Things learned when organizing my kitchen
Getting organized is an excellent, real-time tool for learning about yourself. I was no exception when Nic and I excavated our tiny kitchen to purge purge purge. We cook A LOT, so every inch is used. Since it is a small kitchen, every item must be used. Still, over the years we accumulated too much.
You might be surprised to learn that Nic had to do far more wrestling of things out of my hands than the other way around. I was surprised that I had become sentimentally attached to food items and clung to kitchen tools I seldom used. Here were the hard things to part with (that I eventually did):
Tea. Lots of tea. “But I bought that during my first trip to Seattle (6 years ago)!” “But I bought that in Estonia (way more than 6 years ago)!” “But I alway picture myself making iced lemongrass tea (but never have)!"
The juicer. I had perma-borrowed it from a friend a few years ago. I do juice, but juicing 2-3x/year didn’t warrant the precious space it took up. I returned it to her and a world of space opened up.
Gifted food. “But my client gave me that!”
Some major discoveries:
I’m not allowed to buy cous cous anymore.
I’m not allowed to buy bulk dried fruit anymore.
I only drink 3 teas - Earl Gray, chai from scratch, and Mudwater. (Almost) nothing else is allowed.
My pantry had become a memory closet. This is not what pantries are for.
Like my clients, I too needed to talk out just about everything that I let go of. The sentimental teas prompted a “Listen to me! I have to talk this out” sent in Nic’s direction, demanding he pause and hear me out before letting go. It was absolutely essential. It wasn’t just for tea break-ups, but applied to spices and spatulas. He slashed and burned. I could only move at the speed of story. (Read a post on that here.)
What made this far easier was the fact that my community just started a composting program. Tossing food invokes a lot of guilt. Without composting, I honestly don’t think we would have done this, which is why we hadn’t before.
I don’t have a “before” picture! But imagine everything about 30% more stuffed. Here though is a picture of part of the pantry “after." Sadly, my beloved lidded containers have been discontinued! Good thing I have enough of them for my dried goods and Indian spices (not pictured).
What have you learned about yourself in the organizing process? Were you ever surprised that you were highly sentimental when letting go of something so seemingly unsentimental? Please share in the comments!
