My Top 5 Most Used Kitchen Items

I love my kitchen and I love cooking.  I really enjoy eating.  I don't really like cleaning the kitchen. I'm still getting the hang of baking.

Now that we have that out of the way...

I thought I'd share my top 5 most used kitchen items.  After I gathered them, I realized that they aren't what you would think they'd be.  You won't see my bread machine or food processor.  You won't even see my microwave!  I do use those items but I hope to use them more often if I ever can be home more.

The 5 items I use the most right now, are simple items.  Simple like me... Just keeping it real simple.  =)

1.  My Magic Bullet!

My grandmother gave me my magic bullet.  I think she would be happy to know that I use it EVERY day!  She ordered one for herself and because the TV special that she ordered it from was offering a buy one, get one free... I got the free one!  This is how I prepare our morning coffee every day.  Bulletproof coffee is perfection prepared in this handy gadget.  I love my frothy mug of liquid sanity that pours out from this after 5 seconds.

2.  My glass cutting board!

We picked this up at the Goodwill for $3.00.  I love it.  It covers the giant burn hole that the previous owners of our house left us (some day I'll get new counters, I hope!) and I am always cutting vegetables, cheese, or fruit, so it's always there for me.  And it's pretty!

3.  My cool red knife!

We got this at a Beall's outlet in Florida.  We were traveling to Orlando and packed our lunch for travel so we could save a little bit of money.  I forgot to pack a sharp knife so I could cut our fresh fruit and veggies.  So we stopped at our favorite outlet store and I picked this one out.  I LOVE it!  I use it for cutting almost everything.  I needed a decent knife anyway!  Plus it's RED!

4.  My little red ceramic frying pan!

I do make egg sandwiches periodically for us, or eggs to go for breakfasts. That is if I get out of bed as soon as the alarm goes off rather than hitting the snooze button (several times).  This pan is the perfect size to make an egg for a sandwich or a few eggs to put in a to go container.

5.  My coffee pot!

I don't think my husband and I could survive without our morning coffee! I sure hope that one day they find out that coffee cures cancer or something.  We don't use the most expensive coffee, but I am picky about our coffee... Bold but not bitter or burnt tasting.

What are your most used kitchen items?

PS... Thank you for reading my blog, Reilly, Dawn B.  and Beverly

5 Things I Do Before Bed on Work Nights

In an effort to save a portion of my sanity, I have created a routine on work nights, that helps save me time and stress in the mornings.

Since we've been married, I have always gotten up with honey and made his to-go coffee, packed his breakfast and lunch for the day, and made sure he gets a big kiss and an "I love you." as he walks out the door.

When we first got married, we were 7 miles from my work and about 15 miles from his work.  We complained then about how tired we were.  ha ha... We sure do miss those 15 and 30 minute commutes.  But we wouldn't trade our lovely foot hills home for the world right now.  Although we both drive about 70 miles each to our workplaces, my morning routine hasn't changed.  I still get up when he does to make his to-go coffee, pack his breakfast and lunch for the day and give him a big kiss and tell him that I love him as he walks out the door.

I think the drive makes getting up the hour earlier every day even more painful, so I've slowly gotten myself in a routine before we go to bed, that helps my morning stress and rush level immensely.  It's only a few things, but they help me considerably at 5:00 am.

1.  I prepare the coffee pot.  This saves a few minutes on filling the water filter pitcher, getting a coffee filter, scooping the filter and then hitting brew.  I simply come downstairs and push the button.  It would save me even more time if I could figure out how to use the timer on my coffee pot!  =)

2.  I get our to-go coffee cups ready by the Magic Bullet and set the collagen, butter, and coconut oil out so that I can quickly get our bulletproof coffee ready in a flash.

3.  I get our refrigerated lunch and snack items prepared.  Honey is so not picky and this helps me a lot.  So I can go ahead and put his cottage cheese in a container so it's ready for his dessert after lunch.  If we are having left overs or salads for lunch the next day, I go ahead and get those ready too.  I place all of honey's refrigerated items on one side of the shelf and mine goes on the other.  This way, I just have to scoop them out and put them in our bags in the morning and add the fridgy pack.

4.  I pack our 2 daily snacks and set them out on the counter if they don't need to be refrigerated, so I can jut put them in our lunch boxes in the morning.  (assembling snacks involves counting servings and measuring servings, so my patience level for that, in the morning, is low... plus it adds time to an already short time frame to get stuff ready).  I just need to assemble our sandwiches in the morning.  Since refrigerated bread is disgusting, I do not make sandwiches until the morning.

5.  I prepare our supplement packs.  We have very few prescription medications but I add some supplements to our daily routine, so I go ahead and get our supplement packs ready so I can also just toss that into our lunch boxes quickly, in the morning.

6.  Bonus Time Saver:  We used to be able to carpool at least once a week and that was the best time saver.  Now I do my makeup while my computer turns on at work.  I don't wear a ton of make up.  Just foundation, bronzer on my cheeks, eyeliner on my upper lid, mascara (one coat) and lipstick.  Make up is down to a 3 minute application.  But lipstick after breakfast.

Before:  I know this looks like chaos... but the refrigerator stuff won't be here in the morning and the rest of the counter is cleaned (in our lunch boxes) when we leave.  Organized Chaos... 

Well, maybe you'll find this helpful.  It's a discipline.  Sometimes I get busy reading, blogging, or working my home based business and forget to get everything prepared by our early bedtime and then I have to rush in the morning.  I usually regret that decision to not take the 5-10 minutes before bed to save me time and stress in the morning.

After!  =)

What have you found helpful to save time and stress in your morning routine?