Blog Break - Spring 2017

Happy tidy Tuesday! The Great Clutter Purge of 2017 continues, albeit slowly. I had before and after photos for you of a little clutter busting progress but my husband doesn't want me to share household photos anymore. As much as I love sharing here, I love him more so must respect his wishes.

Unfortunately, my health has been especially challenging lately so I've decided to take the rest of spring off from the blog... and maybe longer. But as I'm able I'll still keep my Facebook page updated with archive posts and other blogger's interesting posts.

May God bless you and those you love!

Quick and Easy Tea Nook Clutter Busting

Tidied tea nook: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017

Happy tidy Tuesday and Spring! The Great Clutter Purge of 2017 continues with a quick flat surface area / kitchen counter clutter busting project.

We have tea almost every day but this little tea nook to the left of our range is a clutter magnet. The above photo is an "after" clutter busting image. It includes one thing that wasn't in the "before" photo below. Can you spot it?

"Before" cluttered tea nook: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017

This "before" photo shows a much messier tea nook. Most of this stuff isn't clutter in the sense that we don't use it but it is clutter in the sense that it doesn't belong there.

"After" uncluttered tea nook: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017

So I removed everything from the area, cleaned the empty space, put the out of place things where they belonged and then returned the things that did belong.

Then I noticed the cup hook with nothing on it. I searched for and found the missing oven mitt and hung it back up (see the topmost image - that was the extra item not present in the "before" photo).  I like the tidied tea nook much better this way.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you!

Related posts:
Quick Kitchen Counter Organizing: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/03/14-minute-kitchen-counter-clutter.html
Microwave Area Clutter Busting: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/03/8-minute-microwave-and-cut-flower.html
Organized Utensil Drawer: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/07/my-simplifying-home-8-week-journey-week_21.html

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Green Orchid Photos and Haiku Poems

Irish Blessing Plaque: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017

Happy St. Patrick's Day and floral Friday! The plaque in the photo above has this Irish blessing:

"May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back

May the sun shine warm upon your face

The rains fall gently upon your fields

And until we meet again

May God hold you in the palm of His hand"

This plaque hangs, year round, in our bedroom. I am a wee bit Irish, after all.

Green Orchid "cymbodium goeringii" : Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017

I thought green orchids would be perfect for this St. Patrick's day post. The photos were taken at the U.S. National Arboretum in their Bonsai Museum. It's a great place to visit, any time of the year.

Green orchids rising: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017

Back to St. Patrick's day. While praying and walking today, God gave me these two haiku poems.

St. Patrick's Day Haiku Poem I:

Saint Patrick was real!

He spread the gospel message

and loved our Lord God!

St. Patrick's Day Haiku Poem II:
He used shamrock leaves

to explain the Trinity:

Father, Son, Spirit.

Saint Patrick was a devoted Christian and I'm glad to celebrate his life by wearing green but I think loving God and serving others honor him best. 

Green orchids in pretty pot: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017

The photo above is an overview of the green "cymbodium goeringii" orchids in their pretty pot. When I first saw the pot, I thought it was a pot of grass! But when I looked more closely I could see the orchid flowers.

Kittens love an unmade bed: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017

Just in case you wondered what our kittens were doing on St. Patrick's day - they were relaxing. Every time I went to make the bed, a cat was on it. It's late afternoon and I still haven't made the bed,  but the day isn't over. But their kittenhood almost is - they will be a year old a week from today!

May God bless you and all you love!

How do you celebrate Saint Patrick's Day? 

Related posts:
My Favorite Funny Cat St. Patrick's Post: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/03/hilarious-happy-st-patricks-day-cat.html
More funny Irish cat photos: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/03/funny-st-patricks-day-photos-of-moose.html
Cute cats wearing the green: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/03/funny-st-patricks-day-cat-photos.html

Note:
This is not a sponsored or paid post. All opinions are my own.

First Day of Spring Home Blessing Prayer Party (Online)

Photo source: Facebook theme

It's almost officially spring! You are cordially invited to celebrate with me via my online First Day of Spring Home Blessing Prayer Party! It will be held on Facebook on Monday, March 20th from 11 am to 7 pm Eastern time.

I envision us celebrating the first day of spring together with lots of praying for each other and our homes, and actual home blessing activities. This means not just sitting at the computer but getting up and doing some good in our homes (acts of kindness, cleaning, organizing, clutter busting, tidying etc.)! Home blessing prayers, prayer requests, home blessing tips and before / after photos are welcome!

I pray this will be an event that uplifts, encourages and blesses all who participate.

May God bless you and all who join!

Related posts: 
12 Spring Celebration Ideas: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/03/happy-spring-haiku-poems-and-12.html
Daffodils, Pansies and Cyclamen: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/03/daffodil-pansy-and-cyclamen-flower.html
Spring Flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/02/first-flowers-of-spring-2016.html

Notes:
Full event link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1830213920577559/
Not a sponsored or affiliate post; all opinions are my own.

Tidy Tuesday Tip: Consolidate and Containerize

Sunset yellow roses with red tips: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017

Happy tidy Tuesday! I think I took the rose photo above on March 9th and in the photos below you can see that they've held up pretty well. But that has nothing to do with Tidy Tuesday. The main point of this post is that if you don't have time to do a real clutter busting session, consolidating and containerizing works really well.

Messy dining room table "before": Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017

On weekends that I'm too busy or health challenged, things pile up on our table. Yesterday, when I was walking by after getting the mail, the gloves were in a stack on top of the scarf which was on top of the pile of hats. It didn't look that bad because it was all stacked together (consolidated). But I thought it was a great opportunity to demonstrate consolidation and containerization. So I spread everything out and added the mail that I hadn't already recycled (I like to recycle what we don't need as soon as I bring it in).

Yes, I wore all that stuff since last Friday. No, I am not a minimalist.

You can barely see one of them but there are three jackets hanging off chairs around the table. I prefer to put my jacket away right after coming inside but if the kittens are eager to play they'll jump in the closet and I have a hard time getting them out. So I just wait until they're asleep.

Containerized & consolidated table "after": Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017

Everything that was in the first photo ("before") is still represented here in this first "after" photo! Although the bag got cut off so you can just see just the edge of it on the left. All I did to get to this point was to stack all 3 jackets on one chair (consolidate) and put everything that was spread all over the table and didn't belong there in the brown paper bag (containerize). Then I put the brown paper bag on one of the chairs. Instant improvement!

Fastest tidying tip - just dump everything in a container and get it out of the way. Now, don't get me wrong, that's not true organizing. But if you just want things to look better fast, it works.

True "after" with everything put away: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017

I then put the jackets and everything that was in the brown paper bag away. This is what I prefer my table to look like. Streamlined with a few accents on the far end. I could do without the accents but there's space and the plants like it there. The table is in a central part of our home so it's a nice place to see flowers regularly.

Although I didn't recycle anything except the paper bag in this post, the Great Clutter Purge of 2017 continues. I have been releasing clutter. It just hasn't been very photogenic. Hopefully next week will lead to some great photo ops. Only God knows!

Hope this quick tip was interesting or useful for you! If so, I'd love to hear about it.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you!

Related posts:
Refrigerator front organizing: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2017/03/quick-refrigerator-front-clutter.html
Great Clutter Purge 2017 Intro: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2017/02/great-clutter-purge-of-2017-january.html
Linen closet organizing: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/07/from-disaster-to-delight-organized.html

Quick Refrigerator Front Clutter Busting for Tidy Tuesday

Photo by me; Magnet by https://www.opendoorsusa.org/

Happy tidy Tuesday! My Great Clutter Purge of 2017 continues. Until this week I'd been operating on a spontaneous method but yesterday I started a clockwise organization of the kitchen surfaces. I feel like these surfaces are clutter magnets so my current plan is to go from room to room and deal with all the visible surfaces. Today I tidied the front of my refrigerator.

"Before" clutter busting photo of refrigerator

I liked everything on the freezer section but it was just too much. The stuff on the refrigerator section was just to remind me of things to do and could definitely go somewhere else.

Totally clear refrigerator front

So I removed everything and gave the front of the refrigerator a quick cleaning. Truly, I don't need anything on it at all. If I were a minimalist, I'd probably leave it like this.

"After" clutter busting photo of refrigerator

But I decided it was reasonable and not untidy to keep one row of things that inspire me.

Love corner: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017

This is my favorite photo of my husband and I just before getting married, along with a little poem and a magnet of a cheerful sunflower. I call it my refrigerator's love corner.

Psalm 118:24 art by Linda Grayson; Photo by me

This is a Bible verse I like to recite every morning. I don't remember who gave it to me but I've had it for at least 10 years and it makes me smile. Thank you, mystery family member or friend!

The Sandman loves organizing: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017

The whole time I worked on the refrigerator I had to be careful not to step on my most curious cat, the Sandman. Technically he's still a kitten but he weighs almost 14 pounds. He and his sister, Braveheart, will be one year old on March 27th. I'm not sure how we'll celebrate yet but would love to hear your suggestions.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you!

Related posts:
Linen closet organization: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/07/from-disaster-to-delight-organized.html
Mystery corner clutter busting: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/01/mystery-corner-in-master-bedroom.html
8 minute microwave area clutter bust: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/03/8-minute-microwave-and-cut-flower.html

Note: Not a sponsored/paid post. All opinions are my own 

First Daffodils, Periwinkle and Forsythia Flowers of the Year

Yellow daffodil flower and bud: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017

Happy March, floral Friday and welcome to "this week in my Maryland garden!" The spring flowers started extra early this year. But it's not truly spring yet and God reminded me of this by sprinkling snowflakes on my camera as I took these photos earlier today. 

Yellow forsythia flowers: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017

We only have one remaining forsythia bush but its sunny yellow flowers brighten up a shady corner of the yard.

Pretty periwinkle flower and buds: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017

The purplish blue periwinkle flowers (also called vinca) are popping up all over. I think periwinkle is my favorite ground cover. It spreads nicely and squelches weeds but still lets my larger perennials grow through. Last year I planted some under one of our rose bushes and I'm looking forward to seeing how that works out later this year.

Sunny daffodils: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017

This daffodil has an unusual shape but I thought it was still pretty.

Tulip foliage: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017

It'll be a while before it flowers but I was happy to see tulip foliage popping up through the mulch this week too.

Although I didn't get any photos this week, the hellebores are blooming too and you can see them here.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you!

Related posts:
Daffodils, pansies and cyclamen: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/03/daffodil-pansy-and-cyclamen-flower.html
Primroses, daffodils & quince: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/03/primroses-daffodils-and-flowering-quince.html
Funky daffodil and more flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/04/pretty-pansies-periwinkle-forsythia-and.html