But there are a couple of things I’d like to get done this year. One of them was to clear out the pantry, top and bottom and rearrange it. Every couple of months I’ll go through and put canned goods back where they belong and take bulk items that we get at CostCo out of their wrappings, like chili, canned tomatoes, or refried beans. We’re supposed to do that as we put them away, but sometimes it’s late and we’re lazy and it doesn’t get done.
This is something I’ve needed to do, let it slide for too long, but Brian said to hold off on it. Because he wanted to fix the shelving. The shelving is old, it’s the original and it’s just particle board. Over the years, it’s become bowed from the weight of cans and other stuff. He’s really wanted to fix it, but I’ve been reluctant because it just seemed like too much work. But after the holiday season, the pantry really, really needed to be cleaned out.
I told him earlier this week I was going to work on it. He had business Wednesday (yay!) and we set it up for yesterday. I wasn’t aware that he wanted to do the entire thing, so I only cleared out four of six shelves. When he got home yesterday from buying the wood he needed to shore up the bowing, he looked in and wasn’t happy that he hadn ‘t gotten Contact paper. I’d gotten some last year to use in my bathroom, but hadn’t done it yet. I showed it to him, he proclaimed there was enough to do all six shelves. (I have a tendency to buy more than I’m going to need, because you just never know….)
He ended up taking everything from the bottom shelf, some cleaning stuff and a bunch of candles I bought when I first went online. Cleaning that bottom shelf was on my list of things I wanted to get done this year. He got everything out and I started putting it elsewhere for storage. Worked out nicely, by the way. And then I asked if he could paint inside. Nice, huh? He sighed and said he could.
One of the shelves was so badly bowed, that he couldn’t just force it up with a stick of wood. He actually went out and got a car jack to push the shelving up. He finished shoring up shelving, then started painting (a long time ago a can of tomatoes exploded) and it took three coats to cover it up. Then was time for the shelf paper. He wasn’t sure how to go about cutting it. I told him how I’d do it. He said “okay, go ahead, cut six pieces” and left the laundry room. I started cutting. When I was done, I let him know, then he went back into the laundry room to finish putting the Contact paper in place.
When he was done with that, I started putting all the stuff away that I’d pulled out earlier. I got the kitchen counters cleaned off about eleven last night. I still need to arrange one of the shelves, it was late and I was getting tired of going up and down the step stool. I’ll do that today.
This morning, I started going through the appliances in the kitchen cupboards that I’m moving to the pantry. I have an incredible amount of crock pots. All sizes. Those I’ll put in the very back corner of the cupboards. The two I use most will be accessible. And the other appliances are going into the bottom of the pantry. If I can get to them, I’ll use them. At least that’s what I’m hoping. Appliances like my food processor, my ice cream maker and the blender.
But there’s something that I found that I’m wondering about. Because it’s something I’d most definitely been using if I’d known I had it. The entire reason for this entry.
When did I get this citrus juicer?