"Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it." – Mary Oliver

Household Bits and Bobs

A while ago I posted a list of places I needed to declutter and organise. I am happy to report that I have completed one of those places—my ensuite drawers. I actually did this before Christmas and forgot to post before and after photos as requested.

Before I cleaned it up the drawer was a jumble of products, including empty containers. It slowly got that way because I didn’t have any containers to corral everything, we were traveling frequently so all the things kept getting taken out and thrown back in in a rush and I lazily threw empties back in instead of putting them in the recycling. This photo will now make every reader feel very accomplished that their bathroom drawer does not look like this.

I sorted out everything in the drawer out, threw out the empties and out of date products, moved some travel containers to my other drawer that has my toilet bags in and moved some of the things from that drawer into this one. I got some clear containers from Kmart for about $10 for the set and sorted everything out. I have since added some things into the drawers because I had to buy makeup for the wedding but with my new containers to corral everything that was not a problem. It is working well for me, keeping everything easier to pull out but it is still super easy to just throw what I use back in to its correct spot.

Some of this lived in the other bigger drawer, but now that just houses my travel toiletry bags and bottles and my blowdryer.

G moved to working five half-days this year. Since he had more available time than before I suggested he take over all the laundry duties, where previously we had shared the laundry in an ad hoc way. Kudos to him in stepping up completely—I now no longer need to really think about the laundry, apart from putting my stuff in the washing machine. He sets it going, hangs it out and brings it in. I still sometimes sort some, but he also does most of that. I feel like it works a lot better, if you can, to have a strict line around who is responsible for household chores. That doesn’t mean we don’t help out when asked with something that isn’t our particular responsibility, but it does mean the other doesn’t need to keep a track of what needs doing when.


I’ve been feeling in a cooking rut lately (who am I kidding—more like a few years), and I want to get out of it. When I am in the kitchen I get antsy sometimes so I need to break that. Cooking is much more fun when I relax and settle into the routine. When the kids were younger I cooked a couple of batches of lunch treats a week, we also went through a phase where we all cooked up a big feast from a particular cuisine. I don’t know where along the way I lost my MOJO but I want it back. I can’t be cooking up lunch treats now though because there’s just G and I, but in an effort to break out of my rut I am having people over for lunch on Monday, which should be fun. In honour of Easter it will be roast lamb. The girls will also come over tomorrow and I’m making fish pie.


Favourite dinner I cooked this week: Crispy Lemon Chicken with Potatoes, Capers and Rosemary

Some good things I wrote down in my journal this week:

  • Squeezing in a walk with G before mainly music
  • Watching the kids innocent joy as they move their bodies and dance
  • Lovely mild weather, crisper mornings, blue skies
  • All the kids over for dinner on Monday
  • Feeling of time well spent
  • Crossing things off my list
  • Local library
  • Bumping into another Goldie owner we know down at the park
  • G picking up the slack for dinners while I was sick on the weekend (he didn’t cook, though)

And some online reading:

  • My own doors project feels a little underdone compared to this one from Mexico City
  • It’s probably my snarky sense of humour, but I loved this: “Go Ahead and Use AI. It Will Only Help Me Dominate You.”
  • And in a similar vein: “Infinite midwit.” A little sample: “And so I check, from time to time, whether the leading AI models can do me better than I can. The result sounds like a version of me that has sustained blunt force trauma to the back of the head and spent years recovering in a hospital where the Wi-Fi, for whatever reason, only lets you log onto LinkedIn.”

Do you have recent win on the homefront? What about a great, tasty recipe you love to cook?


Comments

16 responses to “Household Bits and Bobs”

  1. I could look at before/after shots of drawer clean-ups literally all day. SO SATISFYING. Great work, Melissa 🙂

    Our go-to in Europe has been a simple red sauce on pasta. It’s ironic because at home the kids don’t like this meal at all, but they keep requesting it and it’s sooooo easy comparatively!

    1. Red sauce on ricotta and spinach agnolotti was my go-to easy dinner for us when we had nights busy with activities. It is a good one for when you are in an Airbnb too because it doesn’t require any fancy equipment, or sharp knives, which can be hit and miss in rented apartments.

  2. Thank you so much for that link to “Infinite Midwit”!! One of the best write-ups on AI I’ve read so far. And so funny, too!
    It’s one of those articles that I will need to save and read again, it’s so good.
    I’ll check out the other one, “Go ahead and use AI” later today. It’s nice when you get tips to good articles, saves the trial and error search work!

    Nice job on the drawer, too, and kudos to G taking over laundry duties!

    1. Yes, I think they are right that it is the idea generation, and asking the right questions that AI can’t do and you can only do that yourself if you are over the top of the field (ie not relying on AI summaries)

  3. A very gross recent household win is that I washed all my bras. I tend to forget to wash them as regularly as I should and we had an unseasonably warm day and I smelled my bra and almost lost my mind because it was so gross. Then I put a note in my calendar to have a reminder to wash my bras more regularly. I mean, it’s a win? And doesn’t it make you feel better about yourself because your bras are probably in better condition than mine?

    I could eat a baked potato frittata every day. Five ingredients. EZ PZY. Whip up some eggs, fry some potatoes, pan fry some broccoli, add some cheese. Bam. We do probably have it once a week.

    1. Yes, the bras can get lost in the shuffle. I mean, you’re not supposed to wash them too often, but then remembering to wash them at the right intervals is difficult. I’m slack and just throw them in with the rest of the wash in a delicates bag.

  4. I bought clear organizing bins for bathroom doors a few years back – maybe covid? It’s been amazing. Things have a place and even I manage to put things where they go.

    Just before we left for Florida, I sorted piles of paperwork that was growing out of control in the study. Our study is off the front hall and we’re entertaining Saturday (she types this while trying not to panic from the backseat of the car on our 18 hr drive back from Florida).

    Love your team work approach to get things done around the house. Since we fostered the two boys in 2021 Coach has seen my role a little differently and has been much more involved around the house.

    1. I think for men it is very hard to understand how much is really involved in running the house unless they also get involved. I think having a place for things is the most important step to keeping the house tidy. I know I still haven’t quite worked out a place for some things a they are a problem.

  5. Those drawer photos are like porn to me. I want to go and organize something right this minute. Wow, what a satisfying job!
    I agree with you – it’s nice to have definite lines as to household chores. It really cuts down on the resentment that x person is always doing y job – having a line helps (me anyway) to see that I am doing this but he is doing that.
    I am going to go read that AI article! Thanks!

    1. I really appreciate not having to think about the washing at all now. I can concentrate on the cleaning and cooking.

  6. That bathroom door looks AMAZING. You did a great job! Organizing is the most satisfying thing to me. There’s nothing like it, especially in a drawer or cabinet that used to be super cluttered!

    I’ve also been in a cooking rut for a few years, sigh. Solidarity!

    1. Thanks Stephany. Having an organised bathroom drawer is a gift to myself that keeps on giving.

  7. The before and after photos are so pleasing! I love having little containers in a drawer like you have – it really helps keep things organized and in their place. I had planned to do some organizing of our window shelves when I was off work for Good Friday. But I caught a virus that left me feeling exhausted and nauseated so I opted to rest. I need to find another time to organize the shelves when the kids are not around!

    That dinner you made sounds so good! I love capers! They really add a nice ‘zing’ to a dish. And bravo to G for taking over the laundry. My big win recently was convincing Phil that we should keep our once every 4 week cleaner. My coworkers gave us gift certificates to a cleaning service after the fire accident and we finally used up our last voucher in February. Previously, Phil did all of the cleaning as he was stubborn about paying for it. But his workload has really increased after the death of a key team member so I pushed him to reconsider paying for monthly deep clean and he agreed.

    1. Organising while kids are around is a bit of a losing battle. That dinner is really good and not difficult either. The lemon makes everything sing. I think keeping the cleaner is a good call. Even though Phil might not mind the cleaning, it would still be taking time away from either you or his personal interests, and when you are both working and have young kids, there is not much of that kind of time available. G and I have the opposite—he would get a cleaner if I wanted him to pitch in regularly but our apartment is not that big and I prefer to do it myself.

  8. I keep coming back and looking at this drawer and wondering whether I want to do this or not. I have SO many things in my bathroom drawer, and I probably use 5 of them. But…what if?

    1. My stance is usually if its working fine for you then don’t do anything, if it’s causing friction then maybe do something depending on how much friction.

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