Keeping the Kitchen Fresh

Since I abhor the thought of sour dishcloths and germy sponges in my kitchen, I've worked out a little system that works great for me. Instead of a sponge, I have this scrub brush:
It has a scraper on one side, and works great for loosening dried food or pre-scrubbing dishes before sticking them in the dishwasher. The best part? I've had this thing since we were married (four years ago) and haven't needed to replace it yet! I simply stick it in the silverware compartment EVERY time I run the dishwasher and it comes out fresh and clean-smelling. When not in the dishwasher, it lives in the stainless steel holder pictured.

As for the dishcloth I use to handwash dishes and wipe the counters, I always replace it every single morning with a fresh one. I have a mini "laundry basket" under my kitchen sink to collect the used dishclothes until laundry day:

"A little cottage is always very snug..."

Micah and I have always talked about building our own home. We'd contract out the big stuff, and then try to do a lot of the finish work ourselves. Now granted, it will probably be years before we can actually do this, because we first have to become debt-free and then save up some money...but it's fun to dream, isn't it?

Here's our dream house (Click link for floor plan and pics of the inside):

Now to make this home perfect, it will have a finished walk-out basement room underneath (we can't have "real" basements in the south!) to serve as a school/craft/playroom. We would also one day build a separate studio office building for our businesses, with a small guest suite attached to that. In our dreams, there will be at least a couple acres, a garden, lots of shady trees and a picket fence.

I absolutely prefer small houses! I was excited to find the this architect, because he has an entire collection of small-sized cottages with simple and non-excessive layouts, but with all the character and detail of the vintage homes that I love. Have fun looking through all the styles and pictures!

Update on Us

My recent absence has definitely been longer than I like to be away! We've been very busy and have a lot up in the air right now with a possible move and some other things.

That said, however, I am trying to view blogging as an "option" and not something I have to do every day, or several times a week. Just something I enjoy doing when I have the time and/or the inspiration. That's the best place for blogging to take in my life right now. While I'd like to check in at least a few times a week, that might not ALWAYS be possible. But I greatly appreciate my regular visitors and ESPECIALLY enjoy the interactive aspect of blogging whenever I have the chance to participate in it!:o) I'm constantly amazed at and thankful for how many wonderful and thoughtful women I'm able to meet and "talk with" courtesy of the blogosphere!

So the possible move: We'd like to hopefully move someplace where we can save money and Micah has greater earning potential in his line of work (all the better for our mission to become debt-free!). A lot of factors have given us a push forward on this, including some changes at Micah's company and multiple rent increases where we're currently living (in a period of only six months!) We're currently looking at all of our options and it's seriously stressing me out! Can I just say...I INTENSELY DISLIKE things being up in the air. I'm the type of person who likes to plan and have my ducks in a row, so uncertainty is not easy for me. But it is a good opportunity for me to pray and learn to trust God, and I'm trying to remind myself of this daily whenever I start to have anxiety:o)

I'll keep you updated on our situation as we know more! Hope you all have a GREAT weekend!