Today I noticed...I REALLY like digital accessibility!

I have become a person who really appreciates and looks for ways to make almost anything digitally accessible. 

Since my retirement, I have volunteered a bit in our local community. One focus of my efforts has been with the Nolensville Historic Cemetery. I am in the process of digitizing all of the records associated with lots at the cemetery. Each lot is assigned a certificate of ownership. Since the 1930s, the deeds and certificates of ownership have been on paper and need to be digitized. Each of the sales receipts, each burial documentation, each transfer of ownership upon resale from one owner to the next has been documented with paper. There are more than a dozen four-inch notebooks full of documents. So, I am in the process of scanning page after page of documents and saving them to cloud storage. Plus, I am linking each document into a couple or three spreadsheets to make searching for information more streamlined and easier. Already, we have found this to be helpful and efficient. 

Win! Win!

The other day, when our daughter-in-law sent me a photo and explained that she is organizing her classroom library, my immediate thought was that we need to enter that information into a spreadsheet so that she has a digital listing and can easily search her inventory.

We can use her color-coding strategies that she is applying, include the author's name, title, and reading level information, (and more) as ways to label columns. This will make it easy and efficient for her to search and sort book information.

Of course, I volunteered to help out with creating the spreadsheets. This sort off nudged me to notice that organizing and making lists and files and documents digitally accessible is something that makes me happy - and does the same for others!

Summer Project #2

While Luci was here for her Days, I decided that we needed a project to do that would keep her busy.  We usually do some baking or cooking together and after we had done that, I got her to help me with a cleaning and organizing project.  One of my cabinets had just become a place for all sorts of junk.  So, I decided we would do a bit of organizing of that space.

I really hate that I didn't get a before or even a photo of her pulling all that junk out of the cabinet.  I'm telling you it was a jumbled up mess!  We threw out lots and made a box for donations.  Then, I filled a bowl with soapy water and Luci took a cloth and scrubbed the shelf and cabinet really well!

She was such a good helper!  Then, I handed her a bin and asked her to test it out on the shelf and she was so proud that it was a perfect fit!  So, we put some empty jars into one and vases into another and she tested to see what would fit and what would not.  Then, I handed her things and she found the perfect place for them and we called it a job well done!

The cabinet holds odd jars, extra spice jars, antique bottles that I sometimes use for vases, canning jars, vases, the vintage juicer (that big metal thing behind the large bottle on the left), a bottle of champagne somebody gave us, and liquor that I use to make marinades.

When we finished, Luci asked if we were going to do tackle another cabinet.  So, I decided that while she was willing, we would clean the island shelves.  She got down on the floor and handed me all the cookbooks and pottery.  Then, she got to Mike's side and started fussing about "all his trash!"  He had a stash of plastic bags, some empty soft drink bottles, an old farmer's magazine, and his medications poked into a basket and a bowl.  

She sounded just like a little old lady fussing about his "mess" as she took things off the shelf.

Again, I fixed a bowl of soapy water and she took a cloth and scrubbed the shelves well!

We let them air dry and added the things back onto the shelves - minus the trash that she fussed about in Mike's little corner!  

One of the things we didn't put back into the cabinet was a stack of cups she found.  She told me that she had a good idea of what she could do with them.  So, she took them to the bedroom and closed the door.  After a few minutes, she called me in to see her creation:

After Luci returned home, the house sure did seem quiet without her.  Plus, I certainly did have a good helper while she was here!

Summer Project #1

Summer has traditionally been the time when I work on projects and get things done. Most of them are home-improvement-type endeavors where I'm organizing or repairing or updating or simply making something work better around the house.  My first project was out of necessity.  The drain hose for the dishwasher cracked and was leaking.  So, one day there was a puddle in the kitchen floor.  I mopped up and did some investigating under the kitchen sink only to find water standing under there as well.  First, I cleared everything out from under the kitchen sink and mopped up all the water.  I left it to dry overnight and called a plumber.  

In the meantime I went online and ordered some clear plastic bins that would organize the cleaners, jars, etc. that I store down there.  I was inspired by Ann at On Sutton Place.  She talked about how the handle made it easier to pull out the items that were in the back.  So, I found these nice see-through bins and ordered these as well.  After weeding out the junk and throwing some things out, this is how my tidy under-the-sink cabinet looks:

• The left-hand cabinet has a trash can and a container that holds dishwasher pods. (You can see the pod container there on the left with the green label.)  
• That is one of my scrubbing brushes sitting on a clear plastic coaster right in front.  
• The clear bin right behind it is 14.5" long and just fits in that space with only about a hand's width to spare.  In the front, it has a tub that contains silver polish, brass polish, tooth paste for cleaning spots on silver, and that sort of thing.  In the back of that bin are oils for my butcher block counter top and cutting boards and front porch rockers.  
• On the right, I have two of the bins with handles.  The one in the back holds some empty jars and a couple of empty cans that can be used to discard something like bacon grease when I need something of that sort.  The front bin holds extras of dish soap and hand soap to refill the containers on the counter by the sink as well as window cleaner and the gloves I use for hand-washing pots and pans.  I also have an empty spray bottle in it for when I mix dish soap and vinegar to clean things.

The next project turned out to be sort of a consolation prize.  I had hoped to redo and update our kitchen this summer but we decided that our budget just wasn't ready for that, yet.  Plus, there is the Coronavirus and we just didn't feel good about having folks coming in and out of our house.  So, I decided that I would just make the things we had work better for us!

I had gotten frustrated with spices and things falling out of the cabinet every time I tried to get something out for cooking.  It seemed that every time I reached for one thing, another couple of things fell out as well.  So, again, I decided it was time to organize and followed Ann's advice! I ordered more of the clear bins with handles that stick out, a couple of these turntables, and large jars and small jars.  I hate I didn't take a before picture but these two will give you an idea of some of the jumbled up conglomeration that I had up there:

I threw out things that were out-of-date or simply looked yucky.  I combined a couple of containers into one jar when I had more than one opened.  It was really quite rewarding to get this spiffed up! I wiped down the cabinet and shelves and placed the turntables inside and filled them up!

• The bottom shelf has spices that we tend to use most on the turntable.  The jars behind the black pepper container are baking soda, baking powder, and corn starch.  There are a couple of bottles of flavored oils and a bottle of vegetable oil along with salt for refilling the shaker and some vegetable spray.  All tidy and within quick reach when cooking.
• On the middle shelf, the turntable holds spices that we use less frequently.  On the right are jars with tea bags, cocoa mix, lemonade mix, and bottles of different extracts and flavorings such as vanilla, almond, maple, etc. 
• I followed the advice that I read online in several places and put the items on the top shelf in clear bins with handles to make them easier to take down.  One bin holds bar-b-que rubs and it is in the middle because it is most frequently used by Mike as well as me. 
  
  The one on the right holds sprinkles and sugars for baking with/for the Grands.
  

The one on the left holds extras for refilling the jars.

I smile every time I open this cabinet now!  Everything is easy to find, easy to access, and easy to return to it's rightful place.  

I still hope to update and revamp my kitchen someday and when we do I will still be able to use these bins and turntables and jars.  For now, making our kitchen work efficiently for us and tidying it up are good enough.

Randomness on a Tuesday

All our different family gatherings for Christmas are complete and this old lady is tired.  They hype.  The anticipation.  The excitement.  We took it all in and enjoyed every second of it.  The scurry and bustle of preparation and the enthusiasm and excitement of the little folks for the treasures hidden behind bright wrapping paper and tissue has all been absorbed.

This morning I wandered round the house gathering up stray boxes and bits of tissue that had escaped the first sweep a day or so ago.  I wore my sweat pants and Tshirt and a smile on my face as the memories of the grandchildren and children flitted through my mind.  Ah! The joys of young exuberance!  That is truly what makes Christmas memories.

I think of the pauses as we lifted up thanksgiving for the multitude of blessings we enjoy.  Everyone in the household stops and gives pause.  Then, we are back to living the life and enjoying those blessings to which we just paused and gave thanks.  The dollops and spoonfuls on the plates of the littles before doing the same for ourselves.  Next, we sit in fellowship and enjoy the bounty prepared for sharing.  The chatter and laughter ring out and warm our hearts.

When the last morsel is swallowed, we set aside our plates and move to perch in front of the twinkling lights on the tree.  Soon, paper is ripping and tissue is flying as treasures are uncovered and joy is exclaimed.  Oohs and Ahhs can be heard round the room along with statements like, "I've been wanting one of these for a year!"  The excitement can hardly be contained and toys must come out of the packaging as soon as humanly possible  Trucks and tractors are pushed and scooted along on the hearth and the floor.  Books are thumbed through in anticipation of the places the words will take us.  Clothes are draped across bellies and chests in anticipation of wearing.  Shoot-guns are aimed and scooters and toy trucks are rolled as knees scoot across the floor imagining bigger worlds of the future.

Then, the bounty is gathered up and loaded up.  "Take a little of this ham home with you for tomorrow."  "Can I leave a few of these cookies for you for later?"  The kitchen is cleaned and the food stored away while the bags and boxes are toted to the truck for transport.   Hugs and kisses are shared all around and then out the door they all go to their respective homes and beds leaving our house empty, quiet, and hollow.

We flop onto the couch and comfy recliner and prop our feet up to catch our breath.  After a bit the dust settles, the furniture stops rocking, and the quiet normalness of home returns.  We rest a bit and share some remembrances from our visitors.  Then, I wander round the house gathering up stray boxes and bits of tissue that had escaped the first sweep a day or so ago to store them away until I use them again next year.

When I was catching my breath, I noticed a few things worth sharing...

I loved this series and thought what a wonderful idea this was.  Maybe sometime I can wander through our little town to capture a similar series.  Or wouldn't it be fun to put together a series from years gone by?

I got quite a chuckle when reading this article.  Hallmarks which can be found in my own home.  Yep.  Every. Single. One.

As all the posts from blogs start populating my inbox, I noticed this one and wholeheartedly agree - I'm OK with a mess sometimes!  However, I have been contemplating ways to tidy up my pantry which has grown into quite a mess and needs some straightening and organizing.  I'm thankful that one of our children gave me a little jump-start with some large glass jars for storing staples and items in the pantry that will make it easy to see what we have and what might need to go on the shopping list.  I've saved some inspirational photos like the one here and made a note to myself that I need to get some of those baskets.  Or, maybe I should get some of those inexpensive wire shelves and flip them upside-down for my canned goods.  I also like the idea of the lazy susans used in this one.  So, now you know what one of my upcoming projects might be.

I noticed once again that I need to do something to make my cabinets more organized and have the out-of-the-way items that we only use occasionally easier to access.  To be honest, I'm getting too old and am far too out-of-shape to be crawling on the floor to get things out of the bottom cabinets.  I thought number 23 in this post would be an inexpensive fix for just that.  (I also like 3 and 20.)  I'd like to have one of these made instead of having a drawer where all our knives are stored and knocked around on one another to dull.

Just when I was chastising myself for just rambling and not getting more accomplished, I stumbled upon this post and was affirmed that rambling can be a good thing sometimes.  Happy randomness and rambling to you today!

Had a Helper

I had a little helper while one of the grands was here for her Days.  I enlisted her assistance to clean and straighten my napkin and placemat stash.  I do hate that I didn't take a BEFORE photo.  There was a jumbled up mess in the lower half of my Granny Cabinet.  Honestly, it sort of looked like I had opened the door to the dryer!

Lillie sat in the floor and pulled out stack after stack and pile after pile of cloth napkins and placemats.

I sat in a nearby chair and sorted and created a give-away pile of those things I rarely use.

Neat stacks of napkins!

Then, we organized and stacked things back inside in a more organized fashion.

Tidy stacks of placemats, napkins, and fingertip towels used for napkins or placemats

Now, I just need somebody to help me sort through, clean out, and organize the junk on the top of the Granny Cabinet!

Bridgette took a few of the things out of the give-away pile.

I took a set of baseball placemats to Harris for his enjoyment.

The rest took a trip to Goodwill (at least a garbage bag full).

A day or so later, I got this photo from Bridgette in a text message along with the message:

NO YOU CAN'T HAVE THESE NAPKINS BACK!!!

Cleaning and Organizing

Well, we have entered the new year and I'm thinking about and beginning to organize my pantry.  So, I have been gathering ideas and pinning them to my kitchen board.  I guess I actually began the process with some intention this morning when I poured the grits out of the flimsy cardboard storage container from the store and into an over-sized canning jar.  

I thought I'd better label them so I wouldn't forget what the contents actually are and the instructions for preparation.  So, I found these printable labels  and added the information to them.  Maybe that is what I need to use...Now, should I print that onto a sticky label or simple card stock?

Should I glue it to a little wood tag and tie it round the jar or stick it to the jar itself?  Do I need to put the instructions on the back side of the tag or on the back side of the jar?

More organization needs to follow once I formulate my plan!