Final Countdown!

It just dawned on me that in 5 days, my kids will be off school for an entire week for the Thanksgiving Holiday! I never got that kind of time when I was a kid, (I had to walk both ways up hill too) but I'm glad I get to spend extra time with them. I love the Holidays and have been working on a big reveal for all of you after Thanksgiving. Can't express how excited I am about that...

Before I can get to Christmas though, I need to be ready for Thanksgiving. For most people Thanksgiving is all about the food. For us moms, it's also about opening our homes to family we haven't seen all year. Gulp. Has it really been that long since spring cleaning?

Don't get me wrong, I am still a firm believer that friends come to see me not my house so I'm not in panic mode. It's just that I need incentive like this to get to some of those big jobs. That said, this week I am going to tackle a cleaning project every day to share with you. I hope that you are inspired, and that you let me know. (Like I said I need motivation.)

For Monday I chose cleaning out the fridge and freezer. My inspiration came from the photos in this article, and the hope that I would need the freezer space for a butchered deer or a cow in the near future.

Sorry I didn't get a before of the fridge, but know that several jars of really old preserves where tossed. Lots of crumbs where removed from below the crisper drawers too.

 

It doesn't look like much, but foods are

grouped and multiple half packages have

been combined.

I think it's looking pretty clean. I haven't had that much extra freezer space in a long time! Since they are more efficient full, I need to find some deals ASAP!

One thing I always find when cleaning out the freezer is various breads and buns that got pushed to the back. You know that single hamburger bun I thought I would use 'next time', the heal of a multigrain bread the kids hated, the bagels I vaguely remember buying... They have all been in the freezer so long there you wouldn't want to just thaw and eat regular. I cut them up into crouton sized pieces, and roast them in the oven.

Half get packaged and placed back in the freezer to add to stuffing. The other half get put in the food processor to be turned into bread crumbs.

The crumbs are packaged and returned to the freezer. I will combine the crumbs with parmesan cheese and melted butter as a crunchy topping for casseroles. It feels good to have that job done, and now for tomorrow...