Spring Cleaning/Organizing

I had no idea what to write about today, so I spent the morning making a list of chores that I want to do for spring cleaning (if the weather ever feels like springtime!). After the whole fiasco with the pantry moths and my subsequent cleaning of the pantry--as well as putting everything into food storage containers--and organizing my spices, I'm in the mood to keep going.

I can't even believe this is (part of) my pantry (it was hard to get a picture of the whole thing). And funnily enough, my kids are probably the ones who are most excited about it... hahaha!

As I started to write this post, I had an idea: How handy would it be to have readers share cleaning and organizing hacks/tips/products all in one spot on a blog post? If you have any tips or want to share photos of your organization of particular spaces, or have favorite products for cleaning/organizing, etc., you can email them to me and I'll put everything into one blog post. I would love to get my house clean and organized this spring!

As for me, maybe you can help me with this... 

I need to figure out solutions for organizing this stuff:

pots and pans
lids for pots and pans
food storage containers and lids (the kind we use to store leftovers or put in lunch boxes)
cleaning supplies (spray bottles, cleaners, etc.)
water bottles (we have way too many, but it's hard to choose what to get rid of)
Mason jars and lids
plastic grocery bags (again, way too many; but we use them when scooping the litter box)
medication boxes/bottles/tubes
winter hats/gloves

This is my embarrassingly disorganized cabinet with pots and pans. I looked for a pan organizer on Amazon, but they are about $25 each and I'd probably need 3-4 of them for pans and lids! I used to have the lids organized on the white rack that's in there (I got that for $1 at a thrift store) but I'm probably the only one in the house to try to keep it organized. Boys don't care.

And this drawer full of measuring cups and spoons drives me crazy!

And I'd love tips for cleaning this stuff:

stove top and oven
toaster oven
window blinds (the most tedious task ever!!)
shower
(I know there are more, but my mind is blank at the moment)


Here are a few of my own ideas that I've implemented and have been super helpful:

Save old toothbrushes and/or the toothbrushes that the dentist gives me at my appointments. (Jerry and I use an electric toothbrush, so we don't use them.) The toothbrushes are perfect for cleaning things that have nooks and crannies like the tracks around windows, drains in the sink and shower, etc. Just make sure you store the old brushes far from the brushes you currently use ;)

Wooden skewers and toothpicks work really well, too, when trying to deep clean in the nooks and crannies (I especially like them for the sliding glass door track. It's hard to scrape out dirt that accumulates in the crevices, but skewers and toothpicks work really well!)

A very-lightly damp washcloth works perfectly to remove pet hair from furniture. If you wipe it with good pressure, the hair will ball up easily on the washcloth and you can just pull it off and throw it away.

Use space organizers in my closet to keep clothes organized. I started doing this ages ago after 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up' was super popular. I have not had to re-organize it ever since! I don't use anything special for the organizers--any sort of box will do--but folding items and storing them horizontally instead of vertically was actually "life-changing" for me. My socks take up so much less space! I was able to get rid of our dresser completely and store everything in the closet.

You can tell one of the cats was sleeping on top of my tank tops! Hahaha. Chick and Duck like to find inconspicuous spots to explore and/or sleep.

Now that I've lost quite a bit of weight, I need to go through and get rid of a lot of clothes that are too big. I'm starting to have to cram things in the boxes. (I have two loads of laundry to put away right now.)

Okay, so I'd love to hear your tips/hacks/ideas/products/etc for cleaning and/or organizing. Just send me an email (even if it's just a one-sentence tip and no picture) and I'll include it on a future post (a compilation). If you don't want me to use your name (I'd just include your first name), then please let me know. If you want to share pictures of your organized spaces, then please do! My email address is: katie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com. I'm excited to see what you've got to share! :)

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Wednesday Weigh-In: Week 49

When I bought this shirt, it was WAY too tight and I couldn't even put it on. It's a very heavy fabric (great for cold weather running) and it stretches, but not much. It was so small that I hadn't even attempted to try it on ever since, but I held onto it.

I was trying to find a shirt that I haven't yet worn for my Wednesday Weigh-In picture and then I noticed this shirt. I tried it on, expecting it to be too small. But it was actually pretty loose! (Not on my arms. Nothing is ever loose on my arms.) I was excited to see that it fits; even though I know I'm making progress, it's fun to see it in my clothing.

I was happy with last week's weigh-in (148.8). The lowest number I've seen on the scale since I started losing the extra weight last May was 147.8 (and that was a couple of months ago, I think). I've gotten so used to seeing 148-152 ish for MONTHS and I didn't get my hopes up this week. However, I saw a new low number today:

At 147.4, I was down 1.4 from last week. I'm so glad to see the scale trending downward again. If the past few months were a plateau, it was the first true plateau I've ever experienced while losing weight. It was frustrating; I was doing everything "right" for the most part, so I had no idea why the scale wasn't budging. My "naked weight" today was 147.0, which marks an even 50 pounds down since I started losing weight last May--an average of a pound a week, which isn't bad.

I'm only 3.4 pounds away from having a "normal" BMI (I'm technically overweight right now). I know that the BMI scale is bullshit, considering it only takes height and weight into consideration (no body fat, muscle mass, bone structure, or anything like that), but it's still used in doctors' offices and for insurance purposes, so I'd like to be in the normal range for that.

I had my DietBet weigh-in this week. I weighed myself on Sunday and was at 147.0 (without clothes and without holding my phone). To hit the DietBet goal, I had to be at 148.7 or lower. Once I put on my light clothing and picked up my phone for the picture, I was at 148.2--a half pound lower than the goal. So, I submitted the weigh-in photos at 6:00 or so in the morning.

I ate breakfast and drank a bunch of water. Then I got an email saying my weigh-in was rejected! The reason? The cord from my scale was too close to the scale itself. This picture is terrible quality because I had to get it from a thumbnail photo in the email, but this is what they were talking about:

They said it looks like the scale is resting on the cord. It wasn't; there is a little lip that hangs over the edge, so it was up against the scale but not under it.

Anyway, they said I had to weigh-in again. After the breakfast and water I'd had, I was over the goal. I thought about going for a run but I had just showered; so I took Joey for a long walk, hoping to lose a bit of water weight in order to weigh in again. (Fun fact: Did you know that when you lose fat, it's expelled through carbon dioxide from exhaling? Also water--from pee, sweat, and exhaled air. I just found it interesting that it's expelled when exhaling.)

When I got home, I was able to hit the goal when I wasn't holding my phone; but to take the picture with my phone, I had to lose another 0.4. I was super annoyed with DietBet at that point. I put on the light clothes I could find in my closet and tried again. I need to lose 0.2 more. I walked around some more and finally... FINALLY I was able to hold my phone and weigh in under the goal. I was at 148.6--just 0.1 away! Definitely cutting it close, but I'd been half a pound under goal just a few hours prior.

I submitted the photos and it said they'd get back to me within 24 hours. Yes, 24 hours! I really hoped there wouldn't be a problem with my second weigh-in because I wasn't about to wait around that long before eating or drinking anything. I wanted to eat lunch at noon, but I waited a little longer and the weigh-in was accepted at around 1:00 PM. I can't wait for this DietBet to be over! I'm not doing another one, that's for sure.

I'm very happy with how this week went, and I hope to have another good weigh-in next week!

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Transformation Tuesday #69

Unfortunately, I didn't have any readers' transformations in my inbox for today. So, I figured I would walk around the house and find a few quick things I could transform (organizing or cleaning or something). I thought this was going to be the shortest Transformation Tuesday I've ever done, considering it was just mine and only something quick and easy.

However, it ended up being the longest one ever (not the post itself, but the content for this post). I picked something to transform, and now, six hours later, I'm just starting to write the post for it. Haha!

Since I worked so hard cleaning the pantry to get rid of the pantry moths, I figured I'd tackle my spices today. My spices were all in sealed jars and nothing was contaminated, thankfully. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out this post first.) However, I had a bunch of spice jars on the shelves above my stove and I knew I need to clean the jars and get rid of those old spices. Jerry and I have said to each other at least a dozen times that we "need to do that"; and it became one of those things that we put off.

Being above the stove, the jars accumulated a layer of grime (oil from cooking) and I really didn't like to use them. I have to stand on a stool to be able to reach up there, so I just started using spices from the pantry. The ones above the stove sat there getting bleached by the sun for a long time. (They lost color because they were in clear jars in the daylight.)

I decided to take all the jars down and dump the spices, then wash the jars, refill them with spices from the cupboard and organize the spice shelf in the pantry. Cleaning the jars and shelves actually didn't take very long--maybe an hour. But then I started refilling them and it turned into a big project.

Here is the before and after of the spice shelf in my pantry:

Since mine is the only transformation on this post, I'll share some progress photos, too. Here are the shelves above the stove... yes, they look gross! Even grosser when I stood on a stool to take the picture. Yikes.

I pulled all of the spices out and then cleaned the shelves to get the grease and grime off. That part was easy.

Next came the spice jars. I dumped out all the spices (I had extras in the pantry, which is what I've been using for a while now anyway). Then I put each jar and lid into a container with hot water and dish soap. I washed each one and the grime came off so easily! I am always taken aback with how well dish soap cuts through grease.

I wanted to make sure they were super dry, so I got out the hair dryer and that worked perfectly to dry the insides really well. Then I moved all of my spices from the pantry to the island in the kitchen in order to refill the jars. I cut out ovals from sticker paper, wrote the names of the spices on them, and put the labels on the jars as I filled them.

Naturally, I had a helper ;)

The leftover spices (some of the containers were very big, so I could only put a small amount in the jar) went in an airtight container and I'll just refill the jars as needed.

I wasn't sure how to put them back on the shelf; I don't have a spice rack, but I wanted to be able to see the labels to keep it organized. I could make a spice rack (and I will) but I didn't have time to do that for this post, obviously. I walked around the house looking for anything I could use. Then it hit me to just use some scrap wood for now.

I grabbed some small oak boards and laid them across the shelf like this:

Then I was able to put spices on top of that and also put spices in front; that way, I could see all the labels.

This ended up being MUCH more work than I anticipated. I hadn't planned to clean out all of the spices--I just wanted to clean the jars above the stove--but I'm glad I did this. It's something I've been wanting to do for a long time! 

Okay, please send me some transformations. Or don't, and maybe I'll tackle another big project next Tuesday, haha. To submit a transformation, just send a before picture and an after picture to me at: katie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com. Please include your name and a description of your transformation!

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Monday Memes to Start the Week With a Laugh

I really wanted a break from writing today, so I figured I'd do a "quick post" of some funny memes. Well, two and a half hours later, here they are! Hahaha, memes are so addicting and never fail to make me laugh until I wheeze. (I use the term "memes" loosely, because a lot of what I save are tweets with or without pictures.)

Sadly, my kids informed me that memes are for "old people" because TikTok is where you go for laughs and entertainment. I've not jumped on the TikTok train and memes will never get old for me!

I saved that one for last because I could not. stop. laughing. I had no idea this is how they x-ray young kids! The last couple of times I've taken the cats to the vet and they needed x-rays, I was wondering how they get animals to stay still for an x-ray. I never looked it up. But now I'm going to.

Have a great week! :)

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VEGAN RECIPE REVIEW: Chickpea Blondies

I hadn't been planning to do a dessert recipe this weekend, but my mom invited us over for dinner yesterday, so I decided to make something to bring to her house. I figured it would be a good opportunity for other people to taste a recipe and give their opinions, too!

After looking through vegan dessert recipes on Pinterest, I ended up settling on Chickpea Blondies from Nora Cooks. I know I've made one of her recipes before (for the life of me, I cannot remember what it was) and I liked it, so I hoped the blondies would be just as good. The ingredients are very similar to Vegan Cookie Dough Dip, which is SO delicious, so I figured it would be something like that, just in bar-form.

I had the ingredients for these with the exception of almond flour. I've never had a need for almond flour, and even though Nora wrote that you can substitute regular flour, I wanted to make it as-written with the almond flour. Apparently, it makes the blondies more moist.

The recipe couldn't be any easier--just put a bunch of ingredients in the food processor and let 'er rip until it's as smooth as it's going to get, stir in chocolate chips, then pour into a pan and bake.

The ingredients: chickpeas, brown sugar, peanut butter, vanilla extract, almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and vegan chocolate chips. (You can get the full recipe here on Nora Cooks. I'll link to it again at the end of the this post.)

The recipe didn't say to peel the chickpeas so I'm under the impression that you don't peel them; however, since several vegan-skeptical people would be tasting these, I went ahead and peeled them (not because of taste, but because I wasn't sure what it would do to the texture).

Not pictured: baking soda

You just measure everything out and put it in the food processor.

I put it on the purée setting for a minute or so and it was super thick--not really moving around. I scraped the sides down, puréed again, and repeat. Finally, it started smoothing out and I let it go for a few minutes until it looked like this:

Note: I really like this texture (it reminds me of Smuckers Natural peanut butter). However, I've read from other chickpea dessert recipes that you can use Great Northern beans (a soft white bean) instead, which will give a smoother texture. I may try that next time, just to compare.

Also, the batter tasted delicious!

I prepped the baking dish, laying the paper crosswise instead of trying to line the whole thing with one piece like I usually do. Spoiler: this worked really well. Thank you for suggesting it!

At this point, I poured it into the pan and smoothed it all out. Then I realized I forgot to add the chocolate chips! So I put it all back in the bowl and stirred in the chocolate chips. Then I had to prep the pan again. And finally, I sprinkled the rest of the chocolate chips on top and it was ready for the oven.

The recipe said to bake for 25-30 minutes, so I figured I would do 25 and see what they looked like, then maybe bake for longer. I started cleaning up the dishes and then I realized that I forgot to set the timer. I'm notorious for doing that! I was trying to think how long they'd been in there when I realized I could check the timestamp of my last photo--six minutes ago. So I set the timer for 19 minutes. 

This is completely random and not fitting for this post, but it reminded me of this Siri commercial that is 100% ME. This is probably my most favorite commercial ever, and not just because I love Cookie Monster!

I wasn't sure what to look for when I peeked at them, but when the timer went off, I decided to let them stay in a few more minutes just to be safe. When I took them out, they looked very similar to when they went in, so I hoped it was long enough.

I didn't want to risk having them totally fall apart by cutting into them too soon (even though the recipe says you can cut them after just 10 minutes) so I let them cool on the counter for about an hour, then in the fridge for a couple of hours before cutting. I even sharped my knife so I could cut them cleanly; I wanted them to look good when I brought them to my parents' house!

The texture looked exactly how I like brownies/cookies/blondies: dense and moist, looking slightly underbaked.

Eli wasn't here, but I cut one into three pieces so Noah, Jerry and I could taste them.

Noah: "They're good." I asked him to please tell me what he liked or disliked--he just said, "They're good! I would make these."

Jerry: "These are SO good. I would totally eat these again."

Me: Delicious! They do taste a lot like the Cookie Dough Dip--a chocolate-peanut butter flavor. I would compare it to an underbaked oatmeal cookie with peanut butter and chocolate chips. So good! I hoped that my parents would like them, too. My dad thinks that anything that is made semi-healthier than the original is going to taste bad.

I brought them to my parents' house (Luke and Riley were there, too). I didn't specify that they were vegan or made with chickpeas or anything like that. I just said they were blondies and that I wanted HONEST opinions (it's not my recipe; it certainly wasn't going to hurt my feelings if they didn't like them). Even if it was my recipe, I would rather people say what they really think.

Riley: *Nods her head with a mouthful as I ask her if she likes them*

Luke: *Thinks for a moment* Then: "Yeah, I like them".

Mom: She said a couple of times that they were really good and she was very surprised when I eventually said they were made with chickpeas and almond flour.

Now, my dad. I saved his for last for a reason.

"They remind me of when your mom made this meatloaf one time."

BAHAHAHA! I needed more info, of course.

"She made it with Stove Top stuffing. It tastes like that."

I was cracking up, and totally confused. I swear on my life, they taste nothing like Stove Top stuffing OR meatloaf. He explained that they were kind of gritty and not smooth. Then I realized he meant the texture reminded him of the meatloaf! Not the taste. 

So, the texture that I really like (which I would never compare to meatloaf, but more like oatmeal cookies) was what my dad didn't like. Made sense; just personal preference. Now I can't wait to hear his opinion when he tastes the vegan pecan pie I'm going to make instead of my traditional Father's Day pecan pie I make him every year ;)

Overall, I'd say they were a success. I would never try to "fool" anybody into thinking they were made with the typical ingredients--they don't have the same flavor or texture--but they are a very good dessert. I'll make them again for sure! (Next time, I'll try making them with Great Northern beans to see what the texture is like with those.)

Again, here is the full recipe on Nora Cooks: Chickpea Blondies.

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