In our home, we are always looking for ways to grace daily life with a sense of luxury, without increasing expense. We mostly adhere to our own rituals- long Sunday lunches, tea time, alcohol at non-traditional hours (wine at lunch instead of dinner, spiking tea after exercising outdoors), sandwiches with their crusts trimmed, sieving the filling of deviled eggs, baroque fruit arrangements, etc. All these things make a difference. Individually they're pleasing, en mass they are civilized, even a little excessive.
But sometimes, our luxuries take a little hard work. A home so clean it shimmers is the greatest and most affordable of these- needing just soap, water, and time. Doing the kitchen cupboards is the best of these projects- daunting, but the the results will be enjoyed for a very long time. Chaos and waste will be replaced with virtue and shimmer.
1. Clear every space in the kitchen, then take things out of the cupboards and put them on the counters, starting at the back and moving your way forward.
2. Take inventory- types of rice, shapes of pasta, etc., and consolidate them. This will inspire meals and remind you of favorite recipes- note them down to enjoy in the coming weeks.
3. Keep the foods in temporary packaging- bags, cardboard boxes- together. The best part is giving these new containers later on.
4. Also put the foods you received as gifts together- and plan to enjoy them. It is such a temptation to hoard special things.
5. Now focus on the various containers- between gifts and tea tins and so on, the cupboard is full of beautiful things.
6. Decide how best to use the containers. These tea tins were full. But this tea, perishable or not, was 13 years old. Out it went, and the tins were filled with fresh bags of different types. The various espresso tins likewise. Set extra tins aside for packaging confections you want to share. And for bay leaves- they always take up more room than the spice drawer can accommodate.
7. Likewise, we had several jars with just a few matchsticks of ginger in syrup or some crystallized honey caked on the bottom - these we used to sweeten some rice pudding (made with the little bit of rice that wouldn't fit into the jars.) There will be plenty of glass jars- wash them in hot soapy water and set them aside.
8. Match the jars up by size with various dry goods - rices, small pasta shapes, various grains, legumes, sugars, etc. A few thing, like linguine, will not easily lend themselves to being stored in jars, but most everything else will. Jars keep food cleaner and fresher, and we can find what we are looking for quickly. Some things look alike- semolina and fine corn meal, for instance- you can label them, or write on the lids.
10. Bring all the unnecessary packaging to the recycling bin- it will satisfyingly be a lot.
11. Polish your shelves and admire them:
11. Arrange things as they suit you best, giving it some thought, and taking care to not put too much weight on any one shelf.
12. Now all of your things will shine. It is surprising how this enhances your every day.
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