Saturday Pantry Suggestions

The previous owners built a huge deck!

My pantry ponderings this week have been inspired by the composter now on the deck.  I can't tell you how long I've wanted one there.  It already has items pulled from the garden, the refrigerator, and the itty bitty trash can by the coffeemaker (one made for kitchen compost items).

Soon there will be leaves... plenty of leaves... for living at the edge of a forest creates lots of leaves.  I just have to figure out how many leaves to add...

Hubby  takes care of the big compost pile at the corner of our property but this one is mine, all mine... hehehe.  Now I don't have to walk out to the big compost pile in three feet of snow!

Well, to be honest... I didn't... even with no snow.

Instead I often just threw away the coffee grounds and egg shells and lettuce that had gone bad and those bits and pieces cut off of veggies... not to mention filling up the kitchen trash container with items that should go into compost and not into plastic bags.

This composter was one of what I call my Dam in the Creek projects.  You know... a creek can be flowing just fine and then it starts backing up and causing a flood because Mr. and Mrs. Beaver built a house (although if it were in Narnia, I'd come to tea instead of complaining).

I came up with that title when I became frustrated at laundry draped over my living room chairs and laundry baskets sitting in the dining area.   How could three people cause so much laundry clutter?

The more I thought about it, I realized all the laundry clutter was caused by one thing... Christopher's cluttered room!  I hated putting away his laundry, tripping over items on the floor on the way to his closet and trying to open the drawer of his dresser in the small space between it and his bed.

He was more than happy for me to help declutter and organize his room (he must have been about seventeen at the time) and once that project was finished... the Dam in the Creek broke and laundry was no longer kept in the living room.  Well, most of the time.

Since then when I've become frustrated with the process of homemaking be it clutter or not making a homemaking goal, I've asked myself if there is a Dam in the Creek.  It is easy to deal when I am the only culprit such as taking the time to become better at crochet so I can make beautiful items.

I must admit that getting through a learning curve about anything is often my biggest challenge and what hinders the flow of creativity!

Sometimes it is caused by someone else who lives in our home whose name we will not mention but whose initials spell out THE MISTER!  Cough, cough... and when one deals with spouses or teenagers... one needs their best diplomatic skills.  ;)

So... what does all of this have to do with the pantry except for the possible link to the garden as in the composter?  (How is that for a run on sentence?)

Because there are a few items in my past that have been the Dam in the Creek for deepening my pantry or for just being better prepared in general.

Some of them have been...

1. Getting started!
2. Not setting up a place for extra storage
3. Not storing items properly
4. Not budgeting for the pantry
5. Not gaining knowledge about pantry preparedness
6. Not having a plan
7. Hoping I will never have a need for a deep pantry

We have "broken the dam" by such simple actions as budgeting for another set of shelves when hubby worked at the bookstore last year, prioritizing items for the pantry by need, using gift money to stock our pantry or purchase items for the freezer, and spending time learning more about emergency preparedness on a tight budget.

I'll continue to write each week about deepening the pantry and having a minimal amount of preparedness for the unexpected (or the expected!) and share what we are doing on such a tight budget.

Now, look around and ponder... is there anything in your life that is a Dam in the Creek... hindering what you want to accomplish?

As for me... my two goals this week will be to watch a few more crochet videos on You Tube and to start my garage organizing project by organizing just one set of shelves.

So often it is taking that first step you know...

Note:  Still praying about all of you who are in the path of the storm!  (((HUGS)))