More than a mini purge-FREEZER!

Ah, that felt good. I forgot to defrost our freestanding freezer this summer. You know how the time gets away from you. I was waiting for an above-freezing day to tackle it before the 50 lbs of grass-fed beef that we ordered is ready in January. New Year's Day is supposed to be warm but I'm not sure what we'll be doing so I went ahead and did it today. I did have to whip out the hair dryer to speed things along but it didn't really take too much time. I ended up pitching some things (mostly leftovers and frozen grated zuchini) that I haven't used and probably never will.

I'm not sure how this qualifies as simplifying except the purging part. Let me add that I'm considering purging the freezer altogether. I'll decide about this after we use the beef. It's an old freezer that a friend gave us and I'm thinking it has increased our electric bill significantly.

A Renewed Focus on Simplifying

1. Sorry if you read this blog and were offended by the naked "follower". I just noticed that, have no idea how that got there and I blocked it. YUK!

2. I've been tackling mini purging projects. In the post-Christmas downtime, I have organized and purged the following:
     A. Pantry cabinet and shelves. (There is definitely more to do here. I'll post a photo of my after-see if I can get some organizing baskets or whatever and post an "after after" photo. I am humble enough to show you my "before" but I forgot to take photos.

     B. Kitchen utensil drawer (the one with the big utensils). It was a mess and getting on my nerves. I'll do the main drawer today. Our flatware stays fairly neat and organized but the side spaces to this drawer need a little attention.

     C. My nightstand. I usually have anywhere from 3 books to 10 stacked on this tiny space. I just took them all off the stand and have to dive into the cabinet underneath and move a few things to the basement shelves. I'm not brave enough to get rid of my favorite Catholic books. These are the books that I read the most. I'll have to consider this as I move toward minimizing.

There you have it. My itty bitty purges.

I'm thinking of jumping into flylady again. When I first discovered her site about 6 or 7 years ago, I probably applied 50% or less of the principles and it still made a huge difference. I just want to be more organized. Speaking of that, I ordered this book. I'll click on SimpleMom occassionally and always enjoy Tsh's articles. I couldn't resist another simplifying book with organization tossed in to boot. I'll let you know how it is.

As I mentioned on my other blog, I'm considering my word for 2011. I haven't decided what it is yet. I'll let you know, though.