In My Kitchen, In My Life

{pretty, happy, funny, real}: The Day I Ate Exactly What I Wanted for Dinner

2012-02-02T10:09:00.000-05:00

This post wanted to be about a day I had earlier this week when I imagined I could literally feel hormonal substances racing through my circulatory system, which can't be right at all because as I understand it menopause involves the absence of the hormones that keep us females steady and smiling, but why-oh-why does PMS/menopause feel like extra stuff is surging through us, like our heads

Unsolicited Advice: Quick! Before You Go to the Grocery Store

2012-02-01T10:02:00.002-05:00

Virtually every household has at least one member who makes regular trips to a grocery store, and if you are reading this blog, I bet you are the one. Some like food shopping, some hate it -- I can go either way, and whether or not I've obeyed my own unsolicited advice has a lot to do with whether or not I have a good time bringing home the provender. If you do only one of these things before a

Decluttering: Life Revelations Available Here

2012-01-30T13:34:00.001-05:00

In ordered homes, decluttering is a process that gets repeated over and over in some way or another. You may do it on a regular schedule, as the need arises, or when desperate times call for desperate measures, but all of us practice some form of decluttering often enough, if only by taking the weekly trash to the curb. Usually, decluttering is simply a matter of throwing out used batteries

{pretty, happy, funny, real}: Let There be Light edition

2012-01-26T08:54:00.002-05:00

My extra time has lately gone to light: Happy First, it occurred to me that the desk in the study needed a lamp. (And, yes, I know the desk pad says 2010. We tend to use those things for long periods of time.) I started lamp-hunting. I drove near, I drove far, I looked at expensive lamps, I looked at cheap lamps, and finally I came full circle and bought this one at the first place I'd

Just Do It!

2012-01-25T08:06:00.000-05:00

Here's a January decluttering/refreshing/cleaning mission for today: Is there anywhere in your house where there is something that is just dirty? I mean, as in pretty much nasty? I'm not talking about cleaning out the garage or the basement. I mean some not-that-big spot that needs attention but doesn't get it often enough because you don't wanna/don't have materials to do the job/don't have

Balancing Balance, Part IX: Which Extras Get to Be in My Life?

2012-01-22T20:30:00.000-05:00

The other posts in the Balancing Balance series: Part I: Embracing the TruthPart II: Personal FiltersPart III: Do I Have the Right to Choose My Filters?Part IV: Personal Filters for Life ManagementPart V: What are Your Family's Gatekeeper Filters?Part VI: Where Does Your Time Go?Part VII: Categorizing My Life's Big Chunks, Little Chunks, and Nuggets Part VIII: Evaluating the Extras, or, Why

Gingering Up January

2012-01-18T07:59:00.002-05:00

January can be a difficult time for some people. The days are short, the air outside is too cold for comfort (and inside it is too dry for the same), and the colors are austere. There are no fresh vegetables from the frozen garden. The holiday parties are past, and the daffodils are weeks away. For me, January is a mixed bag -- I like the return to routine (and the chance to start some new

Monday Mission: Make One Thing Better

2012-01-16T07:01:00.003-05:00

What are Mondays like at your house? Productive? Chaotic? Gone-all-day? We are usually home for at least part of the day on Monday and things are usually productive. Monday is pretty much always a laundry day for us, we're launching our school week, and we often need to tidy up from the weekend. For today's decluttering, don't try to get into a big job unless you really want to (I never stand

{pretty, happy, funny, real} Decluttering the bathroom edition

2012-01-12T16:06:00.001-05:00

It's {pretty, happy, funny, real} Thursday over at Like Mother, Like Daughter. And over here at In My Kitchen, In My Life, we are decluttering/refreshing/cleaning our houses to start the year off right. Wednesday's task was to make an improvement in a bathroom. I worked in our main floor half bath, where we have a vintage medicine cabinet over the sink and another vintage cabinet mounted

Decluttering Head Games

2012-01-10T21:43:00.001-05:00