FLY LADY WEEK 1 - Kitchen & Laundry Room

 Good morning!

How can we be entering a new rotation already? Where does the time go?

Well, I can tell you a good portion of my time is spent with Bob. Though over the course of May a lot of my time was canning potatoes and baked beans. As you read this, I'll be processing the last of those #40 of potatoes. I am so ready to be done with those! I'm also putting the pressure canner away until fall. We're going to move into summer temperatures pretty quick and, if you've not experienced pressure canning, the task is a hot job. I don't want to work my AC any more than necessary.

For the most part, I'm done canning though I am planning on some blueberry and strawberry jam. I can put those in the water bath canner and they don't have a long processing time. An early morning task.

Now I can focus on serious cleaning.

I'm hoping for next month to focus on an actual task list that I can share with you. Things to look for in your own home you might not have thought of. For this last month in quarter 2, I just want to spruce things up a bit.

Laundry:

Go through the 3-cubby unit and get rid of anything I no longer need. We have no plans to get another dog so the bath towels, extra bowls, vet back pack, etc. can go! That will free up at least 2 cubbies for bird feed. LOL Yes, we have a wide variety of birds (and squirrels and raccoons) we feed on the front deck. Bob has gone from we aren't going to be able to afford bird feed to, 'let's grab a couple extra bags while they're on sale'. LOL He's so funny. He even researched what squirrel prefer and their visiting habits. He's such a softy. 

So cubby/ wild life food is the priority for that room. I also run the cleaning pod for the washing machine. 

From there it's the weekly run of the rumba and detailing the litter box area.

Kitchen:

I have 2 main areas of interest this week. 

The back area of the corner counter top. I want to declutter, add a lazy susan and possibly a couple of 4th of July/ Patriotic decor pieces.

The other area is my baking island. I already have the Patriotic decor for that space, I just need to clear everything else off so I can bring that in. I have planned to show you what that looks like in a later post.

Getting those areas done this week will be a big win. Can't wait for those two rooms to start looking inviting again.

Are you following this cleaning routine or have you developed your own? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY WEEK 1 - Kitchen & Laundry Room

 Hi everyone!

Welcome to May.

When I came in to write the blog post I realized weeks three and four never got posted. I thought I'd scheduled everything before I left. Was a crazy couple of weeks. ::: laugh :::

I had a great time at the retreat but am so glad to be home and really dig into this house. I have no travel plans until October. With that said, let's do this!

Bob's turn to be gone this week so I can really dig in. I've been busy canning stuff. (I'll show that post later in the week). As you read this I am working on canning #40 of potatoes I brought home from my trip. At least ten of the potatoes weigh just over #1 each! The skins are thin so they'll peel easy but that's going to possibly a two-day process.

Once potatoes are out of the way, my plan is to go through the bottom kitchen cabinets & purge (again) and to do a deep detail on the kitchen floor. Hopefully, wipe down the cabinets, too. The steam tool on my steamer should make that relatively easy.

The laundry room is pretty much the way it needs to be except for getting rid of dog stuff so I can store the bird/ cat foods in the tubs and off the counter. Crossing fingers. 

Since I'm not sure which day Bob is coming home I want to get a car load of stuff taken to Goodwill and the rest of my stuff out of the living room so we can both sit on the sofa and watch TV together.

As I get stuff cleared out, I'll have a more detailed cleaning list. For this week, take a look at your kitchen and laundry area. Are there things you could pitch? When's the last time you wiped down the cabinets? The appliances? Do you clean the inside of your washing machine? Clean the lint tube/ vent?

I'll see you later this week. promise :-)

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY WEEK - Kitchen & Laundry Room

 

Good morning!

The sun is shining and we should have a high in the 80s* today. I've already started putting laundry on the line.

A lot of things did not get done last month, as I'd planned. Between getting the oven repaired, dealing with a sinus infection then doctoring Bob's foot, it was a month. I'm going to say March is going out like a lamb here between the nicer temperatures and all of the afore mentioned things behind us.

As I hung the laundry this morning, I got the earliest scents from the Cherry Blossom Bush. I love that bush. Unfortunately, the honeysuckle and blackberry roots have crept beneath ground, across the back yard and trying to take up residence. I pulled a couple of the larger honeysuckle vines down this morning where I could get to clip them. There is still more to do. Always more to do.

With all of the illness/ injuries/ ect. going on here, the Christmas decor is still up in these two rooms. That's all coming down today. The curtains will be first, followed by the Santa village in the living room. 

Did I mention, this has been a year?! LOL I'm never this late getting things down. I'm also realizing the issue is, in part, to my age and issues with my knees. The other thing is, while Bob has been retired for eighteen months, I'm still trying to find my old routine. I know the old routine isn't going to work but I just work better on my own. It's a process. 

So, this week:

** Santa Village

** Curtains in both rooms

** Tea shelf

** Floor

I'm also adding...

** Pack Bathroom Holiday

** Put every day linens back into place

I'm only adding those last two points because I don't want to wait three weeks to get that room back in order.

On top of this, I'll be trying to finish Book 2, An Ozarks Homecoming, so I can work on the edits when I travel the middle of April. 

After the way this year began, I am so ready to get back to a normal cleaning routine. This is the month I prove it is never too late to get back to basics.

Our local grocers had great sales last week. I now have #72 of butter in the freezers. I bought two #5 of russet potatoes. I plan to get seasoned potato wedges in jars later this week. 

What are you working on? Is there a spot in your laundry room/ kitchen you've been putting off tackling? This is the week!

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY WEEK 1 - Laundry Room & Kitchen

 Good morning, everyone!

We're in for a rainy week, making this the perfect time to really dig in and start the spring cleaning.

My ribs are nearly healed. They don't bother me anymore but I know a wrong move could set me back. Can't have that. I think the knee issue last week was a result of almost 30k steps over the course of two days while I worked on the office. I was sorting everything on the largest flat surface in the house - the bed, so lots of trips back and forth across three adjoining rooms.

The sewing corner is nearly finished. However, the top of the cube unit where the sewing machines will go is currently a plant stand.

I got all of my quilting templates hung on the wall and paired up the sewing machines with their foot pedal. Once I can sew again, I will be able to find things.

I am so ready to dive in to these two rooms. 

My main goal for the laundry room is to get rid of a lot of the pet stuff we no longer need. We're just down to Tabby so all the dog stuff can go. I'll reserve one bin for the outside birdies, one for Tabby then everything else can go.  I'm hoping to pack up the santa village and put the laundry shelves back in order but we're in for rain every day this week so I might not get to the warehouse for tubs, or if I do, will be too muddy to take them back. We shall see. Finally, detail the floor across both of the room.

For the kitchen, I'll sanitize the drains and the sink tubs. I also want to strip everything down off the tea shelf and degrease.  One thing I've always hated is we don't have a hood vent for the stove. When the people who first built this house, they put an addition off the East side, blocking any opportunity for a hood vent. 

If you don't have one, have you noticed how that steam settles everywhere (even in the cabinets!) then attracts all the dust in the air? So tea shelf and fan blades are also on the list. 

I was raised a 1950s housewife and I'm trying to get back to that efficiency throughout the house, excluding my office (but that's another issue all on it's own)

I'll leave you today with a house cleaning tips video I found yesterday:

When you take a break from cleaning, I hope you'll be able to see the Lunar eclipse. You'll find the information HERE.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY WEEK 1 - Laundry Room/ Kitchen

Good morning, friends!

I've had a rough couple of weeks. The ribs are continuing to heal. I still can't bend over very well or lift things of any weight.  Canuary got put on hold. I did get the chunky apple butter made before the accident but I've kept it in a plastic keeper in the fridge and we've been working from the container with fried bread, fresh bread, biscuits and Bob made an amazing Betty Crocker Spice Cake, replacing the oil with the apple butter and putting a layer in the middle. DELISH!

With all the baking, I've not gained a pound; holding at 156 since October!

Because I have limitations, Bob has been a huge help. So glad he's retired. I've been through this rib issue one time without him and that was enough. 

I've been working on laundry. I can put it in the washer but Bob has to move it to the dryer, then to the bed where I can fold everything. He's also been putting most everything away because I can't bend to put things in drawers.

While I am healing. I'm off the ice packs and can breathe or sneeze without pain, I'm still going to take my time. I want to be able to get to the greenhouse and start working on the garden by end of the month. 

With all the snow, all of the Christmas decor is still up in the laundry room and wouldn't normally come down until after Valentine's Day anyway so I'm okay with that. I think I can manage running the electric broom/ Swiffer but that's going to be the extent of my cleaning this week.

How much snow did you get? 

The day after my fall we got about 5". Thank Old Man Winter, none of the ice. I've not left the house since the 15th and I'm okay with that. Thanks to a very well stocked pantry, we've not needed to go anywhere.

Did you catch Canuary? I didn't win any of the prizes but got some great recipes I've added to my canning list, hopefully before weather gets too warm.  

Next up, FREEZE DRIED FEBRUARY!!

Angela, at The Inquisitive Farm Wife is hosting this event and Harvest Right is sponsoring the collaboration by giving away a Harvest Right Freeze Dryer!!!  Just visit Angela's channel HERE for all the details!

I have several things I want to share but in limited amounts of time for a couple more weeks, so be kind while I recuperate.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

 

FLY LADY WEEK 1 - Laundry Room, Dining Room

Happy New Year, friends!

Are you ready to make 2026 your best year? Have you packed away the Christmas decorations?

We haven't. The tree usually stays up until after the 8th. I love enjoying the lights.  My bathroom decor stays up until at least the end of January because it's still winter and the snowmen just belong. The laundry room and kitchen stay up until after Valentine's Day. My curtains have gingerbread people and hearts.  By By end of February, everything will be packed away. At some point in the spring, I want to pull all of the Christmas decor out, sort it by room everything will go in to then donate the rest.

I'm not diving in hard this month on these two rooms since Christmas decor is still up. I didn't do any decorating in the kitchen this year so my only plan is to detail the drains and the coffee counter. 

Laundry Room needs a serious clean. Bob got into a decluttering and finally got that junk drawer gone through!

My big focus for these two rooms is the floor - a continuous run between the two rooms.  But I have something a bit more important going on.

#Canuary2026 Details 

If you're not familiar with Canuary, this is my second year seriously participating (the challenge has been going on for 8!). The challenge is all about restocking the pantry before garden season starts and we're outside more than in.  The challenge is hosted by Leisa at SuttonsDaze and sponsored in part my 4JarsCanning. Check out the videos, subscribe to the channels, leave a positive comment to be entered to win some awesome prizes. I have my eye on the steam canner. 

I'll post a video later this week of what I plan to stock.

The other challenge, is the Pantry Challenge, hosted by Three Rivers Homestead. You'll find her Week 1 HERE.

The idea is to go through your pantry, freezer, fridge, etc an plan meals around what you have, to limit what you buy, for two months (January, February). It's easy for things to get pushed to the back as we bring in new shopping items. Very easy to forget what we have even, then go buy more of the same.

I'll be taking stock of what's downstairs in the pantry and the big freezer, as well as the upright freezer in the laundry room, and planning our meal around those. I plan to limit my spending to three categories:

1 - items I need to complete a recipe using items on hand

2 - fresh staples such as milk

3 - items I need for the Canuary challenge. I have a long list and so many of the things I want to put up are on sale so while I'm not spending money on the other items, I can devote that to the items I do need.

I'm prepared for these two challenges.   Are you going to  join either one? I'd love to hear from you.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLYLADY - Week 1

 Good morning, friends!

Welcome to turning back the clock when everything officially begins to feel like fall.

We are to have a couple of really warm days here in the Ozarks this week so my schedule as to what I accomplish may flip a bit. Sometimes, the weather directs what you need to be doing. For me, it's finally getting the warehouse organized. This entails going through all of the holiday decor and getting rid of a good portion. I'm at the point in my holiday decor life where I know what I'm using and where in and outside of the house. I'll be talking about that more in another post.

On October 30th, we sent our Spirit kitty over the rainbow bridge. He was a beautiful loving black cat of 21 years/ 8 months. His main bed and where we fed him was in the laundry room. Since Week 1 is Kitchen/ Laundry, I'll be detailing the laundry room really well. The rest is going to be surface stuff for a couple of weeks as I prepare to pitch things we no longer need and prepare for the Christmas decorating. This will be Bob's first season home to see how everything goes up. Welcome to retirement!

Coffee is ready so I need to scoot but I wanted to get this post up at a decent hour.

I'll be talking about more Pantry Preparedness on a regular basis next year. For now, let's just enjoy family.

Oh, I'm no longer doing the Meal Plan Monday videos. There just wasn't any interest. Next year, I plan to post here on Saturday's what I'll be doing for my menu in the coming week. I hope you'll let me know if it's something that interests you. Also, leave a comment if there is something that is a menu staple for you we might like. 

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY - Week 1

 Good morning, friends.

Fall is definitely in the air and I'm so ready to start decorating. But first, the rooms must be clean!

I'm ready for this week. My replacement Black & Decker Steam Mop arrived Friday!

I also purchased fall-colored throw rugs from Menards to go under the litter box in the laundry room.

I'd love to use throw rungs in the kitchen, particularly in front of the sink and the stove but Bob can not pick up his feet and is always either tripping on the edges or turning them up into a bunch. 

Picture this in pumpkin orange and browns and no fringe.

This week, I'm going to focus on giving the laminate floor across the two rooms with the steam mop. We didn't think about the groove textures in the floor when we bought it, just the 'wood' grain texture. But the grain catches everything! So, I'm pulling everything I can out of the laundry room one day then doing the kitchen area another day. 

By the end of the month, I want to have cleaned the fan blades, wiped down all the shelves/ top of the freezer and brought in the fall decor. 

What is your cleaning task for this week?

September is Pantry Preparedness Month so I'll be posting pantry things on Tuesdays, beginning tomorrow.  I hope you'll come back.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLYLADY - Week 1

 Good morning, everyone!

Looks like I have one more 'cool' day to accomplish something. The cooler weather sure has made a difference in my energy level. I got a lot done in the office yesterday, prepping for my work week.

Temperatures are to start going back up this week after a very fall-like feel the past four days. I am so not ready. I have an outdoor concert on Friday to meet up with friends, The Bellamy Brothers. We're to be back in the 90s. Those temperatures and hot pavement are not a good pairing. Hoping most everyone crowds under the trees. LOL

As usual, I start the month out with the kitchen and laundry room.

Laundry room:

sweep/ mop floor

wipe down appliances

put away anything that's not been put away properly over the past few weeks.

The laundry room is pretty easy for the most part. I really go deep on the weeks I switch out the holiday decor, which comes up next month when the task list grows a bit.

Normally, this room would include taking recyclables in but Bob took care of that last week. I just need to temporarily move them out to the deck so I can do the floor. 

The kitchen is another matter. 

My main focus is to get the spice mixes done up so I can revamp that cabinet.

I also need to pull everything off the counters, give them a good clean then back again.

I can get the card table down this week, I think. I used it for sorting/ cleaning a couple of months ago. I wanted to leave it until I get the last of the Meals In A Jar put together. My second-to-last ThriveLife order should be here Wednesday. 

I had the last order still in their boxes sitting on the card table, waiting for this order so I could rotate the stock only one time. Bob got antsy and moved them to the bedroom closet where the ThriveLife pantry baker's rack is located. Cook, dry, dark.

The only non- kitchen thing I want to get done today (not later in the week) is to take HoneyB's kennel apart, wash/ air out his bedding and clean the floor good around there. 

What's on your cleaning agenda for this week? Are you following along? What is your main focus?

Until next time...

Be safe, Be prepared, Be blessed!

~ Kelly

A NEW MONTH - Decluttering Continues!

 Good morning, everyone!

I'm still waiting for cooler weather to move in and STAY! Because I'm such a hot box, I've still be running AC in the afternoons. I'm so going to hate my power bill.

First week of the month means I'm back in the laundry room & kitchen. Thankfully, since the laundry room has been decluttered I just have general cleaning in there and I can put up the Fall/ Halloween decor. That makes me happy!

This week, I plan to declutter the kitchen. I probably won't get to all of the cabinets as I have a jam-packed creative month over on the creative YouTube channel and Blog. If you are a paper crafter, I'd love for you to check them out!

The space above the cabinets really needs a deep clean. I'll start with taking down glasses & cups we don't use and packing them up for the thrift store. I also want to declutter & reorganize the food cabinets. I tried a rolling can dispenser type of thing but it just isn't working out. I also have canned food up there from 15 years ago!  Yeah, sad, huh? Thankfully, it's veggie pasta additive so I can spread that in the compost, wash the jars and can something I'll actually eat. Lesson learned.

Lots to accomplish today, and none of it involves the cleaning list. That will come later in the week.

What are you working on this week? Decluttering? General cleaning? Prepping for holidays? 

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly