Throwing food away is something I do not do lightly, especially during Stoptober, but the other morning while drinking my first cup of coffee of the day, the spice shelves caught my eye. We've lived in this house for almost a year now and in that time I realised that some of the spices on the shelves had not been touched ... at all !!
Time for a sort though I thought to myself.
A couple of them smelt and looked fine, but were spices I had bought for specific recipes a long time ago, things I have never cooked since and doubt I will in the future so they were chucked, a couple smelt musty and as I had no dates written on the labels I decided to bin them too. I always trust my nose more than I trust a date anyway :-)
It looks a lot sparser and neater for now, but with the re-organisations that we are about to make I think the whole shelf will be coming off the wall soon .... and staying off the wall. The contents of the shelves will now fit in the cupboards, and that way stay dust free making the kitchen even easier to clean. The things I have binned will only be replaced if it turns out they were useful, but somehow I doubt it.
While I was washing the jars out ready for re-use in the future the kitchen window sill grabbed my attention. The egg boxes piled up in the corner when we have been getting no eggs were an annoyance, and it just seemed cluttered and grubby.
An hour later the window had been cleaned inside and out, the egg boxes had been added to the others on top of the kitchen wall cupboards where they will gather less dust, and everything had been washed and put back. Even though a poor neglected plant has been added, brought in from the conservatory to keep Basil company, the window sill still looks less cluttered. Basil's about to bite the dust as Pesto making is calling to me .... but shhh don't tell him ;-)
Do you spring into action noticing things that have been around you for ages that suddenly annoy, or is it just another of my foibles?
Sue xx
A woman after my own heart -- no clutter and easier to clean. And like you, I keep on trying to achieve that dream.
ReplyDeleteSue, I hate clutter. However, I don't spend a lot of time worrying about a little dust, etc. Once in a while, I'll see something and can't imagine how it could look so grubby, like maybe a ceiling fan? Then I have to spring into action to clean it.
ReplyDeleteSnap!! :-)
DeleteIt's really annoying when spices and herbs go out of date. As I don't often follow recipes now, because I improvise with my cooking, I tend to buy herb and spice blends. They get used up more quickly and there's no waste and more space. Morrisons do a really nice Italian seasoning and Lidl do a great Herbes de Provence, that pretty much covers pasta dishes, omelettes and casseroles. For currys I use a blend then add cardomom and coriander seeds and fresh garlic and coriander leaves. Your stocked shelves look very enticing btw.
ReplyDeleteJean
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I cleaned the wire shelves in my closet, had to go up a ladder to do it, but boy did they need it. It's so hot here in the summer that I do the bare minimum of housework, but come fall I give everything a good going over.
ReplyDeleteI love every thing packed into cupboards, and clear spaces, makes cleaning so much better. As for out of date herbs and spices, it does not bear to think about, we have a drawer full of small pots and buy only what we need and the smallest amounts, we work with friends and share packets.
ReplyDeleteWhen I went through my herb and spice drawer I couldn't believe how old some of them were, like you I binned a load.
ReplyDeleteYour window has had such an effect on me that I'm just going to go and have a tidy up in the kitchen. lol
Briony
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I have loads of spices as I love them in everything. Last year while I was in hospital OH decided to 'declutter' my kitchen and threw most of them out because they were out of date by a few months. I was furious. I'm sure he did it because he hates spices :) He hates clutter and even put away some coloured glass bottles I had in the window.
ReplyDeleteIf you think your shelves are cluttered you should see mine! My house is a minimalists nightmare!
ReplyDeletelove your little jars with the gingham tops xxx
ReplyDeleteThey are just little jam jars from Lakeland. It worked out much cheaper than buying 'spice jars' and they can be reused for jam at any time.
DeleteI am going to have a good sort out in the kitchen next week, I have to say i have never seen a basil so big.
ReplyDeleteOh there's nothing more satisfying than decluttering!
ReplyDeleteI thought of you earlier today when making lunch. I looked at my over crowded work surfaces & thought 'Sue really wouldn't like this at all'!
ReplyDeleteI culled a load of spices about a year ago. Now I keep the bare minimum, maybe that's why all my food tastes the same, ha ha.
ReplyDeleteCoincidentally we culled gravy powder and stock cubes last night, but reading your post makes me wonder just 'how' old some of the herbs are :} I'm with you on the clear surfaces thing :}
ReplyDeleteI think its the time of year for that all needed declutter. Like you I can't abide throwing food out. But like you say if its never been used and is not smelling as it should your better rid of it.
ReplyDeleteThe problem we have at the moment is our house is full of things the youngest and her boyfriend are acquiring ready for leaving home. Our once neat loft is now full, as is the garage and conservatory.
X x
I noticed your red lentils disappeared - I have some in my cupboard and I keep intending to add them to some soup and then forget and use butterbeans or Borlotti beans instead - we tend to use Brown / green lentils most of the time but your picture has reminded methat I must use the red ones before they get too old and lose flavour.
ReplyDeleteThey did, and they will be the one thing that is replaced as soon as I go shopping.
DeleteI had tipped two jars into one when we moved and I think some of them were a lot older than the others, if you notice in the picture they are two different colours, some more faded than the others. They all smelt musty so into the bin they went. Luckily they are cheap to replace and I always have some in for bulking out stews, curries and soups.
I do have some green ones still so maybe I can hang on until the end of Stoptober.
I love clutter, organized chaos, its homely and I don't mind some dust.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind a bit of clutter usually, and I definitely don't mind dust (until someone runs their finger through it and shows me how bad it is), but with all the work going on here it is easier for surfaces to be clear and less things to be moved when I do clean. And with four dogs, one cat and a husband that is digging five foot deep holes all around the house it can get pretty mucky pretty quickly.
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