So, this is Fievel. Adorable, right? Well, he caused a little bit of a ruckus around these parts. For a long time. We went to California for a month during road construction, and we came back and he had set up shop. You can’t really blame him – we had made it pretty comfy. So much delicious food, for example.

He wasn’t shy; he helped himself and made himself at home. Everywhere. So, we declared war. I mean, WAR. Traps everywhere. Including, much to my chagrin, a few glue traps my super insisted upon. And then, one night, we caught little dude. He was so ridiculously adorable. Like, Fievel! We love you. We let him go. And then, we did a little purging. A little scrubbing. A little bleaching, with good old fashioned Clorox, because Fievel.

Here's what Feivel was working with.

Sure, I've seen worse, but things weren't great. More important, they weren't mouse-proof. So, I got in there. A little organization. A full-on redo, in which all of the foods – ALL of the foods – were put into glass or thick plastic containers to deter future Feivel feasts. I try to make that my policy, but you get lazy or don’t quite realize the extent to which it’s necessary. Case in point: Dry pasta does need to be sealed up if you have a mouse problem. Thanks, Fievel, for teaching us the ropes! I had clearly lost my way at one point, trying to squeeze in tall containers where they didn't fit and in general letting things get messy. It was nice to reorganize, but in the process, it became necessary to relabel. You guys know I’m a huge proponent of labeling.

That's our old apartment. I guess I was choosing background papers in this photo. Anyway, those labels are just adorbs. But what about when things change? I don’t always have a Costco-sized supply of chocolate chips on hand, and we have worked our way down to just a tiny bit of popping corn. But my old label system, while adorable, was completely untenable. I mean, c’mon. As I always preach, your organization system is only as good as your upkeep is easy. And hand-traced circles cut from chalk paper and painstakingly lettered is, you know, not easy. So I skipped it. This time, I used these chalk markers, which are specifically marketed for glass and plastic.

I used a black one and – listen carefully now – wrote the contents of each container on the outside of that container. Complicated, I know, but you’ll get the hang of it. Is it as cute as the little circle labels?

Well, no. But it sure does the job, and it keeps doing the job. That chalk marker lives with the rest of my chalk and dry-erase gear on our chalkboard planning wall, so it’s super handy to reach for. And the moral of the story is: Buy a chalk marker. Label your stuff. Before and after, anyone?

And the second moral of the story? Don't use glue traps. We got rid of them and then a little guy got stuck on one we didn't know about. It was the WORST. They're torture - and you have to deal with it. So look into Have a Heart traps or the Rat Zapper. Just my PSA for the day! Thanks for reading, and we'll see ya tomorrow.

PS -- I should note that I believe we are fully mouse free. And have been for a while. For those concerned readers out there!