Getting Organized

Continuing with my "spring cleaning" theme, I've been taking a careful look at my cupboards. Some are in great shape and others need a lot of help. The joy of a cupboard is that it has a door that closes and shuts away all the clutter and debris. I like that.

My cupboards aren't bad, there are just some things in there that could be pitched. Over time, cupboards seem to take on a life of their own with excess objects finding themselves wedged in place. This is especially true with the refrigerator, but that's another column for another day.

One thing I love is shelf extenders. You can stick an extender in a cupboard and instantly have another shelf for storage. As you can see in the photo, I use them in the kitchen so that I don't have plates and bowls stacked on top of one another -- everything is easily accessible.

On the top shelf, in the boxes, are sets of Ikea stemware. This is a great way to store glassware, yet have it readily available for parties. Everyone gets glassware -- no plastic wine glasses!

The tropical plates on the bottom shelf are from Target -- $1.49 each! Yes, they're melamine and will last forever, but what value! The red salad plates are also from Target. They were marked down after Christmas to 75 cents each.

All the mismatched plates and bowls somehow seem more coordinated when well placed in a cupboard. Right now this is the best-looking cupboard in my kitchen; I'm still working on the rest!

Spring Cleaning for Spring

Lately I've been nesting. Or maybe it's spring cleaning. At any rate, I've been getting organized and clearing out unnecessary items that can better benefit someone else -- in another house or garage.

I'm pretty good at clutter control, but even the best of us have room for improvement. Today I tackled the back yard which was only recently photographed for inclusion in a local magazine; you'd think it would look pretty good. Still, things grow and need to be clipped back, especially the English ivy which encroaches from my neighbor's yard. I love the ivy, but it gets pretty bushy and needs thinning.

I felt kind of bad when I yanked on one strand and about two feet more came from my neighbor's side of the fence. Oops. I did that two or three more times before I caught on that I should use my clippers. I don't want to leave their side of the fence denuded of greenery.

The kids helped, too. We found some great "boy" jobs: climbing on a tall ladder; hauling a heavy plant in a pot; digging a hole. We rearranged a few plants, cut a few things back, poked holes in the dirt of all the potted plants and just generally spruced things up a bit.

In the process we enjoyed the little white blossoms of our pea plants beginning to bloom. The first cucumber seed pushing a pale green shoot out to greet the sun. And the tiny strawberries and peaches that are so small, yet so precise.

The only bummer of the day was what to do with all the ivy. My worms dislike it; I have put bushels of ivy in the compost pile only to have it rejected by all the chompers who busily churn out fertilizer for me. Since we live in a townhome we don't get the "green" trash can from our local service, so I had to just throw it all away. For some reason this bugged me, then I realized that if that's the biggest problem I had today, I was doing pretty darn well!