Queen Mother Blog

During this pantry organization series, we have been working on getting our freezers and cabinets organized and inventoried so that we can use what we have on hand. Not only does this save you time and frustration, but obviously the first step to using what you have is to know what you have. If you haven’t inventoried your freezer and pantry yet, you can read my earlier posts here, here and here.

I think that the best way to use what I have on hand is to menu plan. This not only helps me keep on top of what I have, but it saves time and money, too. Even if you don’t follow it religiously, or if you make a very “loose” plan for the week, I would bet that it will help you on those days when you might just make a call for pizza delivery because you have no idea what to make. Not that delivery or take out is evil of course, but it can totally negate your money-saving efforts if you do it too often.

1. Figure out what to use- Once you know what you have, look through your fridge and produce and see if you have anything that is expiring soon or any products that are half-open and will need to be used asap. If there is something that needs to be used quickly, plan to use it early in the week. Also, look at anything you might have way too much of. Make note of these items, too.

2. Decide how you will plan- First, decide how many meals you are going to plan: breakfast, lunch and dinner, just dinner, etc. I only plan dinners, since lunches are either smaller portions of leftover dinner, or sandwiches/soup and then breakfast is pretty straightforward. Larger families seem to benefit from each meal being planned. Now, figure out how you will write your plan. I write mine on my blog, some people write theirs on a calendar (on the fridge), or you can print one of these printable forms and keep it in a recipe binder.

3. Come up with ideas- Now that you know what you have to use up quickly, you have some starting points for your meals for the week. Need help figuring out recipes or meals that use these items? Allrecipes has this recipe finder, that allows you to put in items that you want or don’t want in a recipe. Have a near expiration cream cheese brick, canned tomato sauce and some ground beef? Put those ingredients in the “items you want” section and you will find a casserole recipe like this one. Of course, you can also get as creative as possible to use up anything you want.

I have found that participating in Menu Plan Monday has helped me stick to coming up with a menu plan for the week. Even if you don’t write a blog, stop by and check out some of the other menu plans to get some inspiration and/or recipes.

And remember, your inventory efforts are not to enslave you to making meals from these items only! Of course you can choose exactly what you want to make for the week; the inventory can also just help you know what you might need to pick up at the store.

4. Just write it out- Now that you have gone through all of the steps above, you just have to write out your plan and stick to it.

I hope that this little series on pantry organization and using what you have has helped you get a little more organized and save some money this year. I know that it has really helped me! Love, Bay

I am still working on my pantry/freezer project, and here is the third step: clean and inventory your freezers, just like your cabinets. Freezers tend to hold big meal potential, so it is important to know exactly what you have in there. I have my freezer in my kitchen and a small chest freezer in my basement. As you can imagine with my fear of my basement, I do not visit that chest freezer very often. So when I inventoried it, it was the same method as the basement shelves. I made this large sign (just like my pantry sign) for the chest freezer, that way Marc can update it easily and I can see it from far away.

It's very scientific right, "huge box of hot dogs" lol, but it works. For my upstairs freezer I used the same forms that I used for the cabinets and I have them posted right on the door of the freezer. You could always put it in a binder or some other handy place if you don't want it showing.

This is the last step before my next post on using what you have. If you need a little visual inspiration and you have the time, Denise at The Centsible Sawyer has a video about menu planning and it starts with her inventorying her freezers:


Obviously, before we get into using what you have on hand, feel free to inventory any other areas you may have food storage. I chose to not do my fridge, because of the rapid turnover of items (I'd be updating it constantly) and I have a pretty good idea of what is in there. So finish up your inventories and I'll see you back here for how to use what you have on hand!

Today is the second day of my series on Pantry/Freezer Organization in a bid to help us be more aware of, and use, what we have on hand. Too often I am *sure* that I have something and when I start making the meal and realize that I don't really have everything I needed. I went through all of my main kitchen cabinets and you could read about that here.

The next step should be to go through your pantry, if you have one, and clean-up/organize/inventory this as well. Some blessed people have a pantry room, still-blessed people have a pantry closet, and then there is the basement shelf-user like me. I know that I am still fortunate to have excess, and a place to store it, no less, but humor me a little bit here. My basement has crickets. Not just one or two, but rather a large community of them. Thank God they don't sing, but that also makes them a creepier variety, the cave cricket (don't click if you are faint of heart).

We are coming up to cold enough temperatures that I will have a few months of peace before I begin to see those nasty buggers again, but my fear of huge, jumping, attacking spider-creatures makes me wary of my basement in general. Unfortunately, my laundry area and pantry/storage are in the basement which means just one thing. My dear husband is in charge of anything basement related. I almost never venture down there, which can make this 'pantry organization' time a bit challenging.

So this is what we had to do. I had to venture down there! Marc and I went down together and he pulled things out while I 'listed' them and decided if anything could go upstairs. You can be sure that I ran back upstairs as soon as we were done! I was trying to figure out a good scenario where I could have the "inventory" list someplace visible where I could see it at a glance (without going in the basement! lol) and that Marc could update it himself. So this is what I came up with:

It is basically just a big ol' list that we posted on the inside of the basement door. It isn't fancy, and it barely seems organized, but it works for me. Of course, you can still use any inventory sheet like this one I mentioned yesterday.

For more ideas, check out Works for me Wednesday at Rocks in my Dryer!

Here is my series on pantry organization that I have been promising. The idea started because my food supply seems to have grown out of control to the point that I am not even sure what I have. I am breaking down the project into two main steps, 1. Cleaning and taking inventory (segmented by cabinets, pantry and freezer) and 2. Using what you have.

It is pretty funny, because just around Christmas when I was trying to figure out what I should make for get-togethers, I decided to inventory all of my cabinets and I mentioned in a post that I was going to start a pantry project soon, that just might help some of you, too. Later that evening, I get a call from my mom telling me that she has an idea to go through her cabinets and make a list of everything she has, because she really has no clue! So I thought, because I am not at all dramatic, that it must be destiny.

In the next couple of days we will go through the pantry (which for me is in my basement) and the freezer. First, start with your kitchen cabinets.

The first step:

• Go through your main kitchen cabinets (you may want to break this down if you have a lot, I don't, so I pulled everything out that I had) and pull items out.

• Group items into a logical order and into segments that work for your needs. When I was grouping my items, I put all canned goods together and stacked them by type, like a row of beans, a row of tomatoes, etc.

• Wash out the shelves. Dry mixes have a way of spilling out and I am terrified of attracting bugs, so I also wiped down any sticky can bottoms, etc.

• Discard any items that are seriously out of date and set aside anything that you know you will not use, so you can donate these items or pass them on to someone who will use them.

Next, take inventory while you are stocking:
I found it easiest to inventory my items shelf by shelf as I was stocking it. If I had done the inventory while everything was still out on the counter, then I wouldn't necessarily know where the items were at once they were put back.

• Assign one piece of paper to each cabinet (I broke down my main cabinet into three sheets, one sheet for each shelf). You can use any lined paper, or you can print an organizing form like this one. I used that one (it says "freezer inventory" but obviously you can cut that off) because I like the system of putting a slash for the item being 'in' and then making it an x when the item is 'out'. This is easier than crossing out a number and then re-writing it.

• As you are returning items to their new homes, write in the size and quantity as you go. I made one cabinet of all baking and staple items, such as flour, baking mixes, rice & potatoes. My main 'can' cabinet is three shelves of canned goods, like beans in a row, canned tomatoes in a row, etc. Use whatever grouping is logical for you

• When everything is back in place and your lists are written, tape them to the inside of your cabinet door, so you can easily check the list for something and see what you need at a glance.

That's it! Here are some pictures of some of my cabinets now that they are cleaned out:
The can cabinet:
Baking cabinet:
Dry staples cabinet:
Close-up of the filled-out lists:

Day five! Today's theme is "Inviting & Giving". Since I didn't give a little recap yesterday, I'll do that really quick first. Since I was heading out to the Women's Conference at church and we were just eating some leftovers, I decided to make some cookies to add to our "fun" for the day. I scored a bunch of free baking mix type items in the recent Acme deals, so it only took a few minutes to make these:

Why do the m&m's melt like that, I wonder? Oh well, they are tasty!

Today I am meeting a girlfriend that I haven't seen in a while for lunch, and later it is another night of the conference. One of my other friends goes to my same church and is coming to the conference with me. I decided to have her over for dinner beforehand, so I'll be making a chicken and rice crockpot dish. I'll post the recipe and pictures later.

So it isn't *too* much, but I get to catch up on some friends! Oh and I think I'm going to post my new giveaway today! I was going to do it next week, but why not put it up today and add to my "giving" theme? So I have covered a bit of inviting and giving!

On a little extra note, last night in one of the sessions, one of the pastors spoke about David & how he was able to succeed while being who he was. Some times when we read about all the awesome things that other people are doing it can be a little easy to wish that we had the abilities of others. The pastor had a really good quote that "David's success was in being true to his own identity." If God could use the youngest boy of the family with his own unique talents (like harp playing!) He can work through you and whatever your talents are. So, there's my encouraging word for the day ;)

Check out The Homespun Heart to see what others are doing today!

Love, Bay

Day four! I'm kind of sad that the week is almost over! This challenge has really motivated me to get off the couch (which is where I sit with the computer) during my spare moments and accomplish things in the house. Today Monica has designated the challenge to be "fun"--making the home a fun place to be.

Can you believe that this one has been the most challenging for me so far? It is easy for me to see what needs to be done, but not as easy to just stop and have fun. Que lastima!

Well, today was my Weight Watchers weigh in day, so this morning as soon as Rayna got up, we trudged out in the rain and made the meeting. On the way home I picked up a sandwich for me at Arby's, just for fun ;). When we got home, Rayna was a bit of a crankpot with the teething (still! I'm praying they break through SOON!) so after our lunch I tried to just chill with her on the floor and play little games.

Now that she's napping, I'm going to actually just finish up my chores for the day (dishwasher, straightening). Tonight starts the Women's Conference at my church and Marc is watching the baby so that I can go to both night sessions and the Sat. morning session! This will definitely be my 'fun' for the day, as I never really get out & getting to hear a message at church is especially a struggle, since Rayna is always getting kicked out of the nursery!

As for the rest of the "fun" day, we'll see what happens. I am going to set up a few activities for Marc to do with Rayna before she goes to bed, because he always needs a little 'inspiration'. Dinner is leftover beef...Rachael Ray would call it 'stoup' from Tuesday night.

Check out The Homespun Heart to see what everyone else is doing!

Love, Bay

Today Monica had picked the theme "cared for"--meaning the little things that just need to get done. I definitely had to do my checkbook and some bills so that was tops on my list. That didn't take too long, so I moved on to my organizing chores. The coat rack storage box that had looked like a disaster, now looks like this inside:

I tossed out a lot of stuff from there and I think it is so nice and tidy now. Yes, we love Stratego. Next up was the left side of my closet, which is also where we store our sheets and towels. Including beach towels. I guess when people built homes in 1900 they didn't believe in linen closets, so they need to go someplace! My before picture was just the top shelf of towels (which would inevitably fall down when I opened the door) because the bottom half was super ghastly. Well here it is now:

I got rid of a few pairs of shoes and a crazy orange purse (I mean, really). A long time ago, I came up with the tackle box mounted on the wall for jewelry storage. Not the most beautiful, but definitely functional and it's great for hair things, etc. The wipes container also holds miscellany. Marc came home and glibly remarked "those towels are not going to stay that way." Well, with an attitude like that! Just kidding, I know that they won't, but I'm going to get a shelf (can you tell I like shelves?) so that the piles can be sorted better and won't be 3 feet high.

These tasks actually didn't take as long as I thought they would, because I was motivated to get them done before dinner. Which was a good thing, because I ended up having to run and watch my nephew for a bit so it was very fortuitous that I went easy on the chores and had a really easy dinner planned out.

Tomorrow's theme is "fun" and I have no idea how I'm going to make my house more fun than it already is, lol. It is also a busy day for me because it is my WW meeting day, so if I don't get my "Making Your Home a Haven" post up in the morning, you'll know why! In the meantime, check out The Homespun Heart to see how everyone else is doing in the challenge.

Love, Bay

So I was excited that yesterday was a success. I think Marc was amazed at how much I did especially with Rayna as needy as she was.

Today on my list is the organizing type things, which can really eat my time. But, I am motivated to have them done before dinner so maybe I can do some Wii fit later tonight...tomorrow is my weigh-in day and I'm not feeling super positive about it! Here's what I want to accomplish:

• Pay bills and go through checkbook- it's been a little while since I did this

• Organize the one side of my closet:

Recently I had organized Marc's whole chest of drawers so that he could see his enormous t-shirt collection at a glance and I was pretty proud of it. I need to do the same to my closet, seriously! (ok, so a couple are upside down right now, but you get the idea:)

• Also, we have a coat rack that has a storage chest attached. It is filled with games and whatnot, but it has gotten a little bit out of control. Here is a before picture:

So, it might not seem a lot, but I know that those will really consume the lion's share of my day. There are also the usual chores like empty/refill dishwasher that happen every day. Dinner is just going to be spaghetti & meatballs using the frozen meatballs that I got on special at Acme this week. :)

Check out The Homespun Heart to see what the other participants are doing today!

**Ok, my follow-up post is now up, here

After my to-do list post this morning, I tackled the overflowing laundry situation while Rayna played on the floor, first in her bedroom while I put away her clean clothes, then in our room while I worked on the pile of Marc's clothes that were just accumulating. I'm also trying to give her more floor time, because how do you learn to crawl if your mom never puts you down on the floor? :)

We came back downstairs and I worked on the dishes while Rayna was in her excer-saucer. She is also teething something fierce this week, as the little top teeth are working their way out! So her patience was running low at this point. I held off on my other chores until naptime. Then I cleaned all of the windows & did the vacuuming.

Boy, was my "hot-spot" end table really something. I get distracted very fast and there was just about every miscellaneous paper there to help my mind wander. But, I think I did a pretty good job staying focused and now it looks like this:

I cleaned up all of the clutter and either threw it away or put things where they belonged. Those extra candles got distributed to other areas of the house and I trimmed up the little plant that is somehow still holding on and moved it on my "mantle" area above the tv:

I can't say that the stew in the slow-cooker turned out as stew-y as I would have liked. It was plenty tasty & tonight was a great night for soup, but if you want a thick beef stew, I think you need to stick with the original recipe and bake it. So I'm not going to post my version, because it was a little soupy. But here's a picture!


So that was my day. Marc and I had just bought some new placemats at Crate & Barrel for our dining room table and I put those on today before he came home from work. I think I did pretty well with getting the place cleaned today! I still have the bathtub yet to clean (if, perhaps, you're checking off my list ;), but I'm one of those weird people who showers at night, so I am going to do it then.

See you tomorrow! And don't forget to check out The Homespun Heart & keep up with other gals on the challenge. Love, Bay

So it is the second day of the Making Your Home a Haven challenge at The Homespun Heart. Obviously, Rayna & I are up for the day and had our breakfast and are ready to get rolling. I have already put dinner in the crockpot, a variation of the easy recipe here. I will put the recipe & pics up later.

Since I had just done a bunch of tidying and cleaning yesterday to show the house, this is what I have to work on today:

-Finish all the laundry (there's a *bunch* to put away)
-Vacuum both flights of steps and the 3rd floor
-Clean all the windows
-Empty & reload dishwasher
-Clean bathtub (my least favorite chore ever ;)
-Clean my hot spots...I have a couple of hot spots in the house that are super clutter zones. I may have zapped a few yesterday, but I just didn't have time to clean this one. I straightened it into a pile, which has since toppled over. For some reason going through piles of mail, articles, etc. takes me forever. So here is a before pic (why are there three candles on one table? lol):

I'll be back on later to let you know how I fared with my cleaning, dinner and a nice after pic of that end table!

**Ok, my follow-up post is now up here

There is a blog that I enjoy reading called The Homespun Heart. Monica, the author, always has lots of beautiful ideas & I love reading about all of the special things she does in her home. If you know me at all, you know that I am a bit of a wreck, but I seriously love the concept of organization. I try to organize and clean my house constantly, but it seems like the 'work' is never, ever done!

Well this week Monica is hosting a little challenge called 'Making Your Home a Haven' & she's putting up her to-do lists & sharing what she's working on through the week. Today her post is on tidying, and that would be the first area I need to work on as well.

If you don't already know, my house is currently on the market for sale. We have had ONE showing since listing the house ages ago. Well, this morning Rayna & I were not even awake yet when I got a call from the realtor that someone wanted to see the house at 11 AM...!!! I could never show my house like a mess, so I was starting to get frantic about getting the baby ready & having the place spotless & ready to show by 11.

One of my strengths/weaknesses is that I can't do something "half-heartedly". If I am going to do something I need to "do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men." In other words, I feel like if I am going to do something, I need to do it as well as possible. This is where I tend to want to quit at things, because if I feel I'm not going to do it the best, I might as well stop. So imagine me going bonkers, running through the place tidying after Marc had friends over twice in one weekend...I was getting very anxious! Finally, I just decided that I would do 'the best that I can' given the time allowed and I did pretty good. I can now say that the whole place is tidy (a couple things were just stuffed in a drawer, I will work on those now ;).

So, phew, I am now in the challenge & will put up lists and pictures later. And now I'm going to participate much more peacefully! Please check out The Homespun Heart to view Monica's posts & those of others in the challenge.

Love, Bay