Under The Sink Shall Be Organized

I've been watching videos lately on organizing...I love those people!

In fact, I am striving to be like those people. So many great ideas. Everything always looks so clean and awesome. Way less time is spent 'looking' for something. There are so many positives to organizing that I can't even begin to explain. As you can tell...it gets me a little giddy.

I'm starting small. Under the sink...that seems pretty simple. It seriously took me five minutes! It looks great. I can see everything that I need. I decided on one of those caddys for cleaning supplies long ago, but then never used it, just piled junk in.

Well...today I used it. It was GREAT. I just grabbed my little caddy and off I went to clean the kids' bathroom. I had all of my supplies, no running back and forth and I swear it didn't take as long to clean the bathroom as usual...about 10 mins total and that includes the floor!

Here was under my sink before. I'm ashamed. Look fast and move on.

Now here it is all organized and clean. In the caddy I decided to put the things that I use most often. Cleaning supplies, a rag, Clorox eraser, paper towels and my handy dandy duster.

To the left I have the dishwasher soap, again easy access. Then the fire extinguisher and flash light...for emergencies that I hope never happen. My advice....throw away everything and anything that doesn't belong, or at least put it where it does belong. In the back corner I've tucked away the things that are not used that often...like the carpet cleaner and refill bottles. If you haven't used it in the past six months....you probably wont use it. THROW IT AWAY.

I personally feel overwhelmed at the thought of going through things and organizing. That is why I decided to start small. The small accomplishments give you the motivation and encouragement to keep going and tackle the not so small things...like the closet or the garage. I can't wait to see how organized my home is in three, four or even five months from now.

Cake Pops

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Super cute and super simple. However I'm a perfectionist to some degree, so it was a little time consuming for me. Tomorrow my baby girl turns 11 years old. This will probably be one of the last times that she takes a treat in on her Birthday to share with her class, so I wanted it to be special. Hence the idea to make cake pops was hatched.

What you will need:

1 box cake mix of your choice

1 can of frosting (I like whipped because its not as dense)

Chocolate for melting/decorating

Sprinkles

Wax paper

Block of styrofoam

Possibly vegetable oil (yes I said possibly)

Now...lets get down to it!

Bake the cake according to the box directions.

Let cake cool.

Then crumble into pieces.

You can use a mixer or food processor, whichever you prefer. Just make sure to crumble into small fine pieces.

Next, mix about 3/4 of your frosting into the cake mix.

You should have a nice sticky consistency, if its too dry your cake pop will fall apart.

After you have a good consistency, roll into balls, place on wax paper lined cookie sheet, and refrigerate for one hour.

While the cake balls are chilling, start melting your chocolate. I suggest doing this in 30 second intervals in the microwave and stirring in between. This is where you may possibly need to use some vegetable oil. You want the chocolate nice and thin. Adding the oil in very small amounts to the melted chocolate will thin it out.

After the chocolate is melted and the balls have chilled. You want to insert the popsicle sticks into the balls. This is the way that I like to do it. I think it helps the stick stay in the cake ball better, like a glue, if you will. I dip the stick into the chocolate and the insert it 3/4 of the way through the cake ball. Leaving the cake on the wax paper. Let the balls set about 15 mins until dry. 

Now its time to dip your cake balls into the chocolate! Be careful, dip lightly and  gently shake off excess chocolate. You don't want any runs. This just looks messy...so no runs.

Add sprinkles or come up with your own decorating ideas. Have fun with it. Towards the end I even started to give my cake balls a tye dye look by putting two colors chocolate on my ball and gently twirling the stick, gravity will help the tye dye look form.

After you have dipped and decorated your ball, it now becomes a cake pop. Place your cake pop into the styrofoam block to dry.

Like so.....

After your cake pops have dried, about 45 mins,  you can cover them with plastic bags and tie off with ribbon. Be creative. I put these ones in a basket for my daughter to carry to school easily. I wanted to give the effect of a basket of flowers.

You cant deny that these are simply adorable!!!

Easy Travel Laundry Kits

Ahh! A little fantabulous idea I had tonight while packing for our weekend getaway that I thought I'd share. The cabin we are going to has a washer and dryer. We are trying to pack as light as possible, in an effort to not have 5 suitcases for 4 people, I decided to do a load of laundry at the cabin, the night before coming home. By doing this, we can pack less clothes and wear the same outfit again, and its already clean.

Who wants to drag a bottle of laundry soap on a trip? Not me. So I thought, ok I will just put a little bit of soap into a container. Well, most all containers leak, in the end making more mess for ME to clean up. So that wont do. Ding! Use the baggies that I have already put into recycled circulation (yes I reuse baggies if they are clean) then prefill them with a cap full of laundry soap, bleed air from the bag, seal and put baggie into container. This will definitely reduce the risk of spill and your laundry soap is already premeasured. I also put a few dryer sheets into a baggie and placed on top of soap in container. We have about a six and a half hour drive up through the mountains, so I will update you guys and let you know how it worked out. What really makes this little idea even more terrific for me??? No clean up! Just rise your baggie while you are adding soap to machine...and viola your bag is clean! Let it dry and reuse it again....of course not for any edible items :)

These kind of clever ideas are what I live for! Best of all...it didn't cost a dime.

You could even try premeasuring laundry soap into baggies when you are trying to cut cost or control use at home. My teenager is brutal on laundry soap. Just remember try to use recycled bags whenever possible.

All set and ready to go!

Simple Compost Bin

Last season I got into gardening. Ive always grown herbs and whatnot but not anything as substantial as this past season. Ive also started living somewhat of a greener lifestyle. The two loves combined of course equals a compost bin. Holy moly those babies are expensive! I did some research online and watched some videos. After that, I decided I could totally make my own compost bin for less than $20, and VERY little work. Now I dont feel as guilty when I clean out the fridge, or clean up after dinner. I'm learning everyday new things that I can compost. Its a great feeling knowing that our waste, that would usually go into the trash, will now be composted into organic matter to help my garden florish.

So here we go....

You will need:

Large outdoor trash can

Bricks or cinder blocks (to elevate can from ground)

Drill (to drill holes)

Seriously....thats it.

I got this trash can @ Dollar General for $15. You may be able to find one cheaper, I just really didnt feel like leaving the Island yesterday, so this is what I got. Heres my husband drilling out holes in the bottom of the can, super easy...it took all of five minutes. You just have to make sure to have enough holes to promote good air flow on all areas of the can, including the lid and sides.

 After you have all of your drainage and air flow holes drilled out, You are ready to start composting. Begin by adding a layer of Carbon, ie newspaper, leaves, cardboard, dryer lint etc. Shred paper into smaller pieces.

Next you want to add and equal layer of Nitrogen, ie food scraps, coffee grounds, banana peels, flowers, fruit, etc. ALL of your layers should be equal. This is the beginning of my compost bin.

Composting should take about 4-8 weeks. You want to keep your material moist, about as moist as a wrung out sponge. The most IMPORTANT thing to remember to do is TURN YOUR COMPOST. Do so by rolling the can around the ground once a week. Be sure your lid is secure, you may want to bungie cord it closed.

Here is a link with some ideas of compostable material to get you started.

Happy Composting!

http://www.plantea.com/compost-materials.htm

"Hopefully"...getting serious about blogging

I have so much to say! OK, so why don't I ever seem to make it all the way to the blog to actually say it? I will chalk this one up to laziness. New year...no more laziness...OK...I'm cutting way back on the laziness, lets just go with that.
I have high hopes for my blog and my new year. I hope to be able to follow through with my "projects" and thoughts and then be able to share them with the blogging world =) Yes, this is going to be great!

Whoopsie

Wow! Just realized I did not post the entire month of July...well since the 1st, same difference really.
Anyways, been super busy. Summer tends to get that way. School starts here in just two weeks! That simply does not make me happy. My son has graduated this year and my baby girl is going into 5th grade, where we live that means middle school. With that said, you can probably understand my dismay.
I'm going to try and do better to be more productive and post on a regular basis.
I have an update on my garden and also few DIY projects Ive completed. =)
We are heading to St Augustine this weekend, sooo looking forward to that. My daughter and my husband...aka...the history buffs...will hopefully really enjoy this trip. Ive researched the places we want to visit and have an itinerary planned out, that however means nothing. You see, we are the type of people that have difficulty sticking to the plan if something else catches our eyes. Fingers crossed.

Sorta Not Homemade Pasta Sauce

This is something that I do to jazz up hum drum weekday pasta sauce. Its also great when I'm pinched for time but still wanna have a little bit of a better tasting, looking, appealing pasta sauce.

So tonight it was like...ok whats for dinner? I dug around in the freezer...found some lean ground meat. Wouldn't you know in the cabinet there sat a can of diced tomatoes, some store brand pasta sauce and a box of noodles. It was pasta night for sure. I know you are probably thinking...yuck store brand pasta sauce. gag. Well that's where the 'sorta not homemade' comes into play. Look around and see what you can did up. We always have fresh garlic and onions on hand. So if course Id start with that. Combined with the ground meat...its already looking better.

Now I'm going to head outside. That's where my herb garden resides. I adore fresh basil, and grow plenty of it. This is a must have if you love to cook and eat Italian food. Basil is super easy to grow. Once you grow it and start using it, you'll wonder how you ever got along without it.

Anyways back to the sauce.

So yeah we got fresh garlic, onions and basil. yay. Half way home. I simmer the meat then add the garlic and onion, next I throw in a handful of fresh chopped basil. I also grow oregano, so I threw a lil bit of that in also. Add a can of diced tomatoes. If you want a less watery sauce I recommend draining the tomatoes of the excess juice. Let that all simmer up real good so that the herbs can release their flavors. Next I add a can of pasta sauce. I tend to buy the garlic flavored type sauces. Just depends on your taste. We are garlic lovers! Again, simmer. Toss with whatever pasta you have on hand. Literally 30 minutes, start to finish. Looks homemade, taste sorta homemade and best of all was effortless.I also top with a little bit of fresh parmesan cheese (we had cheese leftover from Caesar salad last night...bonus). 

Just by throwing in the diced tomatoes, fresh herbs and  a little bit of parm cheese....you look like a pro =) They will only know if you tell them! I didn't include any measurements on purpose, for the simple fact that I don't really use any. I just like pasta sauce to taste. Go ahead and experiment! See what you can fake homemade....I mean make.

This is the sauce during the cooking process. Isn't it pretty? I took a picture of the finished product...however my Droid decided to delete it for me :/ So this is all I got.