Clearing the Clutter: It Takes a While

I had high hopes to be able to tackle one area each day this week. Well, I can see that’s not going to happen! My kitchen is still a shambles, from everything I did yesterday. I still have a few things yet to do.

Mop the kitchen floor, being sure to clean up the scuff marks really good with soft cleanser.
Wipe down all of the cabinets with oil soap.
Clean out the microwave (the steam method is amazing!)
Wipe down the walls, removing the telltale signs of lovable short people.
Come up with a solution for the paper-related mess on the counter, possibly getting rid of the wooden organizer that is there, because it does not help me! I’m thinking maybe of a set of nice-looking, stackable inboxes with labels.
And add to this list, wipe down the inside of the fridge, and clean out under the sink.

I paired up containers with lids. I discovered that I am missing a number of very nice Tupperware containers (KIDS?), so I will send them hunting today for those. I suspect some are out in the garden area (BOYS?) and some are being used to hold craft items (J?). So I have quite a few extra lids.

I purged a lot of very, very large cups we never use, and got our cups all contained in one cupboard. I found 6 votive holders, which I washed and put where I can get at them. I love candles, so I’ll use those. I also found my hubby’s Thermos, hidden in the back of a cabinet. I sorted out I don’t know HOW MANY lids from the cheapie cups that come with pizzas, broken pieces of various things, sippy cups (D2 is 6) that are all chewed up, and a set of measuring spoons that doesn’t measure correctly. I gathered a bag of things for donation. I also found a can of cranberries that expired in 2006.

In the midst of the enormous mess, my hubby and daughter J came home around 1:30pm with a dead deer strapped to the 4-wheeler on the trailer. They both came in, looked around, shook their heads, and went back out. They hung it in the shop and cleaned it (Mom how do you make salt water?), and my father in law came over to skin it while they went back out to try to fill J’s tag. (Yes, my 14yo daughter hunts. She also plays paintball and rides motorcycles, and she ate a praying mantis last summer for $1.40.) I skipped the watching of the deer, and kept working in the kitchen.

Today I will get the rest of that list finished. I’m thinking I should allow probably two days for each job… or even more. I want the house looking nice before guests come in for Thanksgiving though!