14 Week Home Organization Challenge - Week 2 - Pantry

Week 2 is done!
We have a small pantry, and I meal plan weekly, so I don't have a lot of 'extra' in our pantry. I thought this would be a super easy week for me. A little wiping down and rearranging, and I would be done. I was wrong. The layout of everything in my pantry was totally fine, and everything worked great where it was, but I think there is always room for improvement. So I improved.
I wiped all the shelves down. Let me tell you...they were dirty! I wipe them down occasionally, but they really collected a lot of dust, especially the bottom ones.  And the shelf where my spice basket is. Thankfully, it is all sparkling now! :)

Here is my before...

I started with re-labeling all my spices. I've had to replace a few recently, and didn't put labels on them yet. I also changed the pink ones to green so they all match :)
I know I've shared this before, but I think it is one of my favorite organized pantry items.
I forgot to get an after pic, but I'm sure you can imagine what it looks like!

Here are all my shelves after some cleaning and rearranging:

I even busted out the label maker!!

 I only made a *little* mess. What else is an empty island countertop for??? Thankfully it all got cleaned up right away, and the counter is back to new!

 Week 3 is all about the dining area. I snapped this real quick while I was typing up this post. I don't have a lot in this room, but I'm sure I will find a way to make it better.

You can see the full challenge here: (I will update as I go!)
Week 1 - Kitchen
THIS IS WEEK 2 :)
Week 3 - Dining Room
Week 4 & 5 - Launch Pad & Living Room
Week 6 - Master Bedroom
7 - Master Closet
Week 8 - Kid's Closet
Week 9 - Linen Closet
Week 10 - Bathrooms
Week 11 - Office
Week 12 - Playroom
Week 13 - Laundry Room
Week 14 - Garage/Car

Come visit me and let me know how your challenge is going!
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Menu Plan Monday - Soup Week!

Hey friends! Welcome back!!
Did you get to see my Week 1 Results from the 14 Week Home Organization Challenge?? I'm really looking forward to the next 13 weeks! It's such a great feeling clearing out clutter, and items we don't need or use anymore!

This week's menu has a lot of soups! I didn't even realize it when I was planning, but when I went to type them up for this week, I noticed we have 3 nights where I have some type of soup planned. I am totally okay with that, though. Winter has finally showed up here! We got a taste of snow yesterday, and a lot more is in the forecast for the weekend! Perfect soup weather if you ask me!
We also have a birthday this week! Our sweet #2 will be turning the big 5 tomorrow!! He has requested his current favorite meal, so that is what we are having! I sadly do not have any photos this week, but I do have a couple recipe links. I will update with photos as I take them during the week!
On to the menu:

Leftovers - Tonight's leftovers include chili and lasagna from this weekend
I try to have leftovers every Monday. This is a pretty busy day for us, so leftovers make it a much smoother dinner routine. It's also a great way to clean out the fridge and make sure there is no waste!

Chicken noodle soup & hot chocolate (kiddo's choice!)
Homemade French bread (Everyone loves this bread! It's quick, easy, and delicious!)
Birthday cake for dessert (And breakfast Wednesday!)

Taco Soup - This is such an easy recipe to double! We'll be making one for the freezer, too!

Pork tenderloin ( I haven't decided how I will cook it yet)
Steamed broccoli
Brown rice

Calzones
My kiddos love to make their own! Everyone gets just what they want ;)
Salad

Chicken & Wild Rice Soup (Trying out THIS recipe)
I will probably make some more bread, too!

Spaghetti with lemon-thyme meatballs (I will update with the recipe and photos)
Salad with vinaigrette



Breakfasts here are usually eggs and toast, oatmeal, or pancakes
Lunches are sandwiches, mac & cheese, or leftovers from the night before

For more meal plan ideas, head over to Menu Plan Monday with I'm an Organizing Junkie! :D

Come visit me! I would love to see what you're cooking!
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14 Week Home Organization Challenge - Week 1 - Kitchen

I am so happy to share this post today! For the last few years, I have been participating in the 14 Week Home Organization Challenge with A Bowl Full of Lemons. As soon as I see the posts coming up, I get so excited and ready to start! This year, the creator of A Bowl Full of Lemons released a book to accompany the challenge! My heart is happy. I got my copy in the mail just in time for Week 1 to begin!

The challenge starts with the kitchen - purging and organizing the cabinets. While I try to stay on top of this throughout the year, there is nothing like a good challenge to motivate me to do just a little more!
 Here are my  'Before' photos:

This is an after before...I got rid of about 8 cookbooks before I took this photo!

Our fridge has gotten a little crazy!

And the after!

SO much better!!

I even added some contact paper to the top to help with cleanup!

I got rid of about 10 sippy cups from this cabinet! It's so much nicer to open now!

 The next two photo are my two favorite cabintes now, I think. I was able to get rid of enough cookbooks, and make space to have all my Rachael Ray ones in the same place as the others. I always forgot about them in the other cabinet. And now, the baking/spice cabinet is able to be organized so much better. Aaahhhhh!!

 If you are participating in this challenge, I would love to see your Before/Afters!

Next week, the focus is on the pantry!! Here is a sneak peek of my before! :D

You can see the full challenge here: (I will update as I go!)
THIS IS WEEK 1 :)
Week 2 - Pantry
Week 3 - Dining Room
Week 4 & 5 - Launch Pad & Living Room
Week 6 - Master Bedroom
Week 7 - Master Closet
Week 8 - Kid's Closet
Week 9 - Linen Closet
Week 10 - Bathrooms
Week 11 - Office
Week 12 - Playroom
Week 13 - Laundry Room
Week 14 - Garage/Car


Come visit me and share your progress!
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