Quick and Delicious Company Food-The Procedure

With out-of-town guests, like we had over Labor Day weekend, it can be kind of tricky to figure out what to serve everyone because you want to be visiting with your guests rather than messing around in the kitchen and you still have to accommodate everyone's preferences. When we have company, I often make Mexican food because everyone I know likes it and it's easy to adjust for different diets (like vegetarian, dairy-free, and low carb). If we're going to be out all day, I always make fajitas because I can do the prep work ahead of time and have dinner on the table in literally 15 minutes, even with people traipsing in and out of the kitchen. (I'm one of those weird few people who don't like an audience when I'm cooking.) This is the method I use to make sure getting dinner on the table is super speedy, following this recipe.

The day before my company arrives, I slice all my peppers, onions, and meat and put them in separate  containers in my fridge. Sometimes I make the spice mixture up ahead of time, but usually I don't bother because I've made this recipe so many times that I just eyeball them rather than measure. If you are a more nervous cook, I'd measure them out ahead of time. If desired, make guacamole. (Or use store bought guacamole or don't serve it.) Then put salsa, guacamole and sour cream in serving bowls so they're ready for the table. Grate cheese for refried beans.

Now, when it's time for dinner, first, start heating your vegetable oil in your largest skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium high or high heat. While that's heating, pull your pre-sliced meat and veggies out of the fridge, get your spices, and grab a can of refried beans out of the pantry.

By now your pan should be hot, so throw the onions in the pan. While they're cooking, open your can of beans and spoon them into a bowl. Put the beans in the microwave for a minute or two, depending on your microwave.

While they are heating, remove your onions from the pan and place on a serving dish. Put the bell peppers in the pan to begin cooking. While the bell peppers are cooking, open a can or two of corn and begin heating the corn on the stove in a small pot. Then take the peppers out of the pan and add them to the serving dish with the onions.

Add more oil to the pan, if necessary and then throw in your chicken strips. Add your spices on top of the chicken. Stir the corn. Get your beans out of the microwave and stir. Sprinkle grated cheese on top of the beans and microwave for another minute to melt the cheese and ensure the beans are thoroughly heated.

Stir your chicken. Take the corn off the heat and spoon it into a serving dish. Add the onions and peppers to the chicken and stir.

Inevitably, someone is offering to help you by now. Let them get the sour cream, salsa, and guacamole out of the fridge and ask them to put it on the table. Then ask them to put the refried beans and corn on the table. While they're doing this, you are microwaving the tortillas. If you don't have helpers, turn off the heat on your stove, keeping the fajita fixings in the skillet and put everything else on the table while your tortillas are warming in the microwave. All that's left to do now is put the fajita mixture back in the serving dish and carry the fajitas and tortillas to the table. Dinner is served.

With a quick cooking meal like this and a plan to execute it, it really does only take 15 minutes. That works for me when I'm having company.

Making Laundry Easier

 

I'm always looking for ways to make life easier. (I'm kind of a lazy person.) It's always been a little bit of a hassle to sort through the dirty laundry looking for the delicates that need to be washed in a lingerie bag, especially if I'm in a hurry. Recently, I had a brainstorm that I could just use a binder clip to attach the bag to the hamper and throw the items in there instead of fishing through the laundry for them. When it's time to wash clothes, all I have to do is unclip the bag, zip it up, and throw it in with the rest of the clothes. It's quick and easy.

For me, it's easier to attach the bag to the outside of the hamper, but honestly that's not the most attractive way to do it. (I don't really need my hamper to be attractive though.) If the aesthetics of this are more important to you, you could clip the bag to the inside of the hamper. You could also use a clothespin or a bulldog clip instead of a binder clip.

This system works well for the usual delicate items like bras and panties, but works especially well for baby socks (pictured above) because they're so small that they tend to get lost, both in the hamper and in the wash, which doesn't happen when you wash them in a lingerie bag. 

Streamlined laundry and no more orphan socks, it works for me.

Gender-Neutral Renters' Nursery

Over the weekend, we finished the baby's room. By "finished" I mean, as good as it's going to get before the baby comes.

Above, you can see the view from the doorway if you're standing in the hall.

If you follow me on Pinterest, you know that initially, I had wanted to do a nautical themed room. Chuk was concerned that a nautical room would look too grown up for an infant and would read as too boyish with so many blue accents. Since we're waiting to find out the sex of our baby, we needed a gender-neutral nursery. Ultimately, we decided to do a room of bright, happy colors with vintage accents, particularly vintage sports accents.

(From all the cords in the corner, you can tell I don't bother to stage photos. Eh, the room doesn't need to be baby-proofed immediately, right? Don't worry, we'll secure them before the baby becomes mobile.)

The main challenge in decorating this room was that, as renters, we can't paint or change the flooring or other fixed elements. Builder beige walls and taupe carpet doesn't really contribute a lot to the idea of "bright, happy colors", but fortunately baby accessories tend to be bright.

In these photos, the room looks significantly larger and better proportioned than it is in reality. Because the rest of our apartment is small too, we need to keep all the baby toys in this room and it has to function as a playroom as well as a bedroom. (It's also my husband's office. His desk and all our files and office supplies, as well as general household storage, is in the closet.) To accommodate all these functions, we tried to keep the furniture against the walls and added storage to the wall, so there would be space to play in the center of the room.

We couldn't afford to spend a lot so we took advantage of gifts, things we already owned, second-hand finds, DIY projects, and generally just made do.

We still need to finish the crib skirt, hang artwork, and decide whether or not we're going to paint the dresser (there's a long story behind it that makes the decision less than straightforward.) I'd like to find an affordable and colorful rug to disguise the carpet too, but so far, we're really happy with the room. It is such a satisfying feeling when your vision materializes the way you imagine it will.

Fewer Books, More Library

Do you watch that show Hoarders? Chuk and I usually watch every week. Though we both enjoy having a clean home, neither of us has that innate drive to clean that some people have. Though we aren't hoarders, Hoarders the show is motivation to declutter and clean like nothing else.

We watched last week's episode on Friday (they air on Monday though.) The program featured a couple who had more than half a million books in their home. I've always been pretty good about not keeping too many books, but this show sent me straight to my bookshelves to see if there were any more I could get rid of. I found ten I was willing to part with and Chuk decided to get rid of four of his books.

My philosophy on books had been to only keep the ones I wanted to read again. This go around I shifted my thinking little and got rid of books that I could easily get again at the library. No need for me to store them if the library is willing to store them for me, right?

The other tip that has kept my bookshelves from ever getting too overcrowded is that I don't buy books. I enjoy reading, but I find that between the library, what friends lend me and gifts, I'm never at a shortage for reading material. With this newest round of giveaways, I emailed a list of the books we are getting rid of to my reading friends and gave them right of first refusal. Paying it forward like this (and always returning their books) is what keeps people lending to me, I think. The books they don't want will be donated to the library or thrift store.

Storing Boxes

It seems that at this time of year, we're up to our eyeballs in boxes. We're receiving packages and sending packages and wrapping up gifts in boxes. I think, the majority of the time, when we're done with these boxes, we should either offer them up on Craig's List for people who are moving or just recycle them, but it can be helpful to keep a few boxes at home too.

As someone who has always lived in small spaces, one of the most convenient places I've found to store boxes is under the couch. Many of us are already storing things under our beds, which tends to have a little more clearance, but there is a lot of floor space under your couch too. It's not a very high space, but if you flatten your boxes, you you can fit quite a few under there.

I tend to keep mostly medium sized boxes, which I find are the most versatile for moving, holding donation items, crafts, and, of course, sending packages.

Thanksgiving Prep

Chuk and I are hosting Thanksgiving this year. It's our first time. The year before last, we hosted Christmas for my family, so we're not completely inexperienced, but this time we're hosting Chuk's family and also I'm "large with child". (I''ve wanted to say that this whole pregnancy. I'm weird.) Somehow, it being my in-laws makes it more intimidating and, well, pregnancy just makes everything more difficult.

To keep myself sane, I've divided everything I need to get done into daily tasks in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. That way I never get overwhelmed and can keep my energy levels up. I think it's the best way to tackle any big project.

Everyone's to-do list is going to look different, but I find the most helpful thing in planning for an event like Thanksgiving is to clean out your fridge first. Toss anything you're not going to eat (I'm looking at you weird olives that came in that gift basket) or that has gone bad (like that bottle of almost empty mustard that was "best by" Oct 2010.) No one likes to waste food, but this is the time to be ruthless.

Once you've cleared it out, wash all the shelves in the fridge so they're sparkling clean. Finally reorganize the remaining food in a way that 1) makes sense to you, and 2) leaves large spaces empty for all the holiday food you're going to be cramming in there over the next week. If you're like me you'll have lots of little bits of food that need to be eaten up before you go shopping again. Point these foods out to everyone in your family and tell the goal is to have them gone by X date.

Another way I keep myself sane when hosting holidays, is I ask the guests to help. I normally don't ask guests to bring things when I'm hosting, but somehow, in my mind, holidays have a different set of rules. There is a lot of food to make and I have a small apartment and an even smaller kitchen.

We've asked Chuk's sister and brother-in-law to bring pumpkin and pecan pies. (I'm praying they make them themselves and don't buy frozen.) And we've asked my father-in-law, who doesn't cook at all, to bring things we don't mind him buying at the store: appetizers, rolls, and cranberry sauce. Chuk and I (and by "Chuk and I" I mean I) will be making the bulk of the meal: turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and possibly glazed carrots. Chuk's sister called him last night and told him she was also going to bring apple sauce because their mom always made homemade apple sauce for holiday meals.

How are you celebrating Thanksgiving this year and what are you eating? I think it's so interesting how every family seems to have a pretty rigid Thanksgiving menu, but that it seems to vary from family to family. For instance, Chuk's family always had apple sauce and rolls, but never sweet potatoes. We never had apple sauce and rarely had rolls, but always had sweet potato casserole and brussel sprouts.

Organizing Office Supplies

I hate not being able to find things in drawers. I live in a small apartment and I try to make the most of my storage space. A super affordable way to organize office supplies is to use a cutlery tray, from the kitchen section of your favorite mega mart. All the little dividers keep your supplies easy to grab (and easy to put away!) I love keeping my desk clear.

It works for me.

Quick Dishwasher Tip

Dishes are not my favorite chore. (In fact, chores in general are not really my favorite thing, but what can you do?) I came up with a little dishwasher loading trick that saves me time when I'm unloading the dishwasher though.

I categorize the utensils by type in their little holders: salad forks in one section, entree forks in another section, knives in another section, etc. That way, when I unload the dishwasher, I can just grab all the same type utensils and drop them in the drawer organizer without thinking about it or sorting. It doesn't add any time to loading, but it saves time when unloading.

It works for me.

Giving Up: How I'm Decluttering

I spent much of the weekend going through my wardrobe, purging my clothes. Clothes are the trickiest thing for me to declutter. I thought a lot about why that is and the conclusion I came to is that I had a hard time getting rid of things because of hope. I was hoping I would fit into something again. I was hoping I would recreate the good times I had had while wearing a particular outfit. I was hoping to be the younger, prettier, more fun, more successful version of myself.

I had to accept that if something hasn't fit me for seven years, it probably isn't going to fit me the eighth year. Things that worked for my lifestyle when I was single and in my early twenties don't work for me anymore now that I'm married an in my early thirties. I had to give up the fantasy that one day I'd again be a size X and wear suits to my powerful job and spend weekends making out with hotties in nightclubs. That's just not who I am anymore and that's okay.

Getting rid of 10 bags of clothes (weighing more than 65 pounds!) is a step towards self acceptance. And I have to say, I feel so much better now! I feel better about myself and I'm loving how my closet and dresser look.

Containing Clutter

I love using origami boxes to organize my drawers. They're easy to make and free. I came across a product this week that inspired me to use this same technique to make catch-all boxes for our dressers and desks.

My local craft store was selling birch paper. I thought it was beautiful and knew I could use it for something. We always need little places to throw keys and change and other miscellany from our pockets. Because this is real wood, it looks good enough to keep out. Because it is paper, it can be manipulated.



I used this video to help me remember how to make a box. The birch paper is thick and it's difficult to work with. If it's your first time making an origami box, I suggest you practice it with scrap paper before using your decorative paper.

I'm always taking of my jewelry off in the evening while I'm on the computer, so this baby is going on my desk to catch my earrings and whatever else I'm mindlessly dropping. I have another piece of the birch paper I'm going to use to make a box for Chuk's dresser that he can use as a valet for his watch, ID badge and change.

Linking to How To's Day.

Another Round of Donations

My mom sent me home from Thanksgiving with some of my old yearbooks. There wasn't room for them in our bookshelves, so we purged again. Five books in, twenty-two books out. It's a good ratio.

Bathroom Storage and Dispaly

My mom and her husband have been renovating their home for over a year now. Chuk and I went to visit them for Thanksgiving and it was the first time we'd seen many of the changes.

The guest bedroom's en suite bathroom has almost no storage space and my mom came up with a solution that I thought was so clever. She used a large hurricane (and we all have these sitting around, don't we?) and filled it with toilet paper and a smaller lidded glass jar that she filled with soap. All the soaps in the jar are free hotel soar that she took out of their wrapping.

I wish I had taken a picture of the whole bathroom, so you could see how chic and spa-like this looks in the whole room, but you'll just have to take my word for it. It's a great idea that is both functional in a small space and decorative.

Creating More Storage Under the Sink

The petal on our garbage can broke. Chuk tried to fix it, but couldn't. To buy another garbage can like it would cost $40. I decided to make due with what I had instead: an open trash can that I used for recycling when we had parties. It would have to go under the kitchen sink, but there wasn't any room.

Before. Blah.

Five minutes of organization later, I was able to fit the can under the sink. All it took was moving the garbage bags to the utility closet and straightening everything else up.

I think what really made this such an easy job was that I use plate shelves to organize under all my sinks. It is such a simple solution that allows me to take advantage of the vertical space under the sink. My plate shelves are just cheap ones from Ikea, but they work wonderfully.

After. Awesome.

I know it doesn't look like the Container Store, but 99% of the time it's only me or Chuk who see it. Besides, I'm ok with function taking precedence over beauty under my kitchen sink. Now I have a neat, functional space that cost $0 (my favorite price) and 5 minutes.

Closing Bags if You're Ghetto

We use chip clips a lot at our house. We use them for pancake mix, frozen veggies, brown sugar, cereal, and, of course, chips, amongst other things. Unfortunately, because they're so well used, we don't have enough chip clips to go around at our house. I make do by simply closing bags using binder clips.

Using office supplies in the pantry makes me feel a little trashy, but not enough to actually go out and spend money buying more chip clips. Binder clips work for me.

Adding Storage in the Bathroom

After the drama of the bathroom leak that necessitated the cutting out of half the bathroom ceiling and one of the walls (not to mention the ripping up of the carpet) I never got around to re-hanging three small prints I had on that wall.

Can you see the mold?

Then I found two glass shelves on the side of the road while I was on a walk. I thought they would be perfect for the bathroom and snatched them up. I wound up only hanging one of the shelves, but because it was so narrow I was having a hard time figuring out how best to utilize it.

Then I remembered three little espresso tins I had gotten for free from the cafe next door. As luck would have it, they fit the shelf perfectly. I spray painted them silver and then, rather than using my beloved label maker, labeled them with a single vinyl letter. I think it's more discreet and looks a little more modern.

I'm really happy with the way they turned out, but I'm still trying to figure out how to style the shelf. It looks a little bare with just the tins, but I don't think candles or two of the old prints that were there before look quite right. Ideally, I'd like to see if I could get two more tins from the cafe, but I don't know if they are still giving them away.

If they're not, do you have any ideas of how to style it? I generally like a clean, uncluttered look, but I don't want it to be overly minimalist.

Your suggestions are greatly appreciated.

This post is linked to:
Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Designs
Spotlight Yourself at It's So Very Cheri
Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog

Saving the Sentimental While Decluttering

I'm still working on decluttering, but I've been having a hard time letting go of sentimental items. For example, the box above housed the my wedding invitations. Obviously, I've already sent out my invitations, so I no longer need the extras, but for some reason I was having trouble recycling the leftovers.

The solution I came up with is to frame one invitation as a keepsake, which I know is not a novel idea, but because I'm such a pack rat I also attached a couple of extras (including envelopes, response cards, etc.) on the back of the of the frame with a rubber band. They're out of the way but I still have some complete sets in case that I can share with future generations, if they're interested.

Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best. Now I feel okay letting go of the rest of the invitations. Another box down, hooray.

Decluttering Continued

This is the giveaway pile. I'm ecstatic that it's so big. It feels so good to get rid of this stuff.

I had planned on trying to sell a lot of this stuff on Craigslist, but then I finally admitted to myself that was never going to happen. Selling stuff is time-consuming, and at this point, my time is better used decluttering and organizing rather than making up classified ads.

Decluttering

I'm feeling the need to declutter. I'm trying to do one small project at a time so I don't get overwhelmed, but I'm feeling a little overwhelmed anyway.

The photo above is the garbage (not giveaway, not things to sell, just garbage) that came from one closet. That's a lot of junk.

Environmentalism and Frugality Meet in the Lunch Box

Like any frugalites worth the title, we wash out our plastic baggies after we use them so we can reuse them again. However, even with this method we can't use them more than three or four times without them popping leaks.

What has worked for me is using plastic containers instead of baggies whenever possible. The containers are marketed as disposable so they're fairly inexpensive, but I've found them to be extremely durable. I've had many of my containers for years and they're holding up just fine even though I put them in the dishwasher and straight from the fridge to the microwave.

They have worked especially well in our lunches. Again, like most frugalites, we pack our own lunches for work. We use the plastic containers for sandwiches and snacks (like craisins), a stainless steel bottle for water, and of course fruit comes in its own packaging. Using all reusable containers we have cut way down on our baggie usage and created virtually trash-free lunches. I love it when environmentalism and frugality meet.

Storing Homemade Bread

Fortunately, my bread baking experiments have improved since my first disastrous attempt. (Remember this?) I think the keys have been 1) Ignoring the recommended 4 hour rise time and letting it rise for 36 hours instead, and 2) Making it in a loaf pan rather than a free-formed boule.

Now that we have figured out the mechanics of baking, we’ve had to figure out how to store the bread to retain all of its freshness. After some experimenting, the method works best for me is wrapping the loaf in a sheet of parchment paper and letting it sit out on the counter. The parchment paper prevents staleness, but doesn’t make the crust go soft the way a plastic bag does.

How do you store your bread?