Thoughts On An Organized Pantry

I did some deep thinking surrounded by Rotel and Ziplocs. Here are a few conclusions as I vowed to be a better steward of my resources:

The pantry is always cleaner on the other side of the street.
When I only had a kitchen cabinet for food storage, I was sure a walk-in pantry would solve my problems.

Now I know the problem is me.

If you can't see your food, you may buy it twice or let it spoil.

I made a special trip for oatmeal when a whole new canister sat on the floor. I let onions sprout and sweet potatoes rot.

I was too tired to get the pantry organized, but my lack of organization used more energy in the long run.

Emergency preparedness starts in the pantry.

My 5-gallon jugs of water expired last year, and we had eaten through the peanut butter reserves. I am so grateful I have the chance to restock before a tornado blows through.

Pantry organization begins and ends with me.

Though I muttered a lot about snack-spilling kids and tall people who hide the garbage bags, this is my job. Doing it well depends on self-discipline.

(Click here to see the organized pantry BEFORE and pantry IN PROGRESS.)

Has organizing ever brought your own heart-issues to light?

Pantry Step Stools

I seriously want your library kik-stool. I don't think I can stand to know if you got it for a dollar at a yard sale. --Deb, in the comments

This stool ranks as one of my favorite yard sale finds, ever. I painted it white as part of my pantry makeover.

(Click here to see what this Kik-Step library stool cost secondhand!)

Pantry In Progress

We emptied the pantry over the course of a few days.

Hadn't used something in a while? The yard sale pile kept growing.

I wanted glass jars, but I realized that my Tupperware works for now. I'm still looking for narrow spice shelves that will fit between the pipes on the right.

Tanna identified some of my blind spots, like a sentimental bread box from our first kitchen.

As she pointed out, why let an empty picnic basket take up space?

I filled it with my emergency stash of plastic forks, paper plates, napkins. Other hospitality items, from foil pans to baskets, line the upper shelf.

We moved this bookcase from Elise's closet to the area Tanna suggested.

For now it holds cookbooks, plastic bags, and that restaurant size aluminum foil I bought at Sam's Club.

After clearing out the waste, the unused, and the excess, so much space remains!

It's time to get back to the pantry principle: stocking up on the items we regularly use when they go on sale. I can't wait to implement some of the creative ideas you shared in the comments, too.

How To Organize A Walk In Pantry

When we moved to this house, I was over-the-moon excited to have my first real pantry.

Why, in only a few months, an antique schoolhouse light could be shining down on homemade pickles and preserves! Neat shelves of glass jars would hold bulk grains, while vintage aprons showcase beauty and utility.

You can see how that turned out.

I'd clean and organize, then fall back into disorder. Since John's birth, the pantry has been my lost cause. Forget cute--I needed functional solutions.

I'm opening the door on my pantry failure because it's ultimately a question of stewardship.

• Am I making the most of the space I have been given?
• How much money has this chaos cost my family?
• Have I let a disheartening area define the way I work?

I asked my organizing friend Tanna Clark for a virtual consult. (Read her personal suggestions here.)

Tomorrow I will share how I'm tackling the problem.

Cold Dinner Delivery

aka When It's Too Hot For Casseroles

Taking a meal to someone is always more affordable when you can share what you're making for your own family.

This tray holds baked ham slices, cole slaw, garden tomatoes, zucchini, and red potato salad I jazzed up with our leftover Green Garden Dip. Since it was too hot to turn on the oven, we also sent watermelon chunks and no-bake chocolate fudge cookies.

Serving another couple blessed my own family in return: they were delighted by all the "extras" I might not have made just for us!

Of course, the Reluctant Entertainer reminds us that you don't have to make a full-course meal to make someone's day.

The Perfect Salad Bowl

When it comes to hearty, husband salads, I use this one deep bowl, chilled. For company, I'm up a creek.

How do you serve your salad: on a plate, or in a bowl? What makes a homemade salad feel restaurant quality?

Flash Freezing Baby Food

Flash freezing servings of pureed spinach, sweet potatoes, and steak for John.

Library Bag: Green Garden Dip

We're experimenting with Salad People and More Real Recipes: A New Cookbook for Preschoolers and Up by Mollie Katzen.

We check out a new cookbook every few weeks, just for fun. It's a frugal hobby I'm learning along with the kids.

I liked that Katzen's recipes feature basic, whole (even cheap!) ingredients.

My kids liked the 2 page illustration that follows each recipe. Steps are translated in kid-friendly terms.

"Pick 15 basil leaves." "Add 6 shakes of salt."

We adjusted the Green Garden Dip with what we had on hand:

• 2 cups herbs (parsley, basil, dill, chives) finely chopped in blender
• 1 clove garlic
• 4 chopped scallions
• a dash of lemon juice
• 1 cup sour cream

Though it lacks that MSG zip of ranch dressing, the kids did eat it with squash cut into spears.

Even more important: the picking, pureeing and dipping got us through another long summer afternoon.

Free tip: you can check out more garden friendly recipes at the Mollie Katzen website.

Just Checking In

We have 1 hour left until we wrap up the hottest yard sale on the face of the planet.

All but 1 of our large items have sold. People are getting bargains, and we'll move less stuff back into the bedrooms.

It's a beautiful sight.

UPDATE: Not only did we sell the last big item, someone also bought the Volvo wagon, on which we stuck a sign at the last minute! The yard sale was officially worth the work!

SOS!

Have you ever had one of those days when you have so many things to do, you don't even know where to start?

Using What You Have: I'm Bored

I moved all the books in Andrew's room in order to redo the floors. Whenever I discovered an art, craft, or work book, I threw it into an "I'm Bored" basket for summer.

Here's a lovely letter from a longtime reader:

I just wanted you to know how much I have been enjoying your "use what I have" theme. It helped me change my focus from the "to do" list and a very utilitarian mindset to specifically looking for things that I haven't used for a long time or haven't used at all yet.

"Using what I have" feels more like a scavenger hunt.

I have started wearing my contacts more, got out a demitasse set that we received as a wedding present to use for tea--it functions just lovely as a teapot with "child sized" tea cups (and my husband used it for its correct purpose, coffee, on Sunday morning). My Oreck Orbiter has seen the light of day and my kids used an accessory to it that we had never used. The Briwax was used, books read, games played.

You get the idea--and that's not counting the fabric and yarn.

10 Yard Sale Entertaining Essentials

Sandy, the Reluctant Entertainer, and I love yard sales. No surprise--thrifty finds often inspire our hospitality. Today, we'll show you how to assemble entertaining essentials for pennies on the dollar.

Here's a list of the top 10 items I hunt on Saturday mornings.

1. Vases of all shapes and sizes add beauty to the table with whatever flowers or ferns you have hand.

I always buy a couple that fit in my car's cupholder so I can easily take some to a friend.

2. Mix and match dishes allow you to set an extra place (or five) without resorting to paper.

This $10 Meakin set encouraged me to pick up blue-and-white in every pattern. White, of course, is always classic.

3. Baskets can be lined with napkins to hold chips and buns, covered with lettuce for rustic vegetable platters, or filled with fruit and cheese for delivery.

I keep about 10 in various sizes. Shallow, open shapes prove most versatile.

4. Napkins make any meal feel nicer. White goes with everything, but prints add fun to a basic table.

I paid 5-cents each for these restaurant napkins. I also pick up unopened packages of paper napkins to tuck in food baskets and meal deliveries.

5. Large platters and bowls help even the simplest buffet look grand.

People give away jumbo serving pieces when they move or realize they never entertain. Their loss, your gain!

6. Oven-to-table serving pieces give me one less dirty dish to wash. I like Armetale because it keeps grilled foods hot and cold foods cold.

7. A variety of pitchers help you make drinks from scratch.

No storebought jugs required. I recommend 1 for water, 1 for tea, and 1 for lemonade or hot cider. Glass carafes are great for juice or wine.

8. Wicker plate holders cost 10-cents each or less.

Pop in a thin paper plate, a large doily, or a chess pie. Picnics and food gifts alike are improved by the straw texture.

9. Chairs are cheapest at yard sales. It's a luxury to seat your guests comfortably, indoors or out.

I painted these metal chairs black for my dining room. We moved the matching table under a tree, where another $5 set of chairs completed our outdoor dining area.

10. Throwaway containers help me take hospitality out of the home.

Brand new disposables can break your budget for funerals, new babies, and housewarming meals. At yard sales, scratched plastic trays cost almost nothing and won't need to be returned.

Hope this gives you ideas for your next yard sale day! Visit 4 Reluctant Entertainers to read Sandy's picks.

I'd love to know your favorite entertaining essentials in the comments below. We'll all learn something new!

Using Up CSA Produce

taco night at the frugal household

I never thought I'd say this, but we're having trouble eating our one-fourth bushel of CSA produce before the next delivery arrives. $16 brings a lot of food.

To prevent waste: more omelets, pasta salads, and of course, tacos.

Old Fashioned, Simple Birthday Parties

We usually take a low-key approach to birthdays, celebrating simply and without a lot of waste.

Don't click away yet! I love creative parties! I'd just like to be the voice that whispers:

It's perfectly okay to skip the bouncy castle, licensed characters, and over-the-top themes. Kids need love, excitement, and cake.

Did someone else just breathe a sigh of relief? Good.

I thought I'd better see what Elise had to wear. This sweet yard sale dress was forgotten in the 3T clothing bag. Wouldn't garden snails be cute for lunch outdoors?

And just like that, a pink-and-green scheme was hatched.

I flipped through my stash of yard sale ribbon and wrap, then carried a stack of pastel quilts from the bedrooms.

So far, no money out of pocket--and the naturally wild centerpieces fit right into budget.

I surprised Elise with this 25-cent Hull teapot from our Kentucky trip, then we got to work!

We draped a lace cloth over my DIY crate table, where the sun erased those mystery stains, then piled leftover wedding bubbles into a $5 Goodwill bowl.

The menu: chilled fruit cups, pesto chicken salad, tea sandwiches cut into fanciful shapes, and pink lemonade.

Dessert: angel food cake with strawberry whipped cream.

The entertainment: playing with the birthday gifts.

The birthday girl: delighted.

Decorating The Pink Birthday Cake

When Elise asked for a pink cake during Vacation Bible School week, I sighed.

I don't think Pepperidge Farm makes pink cakes.

Just kidding.

We whipped a pint of cream with fresh strawberry puree and used it to frost an angel food cake.

I held my breath when Andrew wanted to get fancy with the decorating tips. The soft pink cloud began to look like a pile of fat pink worms.

I tried my best to freeze the moment in the way all mothers do. Watching their heads bent in concentration, debating the placement of each strawberry slice.

No Playdoh gift set could have diverted them from this important work.

We decorated our own cake to save money, but we learned, once again, that the real joy is in creating.

Use What You Have Birthday

We celebrated Elise's birthday with simple touches of color.

Above, grosgrain ribbon tied around old napkins and yard sale notes made into little menu cards.

Make A Wildflower Centerpiece

Dump the crayons from a shallow bowl. Any type will do.

Are you a beginner? You might want to soak some floral foam. My Dollar General sells 3 bricks for $2.50.

Stroll to that fragrant meadow behind the barn and fill your apron with cuttings.

If you live in the city like I do, stop your car by a vacant lot, railroad track, or light industrial area.

Try not to step on any broken bottles while you're at it.

Wherever you find your flowers, condition them with a few hours of shade and cool water.

Begin your centerpiece with greenery. Your goal is to establish the general form and obscure the foam. This is a vinca groundcover.

Insert your most prominent blooms first. I used a few hydrangea from my new bushes. Keep the height below eye level.

Fill in with airy stems like this Queen Ann's Lace and wild tendrils like this vetch. Rotate bowl for an even result.

I have no floral training, but I enjoy experimenting when the materials can be found by the roadside. We even ran across a free, ornately carved buffet on the curb this morning; unlike the flowers, it would not fit in my car!

The Cupcake Collection

Today I said yes to cupcakes.

The kids and I explored the Cupcake Collection, a unique home & business. Owner Mignon Francois, her husband and 6 kids renovated a condemned house and then opened shop in the parlor.

(This Scene article tells more of the Francoise story.)

Cost: $1.50/ea for chocolate marble and fresh strawberry/lemon cupcakes. And worth every bite.

Food For Thought

soaking a stained tablecloth, hoping that Biz + sunshine will whiten it for Elise's birthday

For those of you who've written, the Blogs I Love To Read page is no longer available. You can always check the interesting links I've marked at my Food For Thought page, or you might want to create your own blog roll if you haven't already.

Simple Mom explains how: What is a free RSS reader and how will it simplify my life?

If you have a minute, why not list 3 of your favorite blogs in the comments and tell us why you love to read them?

Frugality In Relief

It's funny, but when I mention our shoe strategy, some click away because 3 pairs is austere and extreme.

Another handful leave, wondering how a generous 3 pairs could be considered frugal at all.

What works for me may not work for you. A $60 grocery budget can be filled with double-coupon cereal or bulked with organic oats.

Which is more important--what actually fills our shopping carts, or our common commitment to live within budget and belief?

When you rub a leaf with crayon, details fall away. Here are the highlights of our consumer strategy:

• Prayerfully consider if something is a want or a need.
• Walk each other through a cost-benefit analysis.
• Brainstorm creative solutions before spending.

• Buy food based on sales and seasons, not solely by menu or whim.
• Delay household purchases unless they are on sale or secondhand.
• Plan ahead so that the above is possible.

Shoes or spices, this is our method of frugal shopping. Tell me what works for you.

Saying Yes Instead Of No

I feel like I offer a constant refrain of NO: No you can't do that. No you can't buy that. No you can't watch that.

We're not going wild and crazy, no rules/no budget; but this summer I vow to say YES to the little things.

If it doesn't cost much, then YES, we will try it!
If you clean up after yourself...YES, you can do it!
If you want to create/go/perform/cook...then my answer is YES!

We began with chocolate dipped strawberries. Who knows where we'll end?

Frugal Footwear: How Many Pairs?

We buy fewer shoes than most Americans, but even our Frugal Hacks plan of 3 pairs/person is more than most of the world can afford.

Yet I didn't walk away from these sweet slippers for Elise (69-cents at the thrift store).

If you're curious, I noticed that the latest trend in Mennonite footwear seems to be black Crocs worn with black socks. That made me feel a little better about my own practical choices.