Decorate, clean and organize with me | Scandish Home

This year Christmas tree cut was special because our boys were driving in a separate car with their friends and it was so much fun to see them how happy they were. Christmas tree can be so expensive but because we bought the permit and we drive up to the mountain this tree was only $7.50. There are rules which tree can be cut so it does take time to find one but it was a fun trip with the boys and their friends. We never set a date when to decorate the tree usually just a spare one moment when we feel like it. It's beginning to be a little bit more busy with the schedule. My younger son is doing sports so we want to show up on his games and we have to travel with that as well. So we're going to decorate as we have time. Tonight I'm just gonna put on the string light. Last year we had a different kind of tree. It was more bushy but this year I wanted something where we can hang the ornaments where we actually see them more. It's a different style of decorating. It really depends on the tree and this year I wanted to have something like that and this is what we found so it worked out perfect. Our ornaments haven't changed throughout the years. This is an ornament that I've got from a friend when we were at a party at her house. The snowmen were something that my boys choose when they were very little. I bought these hearts when we were married for two years or so and this little wooden one reminds me of Hungary. That's why I bought them when my older son was born and this is from Hungary. I think I bought this right at the first Christmas when we got married with George and this is a new one the strawberry one. It's just really something that I know my younger son will enjoy because he loves fruit. We have a tradition that he puts the first ornament on the tree which is a red car. It is very cozy to have a fireplace but especially in the morning when everybody is kind of sleepy and we just like to sit around the fireplace. It's very neat. The boys are in a big project so we didn't get around to decorate the tree yesterday night so we'll see. I will just set it under the tree and when the moment comes that's when we're going to dress up the tree. Resetting the home I am going to fix the beds and there are a few things that are on my list to get done before Christmas coming. I like to clean out the pantry and just look through what I have and making a list what kind of food or ingredients I have to gather to make our traditional food for Christmas. Having a designated cozy spot where I can gather my thoughts and I can make a list what I have to do it makes it easier to keep my focus on the tasks. I thought I was done with decorating for Christmas but since we have this leftover from the bottom of the Christmas tree I can create with an old vase a wreath. I'm just going to create little bouquets out of the branches and I'm going to line them up with an overlap. Cutting the end of the ribbon makes a difference and ribbon is such an inexpensive way to add red to the home and just more festive way to dress up a home and it doesn't cost a lot. I think I got this one at Marsha's and it was like five dollars and I still have plenty of this ribbon so I can create as many as I want and for now I'm just going to hang it here so I can have this beautiful pine scent as I'm washing the dishes but it will go on the front door probably. Whatever is left I'm just going to put it into a vase and compose the rest. Instead of baking all at once lots of cookies I like to spread them out so I always have some dough in the refrigerator and I can just reach for one batch and it fills up the home with this wonderful scent and we're not going to over indulge in the cookies and as for the cookie decor they're going to get a nice red pants a swimming pants. As I mentioned earlier last year we had a different kind of tree it was more bushy but this one really looks the best when we can hang the ornaments and I'm changing the yarn on it. I'm going to replace the short ones for a longer one and while it sounds very tedious it's actually going really fast and I get to appreciate the ornaments more that way. I don't have to shake it, I'm not shaking it. No, I can't see it either. Over the years as we decorate the tree the technique has changed. The kids used to be on the bottom and we did the top part. Now I am the one who is only decorating on the bottom and everybody else is taller than me so they're doing the upper part of the Christmas tree. I started and I got the ball rolling because they were just showing up one by one and they started to decorate the tree as well. It's such a delicate balance because I want to involve them in this process but also I don't want to push them into this process so I just want to encourage them but I don't want to force them and they are on the fence too like they not particularly love decorating but I can see once they start to do it then they enjoy it. evaluate how much I have for the holidays because we have specific items that we need like walnuts and such and my other main goal is to have this floor clean. I also have to refill some of the glass jars as well. Taking notes and making a list if I have something on my mind that I need to buy. There are specific things that I use more as Christmas is coming up and I don't generally use them during the year so I have to be mindful about how much I purchase of those if I need any and I just have to put back everything to its place. In one basket I'm going to gather the items that I want to use for Christmas and I have another basket where I gather all the forgotten and neglected items so make sure we use them up and I'm going to put it on the countertop so that will force me to use them this week. Another reason I really wanted to clean out this pantry because I want to check for mold. Last year we had one box where I find mold and it was close to the wall and I had items like seaweed that were in the bag so that caused that issue it wasn't enough ventilation so I'm checking for mold. That scared me I thought I find a bunch of mold but it turned out it was either bentonite clay or domesticious earth that I left there for the ants and since then we have professionals that have our ant issues so I don't have to deal with that but I left this dust there for them. Now I'm cleaning it up because I'm confident they are not coming back to my pantry. So new day same task I didn't finish yesterday night I never finish it if I start too late but I really have to gear up for that project because this is not something I really enjoy but I do enjoy the result of it I really love to cook when the pantry is ready and I don't have to look for things. In the boxes I like to gather alike items and for the bigger boxes I like to keep things in there that are for refill something that we bought in bulk and also heavier items such as backup water because if the power goes out we have a well so we don't have water if the power goes out also salt and fats and maple syrup and mayo those are the staples that I always need. We use lots of rice there's just so many different kind of dish that I can create from rice use a lot of lentils as well this is one of the soups that my family really likes I like to put some ham in there and bay leaf and mustard and some bone brats. I love storing all the dried ingredients in glass jars because I get to see how much exactly I have and it's just inspiring me more to create recipes and what I can use for the next cooking. When I refill my jars and I have some leftovers I try to create something with them as I'm cleaning out the pantry and this is one of them I have some leftover dates and I just grind them in the food processor adding about two tablespoons of coconut flakes and that's it and I'm going to make little balls out of them and this is hands down the favorite and they are such a healthy treat. I store them in the refrigerator. When I cook I don't like to leave the kitchen because I always forget if I put something on the cooktop so when I'm cleaning out the pantry it is a perfect time to do something that I have to keep my eye on it and that would be the sesame seeds. I've got two bags of it and I want to roast them. Making some hot cocoa from farmhouse teas and it also contains some mushrooms as well but I don't taste the mushrooms just just the cocoa so it tastes delicious and it's healthy as well. I only put them into the jar when they are 100% cold and make sure they are not even warm because that can generate mold in there so once they are cold that's when I'm going to fill it into the jar. A gluten-free star-shaped pasta that is really a staple in my pantry. I love to put them into chicken soups and such and the next one is I'm going to blanch the walnuts just for one or two minutes in the hot water will take away the bitter taste and also it will be easier to digest and now I'm going to pop them into the oven for about 250 Fahrenheit until they are dry and crunchy. Pantry is done and it's ready for all the cooking and baking. Generally speaking I always have the focus on the food but as Christmas is approaching food and mealtime is even more amplified as we I hope you enjoyed this Christmas tree decorating and this pantry clean out as we gearing up towards to Christmas. I'm so thankful that you are here. I hope that you are in a great heart and you had a great week and I wish you a very relaxing weekend and I will see you soon in the next video. Bye! Thanks for watching!