Never an end to home organizing

For the third time in as many years, I set out to organize my pantry.

Just a few weeks ago, I installed over-the-door shelves, which gave me a cursory chance to do some rearranging.

But the real necessity for this chore took root months ago, when my husband received a Keurig coffee maker for Christmas. What a wonderful gift; it provides fresh-brewed coffee in a fraction of the time of the traditional method. To make room for it, considering the ease of use for my handicapped husband, I gave it a special, accessible place on the kitchen counter.

We used it every morning without missing Mr. Coffee even a little bit.

I was almost gleeful at the speed for which I could open my eyes, stumble into the kitchen, and with so little effort, take my first sip of my energy elixir.

I began to notice though, that this was not just about a coffee machine. It introduced myriad accouterments, all necessary items. My husband uses K-cups for convenience and ease of use. Because I am more prone to conservation than convenience, I use reusable cups with paper filters. I keep a compostable bag on the counter for coffee grounds. We also have different coffee tastes. I use half & half and sugar; he likes Coffeemate. So I keep his coffee cups, my coffee in a canister, a sugar bowl, jar of spoons, and a spoon rest just to keep things tidy, close at hand.

All of this is a real mess on the counter. My pretty quilted table runner is camouflaged under all the coffee junk.

This has become a problem, so, I decided the cabinet above the coffee maker would be a perfect place to store all that coffee ‘stuff.’ Trouble is it was my spice cabinet. I decided the best solution was to move my spices into the pantry, so one morning I woke up at 5 a.m., made a cup of coffee and got right to it.

For as long as I can remember, I kept my spices on two round, Rubbermaid lazy-susans. They were not ideal, given the large number of spices I have, but at least I could find them. They were in alphabetical order, a practice I insisted on years ago when my kids were small, probably about the time they were learning their A,B,C’s.

When I got ready to make the switch, which included cleaning out the pantry as well, I move the spices onto a shelf inside the pantry. I soon realized those turntables had to go. Even after I got them all cleaned, they didn’t turn very well. They never really did. I decided it was time for something else. I scoured the Internet until I found something that might just work: a plastic, expandable, three-tier spice holder. I figured I didn’t have that many spices. Wrong!

When I received my new spice organizer in just a couple days--thanks Amazon--I realized I had more spices than I thought. I placed all the little jars and bottles onto what reminded me of the risers we stood on in Freshman Girl’s Chorus some fifty years ago. I hope this solution lasts longer than I did in chorus. I only made it one year because I really can’t sing.

I got all my spices in order when I realized some of the small jars got lost in the shuffle. So I rearranged again, putting all the small jars in front and the others behind.

I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out. I can find whatever I’m looking for. And, if I should happen to buy more spices, although I doubt that is even possible, I can always readjust by expanding the thing. This is probably the best solution possible, since they really take up very little room. The best part is not only is the pantry organized, but I have a place for all the coffee stuff.

Housework is hazardous; not doing it again

All clean, lots of room now

In the midst of cleaning out my closet, I smelled a funny smell. I wasn’t sure what it was. I know that at times, one or more of my cats sneaks into the closet at night. They know how to open the wooden bi-fold doors. In fact, they are pretty darned good at it. I wondered if perhaps they had forsaken their litter box. But thankfully, I knew this was not a cat-related smell. With six cats: four inside, one inside-outside, and one outside, I know ‘that’ smell. This wasn’t it.

I decided to clean out my closet because I have just plain run out of room. I keep seeing signs that now is the time. I’ve taken notice of various emails from well-meaning organizers and self-help gurus. I’ve seen ads on Facebook about cleaning up and cleaning out. And it dawned on me that I washed my clothes last week but have kept running into the laundry room for clean clothes. I just never put them away. There was no good place to put them due to the frustration of reaching for a blouse hanging in the closet only to take it out and find it needs to be ironed because it was crammed in so tightly with everything else.

Then, a friend of mine decided to clean out her closet. She had been sick and lost some weight. She is no longer my size, but she used to be. So, when she offered to give me some of her clothes, I was happy. I am not a clothes hound and rarely buy anything new, so this would be great. When I got home though, I wondered where I would put them.

All signs pointed to the need to go through my clothes and get rid of the things I no longer wore. I still had clothes dating back 20 years when I worked for a living. I was a journalist and had to have a decent wardrobe. I had always reasoned that they were just too good to throw out.

As I started going through my closet, I tried to think of the coming winter and what would keep me warm on those cold, winter evenings. I thought about the few things that I’d bought in the last several years. Those were all keepers. Then I looked through the rest. I tried to not think about the memories or the circumstances of when I bought them or who may have given them to me. The pile on the floor continued to grow. The closet still wasn’t very roomy, so I did it again, with a little less regard for the past. I was thinking only of the present and perhaps the future.

Another thing I did was dump those wire coat hangers. Oh, I’ll keep them in the garage because they often come in handy for things other than holding clothes, but they no longer have a home in my closet. This is a real plus because I’ve always thought them to be completely annoying as they bent into the oddest configurations and seemingly wound themselves around one another into a tangled metal sculpture. Who needs that?

All the while I was doing this, I this odd smell persisted. I poked my nose into the depths and it seemed stronger in the corners. But I could see nothing. Then I looked up. There was a pillow form I was saving for a project sitting next to the light bulb. It was smoking! I grabbed it and ran it under the faucet.

I almost made fast work of cleaning out the closet, by burning it down. Thank goodness I caught it in time. I know I’m not in the mood to evacuate a disabled husband, four inside and one inside-outside cats, my computer, and whatever important papers I might grab.

So much for cleaning house. It is dangerous. I’m not doing it!