De-Bugged

One of the joys of condo living is getting a taste of what your neighbors have. Literally. When they cook something, I get to smell it, especially in my guest bathroom…? When we get new neighbors, they tend to bring a new bug with them that decides to invade my kitchen because that’s the wall we share with them. Our latest neighborly gift: roaches.

I’ll pause while you barf.

Ok. Get a hold of yourself.

It was a problem that was brewing for the last few weeks, but one or two was tolerable. I was hoping that since they wouldn’t find anything to eat in our house because we are pretty clean people they would move on… Then there was one on the inside of a cabinet door while I was making breakfast one morning. [Insert my ridiculous scream here] Then Hubby would go in the kitchen to turn on the dishwasher before we hit the sack at night & there were 4 or 5, then 10 or 12, and then 40+ on Friday night. Saturday morning, I opened the utensil drawer to get a spoon and thought I saw something out of the corner of my eye. No. No way are they in the drawer! I lifted up the utensil divider, saw a big one scurry underneath, dropped it while screaming and running out of the room. Will gave me a “Momma! What! What is it?!”
Me: THERE’S A BUG! IN THE DRAWER!
Will: Be right back, Mom. I’ll get it.
And he goes and gets his shoe. LOL! I love that kid. 2.5 months shy of 3 years old and he’s already my bug killer.

I got a bug man to come out an hour later, and while I was waiting, I pulled out everything.

Welcome to my Saturday morning nightmare.

I sent Hubby texts (while he was at work, the lucky bastard) like “Maybe we should just move. I’ve already packed up the kitchen. That’s the hardest part.” And it didn’t help when he agreed that would should. Ha!

Long story short (Too Late), we had the nicest bug man come & spray & set traps, & then come back to put more gel stuff up to keep them away, and explain to my super curious toddler what he was doing every step of the way. I love him. If you’re in Orange County & need a good bug man, let me know! I’ve got the guy for you! Now, I’m just seeing half dead roaches barely making their way to nowhere. The only good bug, is a dead one. Especially in my kitchen!

It also meant I got to get my Monica Gellar-Bing on, and you know how much I love that! So Sunday & Monday I was wiping & bleaching & re-lining shelves & drawers. Every dish & utensil got washed. Hey, bugs are gross. If they even looked at something in my cabinets, it needed to be washed. I lost count of how many dishwasher runs were made, but it was time to put it all back.

My spice area was in desperate need of a makeover anyway. Some stuff got chucked, some got consolidated, but my new favorite feature are the hooks on doors!


I just used some 3M Command hooks I had and hung up my measuring cups and spoons. I use these ALL THE TIME and we have ONE miscellaneous utensil drawer. It’s over crowded and full. On the left side is my ghetto canning rack that I seem to be using all the time, now. Yes, they clang a little when I open & close the doors, but it’s a small price to pay for uber convenience. Don’t slam the doors, please.

Just the bottom shelf got a makeover, on this side.


I really wanted to go get some more OXO Pop Top containers, but I am cheap & lazy, and after a no-so-pleasant trip to the super market & Joann’s with a tired toddler, I was over it. I used the containers I had on hand for the baking soda, corn starch, & powdered sugar. They worked like a charm! And I just wrote directly on them with a Sharpie. It scratches off when I’m done using it for that. Pretty easy. It’s not as pretty as OXO containers, but that’ll do pig. That’ll do.

Our last stop on my organizing tour…

The cool squeeze bottles in the middle were stocking stuffers from Hubby. I like to have my Asian Zing sauce on hand in the fridge, so this was a fun way to make it more easily accessible for us. They’re also going to be an awesome addition to Will’s birthday party, coming up. The basket on the right is a $1 bin find. Holla! It’s housing all of my baking items that aren’t used everyday – fondant, seasonal cookie cutters, pumpkin carving tools, Star Wars cookie cutters, frosting applicators, etc.

And just because I love sharing my Target $1 bin & sale finds… See that green Weekly Menu pad? Yeah. $1 bin. My calendar is new, too. $4.99. Those are also 2 baby shower invitations, back to back this weekend and next. I designed the bottom one with the yellow chevron. [Pats Self on Back]

The latest edition of driving Hubby crazy: Paint chips on the kitchen wall. I want to paint the living room Martha’s Bay Leaf. The kitchen isn’t the color I wanted it, and will definitely clash when the living room gets painted, so it will need a fresh coat, too. I’m thinking a cool gray to make my hutch pop. I think I’ve narrowed it down to those three I’ve arrowed… Martha’s Driftwood Gray, Dolphin, or Nimbus Cloud. Thoughts?