The Much Needed Spice Cabinet Clean-Up

Remember when I said I had a few things on my "To Do" list. Well, I finally got around to cleaning up the spice cabinet. It was horrible. Every time I wanted to use a certain spice I practically had to take everything out of the cabinet just to find it...and that wasn't practical. Please don't judge me by this cabinet..I only moved in 6 months ago, remember...this wasn't all me..it was a lot me, but not all..

I need things in my kitchen to be organized because I love, love, love to cook and I don't like to feel rushed when I'm cooking.

My solution was to buy canning jars so that my spices would all be in the same type of container...

These are Kerr Wide-Mouth pint & half pint canning jars. I love the look of all that glass & the silver lids. Does that make me weird? I also knew I would need to label them so I made labels with a label machine

In case you're wondering, yes, I re-printed the labels that didn't print well. I think I mentioned before that I'm a control freak perfectionist selective. Anyhoo...This is what I started with...

I should probably mention that I first washed & dried the jars and lids (you never know what kind of factory muck is on them)

Next I started filling all my jars & adding all my labels (I don't know what happened to the pictures of this step...I couldn't find them when I was posting)

Anyway this is what my cabinet looked like when I was done...

Pretty, right?..well, OK, maybe not pretty, but definitely better than what I started with...(please ignore that red lidded plastic container..the ground cinnamon would not fit in a pint jar..darn it!)

Other than that eyesore, I am really happy with the new look...

But wait there's more!!  If you call now...lol..starting to sound like a late night info-mercial, but there really is more...

The jar of carne asada spice needed a different kind of lid...This is a spice that needs to be lightly shaken onto meat, pouring or scooping this spice out would not work.

 I would have to pull a MacGyver. (Don't know where I would be if I hadn't watched MacGyver all those years ago...Thanks MacGyver people) So, I went to the hardware store and picked up a piece of window screen. Once I got home I cut a piece to fit inside the rim of the lid. I just traced the flat insert of the lid to get the right size.

Next, I glued the piece of screen into the rim with Tacky Glue (not yet sure if the Tacky Glue will work long-term..I'm testing it out)

So this would take care of the "shaker" part of the lid, but I still needed the jar to "close," so I glued the flat insert to the rim using hot glue and a small hinge.

It's not super pretty, but right now I'm looking for function rather than beauty.

Here's what it looks like open...

Pretty good, huh?

Lets hope it stays on & that the screen doesn't pop out mid-shake... I'll let you know if it does fall out the next time we have a BBQ...fingers crossed that it doesn't!

So that's the story behind my spice cabinet...

What kind of Spring cleaning are you doing??

Now Linked up to:

House of Hepworths

Who's on Deck? or Rather, WHAT'S on Deck?

Happy SPRING!!!

Oh, I've been waiting to say that for, well, it seems like forever! I was so sick of the rain..and yes, I recognize that I didn't have it as bad as others did this winter, but I still think I have the right to bitch complain express my opinion...so anyway, I'm glad that it was over 70 degrees today and that I can sit here at 9pm with my bedroom window open...ahh, the lovely breeze...

Another thing I love about Spring is BASEBALL season..Woo Hoo!!  GO GIANTS!!

World Series Champion Giants!

Wooooo Hooo!! (Let me gloat, will ya...this is their first championship in San Francisco...and it might not happen again for a while I want to enjoy it)

I can't wait to head over to AT&T Park and cheer for my boys this season.

Nothing better than sitting in the stands eating a Giant Dog & sipping a beer lemonade...I'm not a beer drinker, but that's OK, I enjoy the game with or without a brew...

So anyway all this baseball talk got me thinking about my on deck circle. There are many projects on my roster and I hope to hit a home run with them all...I know there may be some strikes in there, but I hope to not strike out... are you sick of the baseball terms, yet? no? Yes? OK, enough, I'm done...I think

So with that said..here is my "to do" list in photos..PLEASE don't judge me...remember these are my BEFORE pictures... 

We'll start with an easy one..I need to spray paint this mail holder with the ever so wonderful Oil Rubbed Bronze by Rust-oleum

Next up are these cute little hooks I got from Michael's Craft Store. They were only a buck. I think they will be a cute addition to our closets. "B" on my side & "H" on the husband's...I'm going to paint them the same color as Grandma's dresser.

I think I should have taken the "B" out of the wrapper before taking this picture..oh, well!

From here the projects get a teeny bit bigger. I really have to get to this spice cabinet. It's a mess...no lie

"If you don't use it, get rid of it"..this should be my mantra when I start this project

ugh, so gross...its OK, the first step is recognizing you have a problem, & trust me, I definitely recognize my problem...

Next up to bat...yeah, I didn't think I was really done..sorry...my mother-in-law had these chair cushions on the breakfast table in the kitchen. They are a bit old so my plan is to get rid of them give them a makeover...this should be interesting since some of you may recall from my "semi no-sew pillows" I don't sew..like, at all! Hmm. well I'll think of something...



Flowers? South Western? What is that pattern?


Now, are you ready for the monster project?

The project I've come so close to hiring out?

The project that stares at me with its ugly '70s stripes & says, "you can't do this" "you shouldn't even try"...

This nightmare of a chair needs some re-upholstering..badly...

So not '70s retro..more '70s yucko..

It looks innocent just sitting there doesn't it...

It taunts me...

IT. WILL. GO. DOWN!!

So tomorrow as the Giants take on their rivals...I will be taking on mine as well.

Stay tuned...I could...go.. all.. the..waaaay....(OK, definitely the last baseball reference)

Wish me luck!