When I first moved in my place, I didn’t have a pantry.  I had a closet with a dozen shelves, about 8-10 inches apart. Since I didn’t have a pantry, I ‘adopted’ that space where I would put most of my groceries and relatable items.  But it wasn’t easy, the shelves were so deep that I couldn’t reach in the back of any shelf.   It was a dark space, and it would take a while to find what I needed at the time. 
 
The pantry was located outside of the kitchen area, just a few steps away.   But it was enough to sometimes make a difference while reaching for items needed while I’m cooking.  Occasionally I would place something in the pantry that belonged in the lazy susan. 
 
Lighting was added, and it provided some help.  It seemed that everything in this space somehow be pushed to the back. After a while I wanted to change the layout because the current space wasn’t working for me, it was not functional.
 
A year or so later, all shelves removed and put a system in that was more functional for reaching food and it made a difference.  The space was brighter, and I could now see where my items are located.

​From the photo above, I could now step into the pantry and search for whatever was needed.  It was great and worked well. However, that being said, most of my food items were in the pantry. But I also had another place where some food items were placed (besides the refrigerator). I had most of my spices, oils, and other condiments in a lazy susan, located in the kitchen. 
 
One thing I should mention in terms of where the panty was located.  It was outside of the kitchen, just a few steps away.   But it was enough to sometimes make a difference while reaching for items needed while I’m cooking.  Occasionally I would place something in the pantry that belonged in the lazy susan. 
 
While the updated pantry was suitable, it was still missing something.  I felt that it would be better to have all groceries, spices and oils, etc. all in the same place. 
​So, more shelves were added for more functionality.

​The shelves are a different color than the other shelves, but that was the only thing available at the store, but that didn’t matter to me.  The issue of functionality needed to be solved and fortunately a solution was presented. a problem I was having and was fortunate enough to get a solution.  I can say without a doubt I’m much happier that I was able to get everything in one place. 
 
Maybe at a later time perhaps painting the pantry would make it more cohesive, but for now it’s a good functional space!  That is what is needed at this time.

​I like craft parties and I try to host a couple every year. It’s a great way to get together with family and
friend and let the creative juices flow.

​In 2020 I was fortunate enough to hold one. It was with my sisters, nieces and close friends.
We all made an appoint to see on a regularly basis before and during the pandemic.

​It was great to see what people came up with when utilizing the tools in front of them. ​​

Paint, yarn, markers, stickers, glitters to name a few.

Same material, different creations all unique. I had a blip on my craft, but I still have near the coffee maker lol.
It didn’t matter anyway because when I look at the craft work, I remember the good time I had.
​A couple of photos below:

​The best thing about the party is everyone enjoying themselves, having a good time and not worrying
about the elements going on in the country, the world.
We played it safe of course and the gathering was so needed.
At the end of the party everyone took their creations with them and hopefully remembering the fun we still could have during the unprecedented year we had.

Good vibes for sure!

Are there gatherings/events you have regularly?
​Were you able to participate in any events?

​Does the drawer become a junk drawer over time?

Or because we have in our mind what is meant by junk drawer, that drawer in the kitchen becomes the junk drawer?

Whatever the case, that drawer in my kitchen is messy junky and now is the time to work on it!

​I even have one of those drawer organizers that was supposed to help with keeping things in order….so
what happened?

That is the burning question isn’t it?
It is for me, and here is the crazy part, I continuously, over years let it build up to the level that it is today!

I can tell you for me is has to do with time, convenience guilt and overwhelmingness.
One thing for sure, I neglected the drawer and therefore made the junk drawer situation worse.
But ultimately, I must deal with this, it can’t keep going on forever.

I know this of course, and I have told myself many times. Mostly when I opened the drawer to look for something, I got used to digging through all the stuff in there until I found what I was looking for, it would only last a minute and then I would be on my way to doing whatever I needed to do.

I started thinking, wouldn’t it be nice just to open the drawer and grab the item I need in a matter of
seconds?
And the answer is yes of course!

And now the messy drawer mission begins.

So, I planned the date and time and took pictures of the drawer. I wanted to remind myself of what it
looked like at the time, and hopefully would never get to that level of messiness again. I gave myself
roughly two hours.

It should never be a surprise of how many things can fit into a drawer until everything is taken out of it.

When I saw the number of items from the drawer that spread across my countertop, I was incredibly
surprised – even though it should not be a surprise.

​There were plenty of random stuff– salt & pepper packets, plastic utensils, batteries, measuring tapes,
lots of hardware tools just to name a few.

How did all of those items plus other stuff end up in there and why?
Well, that would have to be covered in another blog.

Once everything was out it was time to sort, categorize and find a place for it.
This part was easier than I thought. I had multiples of the same items which made the sorting easier and I know what I wanted to keep.

My sister gladly took all the plastic utensils. I was able to reuse the drawer organizer which was
great.
I placed the items I wanted to keep back in the drawer and what a difference for now:

​​I also had another drawer organizer, but this was not going to go into a drawer.
Instead, I would put those things that didn’t belong in the kitchen but belonged somewhere into this organizer and schedule a time to deal with that another day:

​At the end of the day my goal was to deal with that junk drawer, and I accomplished that!
I must admit it feels pretty darn good to get that done.
Although it’s done, it will be ongoing effort to keep it as clear as possible.
I am willing to bet though, that each time I open it I’ll have a pleasant feeling instead of one with overwhelmingness.

Just like a lot of other people, I needed to a create an outlet and this was one way I could express myself. 

​My about me page says I will be blogging about things in my place, whether it is a project, organization, gardening or random topics, it will be about the home.  

Since the pandemic, I have been working at home for almost a year now.  

I am sure there are a lot of folks who have been working even longer from home.  For me, it certainly does draw attention to all things in my house  that I have not noticed  before or  just did not have to time to pay attention.  Being in the same place allowed me to see the house as it is  and to see what I would  like it to be. ​

​The biggest thing for me has been  behavior –  there is a certain comfort of working from home.   
​No more (at least for now) getting into traffic or being stuck in traffic because of an accident.  ​

​No more being late for work.   

I realize I do not have the ‘I’m out of breath feeling’ sometimes I had when I was driving to work.

I found that I am calmer.  I think because I am at home, I feel safer and it is easier for me to work.
Anyone else feel that way? 

Even though it’s easier, doesn’t mean the stress is not there.  Changes with my job came quick, first it was lowering the fulltime salary and then going to part time. 

I remember thinking "ok – we’ll just see where this goes."  

It was certainly a stressful situation.  It was in this period of working part time that I started looking at creative outlets and other ways to perhaps generate income. 

One of the ideas was starting a blog which I’m doing now.  For me it was something I have toyed with in the past, but never put any umph into it until now.  Because now I’m at home more than ever and now I have the time.  

Just having the gumption to say I am going to do it and then do it is a success. 

​And now  I will take this journey  and see where it takes me.

2020 was one year we will not forget. 

Lock down, economic challenges, social injustices and toilet paper shortages (really?) just to name a few. 

There are times I didn’t want to get out of bed none less get out the house for a walk. 

Eventually I cooked more, but there are plenty of times I just ordered take out.  It was easier and wanted to do my part in supporting the restaurant businesses. 

In pre-COVID-19 days, it was so easy just to get together with friends and family and decide, in some cases at the last minute, to head to a restaurant on a whim and we are a while away from that anymore.

These days we certainly must put more thought into deciding where to go (if we can go there), but it is not a bad idea.  I have found myself ordering food to go more than anything though.

​It is a convenience having food delivered or order pick up to the house.  However, there are times, that I have the dilemma of what to do with the containers

I have, particularly the containers that have a special sauce.  Most times these little plastic round containers have a type of sauce that compliments the food. 

Sometimes I use the sauce, but other times I don’t I try using up the contents in the container. What do you do with the sauces? 

Put it in the refrigerator and forget about it?

Use it for a different recipe?


Freeze it?  

Or just throw the container with the sauce away? 

Or hold on to it and keep it until it was time to get rid of it, knowing the fact that you are keeping it would make it seem though the container was utilized. 

When I was younger it, was easy just to throw the container away…  But now that I am older, I want to make sure I do my part in recycling and now more than ever I try to be conscious about what I do with ‘things’ when I no longer have a use for it. 

Just like decluttering or minimalizing things in your space, these small containers certainly can add up.   Now I try more than ever to see what is included in the meal and try to limit those extra items that I don’t need and if I do need them, I try to use as much as I can from the container. 

f I don’t and not much is left, then I rinse and recycle, or I save the contents if I know I can use it for another meal. 

​It is at least something to do when you don’t want to end up with a bunch of small containers that will ultimately add to more clutter and collect dust.  ​

​I was in my closet changing out of my working clothes into my sleeping clothes.

Once I was done, I looked down and saw one my favorite earring on the floor.   I was surprised and wondered how did it get down there??  I was not wearing (at least I did not think I was at the time…).  It is a post earring, and the back was attached.  It was only one – which did concern me, and I could not help but wondering how did it get on the floor…and…where is the other one?  

I hurried to my small jewelry container on the dresser in my bedroom to look for the other one and it was not there.  Then I went back into the closet and looked around on the carpet, near the shoes, laundry basket and anything else on the floor, and could not find it anywhere sadly.  Wondered if I vacuumed it, but I look and no luck.  

I am hoping I will find it by the time this story is published. 

When something is loss, it is natural to think about what you are or were doing at the time the item was lost. 

For me, I was wondering when did I take the earrings off?
Did I put them on the shelf in the closet instead of my dresser where they should be?? 
​When was the last time I wore them?  Did I have them on that day?  So many questions I asked myself because I could not remember.  

Even when we have the best intention to put things back where they belong, sometimes it goes awry. We can be in the middle of something else while we are doing it and never realize what we did. Then we can spend minutes, hours, or maybe even days wonder what happened to that thing we were looking for? 

Organization helps, because it made me go to the very place, I know the earrings should have been even though it was not there.


For me, there are times that I do something without thinking about it and most times when I go look for something, it is there.  But there are other times I subconsciously place something somewhere I cannot remember what happened to it.  One thought comes to mind is a credit card in the wallet - if it is not in the right place when I go to look for it, then I freak out.  Then I realize it’s in the change pocket or in my purse and not the wallet.  


It is amazing how many things we find ourselves subconsciously placing an item somewhere and not know it until we are looking for it.  Has that ever happened to you?
​
I constantly try to make things simpler for organization, but there will be those occasions where things are misplaced, and we end up writing about it.
​
​To this day….