals for kids through their other company, Chickpeas. And personal chef services. Catering. Iron Chef-like competitions — how cool is that? Much more to come, but it’s getting late and I don’t want to make this too long. Stay tuned for more info!

*Julie includes meat & poultry, soy products, peanuts, eggs, dairy, and corn in her list, as they can contain hormones or be genetically modified (especially corn).

Disclosure: The cooking demo was provided at no cost to the attendees (that I am aware of). And while Julie asked us to kindly post about our experiences, she in no way indicated that the reviews need to be positive. I am not compensated for any posts about this event.

But I do feel like I’m failing at organization much of the time. Even though my desk is mostly neat – or on its way to being so – I still can’t always find things. After I rearrange, I have trouble remembering where I moved things to. I’m going to have to start writing it down until I get used to the new arrangements.

And if I can’t find things, but everything’s neat, is that really organization? I don’t think so.

So I’m still a work in progress (and still failing miserably with the whole clean sink thing). And trying not to beat myself up too much. What about you? What’s your sore point right now?

image by SheCat

For quick cleanups, two little items have been indispensable. I use them daily. They’re quick, require no power (and therefore are quiet!) and are super easy to use.

They are my little sweeper and a broom/dustpan combo.

The set I have is similar to this one by Oxo, but I couldn’t find it online. Hence, this pic of the Oxo Good Grips Upright Sweep Set ($24.99). We call ours a disneyland kit, because it looks a lot like the ones you see workers carrying around disney to sweep up small bits of trash. Yes, I do use this on my carpet when needed, to sweep up bigger bits of food that the sweeper won’t get. It saves my back – I can’t keep bending over and bunch of times. It just kills me. So this little guy helps a lot.

The second item is my sweeper. You see them used a lot in restaurants for quick cleanups. And it really is awesome. It picks up all of those little pieces of cereal that he just loves to toss around. And that I hate to step on and crush into the carpet. Especially the slightly damp ones. Ick! So this Bissell Perfect Sweep Dual Brush Sweeper ($59.99) is similar to the one I got at Target. Mine definitely has the dual brushes, but I don’t remember paying as much as I saw it for at Amazon. It’s possible you’ll be able to find it cheaper. I saw another model, the Bissell Swift Sweep ($16.99) that is much more affordable.

These two little guys have saved my sanity more than once. There’s something about running over the carpet quickly and immediately seeing a difference. It makes you feel like you accomplished at least one little task that day. And some days, that is about all I feel like I get done off of my list.

What about you?

Images: Amazon. com; these are items I use in my household and not a paid placement. Links are from my Amazon affiliate acct.

Sentimentality has not been my friend. I like to keep mementos reminding me of good times, happy things, and people I love. But when you’re so busy storing these items that you don’t actively display and enjoy them, you’re not getting any benefit, are you? I know I’m not.

So we’re learning to be a bit more ruthless. Donating books we’ll never read again (and being more discerning when we buy new ones), throwing out receipts and bits of paper that we no longer need.

There are two big lessons we need to learn and stick to:

1) Once you’ve started decluttering, don’t allow new clutter to take its place. Once you get that desktop or kitchen counter or dining room table nice and clear, keep it that way. Look for ways to embrace the clutter-free lifestyle and try to keep up – don’t let it gradually clutter back up. Be vigilant!

2) Fighting clutter is a continual process. Just one cleaning session will not be enough. Once you get an area clear, you must work to keep it that way. It will be much easier to maintain if you try hard not to let it get cluttered again. It’s not as hard as it sounds, as long as you don’t allow yourself to be lazy.

We’re working on our living room right now. Because our place is so small, we have my desk in the living room. It’ll be moving to the dining room as soon as we can get things cleared out in there. We have to do a section at a time.

I’m hoping that posting about these things will help us keep going, and keep us more accountable on doing what we planned. Does writing about it help keep you accountable? Or do you feel embarrassed by your projects and would rather just talk about them when they’re finished?

[image: stock.xchng]

Admittedly, we all probably have some things that are suited to only one task. It can’t be helped. I probably have some in my kitchen right now.

But tasks that only get done once in a while, say once a month, don’t really need a special gadget. Do you have a fancy item – maybe something bought off of an infomercial or QVC – that only serves one small purpose? Or maybe not much of a purpose at all?

What items do you have in your home that only get used once a month or less? Why do you keep them? Maybe it’s time to reduce the clutter and get rid of unused things.

I have a large, decorative bowl that came with a lovely sauce holder. I never use it. It will be coming with me to my mother’s house next trip. She has get-togethers and parties. We don’t have the room for them. So rather than store this bowl, I want it to get used. And it will.

Untouched margarita glasses are next on the list. As are a bunch of books. Outgrown clothing. Unused handbags and totes. It’s time to reduce clutter to make room for a bigger baby bed and all of the toys and things that will be coming home with us after Christmas.

That’s next on my list. What’s next on yours?

To say it’s not ideal would be an understatement. So here we are, still trying to remap the living room and dining room to give us a little more open floor space.

I keep going back and forth on things, trying to find the optimal arrangement. It’s driving me crazy. Unfortunately, I don’t think it matters which way we do it. All of the options have drawbacks. Shall I sit with my back to the room and TV? Let part of my L-shaped desk hang out into the room?

It’s tough when you have such limited options. But we’re going to try some new things anyway and see how it works out. Our dining room will be a little less usable, but our living room will open up a lot. That’s good for the son and his ability to play. And I’ll have room to do my yoga. (I hope.)

What do you do when you have a limited amount of space to work with, no budget, and can only rearrange to try and make things better?

But it turned out okay. Everything was hot except the carrots, which were a little cooler than I would like. But everything else was good.

The turkey was awesome. The breast was incredibly moist and tender. In exchange, though, the dark meat was a little pinker than I would like. We didn’t cut any of it off of the bone anyway (for the main meal), so I’ll heat it really well before serving it in another dish.

The family loved the food, so I consider that a success. It can only go down from here, right?

I ran to the grocery store today to get some last minute things. Milk, marshmallows, whole cranberries, stuff for green bean casserole (I wouldn’t care if NO ONE ELSE in the house liked it – I would still make it), whipped cream for the pie, and some more rolls. Here’s the crazy thing, in the grocery store I normally hate. No, really, I can’t stand it. But today they had a great big Thanksgiving display right at the front of the store. Most of the stuff I needed was right there. Right there! I almost fainted! Within a minute of walking into the store I had over half my shopping list crossed off.

I practically did a happy dance right there in the aisle. It’s the little things, y’all.

The house is clean. We have a few more dishes to wash in the morning. The turkey doesn’t need to hit the oven until about 9, but does need to come out of the fridge much earlier. So we’ll still be getting up early. But here’s what’s great about all we have to do. Much of it can be done at a leisurely pace. A little chopping here, a little sautéing there. I will not put pressure on myself, no matter how long our menu is.

And I actually made up a menu to help me remember what we need to do. Otherwise, I’ll forget the carrots or corn or something. Our menu:

• Turkey (duh)
• Dressing (duh) (cooking this in the crock pot)
• Gravy (DUH)
• Garlic & basil mashed potatoes
• Glazed sweet potatoes (recipe from my beloved Better Homes & Gardens cookbook)
• Green bean casserole (cooking this in the other crock pot & finishing off in the oven)
• White corn
• Brown sugar-glazed carrots (another recipe from Better Homes & Gardens)
• Rolls (simple brown-n-serve – doing the other rolls at Christmas)
• Pumpkin pie

I think that’s everything off of the top of my head – because I’m too lazy to walk into the kitchen and double-check (hey, it’s chilly in here & I’m snuggled under a cover on the couch).

I am cheating and using boxed stuffing because I still need to have my mom teach me how to make hers. But I’ll also be sautéing onions and celery to add to it. And lots of sage (I absolutely cannot have turkey and gravy without sage dressing). It really tastes pretty good that way.

Are you feeling ready for tomorrow?