Out Of Chaos

A friend of mine bemoaned the fact that she was going to spend her weekend changing the liners in her kitchen cabinets and drawers. I just smiled. I can remember the days when I used to have to re-line the cabinets every six months or so. What an exasperating chore it was!

I tried using adhesive backed liner paper. You cut it to the size of the drawer or shelf, and then you practice your acrobatics as you attempt to place it on the surface without wrinkles or bubbles. I always made a mess of it, and was glad that it would be covered by dishes.

I haven’t had to bother with that in six years, because I found a way to simplify the process:

Every drawer and cabinet shelf in my house
is lined with vinyl floor tiles.

Armed with an Exacto knife, to score the tiles, I lined everything. You don’t have to cut the tiles, if you simply score them, they will break cleanly and evenly.

That might sound like a lot of work to you, but think about it for a minute. Do it once, and forever after all you have to do is wipe the shelves now and then to have them looking nice! It isn’t much more work than that sticky liner paper. In the long run, it even turns out to be less expensive (although your initial outlay might be more).

You can find the vinyl tiles at your local hardware center. They come in many colors, and you can find attractive tiles for as little as 98 cents for a 12 x 12 tile.

My friend spent her weekend re-lining the cabinets. I went to the movies. That works for me.

Tags: Uncategorized by Shelly Kneupper Tucker
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Though I can cook quite well, I’ve gotten out of the habit of making five course meals. I want in and out of that kitchen as fast as I can. Especially during the July heat in Texas! I’m always looking for simple recipes.

There is an interesting “meme” at Rocks in My Dryer called “Works For Me Wednesday.” Each week, there is a theme, and bloggers post about it. The links are listed so you can visit and get ideas from folks.

This week, the theme was “Five Ingredients Or Less.” People shared their simple recipes designed to keep you out of a heated kitchen. An amazing 403 people posted recipes! You might want to check them out!

Tags: Cooking Simplified by Shelly Kneupper Tucker
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I love going to a Farmer’s Market to choose produce fresh from the farm. Never having been refrigerated, the fruits and vegetables actually smell the way they are supposed to smell!

I enjoy going to the butcher shop here in town, where the owners call me by name, and know exactly what I want before I get the words out of my mouth. Nothing is finer than a visit to my favorite local bakery to get the breads I love. Oh, that place smells heavenly!

Unfortunately, to visit all these shops would take half a day and a half a tank of gasoline. These days I can’t afford that luxury. Heck, I can barely afford food!

Grocery shopping at the grocery store has never been a favorite chore for me. I try to get through it as quickly as I can. I want to keep grocery shopping simple.

Theoretically, I know the rules I should follow when shopping, if I want the experience to be as painless as possible:

• Shop early, but not too early. At my local chain store, the checkout clerks don’t arrive until 8:00 a.m. If I get to the checkout line before then, I have to use the self-checkout. That’s absolutely no fun with a cartload of groceries!
• Never go to the store hungry - I wind up buying things I don’t need, just because they are appealing while my stomach is growling.
• Stick to the outer aisles! That’s generally where meat, produce, dairy, and bread are located. I try never to go down those aisles marked “Seasonal.” I know if I do, I’ll fall for something I don’t need.
• Have a grocery list and stick to it! My friend SusieJ has her “G List” on-line for you to copy if you like. Perhaps you shop differently and want to make your own. She suggests that you make a list of everything you might buy, and organize it by the department of the store where it is located. Keep that list in a plastic file sheet in your kitchen. As the week progresses, mark anything you need right on the plastic with a dry erase marker. If you take that list with you to the store, you should be able to get in and out of the store in an hour, with everything you need for the week. Bring the list home, wipe it off, and put it back in the kitchen for the next go-round.
• Don’t gaze at the magazines at the checkout and don’t stop at the Starbucks kiosk!

If I remember to follow those rules, grocery shopping is a much less painful experience. At least it is until I have to pay for the groceries!

Tags: Household Chores Simplified by Shelly Kneupper Tucker
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