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

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)

Out with the old, and in with the new!

I emptied about half the refrigerator's contents in old food.

Grossness

Old pickles, half-used dried up jams, 'surprise! you don't like these' artichoke hearts, umeboshi and THREE containers of miso from five years ago (they're probably technically still edible, too! D:), and what used to be a bag of brussels sprouts but declined into a bag of mold...

I cleared out similar items from the pantry, too. All those stale sheets of seaweed, old bonito flakes, kombu, and expired Ikea gravy packets - in the trash!

The idea now is to ditch something if it isn't used within a week, and only have one item of each type in there at a time. If a new food is a slump and no one likes it? In the trash, clean the jar, don't buy it again.

I'm debating now whether to restock on the more seldom-used pantry ingredients I got rid of... It would be nice to have more umeboshi and miso, if they actually get used.

- Aa (she/her)