Think Your Kitchen is Messy? Take a Peak at Mine.

Life has been pretty hectic in the last two weeks, and unfortunately, not only does my attitude suffer when I feel stressed... my house does as well.

I have been baking up a storm in the last five days... Easter Egg Cake with surprises inside, vintage Easter cookies, and butterfly birthday cakes.

My kitchen is destroyed.  There is not one single available surface.  There are old baking projects that I can't bring myself to throw away.  There are baking supplies and dirty dishes and messes everywhere.

I just cant take it anymore! 

With Easter Sunday coming fast I knew I had to clean up so that I could be in my right mind.  There is no greater gift then the gift of Life that Jesus Christ gave us when He was crucified, died... and later resurrected.  I wanted to be able to focus on whats really important this weekend!

So I made a decision.  I was going to make some organizational changes in my home, and I was going to blog about it. 

Total.  Brutal.  Honesty.

So here goes.

My kitchen sink.

Part of the stove... my food coloring and cookies I baked last Wednesday. 

Still on the baking sheet.

There is a counter under all the royal icing bags and bananas.

Promise.

Another sink shot... stuff is everywhere.

This is the view from the dining room.  Can you say pig-sty?

And see that Edible Easter nest with cookies still in it that I made over a month ago?  I cant bear to throw it away.

Even the fridge can't escape my clutter.

Well.  Are you disgusted yet?

Cause I am.

Or should I say, was.

So I organized my food coloring box. 

I feel so much better!  Thanks for coming, have a nice day!

Kidding.

I cleaned.

And cleaned.

And cleaned some more.

Even the fridge got a little make over.

Everything is put away.  Everything is organized.  And tonight, I can go to bed with less clutter in my home as well as in my mind.

I hope you all have a blessed and peaceful Easter Weekend!!

Comments

[janis]

Great! :) Now can you come do mine??? My kitchen seems to be the dumping ground for all things!!!!

Have a blessed Easter! :)

[Carrie @ Martin Manor]

Oh Amanda...that is really not as bad as you think...especially since it was all for those super cute, delicious desserts! Amazing treats! But I know what you mean...I can pretty much let the laundry and dust take over but when the kitchen is cluttered...I feel so anxious and irritable! "No thanks, Honey, don't bother to rinse you dishes off and put them in the dishwasher...I'll get before I go to bed...or in the morning...or after dinner the next night..." haha! But eventually it gets done...only to clutter again :) Looks fabulous! Glad you can rest easy and have a wonderful EASTER! Many blessings!

[libby]

doesn't it feel great to have a clean kitchen!? I love it. You have a good excuse for a dirty kitchen... with all of your awesome creations. Happy Easter to you and your family!

[Liz]

I bet it feels soooo good!! :) My kitchen looks like that after ME just making one meal....

[theresa]

I am so happy to see that there are other mommies out there like me.. who have a busy, messy life.. and don't have time to keep their kitchen in pristine condition!
So glad I stumbled upon your blog, I can't wait to read more! :)

[Joy Ellis]

LOL! Your kitchen looks similar to mine! Just goes to show you are just one of us!

[Cop Mama]

There's nothing better than the feeling of a clean kitchen!

Have a wonderful Easter! God Bless you, my friend!

[Angien24]

Thanks for keepin' it real. LOL. I'm so glad I'm not the only one who lets the kitchen go now and then. =D I spied Bananagrams on your counter. Isn't that a fun game?

[Kara Carlson]

I want to know what the 10,000 little cups filled with green stuff are on your dining room table? (in the background) And if you haven't cleaned in two weeks that is truly amazing, my kitchen looks like that after one meal!

[Renee]

Its nice to know you are real :) Messes happen when you are creating edible art! My kitchen is always a disaster area when baking & decorating. Heck, its a mess even when I'm not. EEK. You did a great clean up job. Can you come to my house next?

[Jessica]

Oh my dear Amanda...I hate to tell you that my kitchen may be messier. And I have no children. Unless you count my husband.

[bp]

Very nice clean up. You did a great job and I'm sure it feels great to have it organized. I like the sorting by color of the letters on the fridge.

Happy Easter.

[Lorie]

I hope you have a WONDERFUL Easter weekend.

And I am very jealous of your color box!!!

[Katie]

What a fantastic, honest post! :) I think everyone's kitchen gets overwhelmed sometimes...I know mine does!

We have the fridge farm too...holy moly it hurts to step on those suckers when your toddler knocks them all onto the floor!

Happy Easter!

[Kari]

It didn't look so bad before... but it looks GREAT now... must feel nice too.

Question for you... How do you clean your icing tips? Not sure that is even what they are called. I use the disposable bags for the most part when I am using frosting, but I HATE cleaning the tips. The frosting always gets dried up in there and it is so hard to get out.

Take care,
Kari

[Darla]

Looks great!!

[The Lumberjack's Wife]

Great job!!

I need some tips on getting a ceramic cook top spic and span! Help!

[Becca -Our Crazy Boys]

Ahhh.... it's so nice!

Congrats on your clean kitchen, and have a wonderful weekend!

[Joy Ellis]

You are more than welcome! You have inspired me to start baking again! Years ago, my dad and I talked about baking and decorating cakes together. He ended up with cancer and passed away and I basically stopped baking. However, seeing your posts has given me the bug to start baking and even attempting to decorate! My dad and grandma has such wonderful recipes, I need to teach my children what I was taught! So, thank you!

[Hannah Lewis]

I'm glad I am not the only one who totally wrecks my kitchen when I'm working! It's so rewarding to make beautiful again, though, right? Awesome butterfly cake too! You need to go pro!

Happy Easter, friend!

[Kate]

If you skyped less and cleaned more...just sayin'...

Totally jealous that your kitchen is so clean! ;-)

[Paula]

Having accomplished all you did this week I'm amazed that you had the energy left to even think about tackling your kitchen. Then you pull off this clean/organize job as well as blog about it! What the heck do you run on anyway?! LOL Notice that you arranged all the alpha blocks by colours (same as your food colouring?!) A few other things come to mind as I read the beginning of your post. Cleanliness is next to Godliness (so they say) They also say that those who sing pray twice. So make a joyful noise this this Easter and have a wonderful weekend with your family. Blessing to you Amanda :)

[Kalle]

That is exactly how my kitchen looks most days, except I don't have the excuse of being a fabulous baker and decorator. Thank you for sharing. Will you come clean my house now because yours looks awesome

[Londa]

I just have to say that when I saw your food coloring box it made me feel much better about the outcome of my awkward colors made from four little squirt bottles! I have so much to learn in the food coloring world! :). Beautiful kitchen! Enjoy celebrating the fuel behind our hope and faith: Christ's resurrection!

[Jessica]

Thank you so much for sharing! In my disillusioned mind everyone else keeps a super tidy kitchen and I'm the only one in disarray! :) Thanks for giving me some sanity back!

[Bree]

Don't you feel so much better after a good clean? I can't sleep unless my kitchen is clean. It really makes the next day so much easier.

[Cathy at NurtureStore]

Not bad Amanda - but I think those fridge magnets should be in alphabetical order. (You know I'm joking, right?)Hope you have a great weekend. x

[Kim @ Homesteader's Heart]

Wow, Yup, That's one messy kitchen. LOL! I always said that if the kitchen is clean and the bed made, my mood is always better.
I bet you slept real good last night! LOL!
Hugs
Kim

[Seraphim]

Oh wow! We are so alike in terms of kitchen organisation! But my kitchen is nowhere near as nice and probably doesn't get half the workout yours gets.
Just wishing you a happy and holy Easter and thank you for sharing your gorgeous blog with us all xxxx

[Ann @ House of Estrogen]

I like the before pictures best!! They look just like my kitchen 90% of the time! :)

[Aimee]

My kitchen gets that way more than I'd like to admit! Great job on getting it all organized and clean! Happy Easter!

[Renee]

LOL. Love the before and after shots. Don't fret, we all have kitchens that go through such transformations.
p.s. don't you just love it when your food colorings are all in order? All is right with the world :)
Renee of Kudos Kookies

[Amber Hurd]

It looks so clean and organized now! Great job.

[Heidi]

I swear I didn't see your post title until after I posted today! I still say mine is messier though :)

[Anne]

Love the way you keep it real :)

Hope you and your family have a very Happy Easter or as we say at our house, Happy Resurrection Sunday!!

[janmary, Dublin, Ireland]

Thanks for "keeping it real" :)

Have a blessed easter!

See my change of location? - Am in Dublin for 5 days on a house swap!

[Michelle]

Wow! You're husband is way more understanding than mine. I think I would be murdered in my sleep if I left my kitchen a mess overnight!

I'm glad you'll have peace this weekend though. Have a very blessed Easter!

[Kristin Smith]

Oh goodness how I hate that I can relate!! Not just to the kitchen...but the whole house. My dining room table is used to store old mail and lunch boxes and books..it isn't used for its intended purpose...and the top of my hope chest...who could see its beauty...it is covered with too much junk! I need to take some lessons from you girl and get to cleaning! Thanks for the inspiration!

Have a wonderful Easter and God Bless!
Kristin

[gianna]

Oh, thank you so so so much for being real! Your kitchen is your studio. All artists that have a studio tend to have a messier studio. And on top of everything, your studio is infiltrated with little people, too.
Good luck keeping everything in order. I always have such great ambitions and then as life moves along, it doesn't stay that way, BUT at least we are trying.
Love you, girl!

[MommyTopics.com]

So what I want to know is where you take all of your fantastic pictures of food. It always looks like you have all of this bright white space where you take your photos.

[SAl B]

There is seriously nothing like a clean kitchen that makes a woman (mom) feel amazing!!! Do not feel bad, we've all been there :)

Happy Easter! He is Risen!

[Amanda Sikes]

Doesn't a clean kitchen feel much better? For some reason I always function better when I have a clean kitchen.

Have a great weekend and enjoy this wonderful holiday and the freedom that it reminds us of! Isn't God good?

[Ruth]

Hey we have the same stove! Except your is cleaner :0)

Wanna come clean my kitchen? Scratch that my kitchen is way more disorganized than yours was and I think I'd be just a tad bit embarrased.

[tracie]

Great cleaning job : )
I cannot believe how many food colors you have. I should have guessed since you are like a pro baker...still, that's alot of colors.
I love where your sink is...with the two windows to look out.
And I really like the wall color.
Oh, and that stuff on your fridge...I spend hours with my niece putting the different animal shapes into the barn and words into another noise box thingy. And for some reason she always writes aunt tracie rocks with the letters. Ok, she is only 18 months old and I might have done it myself, but whatever...lol.
Have a wonderful Easter.

[Brittanie]

I absolutely LOVE that you posted pictures of your kitchen in the middle of all the creative craziness! I think when my kitchen gets the same way, it makes me appreciate it all the more when it's clean :o)

[Lyndsey]

Thank you so much for this post, seeing your kitchen makes me feel better that I'm not the only one! I love your little box for your icing colors, too, thats the perfect size!

[Sonya]

Your kitchen cleans up nice. :) My husband cannot stand for things to be dirty so he cleans up after me while I am cooking and it drives me batty! I had to yell HEY GIVE ME THAT SPOON BACK more than once while making dinner last night because I wasn't done with it and he kept trying to put it in the dishwasher. :) I am totally not complaining otherwise my kitchen would NEVER be as clean as yours is now. :)

[denise]

i miss you! i often feel like i'm "too busy" to catch up in so many areas (reaching out to friends, blogging, cleaning, etc.) and then i come back to you and see we can share many of the same struggles, you are just more honest about them and offer solutions and even 'before and after' shots! thanks for the motivation and even more for your ever present support and friendship...i feel like you have been a life-long friend and would like to be a better friend to you, too...you are a shoulder to try cry on, hand to hold, listening ear, etc. to so many i just want to be sure you have plenty support coming your way as well...hope to be better at staying in touch...happy easter and again, thanks for reminding us of the greatest gift of this holiday...

[He & Me + 3]

Wow girl it gets a little messy when you get creative but you clean up very nicely:) LOl I'm kidding. I have totally seen worse:) You are so funny. Your kitchen is so beautiful and I love the openness. It sparkles!

[Verna]

Great job.
Looks very lovely.
Hope you and your family had a very Happy Easter.

[ClassiclyAmber]

Haaaaaa!! Yes, I have SO been there, honey! And when you get so busy like that, you just don't have the time [or emotional energy] to deal with getting it all back to normal. It's okay! Only Martha Stewart constantly cleans. But she's not normal. The rest of us have to actually take breathers sometimes...leave the dishes for a little while...and get MORE than 3 hours of sleep!

But also - don't ya just love that amazing feeling after you clean it all up? It looked great! And I KNOW that you slept sooo good that night!

Hope you've had a great Easter weekend, chickie! <3

[Stephanie]

Great job on the clean up! :) I love before and after pictures ... especially when the after ones shine so pretty.

[ElizaBeth]

I'm just glad when there's nothing growing in the fridge! Our kitchen NEVER stays clean exept when we're out of town. (and even then I might come back to a colony of something that didn't toss before we left.)The table's always covered with school work, the kids AND mine and with cooking allergen-free for one kid there's twice as many dishes from cooking each meal... It gets cleaned and we start messing it up all over again.....I just remember the mess is a blessing, because it came from being a family and learning together. The cleaning is a blessing because I am able. BLESSINGS can be found in all things, just gotta look at it from another perspective is all.

[Restrainedchaos.wordpress.com]

Oh, my kitchen beats that out any day (and that's a good thing). It's so hard to throw out food sometimes. If I screw up a recipe, I let myself leave it on the counter at least a day before throwing it away. Either my husband and kids will eat it anyway, or I'll feel less guilty about trashing it.
I'm so jealous of your awesome food coloring set and beautiful kitchen! Good job on getting it all clean.
Ana

[Olivia Gaffney]

1. you need a bigger kitchen. you can tell chad, i said so. 2. we have the exact same stove! 3.you are too much! i am tired just looking at the before/after pics, knowing the energy and effort it takes to complete such a project. funny how little energy it takes to make the mess. 4. much love from your little friend in arizona. :)

[mindy]

I am so relieved to know that I am not the only one! When I have multiple projects going on, it seems as if there isn't enough time to clean up between. My fridge suffers too.. the outside. I know though, that when my house is clean, all organized and un-cluttered, so is my mind, and I can feel the spirit better. Your kitchen is beautiful!

[bridget {bake at 350}]

Those before pictures were taken in my house...you can go ahead and admit it.

[Nicole]

We have practically the SAME THINGS on our fridge! So funny! Where do you find all those different food colorings? I have looked high and low and can only ever find the 4 basic boring colors.

[Rita]

Hey you have the same dishwasher I do!!!

I just discovered your blog after reading momlogic's article. You're awesome! Ignore the haters, they're just jealous they can't bake as well and be as creative as you are!