Reorganizing Food Pantry- As part of my
Independence Days Challenge I'm getting busy! My food pantry closet is a bedroom closet we added sturdy shelves to last year, after trying a plastic shelving unit (bad idea!). It became a food storage area, and also a catch-all for extra small appliances like bread machine, mixer, crock pot, etc. We have a small kitchen and not a lot of storage there. The garage is very hot/cold, so not a good idea either. I'm starting the reorganization process to try and move towards just food. I'm a visual person, and always looking for new ideas, if you have any to share? Last night I moved most of the small appliances out and put all my used canning jars in a clear tote. They were falling out of their box before.
Ditto the food canning processor/strainer- got rid of the box, stored the strainers. More room!
I also realized today that I can move the bathroom dry goods to the cabinet in main bathroom under the counter, duh...
My main goal is to separate the foods more, by category, and keep them easy to see. I also have some Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers, to re-package things like the sugar, and dry beans I will buy. I know some people invest in the cute chalk board tags at office supply stores, but I got sticker shock when I looked the rices up. I'd rather spend that money on something else, and I'm sure Martha Stewart (one of my least favorite ex-felons) will survive. My eyesight would be pretty bad if I don't know what rolled oats look like! My various flours are labelled with a marker on top of scotch tape, I can remove easily if needed. I'm glad I invested in some 1/2 gallon canning jars thru Ace hardware last summer. A special order item, but great for food storage! I have a lot of large misc. glass jars from family, thrift stores, but I decided to just buy bigger ones. Six for $12.00 I think...
The Stump That Keeps On Giving- Poor Dave. What could have been an easy job, cutting a stump down to the ground, became a nightmare. We had the tree removed about 5 years ago, a catalpa, with nasty seed pods. We kept the stump for a birdbath base. We decided to add another veggie bed in the triangular area. So we rented a chainsaw and Dave got to work. Let's just say the home improvement store guy forgot to tell him to tighten the chain every few cuts :( The first cut was good, partially rotted wood. After that, not so much.
We decided to quit with impending rain, and the high rental fee. Oh well. The good news- I'm having 2 tree guys give us a bid for removing the last foot, as long as we're getting a bid for the maple tree thinning. Getting that tree thinned will get much better results in our existing veggie bed, with much-needed sunshine!
Independence Days Challenge- I put some dollar store crates in my freezer so I can see what's there, and start from scratch in an organized mode. Before:
after above
I sorted things by fruits, veggies, meat, seafood etc. Lots of room to still fill it up, as you can see. The great thing- now that I have a freezer I can stock up, part of Independence Days, when I see a good deal...
3 comments:
Aww, glad you liked the picture of my little girl, Summer. :) She's a sweetheart, and a photogenic one to boot! ;) Did you find the pics via the MEN blog, or actually in the publication? Just wondering... :)
Hi!
I saw the M.E.N. link in the magazine, and googled your blog to the "To Sing W/Goats" site. Hope that helps? I hope to move and have goats, someday, sigh.... til then I'll admire goats from afar!
I love the goatie picture! :)
I keep saying I need to organize my chest freezer better, the totes look like a good idea. I have to order the 1/2 gallon canning jars from Ace Hardware too, I use them mostly for goat milk storage but lots of other things too.
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