May’s Clutter Count

I hit the house hard in the de-cluttering department in May. I thought we might have a garage sale, so it motivated me to clean out the kid’s closets. We ended up not having a sale, but I have several boxes and bins ready to go.

I spent a few days on the boys room. I was hoping to have their room de-cluttered, and organized for Summer time. Just that one single room turned into a long project.

I worked on Thade’s closet first.

0039

I had that closet filled with clothes to save, clothes to grow in to, costumes, blankets, and bin after bin of who knows what. I grabbed a contractor bag, and set in on the task ahead. I was pretty ruthless with my tossing, and garage sale items too. I organized what I was going to keep, and pared down the saved items to six bins that fit above the shelf. The closet now holds all of  Thade’s clothes, and the boy’s bedding too. I’m really happy with this completed cleaning task.

0048

I decided to work on Agnes’ closet and changing table closet too. Holy moly those closets were packed!!! Who knew one little gal ever wore that many clothes.

0152

Agnes’ closet was a little tough for me. It was hard to see all of the teeny-tiny baby clothes. I miss her being so little.

0166

Also Dylan and Agnes were there to “help” me. I had quite a headache after that afternoon.

0173

I got it done though,

0183

and I even found the floor again.

0192

I need to do something about the storage on the shelf though… I think I’ll get some bins like Thade has in his closet.

Later in the month, I finally finished the boys room. Well, finished enough to call it good for the Summer.

0015

I rearranged the boys room just a bit. They share the largest bedroom in the house, but they always need a bit more room to play.

0049

The two sets of shelves were de-cluttered, cleaned, and reorganized. It stayed nice and tidy for about five minutes…

0075

I moved the art supplies upstairs, Agnes likes to color all over the house. The art station is set up on Dylan’s dresser. I organized his dresser at the start of Spring. It is pretty easy to keep up with.

I also was motivated to start working on de-cluttering the kitchen. I’m taking the clutter shelf by shelf, and I hope we can paint in there soon.

0025

00310

After all that de-cluttering, we decided to tackle a painting project. We’ve been working on our Utility Room and small downstairs bathroom off and on. I finally decided on a paint color for the Utility Room portion, so we decided to tackle the toughest part first, the walls behind the washer and dryer. We also pulled up the rest of the flooring, and did some major cleaning behind the appliances too.

0193

It was kind of a yucky cleaning task, but the walls look great. We still have to woodwork to paint, and the cabinets too, but I love the new color in the utility room. Now if I can just decide on some flooring.

There was a lot of cleaning, de-cluttering, and painting going on last month. I was really pleased with my de-cluttering totals too. I got rid of another 300 items, and I didn’t count the items ready for a yard sale. I think my main focus for June will be finishing the Utility Room and starting the painting on the Kitchen too. The house is finally starting to come together.

May’s Tasty Treats

May brought a lot of tasty treats my way. Some I made, some I didn’t, and some were from my garden. May was a very tasty month indeed.

0104

To kick off the month I made some No Bake Cookies. These are great for lunches and snacks too.

0023

My family loves Chocolate Bundt Cake. I remembered to get a picture of the very last piece, before it was reduced to this…

0044

Nothing but crumbs.

0132

I made some Vanilla Cupcakes from scratch. The cake is sweet and soft.

0243

They turned out great. I sent a few in Thade’s lunch-box too.

0144

I made another batch of Homemade Donuts. I made a few of them with Powdered Sugar, they tasted just like funnel cakes.

0037

For Mother’s Day I decided to make myself a Pig Pickin’ Cake. It is a three layer cake, and it is one that I hadn’t made before.

0024

I was excited to use my “new” Cake plate too.

0273

The Pig Pickin’ Cake turned out great! I am going to make this again this Summer. It is cool, and super tasty.

033

For a Summer surprise for the kiddos we made a little trip to DQ to stock the freezer. I should have bought more Dilly Bars though, they were a big hit with everybody.

0045

I made several batched of Rice Krispies Treats this month. These are great for after-school snacks and lunch-boxes too. My hubby likes them too, a batch doesn’t last too long around our house.

0303

I made lots of batches of chocolate chip cookies too. This batch was a combination of Milk Chocolate Chips, and Mini Chocolate Chips.

0432

For breakfast for dinner night I made Monkey Bread. It is an oldie but a goodie.

0322

The best take-out of the month was Ribs! The Zarda Ribs guy was set up at a local grocer, and we got two slabs. They are delicious. I have got to learn how to make Ribs.

0323

I made a few homemade Pizzas, and set up a buffet in the kitchen. The veggie one is still my favorite.

0061

I made a few batches of Homemade Breadsticks too. I love them, and Thade really loves them.

0038

These Chocolate Chip cookies were one of the best batches that I have made. I only used Mini Chocolate chips, and they turned out perfect.

0062

I picked Snow Peas twice from our garden. They are growing well.

0151

For a light dinner for me, I steamed the Snow Peas, then shocked them, and served them over a bed of rice. I added a little soy sauce too, it was amazingly good.

041

I got one Raspberry before the birds did, and it was delicious. I love fresh raspberries.

0421

I also only got one tiny Strawberry before the dog got to it. Mia loves strawberries, she is an odd pup.

0184

The weather is already getting a little warm, so I made the boys some Pink Lemonade Popsicles. They really liked them, and it makes for a tasty cool treat.

0115

When it was Memorial Day, we had an indoor-a-q. I grilled Hot Dogs, made Hamburgers, and we had a Cherry Jell-O Cake for dessert. Jell-O Cake is one of our favorites.

We’ll see what happens in June. The kids have been helping me out in the kitchen.

June’s Monthly Menu

Hello Summer, and hello easy meals! I’ve got everyone home, and I can’t seem to stay out of the kitchen. I have a tasty dinner menu planned for June, and a lot of dirty dishes in my near future.

  • 6/1/2012: Nacho Bar
  • 6/2/2012: Bacon, Pancakes, and Fresh Fruit
  • 6/3/2012: Panko Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, and Cherry Pie
  • 6/4/2012: Spaghetti, Homemade Breadsticks, and Salad
  • 6/5/2012: Tostadas, Tortilla Chips, Homemade Salsa, and Cheese Dip
  • 6/6/2012: Chicken Burritos, Tortilla Chips, Homemade Salsa, and Cheese Dip
  • 6/7/2012: Chicken Chow Mien, Rice, Chow Mien Noodles, and Sugar Dumplings
  • 6/8/2012: Beef Burritos, Tortilla Chips, Homemade Salsa, and Cheese Dip
  • 6/9/2012: Muffins, Scrambled Eggs, Breakfast Ham, and Fresh Fruit
  • 6/10/2012: Chicken Noodles, Mashed Potatoes, and Homemade Bread
  • 6/11/2012: Panko Chicken Cutlets, Spaghetti, and Green Beans
  • 6/12/2012: Tacos, Tortilla Chips, Homemade Salsa, and Cheese Dip
  • 6/13/2012: Crispy Chicken Sandwiches and Chips
  • 6/14/2012: Chicken Burritos, Tortilla Chips, Homemade Salsa, and Cheese Dip
  • 6/15/2012: Nacho Bar
  • 6/16/2012: Bubble Bread, Bacon, Scrambled Eggs, and Fresh Fruit
  • 6/17/2012: Panko Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Corn, and Chocolate Bundt Cake
  • 6/18/2012: Quesadillas, Tortilla Chips, Homemade Salsa, and Cheese Dip
  • 6/19/2012: Soft Tacos, Tortilla Chips, Homemade Salsa, and Cheese Dip
  • 6/20/2012: Hamburgers and Chips
  • 6/21/2012: Crispy Chicken Sandwiches, Pasta Salad, Chips, and Cherry Pie
  • 6/22/2012: Tacos, Tortilla Chips, Homemade Salsa, and Cheese Dip
  • 6/23/2012: Biscuit Sandwiches, Cinnamon Rolls, and Fresh Fruit
  • 6/24/2012: Beef Stew and Homemade Bread
  • 6/25/2012: Chicken Chow Mien, Rice, Chow Mien Noodles, and Sugar Dumplings
  • 6/26/2012: Tostadas, Tortilla Chips, Homemade Salsa, and Cheese Dip
  • 6/27/2012: Panko Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, and Corn
  • 6/28/2012: Chicken Burritos, Tortilla Chips, Homemade Salsa, and Cheese Dip
  • 6/29/2012: Nacho Bar
  • 6/30/2012: Pancakes, Bacon, and Scrambled Eggs

I hope to take a road-trip to Aldi and restock the pantry for Summer too. Better make some shopping lists and get to it.