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Out With The Old
Do you feel like your home is so cluttered, that your stuff might just eat you and your family alive? No? Okay, maybe it’s just me then. Well, if you find yourself in this situation, you can use this as a guide to help you simplify your life.
With hobbies like garbage picking and extreme couponing, my garage and basement are full of potential DIY projects and a year’s supply of toiletries. While I do think it is important to have things on hand, I think that this time my hobbies may have gotten out of hand. Trust me; there are no arguments from my husband on this one.
It is time to get rid of things!
To help my cause and to indulge in my passion of going through other people’s trash, I decided to host a swap party. This is a fun, free way to get rid of things you no longer want or need and take home a few new treasures.
Here’s how it worked:
Everyone brought useful junk to get rid of. Next, we spread out the loot. Each guest was given a stack of colored post-its; one color per person. Then, they chose a new item for each one they brought and claim it with their colored post-it. If more than one colored post-it was on an item, we put them in a hat and drew one out and that person kept the item.
Rules:
1. Each guest brings up to 10 items (new or used) to get rid of.
2. Make sure everything the guest brings, is something they are willing to part with.
3. All items should be clean and in good condition.
I set up a donation box for any items that went unclaimed.
The swap party was a huge hit! So much so, that I will be hosting another one later this month.
As I was packing up the unclaimed items in our car from the swap party, I decided to use this opportunity to sift through more crap in our house to also take along to donate.
First, I decided to tackle my closet. Wow! There were a lot of outfits in there I didn’t even know I had anymore! You know, a lot of those “someday I can fit into that again” type items. I decided if it was a surprise to see that shirt from 10 years ago, that it probably needed to go. I came up with 2 large garbage bags full of stuff to donate.
Next, it was time for the garage and basement. This was a gigantic undertaking. For each piece I asked myself these questions:
1. When was the last time I actually used it? If the answer was more than six months, it needed to leave the house.
2. Do I love it? This seems obvious, but there really is no need to hold on to something we only sort of like.
3. How much is it really worth to me now? I took a few pictures of a couple things to persevere the memory of the items, but save some space in our home.
4. Does it serve more than one purpose? We decided to get rid of our tea kettle, because it is just as easy to heat water in a pan. We just don’t need the extra clutter lying around here.
5. When will I get around to finishing this? This is a big one for me. I have so many potential projects just taking up space, waiting to have a second life.
In the end there were a total of ten boxes and three bags of stuff we were able to eliminate from our house. Yay!
And remember, if you are donating items, you can get a receipt to use for a tax write off.
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So The Thing Is
If you are one of the two people who stop by our blog regularly, you may have noticed a slight decrease in our posting. Emily’s family has been battling round after round of sickness, like the flu and colds and Mad Cow Disease. Just kidding on that last one. But they have been totes under the weather.
And, well, I’ve been keeping a huge secret. WE’VE MOVED. That is right. After some major packing, purging, and transporting of our stuff, we are finally getting things unpacked and organized. Yay! I’m so excited to get started decorating our new place. My husband likes to say that I’m “setting up the Barbie Dream House.” And he may or may not be referring to tendencies from my childhood where I would to set up toys, but not really play with them. Emily can vouch for this. Just ask her!
Anyway, I wanted to share a sneak peek of our new place. It does need some updating and tweaking to fit our style, but we are excited to tackle it and get our DIY on.
There are a lot of things we want to do, but we know that it is going to take some time and elbow grease to get everything the way we want it. One of the first things we are really planning to tackle is the paint. (Oh fun. Who wants to come help?) But flooring, kitchen cabinets, door hardware, trim, appliances, and lighting (bye, bye boob lights) are all on the list. Plus, I’m sure I probably forgot to name like 200 other things.
Stay tuned to see what the kids think about the new place, the paint colors we are planning to use, and of course more pics of this new DIY adventure!
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February 2014 Printables
February is the month of LOVE. Well, at least for me it is. Mushy, gushy amour. Not just romantically (there is plenty of that for the hubs,) but love for friends, family, and of course, my kids. I know some people get all annoyed with the idea of Valentine’s Day and all that jazz, but honestly, why not have an extra special time of year to remind us to share our love with others? Check out these Printable Valentine’s Day Cards!
For February, I whipped up some fun cards (and a calendar,) but feel free to use them anytime you want to tell someone you think they are special.
Download yours for FREE in The Gallery!
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Loaded Red Potato Soup
During cold and flu season, I strictly crave comfort food. This year is no different. My family has been sick for a couple weeks and a few of us still are. I am finally feeling a little better and ready to get back in the kitchen and cook. This loaded red potato soup is one of my favorites this time of year.
Here are the ingredients I used (plus water, not pictured.)
First, I used sharp shears to cut the bacon into small pieces which was then cooked in a skillet and set aside. Mmmm bacon!
Next, I fried the onions and garlic in olive oil until tender.
Then, the potatoes were cubed and boiled in a large pot until soft.
After that, I drained the potatoes and added the cooked onions, garlic, half the amount of crispy bacon, milk, water and spices to the pot. It was all brought to a boil and then I turned the burner to simmer for 20 minutes. I mashed the potatoes a couple times to break up the chunks a bit. This helped thicken the soup.
Finally, I stirred in 2 cups of shredded cheddar until melted. The soup was dished up and garnished with cheese and bacon. As my husband always says, “Everything is better with bacon!” I know a lot of people in my family would tend to agree with him.
We would love to hear about your favorite comfort foods that get you through this time of year. Hope everyone is staying well.
Loaded Red Potato Soup from Elizabeth Joan Designs
Yield 4 servingsIngredients
– 14 small to medium red potatoes – cubed
– 1 onion – chopped
– 2 cloves garlic – minced
– 6 strips of bacon
– 1 cup of water
– 3 cups of milk
– 2 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
– 1/4 teaspoon salt
– 1/2 teaspoon pepper
– 1 teaspoon parsley
– 1 Tablespoon olive oilPreparation
1. Cut the bacon into small pieces and brown in a skillet.
2. Fry the onions and garlic in olive oil until tender.
3. Cube potatoes and boil in a large pot until soft.
4. Drain the potatoes and add the cooked onions, garlic, half the amount of crispy bacon, milk, water and spices to the pot and bring to a boil.
5. Simmer for 20 minutes.
6. Stir in cheese.
7. Garnish with bacon and cheese.