Tuppaware Cupboard

Does your tupperware cupboard look like this ? 

Lids, containers, jars and any number of other items that gets put in there. Chuck it in and close the cupboard real quick before it all falls out, its amazing how quickly it becomes out of control.

I think that the jam and peanut butter jars are multiplying when the door is closed and why are there more lids than jars.

I pulled it all out and sorted it into washing baskets. Because i have so many glass jars i decided to make a shelf to utilise the space better and hopefully keep them in better order.  

I started out with an off cut piece of ply. This was left over from my wood box that Mr GoingGreen made.
Measured the hight of the jam jars and how long i wanted the shelf. I used the jigsaw to cut the top and both legs. Gave them a quick sand and glued and nailed them together.

There was only one small piece leftover and that went into the off cuts bucket.

I decided to add a piece at the back to make sure the legs don't move about over time, also a piece from the off cuts bucket. The shelf only took 30 mins at most to make.

Here it is finished with all my jars stacked on top.
I have made these before for my pantry, they are very easy to make and they extend your pantry space. They are great for packets or small jars, especially if your pantry is deep.

It feels good to get things organised and tidy.

There were a number of things that did not make it back into the cupboard and even after i took this photo a couple more items were removed.
The blue and brown ice cream containers hold all the jar lids. Being able to grab it out makes it easier when i need to find the right lid.
All the tuppaware bases are sorted by size and so are the lids, they are stored in a large container so again easy to pull out to find the right lid and also easy when putting them away.

Do you have a cupboard that you have to chuck stuff in and close the door or are you more of a everything in its place type. 

For me pretty much the only cupboard that gets like this is the tupperware cupboard all the rest have everything in its place even my Draws, ask me where anything is and i can put my hand on it straight away.

Linked here Old Fashioned Friday #79
and here Fabulously Frugal Thursday #78
and here The Home Acre Hop #81
and here What you wish Wednesday

Orange Cleaner

Orange Cleaner and Frozen Juice Bricks

we have 3 orange trees, two are young and have not produced fruit yet and the other is about 3 meters tall.

below is the last of the harvest about 6 or 7 kilos, they aren't large but they are very juicy and sweet. The tree is full with tiny green oranges just waiting to grow.

Orange Cleaner

first off get yourself a big jar or bottle, this one holds about 2 1/2 litres, i picked it up from the Salvos store for $2. wash your oranges to remove any dirt [if you are using purchased oranges scrub them to remove any wax].

 peel enough oranges to fill your jar with peels.

fill your jar with Vinegar so all is covered

place your jar out of direct light & mix or shake once a day for about 6 to 8 weeks. strain out all the peels.

you can use it earlier but the longer the better.

in a spray bottle mix 50/50 with water.

great for removing sticky labels, band-aid sticky, cleaning stove tops & range hoods & tiles

now we are left with naked oranges that you can juice.
if you still have a few with skin on you can zest them & store the zest in the freezer until needed.
some of the juice we drink but the rest is frozen into 1/2 cup bricks & stored in the freezer.
you can use them for cakes, biscuits or my favourite fruit smoothies.
just drop a brick or 2 into your blender & add 1 banana, handful of strawberries,1 Tbl honey & 1 cup yoghurt.
the combinations for smoothies are only limited to your imagination.

Orange you glad you popped by :o)

Liquid Gold

The Honey Files

Raw Honey is a super food that not only tastes great but is also good for your health.

there are two types of honey, regular honey that has been heat treated that you get from the supermarket & raw honey that has not been heated. when honey is heated most of its beneficial properties are broken down & lost.

Honey never goes bad it will last forever.

store honey in a cool dark cupboard [not in the cupboard next to the stove or oven]

Raw Honey Facts:

Energy Booster

Improves Immune System

Easily Digested

Vitamins & Minerals

Healing Powers

Some Health Benefits :

Weight Loss:

 1/2tsp ground Cinnamon

1tsp raw honey

1 cup of boiling water

pour water over cinnamon & leave to cool add honey

drink half before going to bed, refrigerate & drink the rest 1/2 an hour before breakfast

do not reheat.

Indigestion:

cinnamon sprinkled over 2 tsp of honey before eating 

Bad Breath:

morning gargle with 1tsp honey with a sprinkle of cinnamon mixed in warm water

Burns:

apply to burns, it cools & removes pain & bacteria can not live in honey

Hyperactivity: 

replace all sugar with honey

Food Preservative: 

replace sugar with honey in cakes & biscuits they will stay fresher longer

reduce liquids in mix by 1/5 to accommodate the honey [3/4cup of honey to every cup of sugar] & lower the temp when baking

Migraine:

1 dessert spoon of honey dissolved in half a glass of warm water at start of migraine & again in 20 mins if necessary.

there is some research that suggests that honey can be used for the following;

Colds, Arthritis, Stomach Cancer, Bone Cancer & Cholesterol just to name a few.

more research into the properties of honey could help a lot of people in the future. 

this is my bee box, my boys found it at the spring clean up a few years ago. it sits next to one of our blood plum trees. i love it because its a bee home & because its green. there are no bees in it as its way to close to the house. maybe one day we will keep bees.

Blogtoberfest day # 26

two weekends ago it was market day in Lawson & i got to meet the lovely Anne over at loopity-lou & i came home with a treasure, something i have been on the lookout for quite some time

isn't he awesome, he went up on the wall in the kitchen that afternoon, now he needs a couple of friends

also came home with some indoor plants

My Place & Yours

This week at My Place & Yours its all about the Top Draw & whats in it.
well in our house there are a lot of top draws & most of them are in my craft room
so lets have a look & see what we can find.

this is one of the top draws in my desk {yes it always looks like this}

top draw in my kitchen

this is a third draw in the kitchen but i lov it cause it has baking supplies in it

Kitchen Renovation

Blogtoberfest- 2009 Day 3
Day 3- better later than never, now i just need to find the time to post every day. so here we go :o)

Kitchen Renovation
A few weeks ago we pulled up the lino in the kitchen & started to pry up the Masonite { think they used 10 boxes of nails on the Masonite Grrrrr} . last weekend we ripped out the kitchen, that was heaps of fun.


this kitchen was a knobbys kitchen


off come the wall cupboards & fridge surround, half that wall was gyprock & half fibro

there was a boxed out bit above the wall cupboards

the bench was rotted around the taps, water seeping through to the cupboards below

gyprock/fibro removed from stove wall & sink wall

last week all i had in the kitchen was the cooker, table & fridge. washing up in a bucket, just like camping - fun fun fun

Wednesday & Thursday night filled all the holes


Yesterday A & his brother sanded the floor, she came up pretty sweet. there were a lot of stains on it when we took up the masonite but the floor sander took them all off.


the green on the left is the one i will be using its called Green Thorns, its Taubmans colour



here is the new kitchen plan, sink in the same spot, Westinghouse 900 stainless gas cook top where the free standing oven was with a Robinhood stainless 900 canopy above.
the long wall is the pantry wall, starting from the large door way at the top of the picture, double pantry, Westinghouse stainless all fridge, single pantry with 2 internal draws at the bottom, Westinghouse stainless gas wall oven with an electric grill, above the oven is a cupboard with the microwave oven in it, below the oven are two draws. last is a double pantry.
Island bench with two lots of draw banks & two cupboards, plus a double power point {no cords across the floor} the island top is black stone with mirror flecks.
the other benches are a black & gray stone look laminex, splash back is brushed stainless laminex.
plain timber doors stained a mulberry red & the floor will be limed