Northcoast Home

Getting geared up for Fall

Here is a fun blog to get you going on Fall-cleaning and decorating.

Warm Pie, Happy Home

How To Organize The Pantry

From: http://www.countrymom.com

Take a look at your pantry shelves. Is everything jumbled up and stuck anywhere it will fit? Can you easily find what you need? You need to organize your pantry!

1. The first thing to do is take everything out. While you are unloading onto the counter, try to place like things together.

2. Make sure to check dates on your food and throw out what has gone bad or past freshness date.

3. Clean and scrub pantry shelves. Replace shelf paper.

Restocking Your Pantry:

When organizing your pantry it is a good idea to always keep like items / food together. For instance:

* all canned vegetables together
* all canned meats, chili, soups together
* all box mixes together - mac and cheese, hamburger helper, rice and noodle mixes, etc
* all breakfast items together - cereal, cooked cereal, granola bars, etc...
* all canned fruit together
* all dry goods together - rice, flour, macaroni, etc
* all baking items together - cake mixes, icing, etc..
* all snack items together - popcorn, nuts, chips, fruit rolls, etc..

1. Place things you rarely use on the top shelf. (or taller items)

2. Place the items you use the most at eye level.

3. Place items that you use less frequently at the bottom

4. We place extra items that we keep on store such as catsup, salad dressing, salt, jams, peanut butter, etc on the bottom shelves. Then when we run out, we know just where to look.

5. Keep a pad and paper in the pantry to mark when you get something out of your stored items or are running low on something - if you keep track, you will have a ready made grocery list.

6. If you have room on the inside of your pantry door - install coated wire shelves. These small shelves are great storing for soup mixes, spices, extracts, candy sprinkles for cakes, etc.

Remember that everyone places different things in their pantry - place your grouped items in a way that makes sense to you and how you live.

When you unload your grocery sacks, remember to put things together and back in the right place - then it will be easy to keep your pantry organized all of the time!!

Do you like to decorate?

(my FlyLady inspired shiney sink)

I love looking for ideas for home decorating, and I found a very fun site while surfing my favorite blogs.

http://ratemyspace.hgtv.com/SNC/Main.aspx?&pguid=6db6be3f-1720-4ba3-a081-999042c09b6b

It is called Rate My Space.....check it out!

Free On-line Christian Homeschool Mag

This looks like a great homeschool resource!

Heart of the Matter

Housekeeping Today

Budget Fall Decor

Here are some fun decorating ideas for Fall, from

http://www.budget101.com/

The Cheapest Re-model of Them All!

We recently re-modeled our kitchen and did a large additon on the house.  It is a blessing from God and because of my husbands very hard work!  But you don't always need to do a huge re-model to change how you feel about your home.

This is an excellent article from FlyLady  www.flylady.net  she is very encouraging and I love her no-self-pity attitude.  She is encouraging to me and many others.  I especially love that she looks at household chores as a home blessing and not work. 

Dear Friends,

We can get so stuck in a rut when our homes are in bad shape. The
best remodel of all is to get rid of the clutter and start to really
see your home.

Did you know that when I got my home in order with all the clutter
gone that I started to love it? I mean I really liked my home even
with the 70's green shag carpet. It is amazing what you can see when
your eyes aren't glued to the clutter everywhere.

When clutter is on every surface you can't feel comfortable in the
space. We need clear areas to feel peace. Clutter causes us to have
that closed in feeling and we have to get out of our homes to feel
better. Wouldn't you like to enjoy being home? Get rid of your
clutter and you will find that you don't have to move to find the
perfect house; you are already living in it.

I know you don't believe me, but the cheapest way to remodel your
home to eliminate the clutter so you can actually see what needs to
be done to spruce up your living areas. A little paint or soap and
water can drastically change your outlook. With the clutter gone you
can see and enjoy the forest without all the trees getting in your
way. We have had members that no longer needed to move, because all
of a sudden their home got bigger without wall-to-wall clutter
taking up every corner and flat surface in their home. Yesterday we
got an email about clearing off the magnets and paper clutter from
the refrigerator. That one clutter clearing exercise made their
kitchen feel larger.

Look around your home and see if you can open up some space by
cleaning out a hotspot.

Some of you have complained that you don't want to clean when you
have such yucky furniture. Well decorators like to call this
eclectic. We have seen those TV decorators take out half the
furniture and add a pillow or two and change a whole room. Did you
know that you can do this too, but not until the clutter has left
the building. Less is more!

We get to feeling sorry for ourselves because we can't afford this
or that, when all we really need is to be happy with what we have
and clean it up a bit. Don't get stuck in a rut of "ole poor me"!
Count your blessings by blessing your home with a little TLC: Tender
Loving Care. You have neglected it for long enough, just like you
have neglected yourself.

Each day we continue to do the same things over again; Washing
clothes, doing dishes, Folding clothes, dusting and sweeping floors.
It is a never-ending procession of things that need done. When you
look up these chores as work, you start to dread doing them. Change
your attitude from work to blessing. When you do things for your
family and to your home to help your family, you are giving them
tender loving care. I like to call this blessing our home. As you
pick up a dish to wash it, be thankful that you have had food to
feed your growing babies and nourish your bodies. As you fold that
unending pile of laundry, your hand loves each and every member of
your family. Let go of the martyred attitude and nurture your family
with love and kindness. Now I am not saying that you are to do all
the work. It is up to you to set the example in love and they will
follow. It is all about your attitude toward your home, family and
your life.

I want you to FLY. It is hard to do if you are stuck in the muck of
a pity party about the way your home looks and ultimately feels. You
can change this by letting go of your victim way of thinking and put
a new happy spin on your life. Blessing your home is much more fun
than cleaning house!

Making it fun, will get it the job done!

FlyLady

De-cluttering Week 4: Kitchen

De-cluttering Week 3: Living Room and Family Room

De-Cluttering Week 2: Master Bedroom

De-cluttered Main Bathroom

I also cleaned out all six drawers!  But I will spare you from pics of those....lol

Now since I have de-cluttered I can deep clean it!

De-Cluttering Week One: Bathrooms

A Fun Book

Todays Activities and a Recipe

What I am Doing Today

Question

Why can't they make placemats out of material that doesn't shrink when you wash & dry it???!!!!! 

Books on Organizing

Something to Remember

FlyLady's 11 Commandments

frugality