My husband was out of town this past weekend so we did the usual and slopped the house. By Saturday evening we were just sitting around slacking, watching videos. It looked like the Cat and the Hat dude had come by and did a number on the place. It was bad.
I told the kids we were in some serious trouble. That relatives would start coming in this week and we can’t let them see the place like this. We all decided “tomorrow” was the day. Which was Sunday.
We did it. There were stacks of mail, stacks of papers, books, you name it. Things that didn’t belong in the kitchen. It’s never messed up with dishes and things like that. It’s just that the kitchen here is like a junk drawer, a magnet for things that no one has a place for. Buttons. Sewing needles, spools of thread. Junk. I told everyone to get their stuff or it would get thrown away. Half a day later, here’s what it looked like.
I cleaned out the fridge, boy is it empty now. The micro. The oven. All that. Tackled the laundry room too. I don’t know how people with kids keep their houses so clean all the time.
I do have to give some credit to Pooks, not that she came over and cleaned for me, but she’s always got some good posts on her blog about organizing things. Couldn’t help but think about her as I filed all those papers away and threw away the things we don’t use or need.
The guy that was supposed to do this “secret room” addition with the hidden door that looks like a bookcase did about 1/4 of the job and skipped town. Left a hole in the wall and that’s about it. I told my husband I had this strange hunch about him, that as I wrote the check (we had to pay for half the job when we hired him) I got this feeling he would buy some crack with it. He was clean, had references, but there was something about him.
At least the house is clean. Now to hide that hole… And yes, we did look for him in there.
The Show Must Go On 
OMG that sucks about the hole in the wall. SInce Rob does most of our work himself I don’t have these contractor issues.
I know wha tyou mean about junk, I am a neat freak but it accumulates…then you have to go through and ‘clean house’.
There are some people down the street, they own two houses…sold both of them and moved to Arkansas.
They have the most junk I have ever seen. Total packrats. I went over and looked at one of the houses when it was on the market (took them FOREVER) to sell b/c of the amount of junk they had. The guy had boxes of doll heads, boxes of rubic cubes, etc. I am NOT joking.
The other house (on the golf course) has been on the market for 8-9 months. It is totally junky from the outside, boxes and boxes of CRAP sitting in the covered driveway. This when most houses in this neighborhood sell in days or weeks.
They have made 4 trips with rent-a-trucks to Arkansas for a bunch of JUNK. They throw away almost nothing, as you can see by what they are putting by the curb.
If you ever feel like hanging on to stuff come on over and check out their house. You will start throwing things away immediately.
No, I’m not much of a pack rat. The biggest problem is I read a million different sort of things at one time. I get about 15 different magazines a month and always have about 4 books going. Piles of mail to open and file away.
A box of doll heads? Why does this fascinate me and give me the creeps at the same time?
Can I just say that your kitchen is really lovely? It looks huge. It must be so nice to cook in. Good job on the clean up, too.
It’s too bad about the secret room guy. Be sure to check the attic and the crawl space under the house; I’m just saying….
I admit to being a pack rat. The funny thing is, the things I am most likely to accumulate are storage and organizer things. They end up with trash in them and all the stuff I meant to organize is still on the floor or stuffed in a drawer.
I love this kitchen. I just love it. You see, I have a thing for big, spacious kitchens. Mine is so small three constitute a crowd. And anything you may leave in there automatically turns into a mess. You forget one magazine on the counter and wow! the room is packed. Get what I mean? I could definitely cook in your kitchen. I wouldn’t even mind cleaning it up. So, next time…. call me. You never know 🙂
LOVE your kitchen.
You will never see a picture of mine.
Pooks summed up my thoughts exactly.
Thanks Z, Sophia, and Pooks.
It’s right in the middle of the house, so it tends to be the gathering place here. Perfect for Cajuns.
AJ, I couldn’t bring myself to get a “before” photo. Just couldn’t.
And until the guests arrive, everyone has to stay out of the kitchen.
Oh wow. What a beautiful kitchen. I dream of having something this large and amazing!
Nice kitchen! Love the black and white.
I can so relate to the kitchen clutter problem. And like you,. none of it belongs there – magazines, books, mail, work papers, script pages, you name it – ugh. Ours has tons of counter space too – isn’t it funny how the junk expands to fill the space? I am having a party here next week, so am in the same process as you….and there are only 2 of us.
Michele, reading your script pages I imagined you had a country French kitchen like mine. Is it? We’re so damned much alike. Script pages, yep I had that around here too. They’ll stack up again as soon as everyone leave, I’m sure.
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