Old Spice Smells So Nice, Not Really – Clearing Out The Junk

3 Jan

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Welcome to my next incarnation of Toddler Café, we are moving our blog slowly but surely! You can still find all of my old posts… all the way back to March 2008 from Toddler Café  right here.  Eventually I will move completely over here. So please sign up for updates so you don’t miss a beat, follow me on Twitter and Facebook too! There will be new projects to come and more fun ideas for you and your kitchen.

I always like to do some kind of organizing after the holidays it seems like most people at least think about doing it!  I have spent the past 3 weeks pulling out platters, glasses, serving utensils and putting it all back. I am never satisfied with the putting it back part, the lack of organization in my china cabinet really bugs me. That said, there is not much I can do with my limited space so I moved on, mentally. I thought that the spice drawers needed more attention than the dishes and I was right. Now, I have moved my spice jars from cabinets to drawers to shelves to drawers and so on…but not until I had a professional organizer help me decide on the final resting place was I happy. Sure I’d like to have one of those pull out pantry drawers that have super shelves that hold everything in perfect order, but alas I don’t.

New Years day is a perfect time to start a project like cleaning your spices out. You can get new inspiration from unearthed jars of  Curry and Fenugreek  believe it or not! Claire was looking for something to do and picking the confetti one by one out of the shag rug was not doing it for her. (That is a story for another day.  Shag carpet + confetti =  OY VEY!)

I gave her the vacuum and a she went to work on the drawers knowing that her bonus was a bunch of jars and old spices I didn’t need any more. She happily agreed to help me clear out the old drawers, vacuum, clean and organize. She defiantly had an ulterior motive but who cares, for the moment she was helping me and we had fun. We found lots of old out dated jars or obscure things like chervil and asafetida, they went bad a long time ago.

So start the new year off feeling good about one area of your house, for us it had to be the kitchen.  Include the kids because you never know what will come of those little imaginations!

Her are a few tips for keeping your Spices and Herbs in tip-top shape:

  • Buy small amounts in bulk and store them on tiny jars
  • Date all jars so you can remember how old they are
  • If you have to buy a larger amount, use a vacuum sealer to store half the spice or herb,  a vacuum sealer is a great investment for such occasions
  • Place the things you use most in the front of the cabinet or drawer
  • Use fresh herbs as much as you can, your cooking will thank you
  • Line your drawer or cabinet so when there is a spill you can easily clean it out
  • Spices don’t like light, heat, or dampness so store them in a cool dark place
One of the best things that came out of this little project was my daughter’s sub-project. She took all the leftover bottles and gave them new uses, This is why I love being playful in the pantry!!
This one was a collection of herbs for smelling.

This one is for smelling "nice smelling"

This one is for calling spirits….

Call Spirit

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