I Tackled My File Cabinets and Clutter! Out w the Old! Organization of Office, cleaning up a widow's overwhelming paperwork.

This is the finished product of my file organizing. I feel so good now!You see, I am noticing a change in me as I go through all the items in my home. Once becoming a widow, I kept the clouds, or clutter in my home and my head. It is unbearable to part with anything that represented the life you used to have.

Today, and in this new year, I have been clearing out the clouds of clutter and it feels so good! I hope some of my widow-friends, who have had some healing, can begin too.

Posting my progress is like journaling, I will be able to look back and see how far I had to grow and did!

First I started with my more than messy desk! I did the project in stages. I worked on my desk months ago, took a break and organized other places (like my pantry) and then back to this office project. Why did I do this, because paperwork is my least favorite thing to do!
Here is my finished desk. Do you notice how your head feels, even just looking at these two pictures? Just think how it will feel if you did your own desk and took before and after pics as proof of your progress, healing, or simply cleaning your house.

No room for copy machine inside any cabinet, because I had too much stuff! Here is where the copy machine sits now:                              It is inside a cabinet, out of sight. ;-)

The underside of my desk.

As for the cords, I used either velcro, or yarn to contain their mess.I love organizers, here is one I used for my desk drawer. It makes the tiny things turn from junk drawer to neat and tidy!

Beside my desk I had a small problem area. the space was a sharp triangle space. I love to utilize every space efficently in my home, and my desk is very short on storage space! So, I purchanced these wooden shelves meant for adding storage space to kitchen cabinets. They can be turned to whichever way I want because they are actually three separate shelving units.

Isn't this now a cute corner, verses the madness of overflow?

I pulled the shelf out a bit, so you can see how they can move. ;-)

Now looking down from my desk became a whole lot better!

This is the before pics of my filing cabinet situation:Files papers and more files! Some in cabinets, some in plastic tubs; now you get the picture.

Even in tubs.

And the overflow; not such a cute corner, hugh? 

Okay, so once the desk was done, it was onto phase two: my file cabinets. When I say file cabinets, I mean literally 10 of them in total!

Okay, where did all that paper go?Here: 

  

 Again, where did all that paper go? And in here...I use baskets as my filing system. After throwing away unneeded papers, I now have enough space to house all the needed papers!

I put little labels on the outside of each filing basket.

Note the black IN BOX as a basket too.

My widow friends can relate to all the death, medical bills, name changing, and etc paperwork that I had. It is simply a task that takes some healing before one can sort through the very papers that cause so many bad (the death) and good (your previous life with the loved one) memories.

Now, I have to say, seeing some of my filing boxes like this, just made me feel like the fog had cleared!

First all your files need to be made and labeled. Simply tackle the mountain of paper that may be on your dinning table and stick each paper into a vanilla folder and label it. My father-n-law started this baby-step for me right after I lost my husband. He took all that imediate death paperwork and put them into folders. I recommend asking someone you trust to help you with this if you are new to being widowed.All the mountain of papers that could be seen in tubs, and etc are now in folders. I added them to the ones my Dad Kramer did for me. Okay, now to take those boring folders and get label crazy! Lol, I think I shared in a previous post, I love to label everything. It maybe overkill, but I like to not only label each folder, but the hanging file as well. Since each hanging one has several folding ones in it, I like to put a general title. I find good labeling prevents any waisted time looking for important papers. I can now do it in a quick few seconds!

Now, the fun part. I wanted to label the outside of the filing baskets in something adorable. I thought of little chalkboards, with chalk writting; which would be darling, if you can find them. I had some in the past that I used as name plates for dinner guests.

I simply wrote on black cardstock (found in any craft store) that I had previously purchased for other projects.

I cut a square about 2 inches by 2 inches and wrote with a silver marker. A hole-punch and thin white ribbon was all that was needed to finish it!

Inside the filing basket, labeled Investments, you can see the folders labeled, the hanging files labeled and of course, the outside of the basket says Investments.

This little cabinet houses my manuscripts, some art supplies and it is a spot for my IN BOX.

Manuscript label up close:

With an In Box, your incoming ToDo tasks are together, awaiting your attention and they are right were you can see them. I keep this separate from my incoming mail because not all the mail will have a task associated with it. Much of ours will go straight into the rubish bin. ;-)

I simply put a black basket in a table.

The table was made out of an antique sewing basket. It is so easy to just throw the mail in the black basket and shut the lid until it is time to read our mail.

IN BOX label close up:

An In Box, Out Box (my outbox is the triple stacker on my desk), and To File box will keep your office clean. If I cannot file a form that comes in the mail right then, I just drop it in the To File box until I have time.

My OutBox can be seen here; it is a triple metal holder than holds my Giclee proofs, and any outgoing mail or projects:

Okay, now that my space is clean, organized and all the cloudy-clutter is bye-bye, the way I feel about this process is: as if I just did yoga. Inhale, Exhale... ;-D

 Give a little clean up a shot, you will be glad you did. ;-D

I sure am feeling better. ;-)

Are Your Kids Stressed Out? They will not always tell you.

I ran across this website and found it to be a quality site.

This video has great ideas told by a PhD child therapist on how to help our kids be less anxious about school and the other stressors that they have. I recommend checking it out, especially my widow friends because we know our kids hold too much in. ;-)

http://momshomeroom.msn.com/?topicId=T7&section=episode&dataId=1222757&source=msnhp&from=en-us_msnhp&GT1=25051

Corned Beef, Cabbage & Irish Bread for a Traditional St. Patrick's Day

Beef brisket makes corned beef by being salt and pickle cured. Beef brisket can come packed in a brine and with a small pickling spice packet. Remove the thick brine and rinse the brisket. A brisket can be used; however, if you use Corned beef, you will want to add a few extra steps. Corned beef is cured in a salt mixture, so it can be very salty. Bring the corned beef to a boil in plain water, discarding the water; you may want to do this 3 times before proceeding with the Guinness beer to cook it. Serve this dish with horseradish and Irish Soda Bread (*See recipe at the end).

Corned Beef, Cabbage & Irish Bread

Ingredients:

For the Corned Beef:

3 1/2 Lbs Uncooked brisket for corned beef

2 bottles Guinness beer (or any dark beer)

10 whole cloves

1/4 C hot sweet honey mustard

2 Tbl dark brown sugar

1 Tbl pickling spice in a cheeseclothe, end tied

1 onion

1 halved head garlic

2 Bay Leaves

For the Vegetables:1 head cabbage
4 Tbls cooking oil, bacon grease or lard
5 carrots, cut into thick sliced chunks
10 small red potatoes

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley at the end for color

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300F.

2.Prepare brisket by washing well as stated above; Insert the cloves into the top of the slab of beef, evenly spaced. Spread the top with the hot sweet honey mustard. Sprinkle 1 Tbls brown sugar over the top of meat.

3. In a large pot, whisk together the beer and the other Tbls brown sugar. Snuggle in the brisket, it should almost be completely covered by the beer. Add the pickling spice cheeseclothe bundle, onion and the garlic.

4. Bring to a simmer on the stovetop, uncovered is best so you can keep an eye on it. Boiled-over beer is no fun to clean.

5. Once it begins simmering, cover the pot and place in oven to roast for 4-6 hours, flipping meat once during halfway point. Remove from oven.

6. Spoon out 2 cups of the corned beef braising liquid to cook the cabbage.

7. While the meat is roasting, cut up the vegetables, cut the cabbage into 8 wedges.

8. In a separate large, wide pot, heat up the lard/bacon drippings/oil on medium-high heat. When hot, swirl the pan around to get the fat to evenly coat the pan.

9. Add the cabbage wedges, carrots and potatoes and cook until browned, about a 3-4 minutes. Turn to brown the other side. Take the cabbage out with tongs and set aside.

10. Pour in the reserved corned beef cooking liquid, bring to a simmer and cover the pot. Turn the heat to low and let cook for 5 minutes. Continue cooking all the vegetables, add the cabbage back in, another 10-15 minutes or cooked though (pierce with fork to check doneness). *Note the cabbage cooks quicker than the carrots and potatoes.

11. Slice up the corned beef against the grain and serve with the cabbage and vegetables. Garnish with a sprinkling of parsley. Pour a bit of the sauce over the corned beef just before serving. Serve the extra sauce on the side with the dish so more can be added, if desired.

Rustic Irish Soda Bread:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour & 2 Cups wheat flour (or you can just use 4 C's all purpose)
• 4 Tbl white sugar
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1 Tbl baking powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 c margarine, softened
• 1 c buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1/4 c butter, melted
• 1/4 c buttermilk

 Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a large baking sheet.

2.     In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and margarine. Stir in 1 cup of buttermilk and egg. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Form dough into a round and place on prepared baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine melted butter with 1/4 cup buttermilk; brush loaf with this mixture. Use a sharp knife to cut an 'X' into the top of the loaf.

3.     Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 30 to 50 minutes. You may continue to brush the loaf with the butter mixture while it bakes.

A St. Patrick's Day Alternative to Corn Beef & Cabbage, Pizza Fit for Leprechauns!

So, Patty's Day is approaching and you are not that crazy about the traditional Irish food:

Try taking the tradional ingredients and making something that your family likes. How about a Corn Beef and Cabbage Pizza?

 I am thinking even your neighborhood leprechauns will love it!

Corned Beef and Cabbage Pizza:
(Yield: 2 large pizzas)
Ingredients:
1 store-bought refrigerated pizza dough (2 crusts) or make dough from scratch. (See recipe below).
5 Tbls olive oil
3 C’s sliced green cabbage
1 teaspoon pickling spices, tied securely in a 6 inch by 6 inch square of cheesecloth
1 lg. potato, peeled and thinly sliced
Fresh ground pepper & sea salt
Corn meal
2 C’s shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 C shredded Monterey jack cheese
6 ounces sliced pre-cooked corned beef (I will be posting how I cook corned beef on a later post, as soon as I figure out what we will be having this year). --Post: on how to cook corned beef: http://lisakramerartlifestyle.blogspot.com/2011/03/corned-beef-cabbage-irish-bread-for.html
1/2 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1.      Preheat to 500˚F for  30 minutes.

2.      Place a pizza stone on a rack in the lower third of the oven.  Place the other rack in the top third of the oven. 

3.      Meanwhile, to prepare the toppings, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the cabbage, season with a pinch of sea salt (remember, corned beef is already salty) and cook until just soft, about 5 minutes. 

4.      Pour in enough water to just cover the cabbage then drop in the pickling spices (the cheesecloth keeps them from getting all over your dish, a coffee filter works too). 

5.      Cover and simmer over low heat until the cabbage is tender, about 20 minutes.

6.      While the cabbage is cooking, toss the potato slices with 2 Tbl’s olive oil and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. I did not specify the type of potatoes because you can play with various colored potatoes, this year I am growing puple ones in my garden. The standard is yellow or Idaho.

7.      Place the potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. 

8.      Roast in the preheated oven on the top-third rack for 12 - 15 minutes (until golden brown, watch them so they do not burn); set aside to cool. 

9.      Drain the cabbage in a strainer or colander and discard spices; set aside.

10.      Form one pizza dough ball into a 12 to 14-inch round, lightly spread olive oil to coat a bowl, drop dough in bowl and then turn dough and drop on the other side.

11.      Now that your dough has a very light coating of oil on it, lay it on a surface that is scattered with yellow corn meal.

(As you get used to making pizza's, you can experiment with various cheeses). One of my favorite is goat cheese, and since I love pepper, arugula lettuce leaves are a wonderful addition to sprinkle on top of the finished pizza's.

12.      Sprinkle half of the Monterey jack and Mozzarella cheeses on the crust. 

13.  Next, layer the cabbage, the corned beef and then the potatoes. 

14.  Top with freshly shaved Parmesan. 

15.  Okay,  now your getting close to being done. However, if you have a large leprechaun crowd, you will need to repeat with the remaining dough and toppings to make the second pizza. ;-) 

16. Carefully transfer the pizza to the preheated stone and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden and crispy.

There, now you have a pizza, even an Leprechaun would eat!

Recipes for Pizza Dough from scratch:  

Ingredients:

1 pkg. active dry yeast

1 C. warm (not scalding hot) water

2 C’s whole wheat flour (I keep mine in the refrigerator to avoid bugs)

¼ C. wheat germ (extra fiber is always a marvelous thing)

1 tea. Salt

1 Tbl. Honey

½ C. Cornmeal (approx.)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Dissolve yeast into a small bowl of warm water. Let stand for about 10 minutes, until it gets creamy and frothy.

Roll dough into the desired shape on a lightly floured and cornmeal surface. Lie out on pizza pan, preheated pizza stone, or even on a hot grill (without a pan; a heavy duty foil works well).  Bake in preheated oven for 5 to 10 minutes. 

I usually make a whole grain crust; however you can't lose by using one of The Food Network Batali's white flour recipes. This one is yummy!   http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/pizza-dough-recipe.html#!