Project Simplify: Pantry and Refrigerator

Our pantry has no heat, and we are less-than-half joking when we say it acts as an extra refrigerator/freezer in the wintertime. For the past several months, I have gone in there as little as possible, so it’s not too surprising that it has ended up as a total disaster—everything thrown in willy-nilly, lots of repeats since I never knew exactly what I had, things that didn’t really belong in the pantry at all. It was jam-packed and seriously overwhelming. And my refrigerator was in much the same state, though I had no good excuse for that. All this to say, Project Simplify was once again much needed this week.

I started first thing on Monday with the pantry, and let’s just say that chaos- and mess-wise things got worse before they got better. I have to add, though, that my kiddos were nothing short of amazing. We spent close to two hours working on just one shelf. Ian, with his signature laid-backness, was perfectly content in his seat the whole time. I decided to risk the mess and give Simon the expired spices and whatnot (chocolate drink mix, baby rice cereal) to make his own concoctions with. Totally worth it. He was still dumping and stirring his ‘pices long after Ian and I had decided to call it good for the day.

After naps on Monday, I got something of a second wind and decided to tackle another shelf. This time Simon’s primary ingredients were flour and chocolate sprinkles. None of us had quite as much stamina as we had had for the morning shift, but we made good progress.

We picked the project back up today, starting with the fridge. Simon was my Best Dumper, and together we poured out the “ucky” contents of most of the jars in the door. As it happens, we are collecting jars for the decorations for my sister’s wedding, and I think we probably doubled the number of jars we’ve saved so far.

My mom was here today, and she wrangled the kids, which is the only reason I got done or had a shred of sanity left at the end of the day.

Getting this done felt particularly good. I went deeper than I ever have before, meaning that I was more realistic about what we would actually use and pitched (or donated) the rest. I feel inspired and hopeful about a fresh start and better habits going forward.

Funny side story: When Jason left for work this morning, I was already stacking yogurt and leftovers (refrigerator top shelf) on the kitchen table. He kissed me and said, “You are an awesome wife and a terrific housekeeper.” I thanked him for his pep talk but reminded him that we both know I’m actually not a terribly good housekeeper. He revised his encouragement: “You’re a tenacious housekeeper.” Well, okay. I’ll take that as a compliment?