The Heart of the Home

(Organizing your Kitchen for your Health)

What did that say? The first sentence, what did that say? Did that say I need to organize my kitchen at the end of this blog? It did? I am so scared of organizing! Please, do not scroll the page. Please. Please. Please. (If you did not pick up that this entire paragraph was appropriated from “The Monster at the End of This Book starring lovable furry old Grover”, I have no hope for you. Go read it!) Anyway, like I said; let’s organize!!!

One day I was channel surfing out of boredom and settled on a show from Disney Channel...or maybe Nickelodeon. Anyway,  it was one of those where the kids were in middle school and had to face trumped up and comical problems to learn a lesson but I cannot for the life of me remember what show it was. However, there was a boy who was extremely unorganized. When he opened his locker strange things fell out, he couldn’t find the books or papers he needed, and his back pack was filled with nothing important. He then goes to class to take a test and simply cannot process any information in his mind. You see a clip of the inside of his brain and there are little people at computers and rummaging through files—all as unorganized as the locker—and unable to find the answer to the question they know they have somewhere! After he failed the test his friends held an intervention, helped him organize, and he aced the next test because his brain was also magically organized.

 Now, when I saw this all those years ago, my first thought was, “What a load!” But, hey, it’s actually true. Organization on our physical plane manifests clarity on our metaphysical plane. Therefore, if your kitchen is a warm, organized, and inviting space, you will have a much healthier relationship to it and the food you prepare in it.

The idea of the kitchen being the heart of the home has roots more than three thousand years ago in the Chinese philosophy of Feng Shui. This principal states that the kitchen is the most important room in the house and manifests wealth, health, and prosperity. That being said, where do we go from here?

First and foremost, get rid of clutter! You heard me. Your bills that need paid do NOT belong on the counter. Don’t leave out all of your gadgets because you do not need them all day every day. The water guns you used last week should not be in the dish drainer anymore (not naming names, Elizabeth!)

In an ideal world where we all live in mansions and have a separate room for every single thing, nothing should be on the kitchen table unless you are eating. In a realistic world the heart of the home is also used for projects, homework, and so much more. What you need is a separate area such as a shelf to store those things and only have them on the table while you are using them.

If you are having any trouble with this, I understand. “But, Elizabeth, my magazines have always gone here. I can’t possibly find a new place for them.” It is so hard to change things that we have always done. I promise you will feel lighter and so much better after you have created your kitchen haven. A book that really helped me through my de-cluttering process was written by Peter Walsh, a longtime professional organizer called, “It’s All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff.” In this book he will take you room by room and help you pare down what you can and create spaces you can thrive in.

Welcome to my pantry, a tour provided by Elizabeth.

Many years ago we installed a couple gimmicks to add to our storage space. I caution you to start by using what you have. Once you have gone through and removed everything you don’t need, the last thing you will want is buy a copious amount of “handy-dandy storage equipment”  that you will then need to find a space for. Go through what you have and figure out what you need before buying anything new.

Obviously there is shelving in the pantry but you may notice a couple of the shelves have shelves on them to conveniently house small items. My dad actually built those out of spare boards; don’t feel like you need anything fancy. He also added the shelves on the door. I am convinced that if I did not have these my pantry would still be a disaster.

As you can see everything has its place. Large jars of sugar, flour, etc. are on the top shelf. Next are baking goods and boxed puddings. Canned fruits and sauces are on the thin handmade shelf above those. We have a few boxes of pasta, mom’s RC Cola, and a lazy Susan with several jarred goods.

I’d like to take this moment to pay homage to whoever invented the lazy Susan. This little miracle makes it easy to store several things (spices and other random bottled things) in one small space and still reach them easily. All you have to do is spin it to reach things in the back or to see all of the goods you have there.

I have a shelf on a shelf for canned vegetables. It is much safer than stacking. The pantry door has the things I grab quickly and often. I buy nuts in bulk and keep them in old pasta jars to add to my salads or other meals. 

I found these three sisters at Goodwill for next to nothing to house my healthy grains (quinoa, red lentils, and green lentils.) Like I said, don’t go out to a big box store and buy a bunch of things even if you think you need them. Remember, reused and previously owned are just as good, cheaper, and better for the environment.

To reuse jars, all you have to do is remove the original label from the jar and run it through the dishwasher, or wash it thoroughly by hand. I simply use packing tape to tape part of the original food label onto the jar. For these dark chocolate morsels I only used the name so I could easily tell these apart from the semi-sweet. On other jars I also add the nutrition facts to the back of the jar. I mean, really, if I am going to use dark chocolate chips, why do I need to know the calories, right? Dark chocolate is healthy....

Now that you have de-cluttered and organized you must clean! Now, don’t mess things up by using a heavy chemical laden cleaner. Yes they work but then your house smells awful and you can’t breathe. Why would you want to prepare food on a surface saturated in chemicals? There are so many products now boasting that they are clean and safe. You have to be careful and take what they say with a grain of salt. Currently there are very relaxed rules about what it means for a product to be “all natural.” If you think about it cyanide is all natural too but you wouldn’t want to clean your house with that. Be sure to read labels and if they don’t have a list of ingredients find their website and look it up.

Something obvious here - stay away from anything with a warning label. When I read Skinny Bitch: Home Beauty and Style, I learned something totally crazy. The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) requires that any product that can cause severe injury with correct use or is flammable, corrosive, and/or irritating requires a label. Call me crazy but I would think some of those things shouldn’t be sold every day. So make sure you read! Be extra sure to avoid these additives often found in all-purpose cleaner.

·         Ammonia

·         Benzene (Naptha)

·         2- Butoxyethanol (Butyl Cellusolve, Ethylene Glycol Monobutyl Ether)

·         Chlorine Bleach (plain bleach)

·         Ethanolmines (DEA, MEA, TEA)

·         Formaldehyde

·         Ethylene Glycol (Ethylene Dihydrate, Ethylene Alcohol

·         Phenols

·         Phosphates

·         Sodium Hydroxide (Lye, Caustic Soda)

 I use Parsley Plus All Surface Cleaner for everything but my floors. We just got new floors so I am trying to see what works with them now. A mix of warm water and vinegar (white or apple cider) worked wonders on our old linoleum. In fact, vinegar and water would also work on the counters if you want to keep things real simple. If you don't like the smell, add a couple drops of your favorite essential oil. Pour baking soda down your drain and follow it with a couple cups of boiling water to unclog it.  Another wonder tool to have on hand is Liquid Castile Soap (or comparable non-toxic liquid dish soap.) This stuff can be used by itself or mixed into a million different things. Totally worth it if you make sure you get one with only plant based ingredients (some have chemical additives.)

Now that you have a clutter free, organize, and clean kitchen it’s time to bring in the heart. My next blog will talk about how to make your kitchen inviting to you, your family, and your guests.

Sources/Honorable mention

Skinny Bitch: Home, Beauty, and Style by Kim Barnouin

It’s All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living s Richer Life with Less Stuff by Peter Walsh

*My Family for putting up with my sudden crazy ideas