Alright so I’ve had a couple slip ups along the way with my 40 bags in 40 days Lenten promise but I’m at the correct number of bags so I’ll call it a win. I find that it’s changing my life in weird ways. I’m realizing just how much stuff I’ve been holding on to because I was too busy, too lazy, too whatever to get rid of it. I literally filled a garbage bag with stuff from my pantry this weekend that was well past it’s expiration date. Same with the refrigerator and the medicine cabinet. It’s a wonder I haven’t killed all of us with expired consumables.
I had no idea it would feel so good to clean out my pantry. It also started me thinking about how I snack based on what I see. I try to organize my refrigerator so healthy snacks are easily accessible and on eye level. (Thank you college marketing class!) My pantry was a different story (obviously) and Holy Hell Batman! It looked like crap in there. I’d become blind to it because I saw it all the time while I mindlessly munched on whatever was easiest to reach or complained about not having anything good to cook.
So that’s my before picture. It looks sooo bad! It was actually even worse because that bottom section had a bunch of crap in it too before I took the picture. The Boy is a tiny little neat freak when he gets the cleaning bug and is very happy that’s I’m cleaning up the house. It took most of a day, a garbage bag, a fight with a stupid drill, a trip to Target for this awesome door organizer, and a trip to Walmart (I thought they’d have the door organizer but they didn’t so I just got this cool can rack and a couple of these boxes) to get my awesome results. I breathe a sigh of relief every time I open the pantry now.
There have definitely been side effects to this pantry cleaning though. It’s made me want to clean and organize the rest of the house. I despise cleaning, just ask my Mom. I hate it so much that I even put it in my online dating profile. (I’m sure to remind my husband of this anytime he complains about the house being dirty.) Cleaning stresses me out. But with this challenge I’m facing the ugly things that upset me and I’m doing it one bite at a time. I’m digging through the cabinets that I just avoid or coming to terms with my body by giving away the clothes that don’t fit anymore. I’m really glad that I did this and I definitely recommend it. The positive reinforcement from my husband helps too. He’s keeping me supplied with hugs and snacks and comments about how nice my butt looks when I’m cleaning. Haha! Can’t fault the man for trying his best to make this stick.
Mom Van Confessions 