This... That... And The Other Thing....

I feel like singing the next line to you...

Imagine that I am the Mainer version of Celine Dion...

And the sort will go on and onnnnnnn....

 This past week we tackled the beast, also know as the pantry...

About a year and half ago Paul turned a seldom used coat closet into a pantry for me. I have an area in the basement where I keep the stuff I've stocked up on, but our kitchen is so small I needed a place to keep food up here too... It seemed like such a good idea at the time, but without an organization plan it quickly turned into the beast... Or as Paul would call it, "the place where food goes to rot."

Pretty huh? These pictures are just some of the contents after the family helped me empty it...

No before pictures you say??? No, because it was that bad... It was full of empty snack food boxes that people would grab the last thing from and leave the box behind... It was full of canned goods that were supposed to go down to the basement but since someone felt lazy they just shoved them onto the already full floor of the beast... It contained not two or three but FOURTEEN opened, and stale boxes of cereal! I apparently always think I am out of powered sugar since I have ELEVEN new bags of it! NINE bottles of hot sauce and Paul is the only one who even uses it!!

We have only had the pantry about 18 months folks, but there was stuff in there I have no recollection of buying! Like Styrofoam cups??? I never buy Styrofoam anything... I haven't in a couple years... Crazy right??

After I sorted out the trash and stuff that didn't go in the pantry, I removed some shelves... What??? I know that sounds nuts, but Paul had built then double deep and you could never find anything in there, so by taking out half of each shelf I actually made it more user friendly.  Next I got rid of, pawned off on Katy & Jed and/or donated a ton of food... There was stuff in there we were given when a friend moved, that is stuff we'll never eat, but when she gave it to us I was super busy (as usual) and just put the bags in there thinking I'd sort it soon... Apparently soon is months later in our house...

I tried to take after pictures for you, but the lighting in the hall is the worst on the planet...

Yes, "Chunky" soup and Pillsbury mixes were on sale last week...

You can see how deep the braces are on the side... That is how deep the shelves were... Paul wants me to be sure to tell you I asked him to build them that way. Yes, another one of Rebecca's good ideas gone awry! I actually have paint for the interior of this closet... It will be a sassy turquoise, but since we are painting the living room, kitchen and hallway soon, Paul asked if I wait until then to paint this, so we can deal with it all at once...

I found these bins at the store of under $2 each... I am hoping they help solve the snack food box issue...

 I now empty the box into them, and recycle it right away...

 I also did an over the door shoe hanger for small stuff like mix in for water, tea bags, taco seasoning, and such...

On Sunday I had half of a box of pasta left and those are my pantry nightmare... They always spill and I have to admit that since I usually buy it when it's on sale for .88 a box there is a temptation to use it all or throw it away... Wasteful... I know, but in my mind it was worth more then .44 not to have to clean up spilled pasta off carpet! But we had company for dinner on Sunday evening and I needed 3 1/2 boxes... Then I remembered the shoe rack... Look behind the kool-aid packets (left over from our days with the youth group) there is an upright, not spilling opened box of pasta! Woo Hoo! (It's the little things that thrill me folks!)

As of today the sort is still going strong...

We have taken 112 boxes and/or bags to Goodwill (or food bank), and disposed of 22 bags of garbage (or recyclables)! I am sorting more then I am taking photos... I always remember in the middle that I need to take pictures for you guys, but take my word for it, our whole family seems so much happier are we finish each area!

On Friday we took the whole family to the Common Ground Fair...

 It isn't a traditional fair, but one that focuses on organic and rural living...

Now, after seeing my pantry I am sure you are asking yourself why I'd be interested in such an event? Well, we do live in a rural area... And even though I don't necessarily eat organic (although I wish I could afford to) this fair is so much fun... There are demonstrations all day, tent after tent of handmade arts and crafts and dozens of amazing food vendors...

The day was not a pretty as it was the day before when we went on our boat trip, but it was overall a good day to be outside and we took Katy, Jed, Allison and Dakota... This meant for most of the day the guys went off and did their thing and the girlies and I had time to explore... It was wonderful!

 I got more then a little sunburned on the boat ride to Monhegan... I am not usually this "pink" in the face!

Again, I didn't take a lot of pictures, but for some mysterious reason one of the three photos I took was of these young alpacas... Weird, huh?

After our long day at the fair we got home and just dropped...

We were like veggies... Actually Allison came home to discover her order from American Eagle had arrived (hence all the plastic on the couch next to me) so she did an impromptu fashion show... (There is an American Eagle store about an hour from here, but it is very small, and since she needs "tall" for all her jeans we usually just look at the styles there and come home and order what she wants online. See, I told you we live a rural life... We laughed at the line in the movie "We Bought a Zoo" when he said the nearest Target is 18 miles away... Ours is an hour!) Anyhow... the rest of us just vegged when we got home...

 It was a good day!

Saturday was homecoming weekend, and although the kids were in and out to football games, bonfires and such I pretty much just chilled out and did housework since we were having company over on Sunday...

If you are still reading this, you are a better friend to me then necessary... I think this post has taken "rambling on" to a whole new level! I should end it before I ramble on about rambling on!

Thanks for listening,