Mom Car
Two weeks ago during Mikey’s spring break we pulled into the Stater Bros. parking lot to buy…I can’t remember. I can’t remember because as I gathered up my purse and phone Mikey called out, “Mom, look! There’s Father Paul!” And my head shot up, surprised, because seeing your priest in a supermarket parking lot is something that doesn’t compute. I know priests do things like eat and sleep and use the bathroom. They even have cars, which they use to drive. All of this I know logically, but somehow seeing Father Paul dart in between cars in an old Letterman jacket and sneakers was on par with bumping into a centaur in the produce department.
So Mikey called Father Paul over, and it pleased me to see how happy he was to see Mikey. I watched him for a second squeeze between two cars when it hit me. My car was a disaster. A total Mom Car.
No. Nonononononono!
“Okay, Mikey! Out of the car! Let’s go! Hurry up. Hurryuphurryuphurryup.” I tried to sound sing-songy and chirpy, casual even, but the overall effect was shrill. The mountain of toys, clothing, and baseball gear did nothing to speed up Mikey’s exit, so to my great dismay Father Paul approached our car and–in slow motion, surely it was in slow motion–opened Mikey’s door to help him out.
Out came Mikey, stumbling over a Hot Wheels, followed by a trail of detritus rivaled only by the trash vortex of the North Pacific.
Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. My car is as dirty as my soul.
It’s a slippery slope, these mom cars. You toss snacks into the back seat for them to eat between school and baseball practice. I let them bring a toy (I said just one!) when I rush them out of the house to run errands. They bring home paperwork and leave it on the seat next to their jacket on top of their glasses. They get thirsty and hungry and cold and hot and bored. And I, I just get apathetic. Sometimes forgetful. Who knows. All I know is that the back seat and trunk of my car had three jackets, four hats, three sweaters, two blankets, four baseball bats, two baseball bags, five baseball gloves, two books, twenty hot wheels, some Star Wars heads and action figures, two chairs, a watch, a missile, and a sword.
Oh, and some coloring pages and potting soil. A first aid kit. I used to have jumper cables, but who knows where those went. They’re probably in the same spot I left my dignity.
In the front seat, which I admit doesn’t always look like this, were 12 or so books to return to the library, receipts, and a magic 8 ball. That magic 8 ball saw a lot of use the last couple of weeks.
The next day I went to WalMart for car organizing supply “things,” because if there is ever a place one should go to for a boost in self esteem, it’s WalMart. You can’t walk out of there without feeling at least a little smug. A little dirty, too, but everyone knows sanctimony becomes before squalor in the dictionary.
I bought a version of these back seat pockets and this trunk box. Then I spent an hour cleaning out the truck. After that, I took the truck to the car wash for an express detail. I didn’t have that special polish to clean the plastic panels that are fading from the sun, nor did I have the high powered vacuum to suck up all the dust and dirt from baseball season. (I tried using my household vacuum with little success.) Also, most important of all, I completely lacked the motivation or desire to clamber around my truck like a tree monkey with a soapy sponge.
After paying someone to do all the hard work, I set about organizing the truck.
I have been meaning to buy backseat organizers for 8 years now. Finally did it. Yay me? Given the 2,920-day delay, I really wanted to love them, but I don’t. They’re okay, I guess. I would have liked something a little less janky, but these are the only pockets my WalMart carried, and I’m still mad at Target. I’m not much of an online shopper.
The trunk organizer is a different story. That one is well constructed and quite handy.
Two weeks later, and the car is still as clean as the day I had it detailed. I’m shocked! Not bad for an 8 year old truck with 84,000 miles. I thought for sure the boys would bring back in the vortex, but so far they seem as eager as I am to keep the truck clean. Of course, Mom Stink Eye might be motivating them a wee bit more than the glory of an uncluttered floor, but I can’t be bothered by such trivial details.
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How to Organize a Bottom Freezer
Short answer: No clue.
When the Mister and I were first married, stainless steel refrigerators were just coming into style. Appliances like stoves and ovens, I think, were still white. If they came in stainless steel, they were probably expensive and definitely not included in our new, builder basic 1100 square foot home. We bought a white side-by-side refrigerator, a Kenmore, and for the life of me I can’t remember what we did with it when we moved. We might have given it to a friend.
When we moved to this house, our standard size refrigerator dwarfed the room. We had to buy something counter depth if we planned to use the kitchen for activities like cooking, standing, and opening cabinets. I was thrilled. By God, this time I was going to have a fancy food cooler right off the runway, or where ever it is they reveal newly designed appliances. We bought a stainless steel French door/armoire refrigerator, which we now affectionately refer to as “that thing that blows.”
“Worst decision ever” for short. I’m sure many of you have a similar refrigerator, and I am sure many of you adore your bottom freezer. You’re crazy. Kidding! (AM I?)
Armoire refrigerators look nice. Theoretically, you have more room up top to store large trays of food. It’s nice to have all your food at eye level and if you have a narrow kitchen, like me, the small doors are a must. That said, this fridge gives me the fits.
- The left door never closes. You have to firmly shut the door; swinging it closed isn’t enough. We had to set the alarm to alert us when the door is open after we woke up to a thawed refrigerator one morning. None of the other refrigerators I’ve owned have come with doors alarms. Why? Because the doors shut.
- Although the width up top is nice, the counter depth never allows me to store much. I feel like I am always shifting things around to get a good fit.
- In order to see anything in the fridge or access the food, I have to open both doors. That wouldn’t be a problem if one of the doors shut properly.
- The freezer. My God, the freezer.
The bottom drawer is too deep to remain tidy.
The top drawer? The top drawer isn’t a top drawer. It’s a large basket (with an ice maker) that sits on two ledges. You slide the basket (and ice) along the ledges. No tracks, no rails. Just ledges. It doesn’t take a physicist to realize what will happen to the contents of a large, heavy basket allowed to slide on plastic ledges. The basket swings left or right depending on the hand you use. The contents get jostled. Ice always falls to the floor. Always. It’s a pain. So much so, we never slide the basket out. We just blindly pull out or push in food and ice as we need it. Hence, that mess above.
Which ended up on my counter for a super fast 30-minute purge. That’s the good thing about cleaning the freezer. Once you start, it’s not like you can get sidetracked. You’re working under a time constraint. Which brings me, in a round about way, to what I hate most about bottom freezers.
The gunk that collects at the bottom. Note the ice from the sliding basket.
Yes, all freezers collect gunk at the bottom, even side-by-sides. But with side-by-sides, you need only remove the bottom basket to clean it out.
To clean out a bottom freezer–at least mine–you have to take it apart. That’s exactly what I want to do on a rainy Wednesday. #Sarcasm.
I used a broom to sweep out most of the gunk, which I picked up with a dust pan and tossed. Then I scrubbed down the interior and wiped down the top basket.
I wiped down the bottom basket and door, too. As you can see from the condensation forming, I was quickly running out of time. Luckily, I purged all the food first because putting the refrigerator back together almost killed me. Not physically, but I swear it almost broke me mentally. It was just like putting a drawer back in your dresser, only the drawer is twice as wide, three times as tall, and five times as heavy. Getting both sides on the track = total bear. But I did it!
I put all the fruits, vegetables, and random tub of unopened Cool Whip I do not for the life of me know why I own (must have bought it for a recipe?) in the top basket.
On the left bottom basket I have most of my flour. I have another large bag in a refrigerator in the garage. On the right I keep rice and meats, which I admit look meager. I will also keep chicken carcases there, which I save after roasting and then turn into stock.
Many people buy additional baskets to store foods inside their freezers, but I didn’t do that for a couple of reasons. One, I didn’t want to spend the money. Two, my freezer baskets have sloping sides, so if I bought straight-sided baskets I would not be utilizing all the available space.
I know some of you must be wondering what type of refrigerator I would like. Not the side-by-side. I can’t get anything to fit in those, either. This is going to sound crazy, but I really like the good ol’ fashioned top-freezer models. Of course, Smegs are pretty. But even the basic jobs you get at Sears are great, if you ask me. I have one in the garage, and I get so much use from it. The top freezer is much easier to organize and the fridge cabinet itself is cavernous. I feel like I could store a body in there and still have room for pickles. Something the neighbor with the loud music and even louder dog would be wise to consider.
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Plants, Always
Saturday was cold and rainy, but Sunday was glorious. I planned on finally potting my cacti this week (eighteen months and two plant-deaths later), but the garden center at Home Depot proved irresistible. I bought one or two or 30 or so items that weren’t on my list.
I’m not the only one obsessed with planting this week. John and Sherry worked on their patio, and The Nester published a micro-series on how to decorate with plants. As for me, I have had a longtime love affair with plants. At one point, I had almost 20 houseplants scattered around the house. Over time, that number dwindled to 4 sad, root-bound cacti. I grabbed one of the lavender pots from IKEA, bought a few succulents, and gave my remaining green friends a new home on the dining table.
The pot is a bit crowded, but I’m hoping everything will grow large enough for me to split and replant.
Next, I did something I’ve been talking about for well over two years, probably three. I bought a fiddle leaf fig tree (Ficus lyrata).
He has a commanding presence.
I’m a little nervous taking care of such a large tree, but I have it in front of two windows where it should get enough light (eastern and northern exposure).
I’m very happy with my new houseplants. I want to buy more.
Moving outside is just depressing, but I have no choice but to show you the before.
I present to you seven years of gardening failure. The planter in the first two pictures receives northern exposure. The three year-old asparagus fern gets plenty of light and because that planter suffers from poor drainage and receives the bulk of the water runoff from the back yard, I water it only during the summer. The planter in the second picture is much larger (twice what you see here) and receives both northern and western exposure. The soil is dryer, more compact. The asparagus fern in this planter doesn’t fair as well from my neglect. Everything I have ever planted over the course of seven years has died.
Gardening is one of the few physical activities, aside from tennis, where I enjoy myself so much that I lose track of time. I don’t have any pictures of me clearing out the planters, but I did. I do have a picture of the asparagus fern root system. I decided to transplant them to the backyard. I split the roots and planted those, as well. I’ll have several more ferns next year if all goes as planned.
I’ve always planted for western exposure in the past, mainly because in my area we have light and heat. This time, I picked shade plants like impatiens, ornamental grasses, and calla lilies. The bird, which reminds me of the Mockingjay from The Hunger Games, is all Nicholas.
I don’t like the xanadu philodendrons the guy at Home Depot convinced me to buy. They look leggy and odd. I might transplant them to the backyard and replace them with Kimberly ferns. I’ve had ferns for three years now, and really wanted something different…but not these giant green tarantulas. The impatiens and calla lilies on the left, where the drainage is poor and the soil swims, are thrilled. They’re out there and loving every minute of it. The lilies and impatiens that receive just a touch of western exposure are not amused.
Come on! What a bunch of wimps. The high this week hit mid 70s. Mid 70s! Just wait until September, sweetheart. I gave everything a good soak at around 4:00pm. I went out shortly after 10:00 pm the same night and the calla lily almost looked normal. I can see this summer will be spent watering the planter on the right.
Not that I’m complaining (too much). I spent six hours gardening, received two spider bites, and annihilated my manicure, but it sure was fun.
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Odds and Ends in the Kitchen
I had big plans for this week. Big! I bought a rug and then accessories. I drove to IKEA and deliberated between finishes. Then I sat down on Tuesday to put together my Swedish find from China only to realize 15 minutes later that I had two right panels instead of a right and left. I quadruple checked my work and called the store to confirm that, yes, I bought a world-wide manufacturing error that wouldn’t get resolved before Friday. Oh well. Maybe next week.
On Wednesday I created a Plan B and worked towards wrapping up some odds and ends in the kitchen. I replaced the plastic containers I talked about last week with glass, stocked up on the canning jars I use to store almost everything, bought storage lids for the jars, and made two other small purchases I’ll talk about in a bit.
One project always leads to another, so I cleaned out the refrigerator, too.
It looks good from afar, but it’s far from good on the inside. The woman who used to clean our house said that before she did her weekly shopping, she deep cleaned her refrigerator top to bottom. Everything came out and she washed and disinfected the interior. While the refrigerator dried, she went through all the food (now on the counter) and tossed anything old or near expiration. Then she put everything back and made her grocery list. She made Martha Stewart look lackadaisical.
“Well,” I said, “that’s why you do what you do for a living, and why I pay you to do it.”
I miss her.
Cleaning out the refrigerator seemed like it would take a while, so I decided to first tackle the small projects to gain a sense of achievement. The first thing I did was lay out our new Dish Drying Mat. We’ve always used towels before, and aside from the inconvenience of having one less towel, we ran the risk of damaging our cabinets if the towel failed to hold all the water from drying dishes. Because of the way our sink sits, drainboards don’t work. We’ve never had a problem using just towels, but I wanted a proper dish mat. Done and done. I think it looks nice and simple, and it’s very absorbent. What a difference from using a towel! I love it. As far as dish mats go, of course.
Next, I hung a little towel bar on one of the cabinet doors (the cabinet doors I need to replace with news ones sitting in the garage). I’ve wanted one since August 28, 2008. I know the date because that’s when Nicole revealed her kitchen remodel, and I asked her about the towel bar. She said, “I got it at Bed Bath and Beyond!” I said, “Cool, I’ll go pick one up!”
Exactly three years and 8 months later, I did.
Tackling the storage drawer was a breeze. I decided to buy the Pyrex brand glass containers. The price worked better with my budget, and the BPA-free plastic lids don’t bother me as much as it would to store glass lids in a small drawer. It looks like I went from thousands of containers to just a few, but I only lost four pieces. Everything fits so nicely that the drawer seems cavernous. I’m going to buy a few ultra-small containers, and so that everything fits I’ll store the lids underneath the containers. Right now there is enough room for them to hang out on their sides.
The last task I used to procrastinate involved transferring nuts into canning jars. Fascinating! I ran out of canning jars months ago, but kept forgetting to buy more. I use them to store nuts and seeds in the refrigerator and pasta sauces in the freezer. I noticed Tamar Adler used them in the videos I shared yesterday to store her food for the week, so I figured now was as good a time as any to buy more. They are so inexpensive. I love canning jars.
And then, the refrigerator. It didn’t take as long as I feared. It never does.
Much better. The second picture is a close up of my canning jars so you can see how I store my nuts and seeds (I use them in salads). You can also see the BPA-free storage lids I finally remembered to buy. I drove ten miles out of my way to buy those things, but they’re worth the $200 extra I had to spend in gas. The standard silver ring and lid that comes with canning jars rusts easily. These plastic lids will last much, much longer and they are infinitely easier to use.
Now all I have left to do is the freezer. Dear God, the freezer.
- Please link to a specific post, not a general blog address.
- Your post must relate to your efforts to create an intentional home. I have a delete button, and I’m not afraid to use it.
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- There are buttons to add to your post or sidebar, too, thanks to the lovely Alex, of Type A Calligraphy. Please link the buttons back to this site.
- Let’s use this weekly link up as an opportunity to gather inspiration and motivation. Click links. Discover new people. Say hi and good job. I know I will.
Potatoes and Onions
Today’s project is something I wanted to do in October. I didn’t, but I can’t remember why. It might have been because I forgot, or it might have been because this isn’t a project with show stopping results. When you are doing one project after another, a pretty “after” is a lot like a pat on the back. This project, organizing potatoes and onions, is a lot like your mother leaning over and picking the lint off your shoulder. Annoying, but helpful.
To the left of our sink is a lazy-Susan cabinet where we keep our casserole dishes and the potatoes and onions. Right now, the potatoes and onions sit in plastic mixing bowls (sometimes in their plastic store bags, sometimes not) and slowly rot from abandon. My mom has always stored these cellar vegetables in two separate baskets in her pantry and, to her credit, rarely has a problem with rot. Of course, potatoes and onions wouldn’t dare defy her will by getting soft or sprouting greens. And, if they did, heaven knows my immigrant mother wouldn’t let a little thing like decomposition stop her from making dinner. No food goes to waste. Ever. Slice off the mold! That sprout is good luck! Quit being a baby!
I don’t have the space to store my vegetables in a basket in the pantry, but I realized shortly after our kitchen remodel in 2007 that I could store them in small baskets in the lazy Susan cabinet. It’s 2012 now, so, you know. Tick-tock! (Hunger Games)
I pulled everything out and vacuumed out the cabinet. I didn’t put anything in the donate pile. I use everything here, perhaps infrequently. I’m not really a casserole person, yet I seem to have several. Honestly, the French white Corningware dishes were a wedding present for an acquaintance whose wedding we missed at the last minute. I tried for a while to meet up with her, but our schedules never connected and when we would bump into each other on the street, it’s not like I had the dishes in my purse. She later divorced. I use them now to store leftovers from dinner.
I dream of a plastic-free kitchen. In fact, I emptied out my tupperware drawer today intent on cleaning it out. I changed my mind at the last minute. I didn’t have everything I need to replace the plastic and I felt rushed, like I was doing the project for all the wrong reasons.
I’ve been housebound for a week now, and today was no different. Nicholas has the stomach flu and Mikey is recuperating from the flu I had last week. They’re doing fine, but I couldn’t leave the house for baskets. In the end, I think that was a good thing. I’ve put this project off for 5 years, and searching for the perfect basket sounds like something I would do to procrastinate. I found this old fashioned picnic-like basket in the garage and used it to toss in all my potatoes and onions.
I panicked a bit about mixing the potatoes and onions and even researched it on Google. The jury is still out on whether I did it for curiosity or to extend this project to six years instead of five. My gut says procrastinate, because in the 12 years I have mixed potatoes and onions like a pimp I never once pondered the ramifications of this crime against nature. In case you are curious, research says no, you should not store potatoes and onions together because the chemicals they release hasten hasten spoilage in the other. Research also says 99.9% of homeowners who don’t have underground cellars or large pantries store their potatoes and onions together because life is too short to worry about root vegetables.
All together now: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
In researching storing potatoes and onions, I did find these storage canisters, which are all the rage on sites like ChowHound, The Kitchn, and popular remodel websites. They’re cute, but large and expensive. I would consider buying them if I wasn’t so averse to items cluttering up my counter. I only have a few precious feet to work, and having large ceramic crocks (pretty though they may be) monopolize my work area would drive me batty.
- Please link to a specific post, not a general blog address.
- Your post must relate to your efforts to create an intentional home. I have a delete button, and I’m not afraid to use it.
- No links to giveaways, please.
- There are buttons to add to your post or sidebar, too, thanks to the lovely Alex, of Type A Calligraphy. Please link the buttons back to this site.
- Let’s use this weekly link up as an opportunity to gather inspiration and motivation. Click links. Discover new people. Say hi and good job. I know I will.
