I went to a Pampered Chef show last weekend. I haven’t been to one of these shows I years but I do have many of their products. Imagine my delight when I saw this spice organizer. Yes, I have to admit I whipped out my tape measure and checked this baby out! Everyone at the show got a laugh when someone said, “Of course the organizer has a tape measure in her purse!” And I was thinking “Everyone should carry one!”

The photo shows the spice organizer filled with The Pampered Chef spices and rubs (can you believe they have such a variety these days?). The spice organizer will hold your standard grocery store spice bottles too. It will hold 21 bottles. There are two tiers for better visibility and a carry handle. The unit spins on a lazy susan base very smoothly and is 10.75″ in diameter. Thought I’d share this for Tool Tuesday so you can check it out.

Don’t you want one? You can order online. Oh, and this makes a great “anti-clutter” gift too!

I recently discovered Pinterest. It’s a place where you can save visual ideas online. It really helps to spark creativity, let me tell ya! I love looking at other pinboards for ideas and things that make me laugh. In fact, that’s why I am posting today. Below, for your visual enjoyment, are some not-so-ordinary ideas for organizing things. May it help you to think outside your box! READ MORE

When Rubbermaid contacted me to ask if I could review their latest product I was thrilled!  My mom and I are huge Rubbermaid fans.  We used to joke about wanting to run the company and/or own all the stock.  Their products are high quality and versatile. This latest product is no exception.

Glass with Easy Find Lids

The movement these days is to go green.  Plastic is filling up our landfills and we are trying to be smart and reduce our environmental footprint.  Now, thanks to Rubbermaid, we can reduce our plastic containers that are spilling out of our kitchen cabinets. And the lids for these containers are BPA free! Rubbermaid new glass containers are wonderful; I’ve tested them out in the Conrad Kitchen and here’s what I think are its best attributes: READ MORE

For at least 15 years I menu planned weekly in an effort to feed 5 hungry children and an even hungrier husband.  It helped me to save time, money and, best of all, know what to take out of the freezer ahead of time.  I used a small binder with menu plan sheets and grocery lists.  I did it so consistently that  I could probably create a 365 day cookbook/ menu planner for busy families because I saved many of the weekly menu plan sheets.

Well, now my husband and I are empty nesters I have slacked off on my kitchen time a bit (okay a LOT). READ MORE

Okay, so the move got the best of me. As you see, I did not continue to blog as I thought I would. I had my computer die, purchased a new one with Windows 7 and Outlook 2010. Man, the platform and software changes are just enough to drive one crazy! And in the middle of moving! Oh well, I’m all settled in now and my new home is beautiful.

I mentioned that I would talk next about organizing your kitchen. When you are moving into a new place, setting up the kitchen the right way can help you for years to come. Of course, nothing fits the way it did in your old kitchen but looking on the bright side this enables you to rethink how you use your kitchen every day. In this post, you’ll see some of photos of my own kitchen.

Let’s start at the kitchen sink, shall we? READ MORE

Day 4 -  Okay, so what tasks were completed today?  I think I’ll make a quick list:

1. Set date and time for this weekend to do walk thru and get keys
2. Decided which Realtor will list our house
3. Left message for insurance agent to obtain renter’s insurance
4. Assembled and packed 8 boxes (while granddaughter was sleeping)
5. Identified some furnishings with the dot system

Dot system??? – Are you curious? READ MORE

Some may think that the kitchen is the obvious place to start with organization and maybe that’s true.  When you move in and first set up a kitchen, you are intentional about where you put things; you organize the pots, pans, dishes, and glasses as you put them in their new home.  However, once you begin to prepare meals and cook in the kitchen, there is usually a need to re-vamp your system.  It does not matter the size of your kitchen.  I have clients with galley kitchens and others with huge center islands and breakfast nooks.  The complaint is almost always the same – “There is not enough room” or “My kitchen doesn’t flow well.”  Some of what makes a kitchen work better in to have efficient storage containers inside of the drawers and doors.  These containers can be drawer organizers, bins, baskets, or canisters.

Today’s blog will focus on the use of canisters… and how you can win a set of canisters!

READ MORE