In Which I Dream Of Renovating

Alternately titled: The Saga Continues

In case you missed it, my friend Nichole and I are embarking on a weekly challenge to declutter our homes, one hot spot at a time. Last week we worked on the master bedroom. This week, Nichole proposed that we should tackle the Worst Closet In The House.

Now, in our old 1940s house, picking which closet qualifies as the "worst" is a pretty simple task for two reasons:
1) We have three closets. In the whole house. That's right, three closets. (Also? Three closets is not enough.)
2) Even if we had 12 closets, this one would be the worst because of the awkward size & shape.

Presenting...the Harry Potter Closet. You know, the closet under the stairs. Ever since James first called it the Harry Potter Closet roughly four years ago, that has been its name. The closet is shallow, dark, with that awkward space extending under the steps on the left hand side. It has been filled with all manner of clutter. See?

When I took everything out of the closet, I found:
1) an assortment of medications dating back as far as 2005
2) an assortment of pet care items we no longer need
3) the hose attachment I looked for last summer
4) the Spring mini-flag I had wondered about
5) an assortment of cleaners and yard/garden chemicals (this closet has a door the kids cannot open)
6) three kites
7) a big stack of paper plates

I could go on to list many more odd things that were lurking in this closet, but you get the general idea. Have a thing? Not sure where to put it? Stuff it in the Harry Potter Closet and forget about it!

As I sorted through the clutter, I gathered up 1 1/2 bags of trash and 1 bag of things to take to Goodwill. I put a few things back in the closet. Look! There might even be room for me to tuck the vacuum in there!
(Don't knock my shelves. Back when we were newlyweds, we bought a kitchen table for $25, and the folks we bought it from threw in these lovely shelves for free. There are actually three sets of different sizes, but you can't see them due to the awkwardness of the closet.)

I'm looking forward to using the closet as a closet, and not just as a black hole of forgetfulness.

Also? I'd really like to take the oddly-shaped left hand side of the closet and open it up, turning into shelves/bins that are accessible from the room. We could use that space for school storage, and that would make me happy.

Go see what Nichole worked on this week!

In Which I Move The Clutter From Here To There

Alternately titled: my house is ridiculous.

There has been a lot of talk among my friends, both in-person friends and Internet friends, on the subject of decluttering. It seems that nearly everyone struggles with accumulation of junk in various spots in the house. My friend Nichole, who has actually seen my clutter-filled house in real life, and I decided to make a bit of a weekly challenge out of decluttering.

The rules:
1) Agree on a spot to tackle. (We have many to choose from.)
2) Take a before picture. (OUCH.)
3) Declutter.
4) Take an after picture and blog about the experience.

Today's spot: the bedroom. Nichole tackled the top of a dresser; I'm tackling my desk & surrounding areas. As painful as it was, I took a true "before" picture. The only thing I moved was my desk chair, to get it out of the way so that you could see the full extent of The Clutter.

Exhibit A. Here we have, in no particular order:
1) a toy horse, tiara, phone, clippies, and other kid-things
2) a laminated machine that cooled off long ago and should have been put away long ago
3) various books, notebooks, schoolbooks, etc, that do not belong on my desk
4) three balls of yarn and an almost-finished knitting project
5) a laundry basket & hamper full of clean, folded clothes that just need to be put away
6) lots and lots of other random junk

You can't even see the spot on the other side of the desk. Trust me, it was piled high with boxes, kids' outgrown clothes, and blankets that needed to be folded & put away. I couldn't even open my closet door without kicking stuff out of the way.

And so, here is the after. Much better, no?

I must confess that not all of that clutter has found a proper home yet. I have more to deal with, and I'll be working on that throughout the day. But look! You can see my ugly desk! (It'll have a facelift someday, but until then, it's sturdy and functional.) I would love to keep my desk in this clean and shiny condition, especially since it's what I see first thing every morning.

What's your worst trouble spot? Want to tackle clutter along with us?

Top Ten Tuesday: What to Do with Ground Beef

At our house, one of the most commonly-used dinner ingredients is ground beef. It's fairly inexpensive, easy to freeze, and easy to use in lots of different ways. All too often, however, I find myself staring at a thawed portion of ground beef and I draw a blank. I have no idea what we should have, and I find myself desperate for dinnspiration. (See what I did there? Dinner + Inspiration? Nevermind.)

Here's a top ten list of easy dinners using ground beef:

1. Tacos - ground beef, taco seasoning, toppings, tortillas, DONE.

2. Chili - this is an easy, mild chili recipe that can be made in the slow-cooker or on the stove.

3. Spaghetti - sometimes I go all-out and make my own sauce, but usually I just use Prego. It's yummy and fast.

4. Tater-tot casserole - there are many different variations of this, but they're all pretty good! (And none of them are even remotely healthy.)

5. Vegetable-beef soup - ground beef, mixed vegetables, beef broth, brown rice, and whatever seasonings strike your fancy. Yum!

6. Stroganoff - one of our family favorites. We love it with noodles, with white rice, with brown rice, and even with mashed potatoes.

7. Sloppy Joes - we love sloppy joes, but we usually serve them as open-face sandwiches, to be eaten with a fork.

8. Meatloaf - confession: I never use a real recipe for meatloaf. That being said, it doesn't always turn out the way I would like it to. I'm going to try this recipe next time.

9. Burgers - especially if you have a good grill. We only have a charcoal grill, and we seldom use it, but I'll occasionally make burgers on the stovetop.

10. Mac & Cheese - okay, this is kind of cheating. James grew up eating Kraft Macaroni & Cheese with ground beef & frozen mixed vegetables added. You know what? It's good. It's really, really good. Also? Fast. Cheap. Kid-friendly.

What dinners to you make with ground beef? What's your fallback recipe?

Visit Top Ten Tuesday at OhAmanda.com for more great lists!

Snapshots

Once again, my dear, sweet blog has been silent for far too long. Rather than try and catch up all at once, I'll just share some pictures with you, snapshots of what we've been doing. Regularly-scheduled blogging should return tomorrow!