Microwaves- easy to clean, but easier to just shut the door

My question today is- why do microwaves get so gross? The answer has to be because it is so easy to just close the door and never think about it. Until it's time to use it again & then the whole using it even though it looks gross, and then closing the door on it repeats itself.

I have a really easy way of cleaning it, but man it is easier to just close the door :) I am going to fix that today & show you how!

Honestly I am going to take a picture of how bad it is right now- but please promise me you won't judge me....

There has been several methods I have tried & the one that works the best, for me is:
Using a microwave safe dish

• Add 1 cup of vinegar & 1 cup hot water~ add a toothpick to help with water not overflowing
• Microwave for about 5-10 minutes 
• The bowl will be extremely hot- be careful! Use an oven mitt to remove
• Using a damp sponge- wipe interior of microwave
• Remove the rotating plate inside to clean

The outside of our microwave is stainless steel, so I use some wipes specifically for that material to wipe down the front.

Now for the after picture:

TaDa!!

What is your favorite cleaning quick tip?

Thanks for stopping by!
Faith

Pantry Progress!

With the kids on spring break last week, we took a quick little family ski trip!  It was a much needed break and we had a great time. But it also meant I didn't get any updates on my pantry- so here is a reminder..

My pantry started as a mess!  But I am on a mission to change that!  

Part one of the redo-What's Different?

• removed the brassy door knob
• painted the door Bermuda Blue
• cut an over the door shoe organizer in parts 
• attached to the door using command Velcro picture hangers

Finishing up the door- what's different?

• added a clip board with a grocery list 
• I spruced up a dollar store clip board by trimming some pretty scrapbook paper to size and gluing it on
• attached a cord holder to use as a pen holder (Thanks Jen at Iheartorganizing.blogspot.com for the idea :) Click here to see where I found them
• then I replaced the old brassy doorknob with a new one! 

What's left?

• containers- you can see a peak of what the new containers look like, as I have already started on them
• labels- I am trying to figure out the best way to label, I keep going back and forth between 
• chalkboard
• vinyl
• reorganizing for easy use

Wish me luck!! See you back soon :)

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog,

Faith

Project Pantry- it's a start!

My pantry has turned into a mess!! I am blessed to have a great size pantry, but I have become lazy with how the space is used. Here is my embarrassing before picture...

As you can see I have tried different containers and systems, but nothing has actually worked. So I decided I would dedicate some time to work on it and make it perfect!  So here is a step by step look at my pantry redo. 

First things first- the door...

What I see is:

• wasted space
• not to fun to look at

So what I did:

• removed the brassy door knob
• painted it this super fun color called Bermuda Bay
• cut an over the door shoe organizer into 2 parts & attached with command picture hanger velcro tabs
• in the top part I put all the packets that get lost in my pantry- this makes it easy to see( to know if I am running low) as well as easy to grab
• in the bottom part I put all the snacks to make it easy for the kids to grab

Here is the way it looks from the outside!  

Things I have left to do for the door:

• put on the new door knob
• add my redone clipboard with my grocery list on it

Once I am done with the door, I will move on to the inside shelves. I have lots of new containers, labels and baskets to make it a super organized and user friendly space!  

Excited at how it's turning out so far! Hope you stop back  to see how it's coming along!!

Thanks,

Faith

Under the sink can be a scary place!

Under my sink used to be a scary place!  A ways back I did some organizing and recently made some slight changes and wanted to share them on my blog! 

This was how it all started...

After my initial organization...

What's different?

• put in new shelf paper
• added roll out shelf organizer
• attached command hooks on the left side for brushes and scrubbers
• put up a tension curtain rod to hang cleaners

And now! 

What's different?

we had our cabinets re-faced 

on the left door I attached a clip with my cleaning gloves (see below for instructions)

on the right hand door I attached a left over piece of over the door shoe organizer with command picture hanger Velcro for sponges, scrapers, etc

 Here are my supplies:

• a clip
• command hanger velcro
• gloves

 I just attached the command strip to the back of my clip

and stuck it to the door

Here is a close up of the left side

And a close up of the right side

Loved how it has all came together!

Any projects going in your kitchen? I would love to hear about them!  Remember to check back again soon for the update on my pantry! 

Thanks,

Faith

Kitchen projects

It's hard to believe that February is over half over!  Where does the time go? Last month I had talked about participating in a monthly challenge through one of my favorite blogs IHeartOrganizing.blogspot.com

This month her challenge is the Kitchen!

We have been working on our kitchen since we moved in about 3 years ago. From small changes to really big changes, our kitchen continues to be a work in progress...

To kick off this Kitchen Challenge I want to show you some of my kitchen projects that I have already finished, then I will talk about what else we have in our Kitchen Check off list! Just click on the title to see the project.

Refrigerator Organization

Spice Rack Redo

Under the Kitchen Sink

Kitchen desk

Kitchen Facelift

Well there are a few of my kitchen projects that have really impacted our kitchen the most so far. While putting this post together, I can already see there are updates I need to add to the blog because some of these areas look so different already!

On the To-do list to finish the kitchen up are:

• New back splash
• Blinds/Window coverings
• Refinish wood floor
• Finish organizing pantry
• Line shelves
• Replace light/fan above island
• New counter tops
• Finish painting chairs
• New outlet covers

With this snowy weather coming our way, hopefully I will get some of these done this week!

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Faith

Fast Project Friday- a recipe holder

Repurposing items can make the best projects- plus they are easy on the wallet and the environment!!

A new shower curtain came packaged in this. When I saw it, I thought that I could probably come up with some kind of use for it...So I just left it out on the counter, in order for me to think about what I could use it for. And AHA! It came to me :) I had seen a plastic pants hanger, on Pinterest, being reused as a recipe holder and thought this would be even better!  

I had some left over small close-pins that I had used on my menu board. The small hook from the hanger, hangs on the door hardware of my kitchen cabinets.

And when I need to see the other side of the recipe, I can just flip it!  This could be used for any size recipe card or even a whole sheet of paper.

So there you have it, Fast Project Friday done!!

Do you guys have any items that you have repurposed that made a great project? So before you throw something away, think about what else it could be used for!

Thanks for stopping by my blog!  Have a great weekend and stop back by next week!

Faith

My kitchen is making it's way out of the 80's...

When we bought our house, 2 1/2 years ago, the kitchen was one of the biggest selling points. Mostly because we loved the size and the amount of cabinets and counter space. (In our old house we had a teeny tiny kitchen that had no room, no counter top space and hardly any cabinets). However we didn't love the finishes, wood color or the colors in general in our new kitchen. It was a bit stuck in the 80's. But we saw the potential- we had a dream!!!   

Over the last 2 1/2 years, we have been doing small things to the kitchen and recently we started doing some really BIG things. 

Now I can't say this is a DIY project. We have always done DIY-in our old kitchen we did everything from painting the cabinets, walls, tiling the floor, etc.  So it was really, really hard to come to the conclusion that we just could not do that with our new kitchen.  After going back and forth we were able to admit we were in over our heads with some of it. So we saved up and we hired some great people to do those parts that we couldn't. 

Getting new cabinets was out of the question for us- it was just too ridiculously expensive. So we decided to "reface" our cabinets. We also had the walls and the ceiling painted. There are also many things that we have done along the way, which I will point out in the pictures.  There is still more that will be done in our kitchen, but I feel like it is at a place that I can show some major progress!! You will see before shots of an area and then after shots of about the same area...

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

I have always wanted a "coffee bar" So I thought this would be the best place for it.

  Having a space designated just for coffee and all the accessories that go with it- I love it. 

In the cabinets below are all the coffee cups, and extra supplies. 

You can also see the chair to the right is red- I am in the process of 

painting all the chairs around the island red.

BEFORE

AFTER

Some other things we will be changing are- we are replacing the stained glass, getting a new back splash, we have to replace the counter on the island- if you notice in this picture there is a large crack going from the stove to the edge of the counter top on the left side- major bummer.

 BEFORE

AFTER

This after shot is in 2 parts. Click here to see the desk project, here to see the desk drawer project, click here to see the binder project, and here to see the paper organization.

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

In my vision for this kitchen I wanted that crisp white ceiling to contrast with the exposed beam. I love how the ceiling turned out. It shows all the knots in the wood and it looks like it has been that way forever! 

So our kitchen project is coming along!! Here is the To Do list-
Finish Desk area
 The coffee bar
Paint walls
Paint bases of cabinet
Replace cabinet doors
New microwave
New refrigerator
New stove
New dishwasher
Install cabinet door and drawer hardware (I got notice that it shipped from Ikea and will be here tomorrow!)
Replacing the stained glass windows
New light fixture over the island
New back splash
Floors- re-finish to a darker wood- like the color of the exposed beam or replace?
Finish paining all the chairs red
New counter top for the island- we are thinking about doing butcher block
New outlet covers

Taking major steps in getting our kitchen completed is super exciting!!  It just feels like we have made so much progress towards our the vision we have for our kitchen. All those things that we have been planning and imagining since we first saw it! Has anyone else had a major project in their kitchen?  That saying that the kitchen is the heart of the home is pretty right on in our house. It is one of the rooms we spend the most time in, that's for sure!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Faith

Spice Rack redo!!

Kitchens just seem like a place that can always use a little help!  My kitchen is going through some MAJOR changes right now and I am excited to share those really soon. In my pantry I have a shelf that I keep all my spices on and it has gotten a little out of hand. I LOVE to cook and try new recipes, so I tend to have a lot of spices- as you can see...

While we were at The Container Store, back in May, I picked up a spice rack with thoughts of organizing my spices. It was really easy to do-  I just labeled the spices on the lid of each container...

 and then just tidied the rest of the shelf up a bit!

All the spices are now easy to find have their own spot on the shelf!

One more shelf down in my pantry!!  Before I know it my pantry will be done!!  Any projects going on at your house? How do you keep your spices organized?

Thanks so much for stopping by!!
Faith 

Fast Project Friday- It's baking time!!

The pantry is one of those areas that can seem like a daunting task to organize. But if you take one shelf or area at a time- it doesn't seem so large. I decide to tackle my baking stuff. 

I had already put most of my baking stuff together

I had purchased several of these baskets from Target awhile ago with my pantry project in mind

I printed off these basket labels and laminated them, punched a hole in the corner and tied it with jute

Then I divided up the baking stuff & put half in one...

and half in the other one

And there they are- easy to pull down when I need them & I just love the colors of the baskets,

 they are kind of my "theme" colors for the pantry.

Fast Project Friday is done for the week!!  I read somewhere this week, if you just spend 15 minutes a day on a large project that you would be amazed at what you can get accomplished. I really like that idea.  Sometimes those big projects feel so overwhelming- but once you start seeing some progress it feels really good!  So for the pantry I am going to just take area by area and see what I get done!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Hope you have a great weekend :)

Thank you,
Faith

Measuring cup organization

Happy Monday to you!!  My project today is organizing measuring cups. These things easily get shoved into a drawer, which can become messy and hard to find. So I thought I would work on fixing that in my kitchen...

So I put up 4 command hooks in one of my cabinets- Then I hung my teaspoons and tablespoons and my measuring cups on the others. I had another set of measuring cups that didn't have a way to hang, so I placed them inside. I also had some larger liquid measuring cups that I stacked and put to the right hand side. 

Then I made up a measuring equivalence sheet & hung that on the inside of the door. 

And quick and easy- it was done! Big projects make a huge impact- and we definitely have those going on in our house- but sometimes it is the small projects- the one that just focus on the details, that make such a difference in our lives! No more searching for where the measuring cups are- and having a chart with the measuring cup equivalencies right there on the inside of the cabinet, is a huge time saver! 

Being newer at the whole blog thing- I haven't figured out how to upload word documents onto the blog, but if anyone wants my chart- just send me an email and I would love to share it with you at bloggaboutit4@gmail.com. 

Thanks again for stopping by :)