martha® would be proud

My mother cleaned house like mad before the cleaning ladies would show up. "Well," she would explain, "I don't want them to think I keep a messy house." (She didn't, not by a long shot.)

So it is here in the adobe hacienda. The delightful woman (EK) who is going to live here during our absence is dropping by next Saturday for "operating instructions." Considering that event I have begun to "tidy up" the area. First chore: kitchen drawers.


This particular drawer has become ~ up until now ~ a sort of catch-all, with a few permanent fixtures such as the wine opener, kabob spears, nutmeg grater, and whet stone. I tried looking at this mess with an outsider's eyes and decided something must be done. I had already emptied out drawers holding silverware, linens, place mats, and pot holders. Now it was time to get serious about this boar's nest. Much was tossed, some was repositioned in another spot, about 100 flaccid rubber bands were thrown out (I know I should recycle back to the paper deliverer), and now it's all neat and tidy.

You can see my nifty grater ~ that shiny rectangular object at the top of the photo ~ that I bought at Deloraine's in Paris during our last trip. It has a little set of legs that unfold and prop up the grater and the cheese (or rind or horseradish or whatever) falls into a tray beneath.

I've warned the Patient about the helter-skelter tossing of implements into this picture-perfect drawer for at least a week. After EK gives us the once over we will probably revert to our more casual mode of housekeeping. I don't want to have to do this again the night before we take off so I'll be monitoring its condition closely.