Homemaker or Desperate Housewife?!?

Long time no see I know! I started a weight-loss challenge on New Years Day and it requires me to blog twice a week on it or be kicked out. I like most of the modern world have only so much time in the day so I laid this blog aside for a little bit. I might not be back in full blogging swing but I'm at least here!

I was working on orders for fruit and veggie baskets today and someone posted a status update on Facebook (where I get the orders from) which said " Productive morning! We've done some school work, baked a wheat loaf, wheat sandwich rolls, cookies, and biscuits. Chicken stock is working on it's own. The house smells amazing!" That comment got me thinking... I have very productive days and then sometimes I have days where I feel like I'm just spinning my wheels. Regardless of the days outcome I'm working daily to improve the lives of my loved ones. I'm working to stretch our dollar farther than humanly possible, I'm working to become more self sufficient and not rely on the big box stores to meet our needs.... I'm WORKING! I'm working on being a Homemaker not a Desperate Housewife!

So with my weight-loss challenge being so fresh in my mind, and all the motivation and support I have received from it I thought I might issue a Homemakers Challenge here! Here is the best part.... you make your OWN goals for what you would like to accomplish in YOUR homemakers journey! No following me, or jump through this hoop and that hoop. Just making progress in your own home on the things that directly affect you and your family.  It could be learning a new skill like baking bread, or seriously addressing your food budget and learning how to stick to it, or heck for those with several small children it could be making sure the kids toilet stays flushed! You would need to link up once a week and post something on your blog with pictures showing what you accomplished this week! No goal to big or to small.

So what do you think? Any working mamas out there who could use a little encouragement and a gentle nudge now and then?!? Come on it's only 10 weeks... you can do it! You're already working so you might as well have a little fun while doing it!

Leave a comment here or send me a message on Facebook or email if interested!

Back to Basics

Sorry I haven't blogged in several weeks, but I started an new blog with my weight loss challenge and between the challenge, that blog, and our new edition of Ms. Cooper Annabelle, I have been swamped. 

Back to Basics

Part of homesteading is learning how to take care of yourself and your belongings without running to an outside source. With that principal in mind I decided to attack our large area rug that needed to be cleaned. When Mckenna moved back home she brought her two dogs with her and for a week or two we had issues with not letting the dogs out in time so of course they chose the rug instead of all the easy to clean hardwood floor that surrounded the rug!

I first laid the rug in direct sunlight to help sanitize and remove the bad odors. It's winter here so I didn't have to worry about the sunlight fading the rug, if fading is a concern for you then only place in direct sunlight for a few hours at a time.

After a few hours, I sprinkled baking soda liberally over the rug and swept the powder into the rug.  Baking soda is a natural odor absorber and you don't have to worry about it damaging the fibers of the rug. I again let the rug sit in the sun for several hours.

If you are trying to freshen only then you can vacuum the rug several times and maybe place over a fence or something similar and beat the remaining powder out of the rug. Becuase our rug had been peed on, I wanted to wash it as well. I took the garden hose and sprayed from the top down for several minutes. You can look on the back of the rug to confirm all stains have been removed. Once clean I let it air dry for a day or so. Once the rug is back in it's place vacuum one last time to fluff the fibers back into place.

*You should always check the label of your rug before using and cleaning products or water.

Getting Fit On A Budget

Over this last year, we examined several issues concerning the way we lived, the way we ate, and the way we spent our money, and in doing so we have discovered changes that needed to be made in each area.  We tackled the issues one at a time and when felt like we had it in check with our new goals we would move on to the next item on the list.

Well, I'm glad to say we have gotten to the point where we can address our fitness levels. Over the last few years, life has really taken a toll on us.  Our stress level has been maxed out and we have used most of our energy just surviving day today.  Not anymore!  We are taking back our health, in the same manner, we took back our life, our food, and our money.

In order to do this, I need to lose weight and increase my strength, where Racey just needs to maintain his weight and increase his activity level.  How do we plan to do this while still living a frugal life you ask?

This is how:

• I will follow a low-calorie meal plan eating REAL food.  No diet bars or shakes, no 100 calorie packs, no frozen diet meals, just real whole food.

There are plenty of free online fitness sites that help you track your food, water, exercise, etc. They are easy to join and very user-friendly. I'm using My Fitness Pal if you want to join and be one of my buddies!

• I will cut back my carbonated drinks to 1 a day and drink more water.

• I will exercise three to five times a week.

If you have a gym membership that's great, but that doesn't fit into our frugal budget.  Plus, with only one car, I need to find things I can do here at home.  We have very nice mountain bikes we bought several years ago (when we were less broken than we are now) so Racey and I are going to start riding again.  For many years I've wanted to learn to do Yoga, but when I had the time I didn't have the money and vise versa.  Sticking with my frugal goals I found a great online yoga class that is totally free!  At this point, they have over 100 lessons available by the same teacher so I should be good for a while.  Last, but not least, I have two perfectly working feet I can walk with.  I certainly always keep frugality in mind, but I did buy a stability ball to work with as well for under $10.00.

• I will set trackable goals and make myself accountable for what I do, and take credit for things I don't do!

I have dedicated myself to an online weight-loss challenge.  I have a partner who I support through the challenge and she in return supports me.   In addition, other challenge buddies stop by your blog and comment and share things with you about how their trials and tribulations are going, which is a pretty good support if you ask me. Did I mention that's free too?

As for Racey, he is so happy to have me outside and in a good mood that any activity I come up with he is game for!

This weekend we hiked Kennesaw Mtn. (just over a mile +800 ft. elevation) on Saturday which burned 1213 calories.   Then, on Sunday, we rode our mountain bikes at Blankets Creek in Cherokee County with a calorie burn total of 1025.  All of these are frugal, free activities that don't require a paid membership to something or somewhere.  Besides, would you rather walk on a treadmill while watching TV or see the scenery in these pictures?

This weekend the weather is going to be nice again so I think we will go Geocaching (click the link to find out what Geocaching is all about) up north a little and either hike Kennesaw Mtn. again or find another trail at the bike park.  Needless to say, we will be outside enjoying life!

Hope to see you around!

Happy New Year from Our Urban Homestead

 Here on the urban homestead front it's been kinda slow these last few weeks.  I think for awhile we were learning something new each day and had more to share than any one human could listen to, so we started blogging.  At this point our energy is focused more on living what we have learned, and not caving into laziness and falling back into the convenience trap.

With the holidays being the busy time they are this has been a challenge, but all in all we've stayed true to our core values and came out on top.  I find the two major areas that tend to get out of control are gift lists and food.  Our gift list wasn't very long but did have a handful of family on it and all but one gift was made by hand in our home.   However, since I wasn't out shopping all day like in years past I was able to avoid the fast food dinner trap.  On Christmas day I realized I didn't have any Bisquick and McClane had specifically requested sausage balls as one of our menu items.  I have a recipe for homemade Bisquick, but like most moms on Christmas day, I was too busy cooking to fool with it.  Racey offered to go to Walgreen's and grab a box along with crackers to replace the ones he ate on accident so I figure what the heck... it's Christmas day for crying out loud!  As you can imagine, they didn't have any so I was forced to take the time to make it myself and I'm glad I did.  It was so easy and only took less than ten minutes start to finish, which was less time than it took Racey to put his shoes on and drive to the store.  In my rush I forgot to take pictures of the 'Homemade Bisquick' so here are the directions.

10 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. baking powder
1/4 c. sugar
4 tsp. salt
2 c. shortening, that does not require refrigeration

 

Combine all ingredients except shortening in large bowl. With pastry blender cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Store in airtight container, up to 6 months. Use as you would any other baking mix. Makes 12 1/2 cups.

 

May the New Year bring you and your family many blessings and may you grow in strength and knowledge!

Life Is Too Short

Yesterday was the two year anniversary that my children's father passed away.  I spent the day trying to keep myself and McClane busy while all along remembering the years and memories the kids shared with their dad.  McClane and I went to the cemetery so he could see and somehow connect with his dad on this day, and let me tell you that is a site that would break any mother!  McClane and I talked for awhile at the grave-site about life, death, and time, and we both left with heavy hearts.  As the day progressed I took him to his Aunts house so he could spend a few days with his dad's family and celebrate Christmas Eve with them before coming back home for Christmas.

Going through this has shown me many things, some of which I will share with you in hopes that you can learn from others life experience. The biggest impression I want to give you here is life is too short! With this in mind I encourage you to start the new year as if it was your last.  I know many of you are thinking I must be crazy, but in all honesty how do you know it's not?!?  The goal here is not to be morbid, but to begin to live your life with meaning and purpose now, not later.  A lot of us are just going through the motions trying to get to the happy place that we see as retirement, a better job, more money, a bigger house, a nicer car, etc.. I encourage you to evaluate your life and see where you are happy, as well as where you are unhappy, and begin to plot your changes for this next year.  Here are a few question to start with:

• Are you working a job that you dislike just to pay off credit debt over which you can't even remember what is was you bought to begin with?

• I've been in this situation before and I know how hopeless it can feel.  My suggestion would be to stop buying anything you can't pay cash for.  I know this is easier said than done, but realize that (I'm invoking the spirit of Dave Ramsey here) you are a slave to debt and you hold the keys to your own freedom.  Get strong and learn to tell yourself and family NO if you don't have the cash. 

• Are you so busy with extracurricular activities that you can't properly cook and care for your family?

• I know many of you have church, PTA, and volunteer commitments that you feel like you can't drop, but if this was your last year who would you want to spend it with?  Would you spend it with committee members, or with your loved ones?  Would you spend your time cooking nutritious meals your family loved to eat, making memories, and passing on the ways of life that are important to you?  Our service is important, don't get me wrong, but not more important than our families.

• Is your house and all the stuff in it eating you alive?

• Simplify, simplify, simplify!  Get rid of things that take up space and bring you no joy.  For example, ask yourself how many frying pans you really need?  What about clothing?  If you can't easily manage your closet or dresser drawers then you have too much and you need to simplify!  If you have stuff stashed in junk drawers (or more than one junk drawer at all) or closets then you don't really appreciate what's in there and it's most likely stuff you could live without, so get rid of it!  If you come across something in there that you have been looking for and do have a need for then give it a proper place to live so you know where it is when needed.

• Are your relationships stressed?

• If so, then do what you can to heal them.  Keep in mind, however, that it takes two to tango and you alone can't always make things right.  If this is the case then make peace with yourself and move on.  Don't let past regret keep you in a place of no joy.

• Is your budget, or lack of one, making financial freedom impossible?

• In this economy I know many of you are starting over due to loss of jobs, foreclosures, and bankruptcy and are living paycheck to paycheck.  We're doing the same thing here so don't feel bad.  But that reason alone is motivation enough for you to manage your limited resources to the best of your ability, and that can't be done with out a budget that you stick to.  If this is your case don't be discourage!  Work on improving your situation by learning how to spend less, and make part of spending less an effort to start making the products you use and normally spend money on.  Remember, this blog is not about doing without, but about thriving with less expense and burden. 

In general ask yourself, "Am I happy with my life?"  If not, seek out the root of the problem and do whatever it takes to correct it.  Remembering that life is too short to not make the changes needed now.  Let's honor those who have passed away by living our life to it's fullest and enjoying the simplest of pleasures.

Thrifty Furnishings

Using thrift store treasures to decorate my house is one of the simple pleasures I indulge myself in.  I love walking into a store and having no clue what I will come out with, if anything at all.  It has kinda become a game where I see how well I can decorate my house with thriftiness in mind.

As I walked through my house looking for items to take a picture of to post on the blog, I started noticing that 95% of the items in our home have been bought second hand.  Big ticket items like our beds, living room furniture, kitchen table and cabinet were purchased new, but they are filled with second hand touches.

When we moved into our house it was being repainted and I was asked to choose the colors I wanted for each room.  In doing that I also saw other things I wanted to replace before we moved in.  Like always our budget was almost non-existent! When I started talking with Racey about replacing ceiling fans, light fixtures and the kitchen sink I'm sure he was convinced that I had lost my mind.  I reassured him that I would only do what our budget allowed and that I would be patient enough to find all my goodies at thrift stores, estate sales, Craigslist, ect..

Here is a sampling of some of my finds!

This was a towel rack I bought at Goodwill still in the box!  I just assumed it would extend to the same length as the one I had hanging in the bathroom already.  When it turned up to be to short I decided to make it into a jewelry holder.

Towel Bar - $3.00

  I know you must be tired of seeing this as the back drop of most of the pictures I post on here.  This little treasure was also purchased at Goodwill.  It still had the price tag on the bottom and looked to have never been used.  I'm not sure what it was made to do but it serves as a caddy for all my frequently used kitchen items.  I use the kitchen table as an island when prepping meals and when it's time to eat I just grab the caddy and move it to another location so it frees up the table. 

Caddy - $5.00

 I found these the same day as the caddy pictured above.  They had price stickers on the bottom from Garden Ridge.  The taller one was $19.99 and the shorter was $12.99

They seem to be of the same style and that makes me wonder if they came from the same home. 

I paid $4.54 for the taller one and $2.52 for the shorter.  They still have the price written on the bottom from Goodwill!

This clock was being thrown in the trash because it didn't match the new decor in the teachers lounge of a school I worked at.

Clock - Free

I bought this chandelier off Craigslist as we were preparing to move in our house.

Chandelier - $35.00 

This is the matching ceiling fan.

Fan - $50.00

  

This lamp is another item the school was throwing away.  It gives our kitchen the perfect amount of light when we are having a quit candle light dinner or, if the kitchen is shut down for the night, I still like to have a small light on.  It helps the mood of the house!

This little treasure Racey found on the side of the road!  The people were moving and didn't want it.  He stopped and asked if they were throwing it away could he have it.  They said yes and invited him in to look at the other items they didn't want.  He took all of the things and we sold most of them and bought our sink pictured below!  I think it's meant to be a plant stand but I had McClane and his granddad cut wooden shelves for me to use as a solid surface.


Kitchen Shelves - Free

I found this at Goodwill and thought it could hold my necklaces.  Once home I changed my mind!

$ 1.81

This was a garden planter that I found at Goodwill and re-purposed into a kitchen utensil holder.

This is a trivet (I think) I like to use it as a spoon rest.

Here are several things from my bathroom.  The toothbrush holder was a pencil holder, the little pink girl at the well is an antique planter, and the hairbrush holder is another planter, who knows what the other dish was made for but as you can see I use it to hold my favorite soap and jewelry.  All these items were found at thrift stores.

Toothbrush holder - $1.51
Hairbrush holder - $1.21
Soap dish - $1.81
Girl at the well - not sure of price


As you can see many of the items that decorate our home have been discarded by others, and that's fine with me

Making Thriftiness Work For You

Most people I talk with concerning down sizing and frugality think that in order to live this type of life you must always be doing without.  That assumption couldn't be further from the truth.  Instead, living a frugal, self-sufficient life is simply understanding that it's your job to make most of the things you would normally buy, and source for the most reasonable price possible that which you can't make yourself.  Here are a few examples of things I have made instead of buying when the need arose.

I had three small loaves of homemade bread I knew would not be eaten before they went stale.  Most people would toss the bread into the trash or maybe feed it to the birds, but with a frugal mindset I decided to make bread crumbs.

The two loaves in the back had been tossed into my 'bread crumb bag'  in the freezer that is why they look a little wrinkly!

Take the stale bread, cut it into slices and place directly on the oven rack and toast it.  If you want to really be frugal, toast immediately after cooking something in the oven and you will be able to turn the oven off and toast the bread with the heat from dinner!  After toasted, place in food processor and 'pulse' till crumbs are fine.  Store in an airtight container.  If you want Italian bread crumbs here is the recipe!
Here is the link for step -by-step photo tutorial on making bread crumbs. 

I have very dry skin and was accustomed to purchasing lotions of every brand in the hopes of finding one that did what the label claimed.  Just the other week I made my first batch of body butter with all-natural ingredients and, to be honest, it's the best stuff I've found!  It moisturizes my skin and leaves it feeling soft even through the next day.  This is one of those times where I did spend money to purchase basic ingredients, but I was able to make a far superior product.
 

When Layna moved back home this summer she brought several items into the house, one of which was a Paula Dean jar candle.  The candle had only been burned a few times but she was ready to toss it.  Racey and I both love candle light so we eagerly saved it from the Goodwill bin.  After burning the candle all summer and loving the scent, the candles wick decided to move off center and would only burn for a few minutes before the wax would put it out.  Racey first tried to slowly melt the candle in the oven in the attempt to move the wick back to the center, and this did work for a while but the longer we burned it the more the wick gravitated to the side.  Then I had an idea!  As he tried to fix the candle in the oven it filled the house with the scent from the candle and that gave me the idea to use my tart burner to melt the wax and if we couldn't use the candle for light anymore we could at least use it for the lovely sent!

Here are the ways in which we used our thriftiness on this item:

• We didn't buy it, we saved it from the trash or Goodwill (people are always throwing or giving things away.  This is a great way to use your thrifty skills and save the landfills!)
• We used it for our pleasure and entertainment till it couldn't be used anymore (Don't buy or own items that just take up space and bring you no joy, only clutter)
• We attempted to repair it instead of throwing it in the trash (We didn't pay money for it after all so why not just be rid of it some might be thinking)
• Once the repair no longer worked we found another use for it as an air-fresher (most items can be re-purposed if you care to save it from the landfill)
• Once all the sent is gone we will save the wax for other projects we have planned 
• We will recycle the jar to hold something such as bath salts, foot scrub, etc

 As you can see thriftiness and frugality are not about doing without, but more about resourcefulness and using the products that are already around your home to meet your needs.  Many of us are fooled into thinking that our way of living and consuming will never end or decrease.  In reality though our planet has finite resources and our modern way of consumption will come to an end at some point if our budget doesn't get us first.  

In fear of being labeled a tree hugger here, I want to leave you with this thought...

Save yourself the money, save our natural, limited resources, and learn to live as if Wal-mart never opened their doors and you'll be happier for it!

12 Days of Christmas - Foot Scrub & Body Butter

In the spirit of Black Friday, I thought I would get a jump on the shopping for this holiday season.  Unlike most Black Friday shoppers I slept in this morning.  Once awake I took my sweet time eating a little leftover Thanksgiving dinner for breakfast.  What?  Everyone doesn't do this?!?  Then I sat at the computer and looked at all the Google news stories about crazy Black Friday shoppers and all their antics.  What some people will do for a discount!  I'm all about saving money but this is just nonsense.  To me this is a prime example of how we have transformed into a consumer society where we are literally possessed with stuff.

Now don't get me wrong here.  I love things... I love getting gifts... I love giving gifts...I have a wish list as long as my arm as well.  I'm just at a point in my life that each item causes me to think about several things, such as the following:

• Where was this made?
• Who made it? (Maybe a child or severely underpaid parent?)    
• How much fuel did it take to get this item to me here in the States?
• Could it be made here in the U.S. and, if so, why wasn't it?
• Is it made of something that could possibly add to my personal toxic load?  If you are unfamiliar with this topic you can read about it here, here, and here. 
• Will this item be around and still in good working order in 3 years, 5 years, 10 years?
• Is this a temporary gadget, and will I be wanting the new and improved one in six months?
• How long will I or my husband have to work to buy this item?

As I said I love things, I just hate what it take for me to have them.  So back to my Black Friday plan!  I will still celebrate the holiday as I talked about in a previous post, my main focus will just be on spending time with the people I care about, enjoying a good homemade meal and giving small handmade gift as a token of love.

Here is my first handmade gift of the season!

 This is for the woman who loves to pamper her feet.  The jar on the left is a powdered foot scrub, and the blue dish is a deep conditioning body butter.  The foot scrub can be made with items in your pantry.  The body butter supplies can be found at any health food store.

Hear are the steps to make this wonderful, handmade, personalized gift for someone on your gift list!

Here are the ingredients for the foot scrub:

• 1/2 cup of  cornmeal
• 1/2 cup of oatmeal
• 1/4 cup of seasalt
• 10 drops of essential oil (I used lemon because that's what I had on hand.  It gave the mixture a clean citrus smell)

First you will want to put the oats in a food processor or blender and blend into a fine powder.

Next mix the powdered oats, cornmeal, and salt.  Once all dry ingredients are mixed add essential oil for scent.  This step is optional.

I used a wide mouth decorative jelly jar that I had left over from the canning season.  If you have a canning funnel it comes in handy for more than canning.

Here are the ingredients for the body butter:

• 1 tbsp. of Coconut Oil
• 2 tbsp. of Shea Butter
• 2 tsp. of Safflower Oil
• 2 tsp. of Grapeseed Oil

Coconut oil is a solid below 76 degrees and becomes a liquid at 77 degrees.  I measured both solids and heated in microwave for 20 seconds till soft but not melted.

Once softened, place in mixer and SLOWLY add oils.  This step can take a few minutes.  You will want to increase the mixer speed as the oil is incorporated.

Your final product should look like whipped butter.

I had a old Avon jar that I found at an estate sale several years ago so I used it to hold the butter.










Remember that this is a deep conditioning body butter, so a little goes a long way.  Because of the coconut oil it will have an oily feel to it, however, if you use a small amount it will be absorbed into the skin within a few minutes.

As you can see, this gift is one that is not expensive but is a little more time consuming than just picking up a gift card.  The purpose of this post is to show you that you can give gifts and enjoy the holiday season without becoming a crazy Black Friday causality.  The focus is not money as much as the mentality of the modern gift giver. Tomorrow I will post another homemade gift, so if this one isn't up your alley, check back then and see what you think!

*Note: The foot scrub is a powder so you will want to put a little in your hand then add a small amount of water to form a paste.

Function vs. Beauty - It Can Be Done!

Function and beauty at the same time!

I'm the type of person who loves a clean, organized house.  I love to wander through the storage section of any store, and looking through a catalog that has endless organizers and containers gives me the *warm fuzzies*.

This can become a pain for the folks around here because everything has to have a home, and if it's not in it's home I get all grumbly.  Let me defend myself for a minute here.  This obsession has come in handy more times than I can count.  At one point in my life I condensed a 3,000 sq. ft. house and five people into a single wide mobile home with room to spare!

I believe organization is key to living a life wherein you take advantage of all your assets and use every item that comes into your home (which follows the main tennent of this blog). No matter the size of your home, if you can't find your stuff and have to buy it again or you are tripping all over your possessions, then that's wasteful.  Have you ever forgotten you had something because it was misplaced or lost?  Have you ever donated or tossed something into the trash because you couldn't find the piece that would make it work?  I have, and that drives me insane!  Just when I get rid of whatever it is, the missing piece turns up... Grrr!

Our house is no different than yours!  It gets trashed and we trip all over ourselves too.  Who wouldn't have a messy home occasionally when there are five adults living in 1050 sq. ft..  This set of photos were taken after my two adult kids (18 & 20) and their significant others spent the night here and then left for work the next morning. They know the rules, so that day I threw away a pair of jeans, a tank top and a pair of shoes.  I know that sounds harsh, but if they can't be bothered to clean up after themselves and they disregard their items enough to leave them on the floor, then the trash is the best place for them.

Our kitchen table can easily become a catch-all, so we try to have folks walk straight to their room before they drop their stuff.  However, that doesn't always work as you can see by this picture. We try though!  Honestly, as I sit here and look at this picture, half the stuff on the table is mine! Shh, don't let my kids hear me say that. ;-)





So let's get organized!

Where do I start you may ask?  My suggestion is to start in the busiest room of the house.  I know for some that might be a scary place to begin, but you will see the biggest difference right from the start which will motivate you to continue.  In our home the kitchen and dining areas see the most traffic so we started there.  Your kitchen should fit your families lifestyle and the way you live.  Most kitchens are designed by people who rarely use the space for anything other than making a cup of coffee or reheating take-out.  I remember that in my first custom built house I let the cabinet maker design the layout of the cabinets.  I was a young wife and mother, and I was naive enough to think that a 'professional' would know better than me.  To my surprise, when the cabinets and counter top were installed (no going back now), I realized that I had NO PANTRY!  What good is a kitchen when you have no place to hold the ingredients you are supposed to cook with?  I asked the company about this, and their answer was that most people just use a few cabinets to hold their canned and boxed goods, and that a separate cabinet to house food was for older style kitchens.  "Oh, you mean back in the day when families use to cook and eat at home?", I thought to myself.  IMHO, that's not a working kitchen, that's a glorified dorm kitchen with the requisite microwave!

So here is where we started.  We reorganized both the kitchen and the dining room to maximize our working space.




I took all the big kitchen items that take up a lot of counter top space and put them on a handy shelf in the garage.  This way I don't have to toss the item but its not eating valuable counter top space.

We had an old kitchen table that was taking up space in the attic, so we brought it to the garage which is right off of the kitchen so it's convenient for use.  We placed the most frequently used items on it and plugged them into a power strip so they're ready to go.  In the summer this is another way we control the heat that a working kitchen generates.

We moved our pantry outside to the garage, and since we buy most things in bulk, this makes it easier to store larger items. (this is a bad pic, we were reorganizing at the time and half the food was on the floor)

  This was our original kitchen pantry which we turned  into an "above ground root cellar" to hold all our fruit and veg as well as the recycle bin.

We have a small spiral staircase that has a little nook of space underneath.  Underneath it we have a recycled plant rack Racey found on the curb of a house where the residents were moving and couldn't be bothered to take it with them.  McClane and his granddad cut wooden shelves to serve as a solid base so I could use the space more efficiently.  This now holds many of my 'go to' items that I use several times a day.

We had a coat closet next to our dinning area.  It had mirrored sliding doors and was just wasted space in my opinion.  So we took the doors off, hung a long curtain in its place, and now it stores our large containers of bread flour, all-purpose flour, self rising flour, and sugar.  I use the old coat rack as a pot rack, and I found lid holders at Goodwill and mounted them on the wall.












Our home is very small and if we can find all this storage and organizational space, I know you will have success as well.  It's all about deciding what things you want to accomplish in each room and start to think out of the box.  The fact that just over 1000 square feet functionally fits the needs of a family of five is proof that you can do whatever you really need to do, and it can look plenty nice at the same time!  Just check the pic at the top for proof!