HOME ORGANIZATION
by Lois Breneman, © 2010, Heart to Heart Newsletter
by Lois Breneman, © 2010, Heart to Heart Newsletter
It hits me every January - the Organization Bug! I suppose it's partly because of putting away the Christmas decorations for another year and getting rid of all the dust they collect. It's probably also about getting off to a good start in a new year.
Someone once said that lazy people are the ones who came up with the idea of being organized, because organized people are just too lazy to look for things! Well, being organized certainly does save lots of time, energy and dollars along the way as well. How many of us have had to run to the store because we ran out of something we had to have immediately, especially when cooking? All of us, I'm sure!
"Heart to Heart" subscriber, Julie Nelson in Illinois, recently shared a great solution for that problem! She said:
"We have a standard stock of things that we always use: various condiments, pasta, canned veggies. We are blessed to have a basement and I have lined a long hallway there with metal storage shelves. Whenever there is a sale, I buy extras of our staples and shelve them. We are always fully stocked and whenever I need something, I take a giant basket that I have and go shopping at "Nelson's Market," which is what our family calls that hallway. We also have our deep freeze down there. We very rarely run out of anything by shopping this way."
Someone once said that lazy people are the ones who came up with the idea of being organized, because organized people are just too lazy to look for things! Well, being organized certainly does save lots of time, energy and dollars along the way as well. How many of us have had to run to the store because we ran out of something we had to have immediately, especially when cooking? All of us, I'm sure!
"Heart to Heart" subscriber, Julie Nelson in Illinois, recently shared a great solution for that problem! She said:
"We have a standard stock of things that we always use: various condiments, pasta, canned veggies. We are blessed to have a basement and I have lined a long hallway there with metal storage shelves. Whenever there is a sale, I buy extras of our staples and shelve them. We are always fully stocked and whenever I need something, I take a giant basket that I have and go shopping at "Nelson's Market," which is what our family calls that hallway. We also have our deep freeze down there. We very rarely run out of anything by shopping this way."
This is a wonderful idea! Staples such as toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, napkins, toothpaste, toothbrushes, bars of soap, liquid hand soap, dishwashing liquid, dishwasher detergent, cleaning supplies, laundry supplies (whether or not you make your own laundry soap), and white distilled vinegar are other great items to stock. I'm sure there are lots more items to add to this list. When you stock your shelves like this, you can always be sure to buy items only when they're marked way down.
It is also good to note that certain items with high fat content will not keep very long - things like salad dressings, mayonnaise, peanut butter and oils, to name a few. Go easy on stocking pancake mixes and cake mixes as well. Be sure you don't buy too many of any of these items. Items containing grains should not be shelved too long, and freezing them is always the best. Corn meal is a grain that can get buggy in short time, but freezing any item containing cornmeal for at least four days will kill any larvae in the grain. I know this sounds extremely disgusting, but it's one of those facts of life. If freezer space is not an issue, keeping it in the freezer until you are ready to use it is best.
It is also good to note that certain items with high fat content will not keep very long - things like salad dressings, mayonnaise, peanut butter and oils, to name a few. Go easy on stocking pancake mixes and cake mixes as well. Be sure you don't buy too many of any of these items. Items containing grains should not be shelved too long, and freezing them is always the best. Corn meal is a grain that can get buggy in short time, but freezing any item containing cornmeal for at least four days will kill any larvae in the grain. I know this sounds extremely disgusting, but it's one of those facts of life. If freezer space is not an issue, keeping it in the freezer until you are ready to use it is best.
Freezing butter, orange juice, milk and bread will save additional trips to the store. Just be sure to pour out about a half cup of liquid before freezing (for milk and juice) to allow extra space for freezing.
Creating your own "Home Market" will be sure to save you time, money and energy, and your kids will no doubt love doing the shopping for you! Assign one child to that job for a week at a time. Add that to their job chart.
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