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Hello sweet Sugar Pie! I’m so happy you’re here! Thank you so much honey for stopping by! I love when you come to visit me! You know why? Because if you enjoy all things farmy, vintage, cozy, homey, and wholesome, filled with goodness and some delicious homemade pie thrown in, like I do, then we are sister-friends! We have a special bond, a knowing and understanding of the good things in life…the things that matter most…God, family, home and country! These are treasures that we need to join forces to preserve!
When you come to visit me here at Sugar Pie Farmhouse I want you to feel so welcome, so comforted, and so loved! I want you to feel my heartfelt, kindred-friendship with you…like we’re dear neighbors that love to share things and chat across our backyard fence about our family, our home, and all things dear to our hearts. I’d be happy to share a cup of sugar with sweet, wonderful you!
Can I just tell you sister I’m so happy spring is here!! I could shout it from the rooftop!! We had an especially cold and gray winter here in the Ozarks of Southern Missouri! I sometimes can feel a little blues-y when the sun stays hidden for too long… so, when it finally poked its warm, golden rays through the clouds I wanted to dance a jig! Yee Haw! In fact it got me so excited that I actually wanted to start my spring cleaning. My first stop was my pantry which had become so cluttered it was embarrassing, especially because it’s open for all the world to see, at least to everyone that comes over. I go inside my pantry every day and each time I would let out a stressful sigh and say to myself Ugg! I really need to clean out this pantry!!! Can you relate?? Please tell me “YES”!! Lol!
So I finally did it! I cleared the clutter, wiped down the shelves, and removed any expired goods. It took two days and I feel like a new person! Lol! It’s like a weight has been removed from my shoulders. So now I’m going to share my clean pantry with you in hopes it will motivate you to start your spring cleaning because you will feel so wonderful!
Before I point the way to my pantry, and just for fun, click on this link for my Farmhouse Radio to add some vintage tunes for your reading enjoyment! The link will open a new tab and take you to Youtube and you’ll hear the music by Johnny Mercer… then click the Sugar Pie Farmhouse tab and come on back here! Johnny Mercer is one of my most favorite 1940’s musicians! It’s like ear-candy! Lol!
If you’ve seen my pantry before then you know my baking center is attached to it. There’s a pass through window that comes in handy when I’m gathering ingredients to cook a meal. I took everything off of the shelves and countertop and gave it a good scrubbing. I’m a big fan of Sandra Felton and her books on housekeeping and organization. She uses what she calls the Mount Vernon Method when it comes to cleaning. This is the method used to clean George Washington’s Estate. Basically you clean one room at a time completely before you begin cleaning another area. When cleaning your whole house Sandra recommends starting at the front door and then working clockwise around the room. It took me two days, on and off, to finish cleaning and decluttering my pantry/baking center.
Once everything was clean and clutter free I dolled up the shelves of my baking center for spring and summer. My dear friend Cat from The Vintage Housewife, (who also used to be my next door neighbor. How lucky was I!), she gave me the idea of putting cute little baskets on the shelves. I found them at Michaels on sale for $3.50 each. Then I lined the baskets with a variety of vintage tablecloths that I’ve collected through the years. The colorful fruit and floral designs of the fabric poking out of the baskets reminds me of summertime picnics…and that makes my heart happy!
I also gave my vintage general store scale a fresh little makeover by adoring it with some faux veggies. This scale used to hang in my mother-in-law’s country kitchen up in the mountains where my hubby grew up and is a special keepsake to me.
I didn’t realize how much stress my messie pantry was causing me. A cluttered home, or areas of our home truly can cause us stress. It’s a thing! Researchers have concluded that a cluttered home can be a stressful home. “Clutter is an overabundance of possessions that collectively create chaotic and disorderly living spaces,” said Joseph Ferrari, a professor of psychology at DePaul University in Chicago who studies the causes of clutter and its impact on emotional well-being.
I truly believe that clutter affects women especially with overwhelming stress because we were born with a Nesting Instinct. When mama’s nest is a mess then we feel out of control, we can’t find things, we feel agitated, we feel like a failure, we feel anxious and a variety of other negative emotions which cause our peace and joy to fade. And we know that stress can cause all sorts of physical ailments.
The strain of a messy home is compounded when we add other difficult issues like financial burdens, illness, and relationship problems. It’s so important to maintain a tidy home as best as we can so it can be a place of peace and comfort through all the seasons of life.
This book, Home Comforts by Cheryl Mendelson is one that I own and love… “Home Comforts is based on Cheryl’s domestic education, which she acquired while growing up on a farm in the hills of Greene County, in southwestern Pennsylvania, from her grandmother’s, aunts, and mother. Learning from the distinct domestic styles of her native Appalachian relatives and her Italian immigrant relatives…” Cheryl truly helps us understand that homekeeping can be an art, and a well kept home is a home well loved. A tidy home filled with touches of beauty brings comfort and joy to our families and ourselves.
So let’s take good care of our homes and in doing so we will be taking care of ourselves and our family. Just do a little at a time and in due season we will reap a reward, as the Bible says!
It’s such a happy feeling to look around at a clean and tidy home. Once it’s clean and clutter free we can add some cozy touches of beauty. I love adding a warm glow especially in my kitchen under the upper cupboards. I got this milk bottle nightlight from Cracker Barrel a few years ago but…
I also found this darling oil lamp nightlight here and Mason Jar Nightlight here! It gives your kitchen a comforting glow at night when all the other lights are turned off. And if you need to go to the kitchen in the middle of the night it adds just enough light so you won’t bump into something when you go to get that drink of water.
To add an element of fun to my spring cleaning project I put on my cute granny apron…the sun-faded green one hanging near my pantry door…then I put on some happy 1940 tunes and lit my most favorite springtime candle in all the land…
Vintage Lilac from 1803 Candles! Oh my goodness! That aroma! Talk about dreamy southern charm! Close your eyes and you’ll imagine yourself on a sprawling, wooden wrap-around porch in the summertime, you’re sitting in a rocking chair with a icy glass of sweet tea in your hand…the sun is setting and the heat of the day has warmed the lilac blossoms on the vines that are draping heavy above the old wooden porch posts and ahhhhh… it smells like heaven! 
I love to adorn little nooks and crannies of my home with things that I love. Things that make my heart happy. A while back I found this vintage Farm Journal’s Complete Pie Cookbook at a flea market and brought it home where it belongs! Lol!
I’ve had this old farmhouse screen door for years. My favorite thing is that it squeaks! Lol! I had it in two other houses before this one. I keep debating whether or not I should paint over the words on the door that I painted so long ago. What do you think? Should I put a fresh coat of white paint on it? Or keep it like it is? Leave me a comment below!
To be honest, cleaning my pantry was a whole-lotta work! I went through every single canned good and packaged food item to make sure they were not past their expiration date. I wiped down each shelf with hot soapy water and then put everything back. But it wasn’t as hard as I made it out to be in my head! I was procrastinating because I thought it was going to take a week and I didn’t think I had that kind of time. The key to getting something done is to just START!! JUST START! And before you know it you’ll be amazed at how good it feels to have conquered it!
Now that it’s clean I sometimes go into my pantry for nothing more than to admire how tidy it is! Lol! Is that dorky? Haha!
When I designed my pantry I wanted it to remind me of an old general store! I found the metal Eggs, Milk, Coffee, Flour, Sugar and Bread signs at Gordmans several years ago and they were the perfect addition. Sometime you’ll have to check out my online General Store here!
Isn’t this print of an old fashioned General Store by artist Doris Lee adorable?! Ahhh! The good old days!
My rolling pin is now easily found and ready to go when I get a hankerin’ to make pie!
Sun-faded cotton aprons = comfort food, love and hugs!
On my upper shelves I have some of my favorite vintage kitchen goodies (notice the wood thread spool that replaced the knob on the coffee pot lid! That’s what I call making do with what you have! I love it!!). I had a lot more cute kitchen stuff that I’ve gathered over the years on my shelves but it started to look too cluttered. I decided I don’t have to have everything I love on my shelves. Instead I can keep things simple and rotate them from time to time.
Well there you have it! My spring-cleaned pantry! Now on to my bedroom closet! Lol! I’m going to remind myself to…JUST START! Lol!
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For some delightful inspiration come browse some of my favorite things at my online Farmhouse Country Store HERE!
More HAPPY HOME posts you may enjoy!
OLD FASHIONED GOODNESS MAYBERRY STYLE!!
God bless your darlin’ heart sister!
Do take good care of yourself now!
Bless your family…make home sweet!
Aunt Ruthie
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