I have an organizing dilemma

We have no hall linen closet in our house for the guest bath. We don't have a laundry room either. We have a laundry closet, in which I want to put a linen closet.

This is what it looks like now. I have the washer and dryer pushed to one side to make room for the hampers, broom, vacuum and mop. I would like some kind of cabinets here.

We would have to take out the metal shelving, which I would be ok with loosing, if I didn't use it to line dry.

See?

I'm thinking something like the first picture in my room inspirations might work the best. I could put cabinets above the washer and dryer and use it to store my cleaning supplies. I could then have two bars run from the cabinet to the wall on the left that I could use for clothes drying. Then on the left corner wall I could have a shelving unit that would house linens.

Or should I have the shelving unit stand next to the washer and dryer and put the drying bars on the left wall?

To give you an idea of space size - the space from the wall to the dryer is almost 3 1/2 feet or 41 inches. The space from the wall with the closet door to the backside of the closet is 3 feet exactly.

Right now the corner is about a 3x3 square of empty, unused space.

What do you think would be the best use of space? Any suggestions are welcome.

My First Ever Product Review

I told you about my up coming product review here. I told you I struggled with finding something that was both eco-friendly and something I would get a ton of use out of.

I decided to get Kinetic Go Green Glasslock Assorted 8-Piece Food Storage Container Set.

I can always use storage in my kitchen and I love that the product is glass. I don't have to worry about any chemical leeching into the foods. I used them to store my homemade baby food.

Before my freezer was crowded with plastic bags full of baby food.

See?


Now my freezer looks like this:


What a difference. I still have some freezer bags (I made a ton of baby food) but it is mostly well contained now.

I love that I can stack the containers to make a more organized space. I placed sticky notes on the top of each lid so I could distinguish between the green cubes of peas and the green cubes of broccoli. I also love that the lids snap and lock into place so I don't have to worry about overfilling the container and having the lid pop off and get food every where.

Another benefit to the containers is the glass is super cold and thus, keeps the food super cold.

You can microwave in them but you cannot cook with them in the oven. That would be the only con.

The set contains the following sizes:
* Rectangular 1.75 cup (14 oz.) food storage container with lid
* Rectangular 4.25 cup (34 oz.) food storage container with lid
* Rectangular 8.5 cup (68 oz.) food storage container with lid
* Square 2.13 cup (17 oz.) food storage container with lid
* Square 3.75 cup (30 oz.) food storage container with lid
* Square 5.13 cup (41 oz.) food storage container with lid
* Square 11 cup (88 oz.) food storage container with lid
* Round 3 cup (24 oz.) food storage container with lid

I like having the variety of sizes and the smallest square and rectangle containers are good for single servings but I would definitely get a few more of the larger square and rectangle sizes to have on hand.

You can buy them separate or in several different set assortments here.

I would definitely recommend them.

Disclosure: I was supplied the product to review (thank you so much CSN Stores), but it in no way influenced this review. If the containers sucked, I would have told you.

The Organized Kitchen, Part 2 - The Spice Rack

I love organization. Yes, I am a freak like that. I'm fine with it. I have come to accept the fact that I will always be anal and there is no changing that.

I just thank god I can teach The Good Baby how to properly load the dish washer, since trying to teach The Good Husband is a lost cause. Poor little TGB, she will think all my organization quirks are normal and will either be completely anal like her momma or a total slob. Either way, there is therapy.

I find it the easiest to organize the kitchen. I spend most of my time in there anyway and I am always looking for something that will create less clutter and save me some time.

When we moved into The Good Home, I was about 6 months pregnant so I couldn't clean or organize the way I wanted to. TGH wouldn't let me climb on the counters and clean the top of the cabinets. I still haven't done it and I shudder to think what is up there. I spent the first day organizing the pantry alone. And then I had the rest of the kitchen to do.

Then I had TGB and was sidetracked for a good, I don't know, 6 months. Organization fell by the wayside.

I also had moved from an apartment that had only 4 cabinets to one with 3 times that space. The wedding presents we had from 2 years prior were all still in the box, unopened. So when my swollen pregnancy feet and stupid sciatic nerve started to bother me late in pregnancy, I threw miscellaneous things into various cabinets, closed the door and ate some ice cream.

Just now am I beginning to assess what I need to organize and implementing the plan.

One of the weirdly challenging things to organize was my spice collection. Before, in the apartment, I had this UGLY spice rack that housed all the jars. When we moved, I donated that thing and thought I would just put them in the pantry, since spices like the dark.

Well my spices took up too much space in the pantry, so I decided to throw them in the drawer and walk away. So when I needed something I had to dig through this mess:


There had to be a better way, I told myself. I wanted a cute spice jar collection. I originally wanted one that would sit on the counter, but decided against that since I had too many damn spices. So I decided to find some jars that would 1.) look cute; 2.) seal well and 3.) fit in my drawer.

I liked the look of apothecary jars and after a few searches on amazon, I found the perfect jars from Target. I had to order them online, so I waited for a Target coupon before finally buying them last week.

Here is the result:
I bought two sets (24 jars total) and I think I might need to buy 2 more sets since I still have some spices in there original jars. Each jar holds 4.5 oz, which is enough for most regular spices.


I love the clean look and I can easily and quickly find a spice I want. To be even more anal, the spices are in alphabetical order, so I know that sage will be in the last row, while chili powder should be in the first row. You can see a bit of the spice through the top of the jar, but I put labels on the bottom of each jar just in case.

I also put my powdered, light and dark brown sugars in separate glass mason jars to save room. When I get more spices I will likely move them to the pantry.

Potato Leek Soup

You know there are a lot of simple recipes I haven't made yet. It seems like I would conquer the simple before moving on to the complex, but most of the time I forget I haven't made even the basic of dishes.

This is one of those simple dishes.

I had never made it or any variation of potato soup before. Come to think of it, I have never even had potato leek soup before.

But I had bought some leeks, thinking I would use them in a parsnip puree, but I didn't and I needed something else to make. Then it dawned on me to make this.

And it was simple to make and very flavorful. It was quick to make, which means it might become a staple in my menus.



Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 leeks, thinly sliced
3 shallots, chopped
6 – 8 russet potatoes, diced
4 cups turkey or chicken broth
1 cup milk or heavy cream
salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
~Cook leeks and shallots in butter and oil in a large sauce pan until tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.

~Add potatoes and enough broth to cover. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Pour half of the soup mixture into a blender and puree. Meanwhile, use a potato masher and gently mash the potato mixture in the pan. Add the blended soup back into the pan and add the milk or cream. Heat through and served with bacon crumbles.

recipe by: The Good Wife

Homemade Baby Food

I sound like a broken record when I recount how cheap The Good Husband is, but it is true. I am lucky he doesn't turn 2 ply toilet paper into 1 ply to save money. I would divorce him then.

So along with cloth diapering, breastfeeding and getting most of The Good Baby's clothes from yard sales, we decided to make most of TGB's food.

The first thing I did was buy Top 100 Baby Purees: 100 Quick and Easy Meals for a Healthy and Happy Baby by Annabel Karmel. I really like this book. It has all the recipes broken down by age. There are some funny recipes in there for dinners like "My First Fish Puree" and "Pasta with Butternut Squash, Tomato and Cheese". Not meals you generally think of for babies, but I like the author's idea that babies don't have to eat bland foods.

In fact, we are tying to expose TGB to a wide range of foods.

We are tying to limit TGB's exposure to chemicals in every way possible. The biggest factor being what she consumes. So we are trying to buy as much of her food organic if possible.

It isn't easy. There are a lot of foods I just can't find organic. When was the last time you saw an organic parsnip? So without the aid of the Farmer's Market and using The Dirty Dozen and Clean 15, as a guide, I have decided to make all of TGB's food at home and for super cheap.

Here is just a sample of what I have made so far:

The Veggies

From left to right: back row -Sweet Potato, Corn, Carrot, Cauliflower. front row - Green Beans, Parsnip, Broccoli

The Fruits
From left to right: Pear, Peach, Apple, Blackberry
Not pictured: Zucchini, Apricot, Rutabaga, Spinach, Butternut Squash
(This picture strikes me as some work of modern art. It has to be the lighting.)

Making your own baby food has several benefits.

First, I can control the quality. As I mentioned, we tried to get all organic produce.

Secondly, it is cheaper.

Consider, I can buy one jar of organic baby food on sale for $1. Right now, that is two servings for TGB. For $2, I can buy a bag of frozen corn on sale and that will produce about 2 ice cube trays of corn puree, or 14 2 once servings. So it costs $0.14 for one serving of homemade baby food, versus $0.50 for organic jarred.

That alone should be reason enough to make your own.

But making your own baby food also produces less waste, since you don't have to have multiple single use jars lying around. You could make cute Halloween decor with them, but still, most people just recycle them.

Making your own baby food is also super easy. Basically all you have to do is steam and puree all the foods and freeze. Fruits like peaches and blackberries, you can just puree directly from the frozen and then refreeze. I use ice cube trays to freeze them and each cube is about one once.

You can also experiment with several foods. I noticed that veggies like broccoli, cauliflower and zucchini didn't seem to be popular baby foods. Either was parsnips or rutabagas. But now I can make my own and TGB can eat a wider range of foods.

She loves peas and carrots and all the root veggies, so far, so I am a happy Good Wife.

So for anyone looking to either save money or control the quality of food your baby consumes, I would recommend making your own baby food.

Beer Bread

I gave this bread mix to my friends and family for Christmas this year. While making it, I remembered how easy it was to make.

Here is what it will look like once you have made it.


Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic and herb seasoning
12 once beer at room temperature

Directions to make:
~Mix all the ingredients and pour into greased pan.

~Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Serve warm.

How I Know The Good Baby is My Daughter

While driving home from daycare the other day, The Good Baby was babbling to herself in the back of the car.

I overheard the following:

"Blah blah blah. Pfhhtttttt. Ba, ba, ba, ba. Eeeeee-yahhhhhhh.
Ha ha ha ha hahahahahaha!"

PAUSE

"Heh."


Already she is telling jokes that only she finds funny. Just like her Mama.

Product Review Coming Soon!

I am very excited to announce my first ever product review! I was contacted by CSN Stores, which have more than 200 stores with everything from the perfect bar stool, to the latest cookware, to discounted dining room furniture, and allowed to choose one product from any of their stores and review it for my readers.

I will admit that it took me a while to decide what product to review. I wanted to find something that would appeal to the foodie reading my blog and those that are eco-conscious. But I think I found the perfect product.

Please stay tuned for the product review.

I will add that while I am being supplied the product to review (thank you so much CSN Stores), it will no way influence the review.

You Are What You Eat

I came across this post today and it was very thought provoking. What does your fridge say about you? Are you a reflection of your fridge or is your fridge a reflection of you?

http://www.good.is/post/picture-show-you-are-what-you-eat/

What does my fridge say about me? If you could, could you guess anything about me from the contents on my fridge?


Working Mother | IL | 3-Person Household | Enjoys PBS and America's Next Top Model| 2009