Boogie Monsters 2

We continue the attack of our house. Or rather it's trouble spots. 

Mark set a trend around here, and slayed his first boogie monster. 

His bravery in that fight inspired me, and I knew it was time to deal with an even BIGGER boogie monster. The one in our linen closet, our pantry.

What's that I hear? You don't store FOOD in your linen closet? Huh... interesting. 

But, I digress. Back to the monster.

Monday the (should be) simple task of grabbing sesame seeds was a bit scary. I almost decided against making hummus. But, then again... hummus. I persevered and found them and even caught almost every bottle of spice, sweetener, and vinegar that fell out of the overstuffed pantry in the process.

The trouble spot of our disorganized pantry, and it's side kicks of spice drawers and brewing cabinets, was shoved to battle front. Wednesdays are "kitchen & closet" day according to my schedule so today was the day.

A photo posted by Debra Worth (@worthcooking) on Feb 1, 2016 at 6:01am PST

First up was spices and herbs, as that was most definitely the scariest part.

I have a pretty awesome spice drawer filled with labeled half-pint mason jars. But, my back up herbs and spices I used to refill the mason jars were a MESS. They were supposed to go over the fridge, in the cabinets there, but being vertically challenged made that a royal pain. The spices kept being shoved in the pantry instead.

A photo posted by Debra Worth (@worthcooking) on Jan 29, 2016 at 10:29am PST

I brought out my spices, herbs, and even some flowers for herbal teas and medicinal infusions. Everything but the well behaved mason jars.

A photo posted by Debra Worth (@worthcooking) on Feb 3, 2016 at 11:59am PST

First, I got rid of some herbs I had not used for years, and lacked potency (note: I recommend buying in bulk, but only after you have tried something in a smaller, cheaper, trial size).

Then I combined some things, such as the three things of onion powder. Having the back up spices where I could not really see them, made for several double purchases.

I also jarred several things, as I prefer jars to the random bags and deli containers bulk spices come in.

Lastly, I decided against the over-the-fridge cabinet and dedicated a shelf in the pantry to the back up spices instead.

A photo posted by Debra Worth (@debra.c.worth) on Feb 3, 2016 at 4:12pm PST

Once the spices were dealt with I moved on to the brews. Meaning, teas, infusions, coffee, and booch. It just took a bit of reorganizing. Since the over-the-fridge cabinets are now empty I will use the half I can reach for booch second ferments, and the empty bottles I have set aside for that purpose.

Then, it was simply a matter of organizing the pantry. A few things were thrown away, but mostly, all that I had left to do was put like things together.

A photo posted by Debra Worth (@worthcooking) on Feb 3, 2016 at 3:58pm PST

From bottom to top shelf we have:
Heavy Items + Long Store Produce
Vinegars + Seed Proteins + Canned Fish + Misc.
Spices + Herbs + Dried Flowers (mostly back up for my spice drawer)
Baking Supplies (Flours, Oils, Sweeteners, Gelatin)
Paper Goods (not pictured).

Monster terminated. Enjoyment of cooking restored.