Last Saturday, I hosted a bridal shower in my home for a young woman from church. I was providing the place, and someone else was bringing the decorations, set-up, etc. I was only responsible to have the house clean, make my one small contribution to the food table, and be available. So I cleaned, and I was pretty happy with my results.
This is the counter a bit after the shower–not completely clean, but close!
We have a long, skinny galley kitchen with very little counter space. So one thing I did was cleaned off the counter surfaces completely. Our refrigerator stands between two island like tables I have added to serve as extra counter space, so I removed all the papers, notices, pictures, etc., from the refrigerator, too. Boy, do I love a clutter free refrigerator. Who knew how good something so simple could make me feel?
In the week since the shower, I have tried to keep the counters and fridge clear of as much stuff as possible. It has been great to have more space for cutting, serving, etc., this week because there’s not a lot of extra junk sitting on my counters. I have felt more calm in my kitchen than I have in a long time.
Now, with 4 kids and a husband, is it possible to keep up this clean counter-top regimen? Time will tell. In the mean time, would you like me to slice you a piece of banana bread on my nice clean counter top?
I’m right there with you…always fighting the paper war!
You bet I’d like for you to slice me a piece of banana bread on your nice clean counter top! I just started an all-out effort to streamline our house, meaning the stuff in our house, and it’s intimidating. I’m starting with clothes, but I think kitchen is next. When I get that far I’ll tackle the office, which is probably the worst. Thanks for posting this, ’cause it encourages me!
Mom,
Happy purging to you! With kids, you may remember, it seems like you are constantly purging clothes. And I am so bad at it, no matter how hard I try. But, I keep opening closet doors and saying, “Oh, there’s a project for another day.” It is also way past time for me to purge and organize my office space again. So I guess this post is serving as self-encouragement, too.
I made banana muffins and banana bread yesterday since the kids had a couple days off from school for staff in-service. I used my regular recipe, added an extra egg, and 1 cup of oatmeal, and it was really yummy. The cooler temps made me feel as it it was time for banana bread. Tonight we had chili, which is also a sign of fall to me.
That does sound yummy! We had some tasty quiche florentine over here. I had been thinking about trying to make chili, but the man of the house claims not to like it. *Sigh*
Our kitchen is definitely bigger than a galley kitchen, but not big enough to fit an island into. Anyway, your kitchen looks great!