Used some quarantine time last week to update our pantry! I used some paint we had on hand, plus another gallon from the local hardware, and it’s like a whole new room!
Dear Husband planted enough food to feed the whole county, I believe, so we have been putting up pickles, okra, tomatoes, marinara sauce, tomato juice and hot sauce. More canned goods are being produced every day, so we needed a pantry organization pretty bad. I decided to go ahead with a long overdue paint job while I had some shelves cleared out, and I’m so glad I did!
Found stuff we needed! Disposed of stuff we didn’t.
One of the best parts is we found a few quart jars and a bunch of lids to use – so welcome with the shortage of them! We have had a time getting new ones, and I’ve been kicking myself for giving away boxes of them last summer after the kitchen renovation. I thought, we can always buy more if we start canning a bunch again. Enter…. PANDEMIC. No jars anywhere. No lids! It’s crazy.
I used semi-gloss paint on the walls and tops and undersides of the shelves, after I gave everything a good sanding with 80-grit sandpaper. The boards are old-growth pine, and were sawmill-rough, still. They are still sturdy as ever, thank goodness! I think I had intended to have them sanded and finished, but the pantry was the last thing to complete when we renovated years ago. As I recall, we were getting ready for a family reunion over Labor day weekend, and were rushing to have everything complete by the, after a summer of remodeling. The theme back then was, “if you don’t know where it goes, put it in the pantry.” And we have been kinda sticking to that. It was a mess.
Need another bottle tree
I found a bunch of colored and decorative bottles I’ve been collecting, and been given over the years, to feed my bottle tree addiction. Good news, I’m ready for another one! Seven blue bottles and a few pretty gold and green ones will help my gardens “bloom” all year round!
Disposed of out of date food items
I trashed a bunch of out-of-date food packets. Am I really gonna make that cute mix I bought in the Biltmore gift shop? After four years, I think not. A bunch of those went to the garbage!
Another great thing is I let go of a bunch of stuff I really don’t need – old cookie jars, vases, etc. I’ve been re-homing them a few at a time this past week. Gotta take back some vases to my florist friend; took the hundreds of plastic grocery bags to recycle…
Still need to pack up a few more things, but I think Marie Kondo would be proud, for about a minute. I’m sure the person who says you really don’t need more than 15 books would have something to say about all the stuff I did keep.
