Slow and steady

I'm still working on the declutter project. I'd love to just be done with it, but it's time consuming. And as a recovering pack-rat, it's very hard to just throw everything away without looking at it first. I've been finding creative solutions for storing the things I can't bear to part with... but that's another post for another time.

Today's focus was on towels. I know, so thrilling! But I was straightening out the hallway closet, and I came across a box that has a bunch of towels and rags and potholders... all the stuff that doesn't fit anywhere else (we have a TINY kitchen with little storage). I moved all of the cleaning rags into one spot, then I sorted through the rest of the pile. Any towel that was stained or old or ratty looking was placed in a tote bag. The rest of the good stuff went back into the box with the potholders and the spare tablecloth. As for the tote bag - my brother and his wife run a dog rescue, and they're always looking for donations of certain items. Old towels and washcloths are high up on their list (dogs are messy!). So the next time I see Doug, I'll give him the bag of towels for the rescue to use. Decluttering leads to donation... everyone wins!

My other project for today was to go through my recipes and find a few things I don't make often. I chose one thing I've never made before and a few things that require ingredients that I don't normally have on hand. So tomorrow I'm going to make beef stew in the crockpot (for dinner), baked potato soup (to freeze for later), and sweet couscous with dried fruits and nuts (new recipe from Food Network). Can't wait to get cookin'!