Pantry Organization

Happy Tuesday Friends! I hope your week has been off to a great start and you are feeling organized and ready for the rest of the week.

A few weeks back I shared my coat closet organization, and since I've been on an organizing tick, I thought I would share another space I went through and did some de-cluttering and organizing.  This past weekend Justin and I had some down time at home and since I could not paint the mud room/ powder room {we didn't have the proper tools for me to do so}, I took some time to go to the At Home store and get some more organize boxes for our pantry! I was thrilled when I was looking around that I was able to find matching boxes for the ones I purchased last year.

I knew I wanted to have some storage boxes in the space to help me keep food and other items grouped up and organized so when I found these boxes, I was super excited! So of course I came home and started pulling everything out of my pantry and started getting everything organized!

So here's the result!

Before

I have to be honest, I am quite a bit embarrassed by how awful this space is.  When I started pulling everything out, I decided I would divide it by food and non-food items.  The food items went on the island in the kitchen and the non-food items went into the dining room.  Doing this allowed me to see how much of our pantry was being used to store food and how much was being used to store random stuff that did not belong in the pantry.

Once everything was pulled out of the pantry, I took some time to deep clean everything.  This included wiping down the shelves and vacuuming and mopping the floor.

Here's what the pantry looked like after I gave it a good cleaning.  It is amazing how much bigger the space looked once it was emptied and cleaned.

After

Once everything was cleaned out, I started going through the food and trashing anything that had expired or is something that we no longer needed/went bad.  This eliminated quite a significant amount of food that we had not eaten before it had expired.  I also took the chance to go through all of our small appliances and miscellaneous other items that we had been storing in the space.  As a result, we ended up deciding to get rid of some of our storage items, our spice rack and one or two small appliances.

Once we had decided what to get rid of, we started putting the items into the bins and organizing the space so that food went on one side (for the most part) an the appliances and miscellaneous items were on the left.  That way things were easy to find and have a distinct spot.

Since I organized the space, I smile every time I walk into the pantry and feel so much better.  

Question of the Day: What space in your home needs a face lift? 

I'd love to hear from you!

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Disclosure: Some of the links in the post above are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. Read my full disclosure policy here.

February: Month @ a Glance

Happy February Friends!

And happy baby Friday! I hope your week has been going well and you are looking forward to a fun weekend ahead! 

Photo Courtesy of Love This Pic

Does anyone else feel like January flew by? I seriously felt like we hit the ground running and cannot believe the month is already over! February is one of my favorite months because of Valentine's Day! Every year Justin and I take a day off around Valentine's Day (this year we're taking the 16th off) to spend the day together.  I enjoy this tradition because we do not run into the craziness of the crowds and get to just enjoy each others company.

So here's what we have going on this month!

On the Agenda this Month:

1. JP's 8th Birthday Party (how is this even possible??)
2. Dermatologist appointment

3. Seeing Finding Neverland with my friend Kim! 
4. My cousin's housewarming party!
5. Getting a facial with my mom (yay for 1/2 off coupons!)
6. Thirty-One Party for my friend, Caroline!
7. Hopefully going to visit my other cousin at her new house

Goals for February

1. Read Two Books: I was able to finish three books in January and would like to keep that momentum going! Right now I am planning to read: Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff because the third book (Obsidio) comes out in March, then I am also planning to read Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick.  The Gemina book is very long 

2. Finish Decorating the Mud Room & Powder Room.  We have purchased all of the supplies to get the mud room and powder room painted/updated but we just have not taken the time to get everything started.  So my goal in February is to take the time to paint and get the bead board up in the space.  I will be sure to share a before and after of the space to you can see what we came up with! 

3. Finish moving boxes from the garage to the basement.  I think we are down to 5 or 6 boxes left in the garage so I am excited that we will be able to get this done and start using the garage to it's full potential! 

4. Get blinds/curtains for the garage and guest bathroom.  Have any of you ordered blinds from Select Blinds before? I have been on their site so many times looking at blinds and I need to just take the time to get the measurements and get the blinds put in the garage and the downstairs bathroom {maybe I'll get lucky and catch them while they're having a sale!!}

Question of the Day: What are your Valentine's Day plans? 

Share your responses below in the comments! 

I'd love to hear from you!

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Disclosure: Some of the links in the post above are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. Read my full disclosure policy here.

January Book Review

Welcome to my January Book Review! 

I am super excited to be picking up the monthly book reviews again and would love to hear what fun things you all have read over the past month.  Sit back, grab a nice cup of coffee and great ready to hear about some fun books!

First up:

When this book came out last year, I asked Justin to use one of our Audible tokens to download this book and I finally got around to listening to it this month.  John Green, as always, did an excellent job writing this book and I must say it will likely be a book I read over and over.  Turtles All the Way Down is a bit different from anything John Green has done because he addresses the realities of having a mental disorder (specifically anxiety).  I really appreciated how he put the reader inside the head of someone that has anxiety struggles, but also shows how those struggles can be addressed and managed.  I should note that if you have anxiety or are sensitive to areas of mental illness, you should be advised that the book does go into detail and could potentially be a trigger for some.  

This book covers the A Book with an Animal in the Title category in the 2018 PopSugar Reading Challenge.  You read more about the challenge in my 2018 Reading Goals blog post.  

Another book that has been sitting on my shelf for a LONG time is The Siren by Kiera Cass.  I loved this book from the very first chapter, which of course surprised me because I often do not enjoy an authors first book.  They tend to be a bit clunky and scattered, but Cass knew what she was doing and draws you right in from the beginning.  This book covers the struggles of doing what is right and doing what is necessary and it forces the reader to think about what sacrifice in the name of love really looks like.  I definitely enjoyed this book.  And for those of you that recognize her name, Kiera Cass wrote the wonderful Selection Series Books.  I would highly recommend checking those books out if you are a fan of The Bachelor.  

This book covers the A Book Set at Sea category in the 2018 PopSugar Reading Challenge.

And my last book for today...

So how I came across this book is kind of random.  Justin and I went to Target to get some shelving for our living room (oh my gosh we are almost done decorating that space - I cannot wait to share the updates) and while Justin shopped I had a nice gentleman help me load the shelves into my car.  Upon seeing my license plate, he asked me if I had ever read the Jackaby series.  Of course I said no, but asked him what they were about.  He excitedly told me that it was a Sherlock Holmes / fantasy / mystery book and he would highly recommend reading it.  Well thank you Mr. Target worker! Not only was the book fun to read, it also kept me on the edge of my seat.  The stories are told from the perspective of Mr. Jackaby's assistant and her voice throughout the story is excellent.  I fully intend on reading more of the books in the series as I am highly intrigued by the fantasy part of the books.  

This book covers the Your Favorite Prompt from 2015, 2016 or 2017 category in the 2018 PopSugar Reading Challenge.  I chose the prompt: A Book Recommended by Someone You Just Met. 

Okay that wraps up my January Book Review! What did you read this month?? I am always looking for new suggestions of books to read.  Please comment below and share.

To see a complete list of the books I've read this year plus a link to their reviews, go here.  

If you want to follow along on my reading challenge, let's be friends on Goodreads! Such a great site to keep track of what you've read and get ideas from fellow bookworms.  

I'd love to hear from you!

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Disclosure: Some of the links in the post above are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. Read my full disclosure policy here.