Random Things You Might See Around Our House

I feel the itch for Springtime. And, with that comes the urge for a fresh look in our home, for cleaning, and decluttering.

I haven't actually acted on this urge yet mind you. But, I am hopeful that this is the year that we de-stuff our house.

Almost anytime you read something about decluttering you will hear the words 'hot spots'. Those are the areas that seem to invite clutter to appear.

Sometimes it seems my entire house is a hot spot. But, in particular, if there is any flat surface with open space, that space is quickly filled.

I try my hardest to keep our kitchen table and our kitchen countertop clear. But it seems they are the easiest places for everyone to place things that need a temporary home. Actually, if I didn't clear those areas, it would most likely become it's permanent home.

Here's a look at some of the random stuff that appears on the kitchen counter. I think I had the counter cleared for about 10 minutes before random stuff started making it's appearance.

First of all, let me say that this is VERY clear (even with the random stuff) by normal standards. Usually there are piles of papers and about 10x this amount of randomness accumlulated there. But, here's a sample of what starts to happen as soon as the counter is empty. Let's get a closer look...

So, in this corner we have a burnt out light bulb, 2 old batteries, a receipt, and a gas card.

Here you will see a water cup, an opened piece of chocolate, an almost empty package of venison jerkey, and some tools.

Here's the thing....I often don't know where to go with some of this stuff. And, if I do move it my husband is looking for it later on.

Like I said, these pictures aren't bad at all. But, the thing is, everything will stay exactly where it is if I don't move it. And, it will multiply 100 fold!

How do you keep hot spots under control in your homes? And, how do you get your family on board?

The next picture is something my husband observed after the boy's bathtime and we both thought it was pretty funny.

It's a shark eat shark world!

Finally, I had to share my experience with making last night's meal (as listed on my sidebar). It was Cilantro Ravioli with Pumpkin Ricotta Filling. I was so excited to try this. It sounded amazing to me. First, I LOVE cilantro. And the filling sounded divine with pumpkin, ricotta cheese, sundried tomatoes, and roasted garlic.

I was really hoping it would completely WOW me. At best, I would say it was OK. The recipe wasn't all that terribly difficult. The time consuming part came in with rolling out the dough, cutting, filling, and sealing the ravioli. Since I don't have a pasta machine (which would have allowed me to get really nice thin sheets of dough) the ravioli itself was rather heavy and doughy.
The filling itself was delicious. I think I would make this again, but forgo making my own ravioli and use the filling to make stuffed shells. I would also add more ricotta and sundried tomato next time and a bit more salt.

The recipe came from a cookbook all about Pasta. I love pasta and I love eating at Italian restaurants. I often wish I could recreate some of those dishes at home. I haven't given up on this cookbook. I plan to try something else out of there soon.

Have a blessed week!