I’ve got my daughter’s homecoming to thank for my self imposed spring housecleaning…at the height of summer! 

Trying to figure out where I would put extra boxes of pasta…spaghetti, elbow macaroni, and shells…and salt and pepper dispensers…and oodles of boxes of different varieties of green tea…and multiple cans of spray starch and shaving cream…and on and on and on…made me decide to rip the house apart and start all over again. How far have I gotten? Don’t ask.

TIDY TEA

Actually, the kitchen is nearly done. The shelves in my pantry are organized. Wonder of wonders! No more stacking boxes of tea on top of one another so that it was difficult to know what I had. I’ve cut apart the boxes, so that the tea bags are fully visible and labeled. There’s my husband’s “go to” green tea with lemon, and my personal stash of sleep aids…decaffeinated green tea.

Then there’s…earl grey green tea…peach green tea…mango green tea…jasmine green tea…chai green…acai green tea…pink lemonade green tea…green tea with ginger, coconut and vanilla…and finally, yerba matta green tea. This last one was recommended by my chiropractor. I drank it once…and grew chest hairs!

Did you know that green tea is a great metabolizer? Three cups a day can help with weight loss according to some diet gurus. Now you know why I stick with decaf. I’d be swinging from the dining room chandelier otherwise.

In addition to the green variety, I’ve got…English breakfast…Earl Grey…coconut macadamia nut…mango passion fruit black tea…and oh, yes…just plain old black tea. Haven’t drunk that in years, but I keep it around just in case it comes back into style.

Then there’s the specialty of the house…not mine but the Empress Hotel in Victoria, BC. Their special blend of black tea which, you guessed it…I’ve yet to break open. I’m waiting for that special day…when the Queen comes for high tea. I don’t care which one it is…grandma or Cinderella. And you know when that’ll be…when h..l freezes over!

To top this all off, I’ve something which professes it will “sweeten” my mind…vanilla almond. I’d better drink a bucket of that when I’m done reorganizing my house…

What I did with the teas, I also did with the shelves holding the canned foods, the bottles of everything you can think of, and the pastas/rices and grains. In another area I was able to store all the family’s vitamins and supplements…except for my husband’s which are in the bathroom medicine cabinet. In order to do this I had to move some of my everyday spices, like salt and pepper, baking soda, baking powder and others of this variety to another cabinet. I’ve yet to get into my beloved spice drawer to clean up the mess left by a bottle of vanilla which spilled and sesame seeds that jumped out of the bottle because the cap wasn’t secured tightly. I wonder whose fault that was? Probably mine, since I’m head chef, besides being head housekeeper.

Today, Labor Day, I’ll be laboring in the adjoining dining room which has become a temporary storage area, meaning…it looks like a dump. 

WHAT A MESS!

My helpful hubby and daughter insert themselves wherever they can, meaning…wherever I think they’ll be able to do things as well as me. No ego here. Just the plain, honest truth. There’s no one who knows better where everything should go than the house boss. Don’t you agree, ladies?

So while you’re all picnicking and swimming and lazing about in the sun…think of me…slaving away in my castle…

…like the idiot that i am…

………hugmamma.