Howdy Darlin’s! Well, I’m in the midst of decluttering one room at a time…and let me tell you it ain’t pretty, Lol…at least when you’re in the middle of it! Reorganizing and decluttering can create a lot of chaos…in other words a big, fat mess! Heehee! But when it’s all said and done there’s nothing like that wonderful feeling that’s described in that old-timey saying, “A place for everything and everything in its place!”. When I finish cleaning out something I love to go back and look at it several times because it makes joy-bells ring in my heart!  And it motivates me to keep going!

Why is she smiling? Lol!

Well, I had a lot of interruptions while cleaning my pantry where I was called away to do other things, which made my clean-out last way too long! What should have taken me maybe two days to finish instead took about a week and a half! I had to step over stuff to get ingredients to cook with. Eeeeek! This mama does not like her home to be in disarray!  But all the delays were worth it, one of them was that I needed to help my daughter move all of her stuff out of her College dorm for the summer. Even though she’s going to have the same room for next fall, they still require that everything must be moved out. So even though my pantry looking like an earthquake happened, I needed to drop what I was doing to drive up to my daughter’s College and load up my van and bring baby girl home for the summer! YAY!!!

I finally finished my pantry and what a sigh of sweet relief and joy! I’ll be sharing some photos soon! I ordered some white cafe curtains to drape the lower shelves for that sweet farmhouse look! Once they arrive and I put them up I’ll take pictures to share!

In the meantime, I wanted to share some simple and sweet ideas that might inspire you to freshen up your home! Don’t you just love this idea of layering a buffalo plaid rug and then topping it with a cute Hello doormat!  What a warm and wonderful welcome for folks stopping by! This idea is from Big Family Little Farmhouse!

Look how cute and functional this baker’s-rack-turned-pantry is! I love how she used big buckets to hold her household goods. I’ve seen those big buckets at Home Depot and Lowes. The chalkboard labels are a great idea too! You can find them here and the chalk-markers here. Oh! And look at those adorable hanging bucket lights! This idea is from  Big Family Little Farmhouse.

Here’s a closer look! Talk about “A place for everything and everything in its place!” Boy-howdy it’s sweet! ( Big Family Little Farmhouse)And look at this delicious rustic farm table and the darling mismatched chairs from Sweet Pickins Furniture!! Yeah, I wanna marry this!! I’m going to keep an eye out for some old-timey chairs next time I’m out junkin’…I’d love to do that! You’ve got to see how this Sweet Pickins gal built her own farm table! What?? Yes!! It’s pretty amazing! Check out her blog post here!

Lastly, I’m in love with this fabulous farm-housey idea!!! I know that summer is nearly here and the thought of a crackling fireplace may be the last thing on your mind but here’s the thing… if you’ve wished for a fireplace in a room in your house now you can with this simple idea! Look how adorable this is! They’re just boards that are painted white and nailed together on a wall to create a mantle! Add this cozy old-fashioned electric fireplace stove and you’ve got the makings for a sweet and cozy nook! The good news is you can work on this idea throughout the summer and by fall, when the air is crisp and there’s an apple pie in the oven, you’ll be glad you did! This great idea is from Farmstead on First.

Well, I sure hope you enjoyed these simple and sweet ideas! Let me know in the comments below which is your favorite!

Be sure to check out my Farmhouse Country Store here for all kinds of farmy goodness!

Here are a few more posts you might enjoy:

5  Simple Things You Can Do to Make Home Sweeter

Old Schools Snickerdoodles

My Farmhouse Favorites

When God Thinks of You His Heart is Delighted

Please say hello below

so I know someone is reading this! Lol!

Bless your family…make home sweet!

Aunt Ruthie

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Howdy Gals! I shared one of my older posts on Facebook the other day and it got me so excited about the summer fruit season coming up! Every year I look so forward to making my Sugar-Plum Jam! It brings me back to wonderful memories of the summer’s I spent visiting my cousins, Aunt Gen, and Uncle Al up in Northern California. Oh, the fun we had laughing and fellowshipping around the big dinner table eating the most scrumptious homecooked meals, playing hide and go seek, and picking plums at the fruit orchard. The aroma of the freshly chopped plums bubbling into jam on the stove was heavenly and the taste was even more out of this world! You can read my Plum Jam blog post HERE!  If you haven’t tried making plum jam you’ve just got to!

With plum jam the secret is to pick out the plums that are red inside…the black plums with the yellow flesh, not so good. The other thing that I do is to get all the things I need to make my jam ready-to-go the day before. The canner, jars, lids, funnel, jar lifter, knife, sugar, pectin, etc.  I have everything set up so all I have to do is fill the canner with water to sterilize the jars, chop the fruit and start cooking. It never fails that when I don’t get everything out ahead of time before I start a cooking project I end up frustrated while rummaging through cupboards and drawers looking for that one utensil that I need. I now try to create a delightful experience by being as prepared as I can. Music, a cute apron, a tidy kitchen and everything I need set out and ready go a long way to add grace and joy to the atmosphere!

This is the canning equipment that I use and love! You can find it here!

Also, if you’re wanting to make preserves this summer look for some jam cookbooks for recipes of course but also so that you can study to get familiar with the jam canning process. You can find some delightful canning cookbooks here! Another resource is to search on YouTube for jam making videos! I’m a visual learner so those videos are invaluable!

In my blog post about making plum jam I also talk about vintage homemaking. Simple things you can do to bring the charm and goodness of old-fashioned ways into your life and home. In a world that’s become so wild and crazy, we need to make our homes a safe, loving, and joyful place for our families!  If you’d like to read all about it click here!

I’d love for you to leave a comment below and tell me what you plan on canning this summer! Or if you’d like to try your hand at making homemade jam! This week I’m going to make strawberry jam!

God bless you, dear sisters, as you keep the home fires burning!

Bless your family…make home sweet!

Aunt Ruthie

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