Two job interviews under my belt this week have left me a bit “edgy”. Oh, don’t get me wrong—both went extremely well! Add to that, Monsieur Bonaparte has been working on taxes.

I’ve heard more naughty French words and phrases in this house since Monday than I’ve heard during all my trips to France! It’s been stressful! Tax time is soooo stressful!

And how does this old lady deal with stress? I clean and organize! I’m not talking about tidying up. I’m talking about obsessive cleaning to get my mind off other things.

When I was younger I got on my hands and knees three times a day to scrub the kitchen floor. That’s OCD. I scrubbed the bathrooms every day.

Dangerous but magically cleansing and sterile!

With ammonia and bleach. Not only is that OCD, it’s dangerous. I’m still here though! I also vacuumed my home twice a day. I’m still trying to decide if that is OCD or just life with a yellow lab and a basset hound!

Today, I decided to do some kitchen cleaning and organizing!

With Chippy in tow, we drove off to Home Goods to get some pantry organizers.

My shopping buddy!

Our pantry is small and becomes so unorganized quickly. It bothers both of us, but I really hate the task of constantly organizing and reorganizing it. I’m definitely NOT OCD about that!

A mess almost as bad as my car, especially in the bottom.  I can never find what I need.

While emptying out the pantry, I found three hidden bags of confectioner’s sugar. I also discovered that I had two cans of cornstarch. I must’ve purchased them around the same time because both cans had the same expiration date.Pathetic that both were half-full, so I incorporated into one!

Snack time! Let me just finish off some remaining chips!

Also discovered were two bags of Craisins, four plastic bottles of Momofuku Milk Bar corn powder, a bar of 60% cacao, 7 packets of yeast, many different types of sea salt, and a bag of dates that I thought I lost. Oh. I also found my deviled egg platter and the pastry bag tips that I swore were missing.

These organizers seemed so much larger in the store than when I got them home. Yikes!

My fear is that these organizers I purchased won’t really help that much. We’ll see!

How did a can of shaving cream and a stick of Resolve end up being mixed in with the pantry goods?

You know that saying that before things get better, they get worse? My kitchen counters were in that state while I was organizing.

To tell you the truth, I don’t think these organizers are going to work that well. I can’t even see much of a difference! I just moved stuff from one shelf to another!

Finally after getting the pantry in order at a snail’s pace, I tackled the kitchen counters. Monsieur Bonaparte doesn’t seem to mind “stuff” on the counters, I can’t stand the clutter. Why? Just. Why?

 Why was a can of tennis balls on the counter? Why was Chippy’s heartworm stuff on the counter? Why were cleansers out in full view on the counters?   In spite of his insisting that he does a bang-up job in cleaning, Bonaparte does not move items out of the way as he cleans. I had my job cut out for me with paper towels, sponges, Ajax, spray cleansers all at the ready.Toothpicks. They’re not just for getting little bits of food from in between the teeth! They are cleaning essentials!

To top it all off, I had a steady supply of toothpicks. The toothpicks are used for what all the women on my mother’s side of the family call “Gorman Toothpick Cleaning.” (My mother’s maiden name—Gorman) They are used to clean the gunk around all sinks and in between any crevices that separate wall from sinks, etc. I do this. My female cousins do this. My aunts did this and my mother did it! It’s a family tradition! Hey—every family has their traditions.

Before and After:  Left, horrible coffee stains. Right, after Ajax, a sponge and toothpicks.

Do you have a stainless steel sink? Does your drain get brown from coffee stains? I hate that!

A sponge, elbow grease, a toothpick.  After Ajaxing, that’s all  you need!

After pouring more than enough Ajax over the drain, I let it sit for a while, and then sponged the hell out of the drain until it sparkled. I also took a toothpick and cleaned out all the rims in the drain till they sparkled!

The determined face of a woman who cleans. It isn’t pretty!

Being too lazy I put the can of tennis balls into the pantry that I finished organizing. It’s no wonder that it gets so unorganized quickly.

Thanks to stress, my hands were a mess this week. My guilty pleasure is acrylic nails. Yes! I know they are awfully damaging, but I could be doing worse. I could be a smoker and a drunk. I’m not.

Brings to mind the Seinfeld “Man Hands” episode. Yuck!

To tell you the truth, I was so angry at that crap that Kanye pulled during Beck’s shining Grammy moment that I ended up messing with my nails and I ultimately pulled the acrylics off. I was so disgusted with myself.

Anyway, after a new set of nails, I switched my Opi Dutch Tulips for this Essie Ballet Slippers.

Pink is too pale for my nails. Check out the hat on the floor behind my hands–the car. The messy car!

I think the pink is too light for me. Next week it’s back to my usual Dutch Tulips.   Red nails look so nice on “mature” hands. I swear. Those red nails are just so classic and chic!

 Well, the kitchen is clean except for the egg whites that are “resting” overnight. I’m making macarons tomorrow.   It’s a long process and I’m making them for Valentine’s day. I’ve already made the fillings so tune in tomorrow to read more about the macarons!!!!

Yeah..stress makes me feel like all my five senses are working overtime! Speaking of which…here’s XTC singing “Senses Working Overtime”

XOXOXOXO!