Friday Morning Quiet Time

This post was originally supposed to be Cleaning and Organizing Our Kitchen, but circumstances have made that not quite complete yet.

Our house is quiet except for the soft sounds from the dishwasher and washing machine. Early morning is one of my favorite times of the day, but all too often I've slept later as we have become a family of night owls. Because of that, when I do wake up early, the kids are still sleeping.

One of my goals this week was to clean out and organize the cabinets in our kitchen. I'm motivated by Michele's weekly challenges which should be attainable, and some moms are showing that they have succeeded. I'm not giving up, but I'll share with you a little about my lack of rapid progress.

How cleaning out the pantry really looks at our house:

Me to oldest daughter "Do you want to help me finish inventorying the pantry before the tea party?" 

Her "Sure. We have time."

Middle child "Are you making that cake today?"

Me "Do you want to?" 

Her, with enthusiasm "Yes!"

I heated my lunch (the kids had already finished theirs.) Em gathered cake pans and ingredients while I started the crock pot for supper. 

Emily handing me the crock pot as she helped me clean off the counter, making room for cake prep: "I didn't know making a cake involved cleaning out the cabinets." Ahem. 

She started the cake prep, I finished filling the crock pot and sat down with my lasagna. Me to oldest daughter (thinking something upbeat like Mandisa's CD would get us moving) "all we are missing is our musical entertainment." 

Her quick reply "I can get my banjo."

So...banjo concert or pantry clean out? I won't say no to listening to my kids' music, but now you see why we didn't complete Michele's  week 2 assignment in week 2, right. Or week 3. 

The girls did help me after lunch, but we ran into another problem. While replacing the many cans of food in a somewhat orderly fashion, the shelf collapsed onto the empty one beneath it. The plastic clips that had been holding it up for 10+ years just broke. Sigh. 

The top three shelves have been organized, but the picture showed me just how much space those plastic utensils are taking. I bought the box of spoons when my dad was staying with us during hurricane Katrina, and the forks were a rushed purchase when we picked up my son's birthday cake at the big warehouse store last year and remembered we had no utensils with us. We refill the baskets in our camper as needed, but I think we will still have enough for another 10 years. Those boxes can be moved to the storage shed. 

We worked on the bottom shelves, too (that picture is just the top half of the pantry.) But progress was again stalled when my daughter pointed out that the lowest shelf was propped up by the jars and boxes under it, and the plastic supports there had also broken. Yesterday, I was delighted to notice as I replaced a heavy stack of glass bowls in the cabinet, that the supports in all of our other cabinets in the kitchen are metal. For now, our dining room table is still filled with food from our pantry. The pickle relish from 2007 has been discarded, and the 11 remaining jars of awful bread and butter pickles that I made last summer are waiting to be dumped. 

Funny of the week... I overheard my husband training my son in the art of trash management: "Joseph, when you walk out that door, hold your hand like this, (demonstrated for him) catch that trash bag, and carry it outside. 

So this morning, I'm enjoying a doughnut my husband brought home yesterday. Last night my son told me they would be cannibals this morning. 

Tonight will be the third night for our pillow fort in the living room. I don't mind the blankets and pillows, but did I mention we are expecting guests tomorrow?