uncluttering one day and one thing at a time

Who knew? Meal planning can go a ways in helping keep a kitchen clean.

Elliot M and I have been working on the fridge. He wiped down a place where a Miscellaneous Substance had oozed out of the produce drawer (possibly from onions), and I washed down the drawer they were in.

We were meal planning, and a stop at the grocery was next, so I went through and cleared out older things that belong in the bin - aging parsley, browning spring onions, something in a jar that expired last year.

Groceries have since been gotten. New produce has been cut into pieces for grazing and kababs, things have been rearranged to better use space, and the fridge is looking much friendlier. I took out a bag of chicken thigh from the freezer to thaw and will see tomorrow if it is, in fact, still good.

Things have been much easier to keep up with after the initial decluttering efforts last year. These occasional lighter edits are keeping everything in shape, and the meal planning means there are regular times to check what's in there, get rid of older stuff, and make plans for what's next so it doesn't re-accumulate.

We're also trying biweekly bulk tea: I used up almost all of a pack of a white mango something-or-other blend for cold tea the next few days. The massive bag is being re-steeped in my nightly pot, so it gets a little more use before being composted. Bulk cold tea is looking more promising in using up the herbals and whites in the infamously over-stocked Tea Drawer(s) than trying to rotate out breakfast cups.

(And a bonus: I saved and planted some seeds from the grocery poblano to try growing. They'll mostly be gifted out, if they sprout and get their true leaves.)

The next cleaning-related goal is... Taking the recycling out in stages. It desperately needs emptying.

- Maïma

... Finally back at the baking to clear out the pantry's generous flour shelf.

I decided to prep dry ingredients for later tonight. The recipes I'm using mix all their dry ingredients first, so everything could go into one bowl.

The whole wheat made it easy for me. I unrolled the top and bugs came out. The bag went into the trash.

Instead I used the last of the Rye to double a recipe for Chinese Almond Cookies. There will be a lot of them, so hopefully they'll be edible.

Next up for the running are spelt and bread flour.

At this point, the surplus flour has been reduced by 50%. Most of what's left are specific-use items (like glutinous rice flour for mochi, and okonomiyaki mix) and local mixed flours. The two remaining big items are masa flours.

- Cobalt Amber (he/him)

Update with recipes and cookie tax

Everything has been made! There are two new packaged, labeled hunks of dough in the freezer. Tasting portions of each batch were baked per how this goes.



The recipes are Chinese Almond Cookies, with sunflower oil and rye flour subbed out for the regular, and Lavender Lemon Shortbread with different spices (ground rose petals, rose water, cardamom, grains of paradise, and hibiscus powder).

I cheated a bit with the shortbreads - I was not going to roll and cut them. That is a whole mess. Instead, I laid a sheet of parchment paper over a plastic cutting board, rolled tiny balls of dough, placed them, and then smooshed them with a measuring cup and a strip of wax paper acting as a non-stick intermediary between them. Works so much better than dealing with sticky dough on wide surfaces. The entire sheet went into the freezer, and then slipped off onto a baking tray with the parchment paper.

If you're like Cobalt and don't read the directions about using cold butter... Literally do not worry about it. I used the room temp stuff he set out, ended up with a very paste-like dough, and the cookies did not die. Just freeze it first.

The only thing left (apart from a remaining mixing bowl to wash) is to put the bread flour into the newly-vacated AP flour container.

- MK (he/him)

LY came to the conclusion last week that the only (realistic) way to make more space in the apartment is going to be getting rid of stuff.

Today I went for the fabrics. There are only a few projects that any of that fabric is needed for - the rest needs to go. All in all, I reduced it to about a third of what it was. Half is sitting out for donation, and the rest is waiting for a garbage run.

The closet and dresser were next. One bag for donation - out of the way.

I cleared out enough to convert one drawer into storage for camera equipment and miscellaneous dance items, which means that all of those items are no longer occupying surface space.

- Elliot M (he/him)