So like I said, “Clutter.” Emotional clutter will become physical clutter if you allow it. Every flat service in our home has some kind of clutter along with most drawers and other places of storage. When my husband field day his room (cleaned his barrack room) he use to throw all his stuff in a foot locker or closet. His version of cleaning has been and is stuffing things away so it can’t be seen and if it doesn’t have to be clean leaving everything out and about. I have let it go because I have other things to fight about. I have cooking, laundry, helping him with paperwork, making lunches, volunteering at my daughter’s school, the list goes on and on, literally. I do not have the time or energy to fight my husband to down size his stuff, to organize our things or keep things in their proper place. After taking several photos of our house and sending them to him he finally saw how bad it’s become and has finally agreed that it has gotten out of control especially after seeing photos of our house when I first moved in years ago. Now please forgive me I forgot to take some photos along the way. So here are the steps.

1)      Buy containers or things to organize your space. I bought 2 new shoe boxes at $2.35 each and 2 over the door shoe organizers at $6.48 each. (I bought those things Wal-mart) I also bought one vanity organizer from The Container Store for $20. (I still can’t believe I paid that much) I also had some other containers around the house that I decided to put in the bathroom. After that make a note that everything will fit in those organizers and that’s it.  

2)      Downsize. Downsize. Downsize. Take the things that are almost empty or things that you have never used and get rid of them. I know but it is a half bottle of Bath and Body works lotion, its something I got on my wedding day, it was a gift from my aunt. If you haven’t used it in a month get rid of it. It isn’t that important.

3)      Place the items where you feel they need to go and where you’ll remember to place them. J’s big problem is that he picks something up and just sets it down on any flat surface he finds. By getting these organizers, which are clear, he can see where it came from and put it back. So here are some before and after photos of part of our bathroom.

So here we have the linen closet which has 4 shelves the top two shelves had only towels, the bottom two had extra toiletries and the floor has our dehumidifier and other junk. So I took one of the shoe organizers and put our extras in it instead of the containers I had in the closet. Why, because J would take things out since he couldn't find what he was looking for in the bathroom, use it and place it on the vanity, dresser, bathtub, just about anywhere. Now we shouldn't have that problem. 

Now I placed everything on the door. Everything has its own bag and that is its home. 

Now for the vanity. Good gravy the vanity. I have tried to organize it by giving J a side and his things like tweezers, nail clippers and the like but once again he'll use his while walking around the house and set it somewhere else. Since his are now lost mine become usable. Do you see the plastic drawer near the wall? Yep most of my stuff is in there since all the other drawers are taken. Now granted some of my things are out but that is because I can't put them anywhere. 

Pretty, yes? Holy crap we had an electric razor, a blow dryer and other things on the vanity? 

Look all of my cleaning supplies are in one box instead of scattered all over the bottom of the sink.

All the medication is in two containers with labels and it isn't everywhere.

Now we threw away almost 2 bags of trash and you see how much we have left. A lot of things were half used bottles of things or expired medications or used things, like razors. I would like to downsize more but I think if I were to do that J may freak. It is a baby step, one that was greatly needed. While I was doing this J took it upon himself to unclutter his closet (I finally have more shirts then my husband) as well as gather up the laundry in our room and put his clean clothes away in his dresser, since I don't do it right. Well there you go. I hope to do the girls' playroom next. It use to be very organized and neat but for 3 months I had fainting spells and was very sick so they got use to a cleaning style called, "loco cleaning," where they shove everything in boxes and drawers and call it clean. I am going to buy a book case, one plastic shelving unit and 2 pop up hampers to organize their playroom. So wish me luck! 

I hope you enjoyed the beginning of our unclutterization journey and will continue to check in. Why am I so serious about this you may ask? This is a serious subject that involves no jokes and little sarcasm. Ever since I moved in with my husband I have been fighting with his emotional clutter which became physical clutter. I do own a lot of things, don't get me wrong, but mine are put away for the most part. Hopefully my journey and triumph over these will help you in someway to remove the junk in your life. 

Chicken of Garliciness!!!

So this is my all time favorite recipe to make on those days that I am going to be busy. A stay at home mom that is busy. Phsst. I'll believe it when I see it. It is so super easy and I keep all the ingredients on hand for those occasions when I won't be in the house, busy with chores, or just plain lazy. Today I was just too busy to be in the kitchen all day so I made our chicken dish. I've made this for potlucks, other gatherings and to use the leftovers in many different dishes. So here we go:

Like most people say simplicity is the key to any great dish and this dish couldn't be simpler. You'll need

3-3 1/2 pounds of chicken (I prefer legs and thighs which you can cook longer. If I use white meat I change the cooking time to 5 hours.)
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 TBSP plus 1 tsp paprika
1 TBSP kosher salt
1 1/2 TBSP black ground pepper
1 large onion sliced
20-30 cloves of garlic with the skins on

1) Slice the onion and line the crock pot, like this. Now depending on the size of the onion you may need two.  For some reason lining it ensures the meat doesn't get over cooked.

2) Mix together the spices and the EVOO to make a paste. Mine was a little thin this time but it was still pretty thick. Next you need to coat the chicken in the seasoning paste. It really doesn't matter how you coat it as long as its coated. I like to layer the chicken and the paste alternately in a bag and then shake to coat, which every is your preferred method. After the chicken is coated place it in the crock pot.

3) Separate the cloves from the bulb, be very careful not to rip the skins on the cloves. I like to wash them after separating them.

  4) Now spread the garlic over the chicken, cover and set on low for 6-8 hours. Ta-dah! That's it. It truly is a very simple recipe. 

Now I served this with mashed potatoes and broccoli and cheese tonight but tomorrow I might turn the leftovers into nachos, burritos, chicken sandwiches, salad, really almost anything. I hope you'll enjoy this recipe. This is Ronnie, signing off. 

 

Clutter......

Let's talk about clutter. Every person has some form of clutter be it a dirty car, a junk drawer, too much clothes, scraps of sentimental things or a house full of stuff and no where to put it, all of us have some form of clutter. I have a girlfriend that calls it a "collection," another that calls it "crafts I have yet to make" and another "who doesn't have the time to go through it."


For those who know me in person know that I have had a lot of emotional issues about our move, personal problems and dealing with changes in my life physically, emotionally, and mentally over the past 5 or so years. Those who have been there for me have known that the clutter in my house was driving me insane. Besides the ECMC (emotional clutter mental clutter) I've been dealing with, my husband has had his share of everything, literally. His dealings with PTSD, changes in his life and having ghosts of the past haunt his present, his clutter and "buying to fill in his emptiness" has turned our house into a "trash can." Since he has been getting help and dealing with his inner demons he has granted me the ability to purge the house. Which I couldn't be happier/sadder. Sad? Yes, sad. I could have saved a lot of money and bought a new refrigerator with the money he has spent on things to fill the void he didn't want to deal with. Don't get me wrong I have added to our clutter and I do own mine but now that he is finally on board, I am going to let you into my house. Am I proud of it, no. Am I posting here for your judgment, absolutely not (those comments you can keep to yourself). Am I posting here to give you hope that you can de-clutter your house, yes. Hopefully this will help those who need inspiration. Pictures to follow soon. I'll keep you all posted.