Cleaning and Organizing My "Lazy Susan"

Recently I cleaned out the "Lazy Susan" in my kitchen. I had too much in it and needed to clean and update it. Throw out the things I do not use or that are outdated. If you cook a lot you probably have a lot of seasonings in your cupboard. Sometimes I will use one particular herb or spice for months then all of sudden for some reason or other I start using a different one. Herbs and spices are something I never stock up on. I like them as fresh as I can get them. Though I admit to still using a few that are long outdated. They are just too expensive to throw out. The secret to using a "Lazy Susan" is to keep it organized and always put each item back in its own space. 

According to American folk lore the "lazy Susan" was invented by Thomas Jefferson which was actually a "dumbwaiter" for his daughter, Susan. Regardless of who or when it was invented is irrelevant to me. Whoever did it probably did not consider that one day it would be included inside a corner of the cupboard in a kitchen. Honestly I wish they had built one into my other corner cupboard as well. I have a hard time getting things out of it that are in the back. Storing the things I use most often in the front of it only. 

On the top shelf of this cabinet I keep all my seasonings, herbs and spices, along with extracts and flavorings. At one end is all the peppers and salts and the other end has paper items, such as plastic Ziploc bags, wax paper, aluminum foil, parchment paper, etc. In the middle is all the seasoning. Everything is easy to get to quickly. I like it to be easy to use while cooking. Searching for something in particular annoys me if I can't find it. That is usually my own fault putting something back in the wrong spot. 

Paper products, aluminum foil, plastic wrap and bags are kept in their own boxes on one end. The wall of the cupboard keeps them in place. I find that by keeping the small bottles of extracts and essential oils in a tin without the top keeps them in place. 

The plastic trays work well in here also. I don't want any jars falling over when I spin the "Lazy Susan" around. When I am in the kitchen cooking this cupboard is almost always open. I like to put everything back as soon as I am done with it. When I decided to live small I discovered routines work best to keep everything neat and clean. Do not buy anything you are not going to use. If you are trying something new buy the smallest available till you see if you like it or not.

The bottom shelf can hold heavier items. I have things on that shelf that I don't use every day. It holds my health supplies such as the electrolytes, cough drops and Essiac tea extract. Dehydrated onions are also on that shelf as well as coffee and sugar-free syrups. I like to stock up on my supplies but have to be careful how much I buy. Space is limited but that is okay with me. I don't want a lot of stuff. I lived that way in my last home and it was stupid to live like that. Having so much stuff that you never even use it. Now I use everything. 

I was amazed that all these items would fit back into the "Lazy Susan". I did get rid of some of the outdated things or whatever I did not use. Still I had a lot of stuff to fit on those shelves. I am careful to not overload the shelves because that could cause them to break. Not sure the management would be willing to fix it for me. At the very least it would take awhile for them to repair it. Best to keep it in very good shape and be careful with it. So I am.

Copyright © 2024 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2024  Kathleen G. Lupole

Organizing My Kitchen Cupboards

This is what my kitchen looked like when I started!

Yesterday, I spent the day organizing my cupboards for the hundredth time since I moved here. Sad to say, but they were a disaster! They aren't as tall as I need, since many of my bottles and jars are taller than store bought product ones. I have such a hard time reaching up into a cupboard due to it hurting my shoulders. Plus I am pretty short. So I usually have to stand on stool. A small one about a foot off the floor with a wide top. I am very careful when on it. The last thing I need is to fall. 

The lazy Susan when I first moved in. 2018

Apartments don't offer the best cupboards, but mine are not too bad. Especially considering I have a large lazy Susan built it under the counter and next to the stove. I use it for spices and seasonings on one side and ziploc bags, foil and parchment paper on the other side.  The bottom shelf on it has large bulk cans of various things I use. It is very handy and I love that thing.

The kitchen in my old house.

After living so long among chaos at my house, when I moved here in 2018, I promised myself that would never happen again. I knew as long as I lived alone it would not happen and would never have happened before. Sometimes things are beyond your control. Now it is not. I loved having a pantry in my house, I just did not like what it looked like. It was the original pantry in the house but it badly needed work. I used it but it was frustrating to say the least. Here I do not have one but I have used some ideas I used in the pantry.

I knew there was a way to organize these cupboards to make best use of the space. I just had to figure it out. Younger people, taller people or people without any disabilities don't understand what I go through trying to get something out of a cupboard. Many times I just give up. Now I think I have it organized in such a way that I can find everything. Probably have to use the stool to get something on the higher shelves but I can usually do that. 

Putting foods in large mouth canning jars is one of those. I had a lot of products that were in bags with zip locks on them. Trouble is those zip locks did not zip tightly. So I have put all those items in the canning jars. It is important to use wide mouth ones so you can get your hand inside to the bottom of the jar. Then label the outside of the jar with a label and use a marker to write what is in it. If I need the directions, the ingredients, recipes or any nutritional information, I cut that off the bag and tape it to the back. 

It took me the whole day to do this job but it had to be done. I know I could have waited and had my aide do it or help me. But I knew in my mind what I wanted to do and didn't want to hurry through it. I took a lot of breaks and sat down and put my feet up a lot. So it took me longer but now it is done the way I wanted it. The next job will be the lazy Susan. 

Copyright © 2021 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2021  Kathleen G. Lupole

Decluttering The Homestead Means Progress

Rabbit enjoying the wood stove heat!

The cooler weather is definitely on the way, our wood stoves have been fired up. Not at full capacity yet though. Mostly banked back. Which meant my husband had to clean our chimney already! Messy job, but he does it at least once a month, when it is banked back. Our pet rabbit, "Rabbit" has taken a real liking to the wood stove. Just like our cats have always hung out around the pedestal during the night, when it banked back in the cold of winter.

Fall is here!

Today I have been spending some time organizing upstairs in my house. It is so strange how it gets so cluttered so quickly when I am not looking! "How did all that stuff get here?" I ask myself. Can't blame it on my husband, as it all my stuff. It is amazing how when you throw stuff out, that you have been collecting for whatever reason, it frees you. Yes, that is what the minimalist write about and you think, "what are they talking about?" Well, it is true and it does. I feel so much better when I go back upstairs and all that stuff is GONE. Not just put in another box, but gone out of my house for good.

  Can't you just smell the fall leaves? Love that smell!

We are making plans for fixing our chimney, hopefully in the very near future. So it will be more efficient. Right now it has an adapter on the hole from the stove, where it connects to the chimney. The adapter changes it from  8" to 6". It was on it when we moved in here in 1999. Now we want to get rid of the adapter and the 6" pipe and make it 8". That is what the stove was designed and built for. We believe it would be much more efficient than it is presently.

Freshly Harvested Heirloom Carrots & Tomatoes

That is why I want to clean out the upstairs. More room to work while my husband is changing the chimney, since it goes right through the bedroom and out the roof. Then he can put insulation into the ceiling to keep the warm air in the house. Little by little, we need to get this work done. I am encouraged by the plans we have made recently to get this house into better shape. We can get a lot of work done inside the house during the winter. I hope to show you some progress soon!

Copyright © 2015 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2015 Kathleen G. Lupole

Updated 2018

An Organized House Is An Efficient Home

Our house looks big, but short on space!

I have been reading lately about a family that lives in a tiny house. I do not live in one myself........not technically. Our house is a two story farm house that was built in 1850. It is not as big as it looks. With an extra person staying with us for a few years now, we are squashed in here! Soon it will be just the two of us again. As sad as I am about it, our dog, Nikita, at 14 years of age, won't be sticking around for many more years either. We have decided not to get any new pets or critters of any sort.  And when our present ones die we will not be replacing them either. You wouldn't think one dog and three cats take up much space, but they do.

Batteries need their own room and to be in a box!

Another thing that will give us more room is finishing our room for the batteries. Putting them downstairs and out of the upstairs. That would free up a lot of space. No more cramped feelings! Before any of that happens, I have to live with what I have now. The first step is to get rid of any and everything that takes up space and is not being used. No matter what it is. Going through box after box of things and dropping them off at the thrift store or selling them on eBay. Two ways I have of disposing of the excess.

One of the hunters now!

I used to think I would not want a tiny house. When I stopped to think about it though, I realized that I was living already like I was in a tiny house. Some of my problems with my house have been the mice. That made it impossible to put anything on shelves like I dreamed of doing. My three cats are awesome hunters. They get some every day, but outside. In the house, the mice appear in places where the cats have no access to. Like inside the pantry, the door is kept closed from the kitchen because the idea is for it to be cooler than the rest of the house. 

Our heating stove

My two wood stoves take up a good part of the rooms they are in. The wood stove in our living room is on a large hearth and takes up almost 1/4 of the whole room. Our wood is usually stacked on the hearth also so it is not wasted space. I guess I can see why people take them out because they'd rather more room. I will not take it out, as I'd rather have heat, then room, any day! I am planning the rooms to be efficient so you can get what you want or do what you want quickly. Cooking and cleaning up  needs to be easier and quicker. Once you have your whole house organized, it should run efficiently. I see it getting easier as I work on it. An organized house is an efficient home!

Copyright © 2012 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2012  Kathleen G. Lupole

Organizing Your Life Is Part Of Being Frugal

Early morning at Peaceful Forest Homestead

I have been working on trying to get more organized for 2011. By my birthday, which is in June. I am selling off most of my books. I am going through my photographs and dividing them up for the younger generation in my family. Those I am labeling and making albums for each of them so they will have them later on. One part of organizing your home is that it also organizes your life. It makes it easier so you are on top of all things, say like bill paying, taxes, pets, appointments, birthdays, auto insurance renewal, etc. All those things that need some kind of care are routine. That's the way I like it.

My used books all are being sold on Bonanza. Also collectibles includes souvenirs. So all those mementos from past trips and excursions can be listed and sold. Yes! People buy them for some reason. When I had my eBay store I bought bags of junk mail from a thrift store and that sold like hot cakes! Of course, it was "vintage junk mail" and that made it popular. Unfortunately, my junk mail is not vintage.

Going through our clothing and getting rid of anything we haven't worn in the last year. I do have a back up supply of warm clothing and I definitely will be keeping that. Those are things that we rotate into our closet as we need it, just like the rotation of our food that is stocked up. Anything that takes up space I will be seriously eyeing as to whether we need to hold on to it or not. It is surprising what a box here and there amounts to in space being wasted in our house.

Fresh green onion all winter!

To change the subject a bit, I wanted to share a couple of ideas I have done lately. One is two onions that got hidden in my pantry started sprouting. So I have put them in a pot, no dirt, and let them grow. Now I am using the fresh green onion! This happened by accident but I am thinking of doing this every winter. I hunger for those fresh homegrown foods in the winter months.

Another frugal idea I came up with the other night was because I was frustrated by the way they make coffee cans now. I hated when the name brands of coffee went to that pull off foil piece attached to rim on the can. Then when the brand I purchase at Save-Alot, McDaniels, which is still a bargain at $4.99 a can did it too.....I was really frustrated then! Let me explain why it bothers me. When you get to the end of the can you can not pour out, or get that little bit that is left in the can. It is trapped by that stupid rim! Well, being at the last of the can the other night, I decided to take off the bottom of the can, and see how that would work. It would. So last night when I opened the new can, I opened it from the bottom and left the top as it was. Left the plastic top over the foil part in case it wouldn't work. But it did! Now there is no rim to trap the last grains of coffee when I finish this can. I used another plastic top to cover it. Works great and saves this very frugal coffee drinker that last bit of coffee in the can.

NOTE: Since I wrote this earlier today, it has been pointed out to me that the rim can be removed with a can opener. I tried and it worked. So I feel that was dumb thing for me not to have discovered myself! I spent months tolerating this coffee wasting can. 

Snow on the deck is Nikita's favorite place to lay!

Since everyone seems to be sharing their photos of snow on their decks I thought I would put mine up here too. That is our dog, Nikita's favorite place to lay down and roll in the snow. It does not matter how cold or how much snow there is. She goes out with her tail wagging! I read yesterday that 49 states had snow, all but FL! That meant even Hawaii had snow! Wow, that surprised me but maybe they have had snow before? I wouldn't know since I have never been there. Counting the days till spring....................counting today....66 days till the first day of spring. 

Copyright © 2011  Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2011  Kathleen G. Lupole