Baby Steps

With all the bad weather this last week, I've had a good opportunity to read many of the other Christian agrarian blogs out there. All I can say is "wow!" Now, I'm a fairly intelligent person, if the numbers are to be believed, but I just don't have the background to address the deeper issues that some of these talented folks do. Over the years, though, I've become certain in my belief that God gives us all gifts, just like His word says He does. So, I'll continue to take baby steps in this adventure of opening my journal to the eyes of the internet.

I've practiced baby steps today. I'm firm in my belief regarding my role as homekeeper and helpmeet for my precious husband, but my human nature often gets in the way of what I know is the right way to conduct my day to day activities. I'm a rotten housekeeper. Once I get started I can do a good job, but I'm usually overwhelmed with all that I need to do. My best move, I've discovered, is to get the kitchen in order. It seems like the heart of the home is the kitchen, and once it's in order I feel much more momentum to conquer the rest of the bedlam that befalls a homestead household. So, this weekend I tackled my kitchen.

I started in the pantry. Hindsight is 20/20 and this is certainly true in homebuilding. David and I built our home together, just the two of us. It's a good home, solid and warm, but my pantry is just way too small. It's 4' x 10' and could easily have been four times that size. I usually clean it out about twice yearly and with the recent ice storms I've been motivated to update my pantry and preparedness lists. I'll be posting those with details of what works for our family soon. Pantry rules that are on my mind:

• Label everything, regardless of how obvious it is what the contents are.
• If you buy store-bought canned goods, look a brand that stacks well. We love the Wylewood brand from Sav-a-lot. The quality is good and the cans will stack 3-, even 4-high.
• Remember the old standby rule: "Store what you use, use what you store."
• For preparedness, consider both staples for cooking from scratch along with a smaller quantity of no-cook or lo-cook items

If you find, during pantry cleaning, that you have lots of things that have gotten lost yet could have been used, consider moving those items to eye level. Although it's logical to have the items you use most in the most accessible place, you should also remember that it's not frugal or self-sufficient to waste food by putting it aside and forgetting it. When I post my pantry list, I'll further discuss my pantry setup and the rationale behind it.

Moving to the kitchen, here's some suggestions that I have found helpful:

• If you have a family of 3, you really don't need place settings for 24. It's only human nature that the more dishes you have, the more you'll dirty before washing them.
• A full sheet of newspaper fits very nicely on the top of most refrigerators. It's not noticeable and has saved me so much time wiping down the greasy dust that accumulates up there.
• Think hard about the electric gadgets you keep in your kitchen. If you don't use them, pass them on. They won't be at all useful if electricity becomes scarce and if they take more time to clean and put away than they save, they're enslaving you. I keep a blender (great for powdering dried onion, garlic and peppers), a food processer, a rice steamer, a crockpot (makes perfect tomato paste) and a great old electric skillet that I probably should give to someone who would use it more than I do. I could easily do without all of them. On the other hand, non-electric helpers I have are a Roma food mill (testing this out to decide if I want to invest in a Squeezo), a #32 meat grinder, a Country Living grain mill, a hand cranked meat slicer, an Enterprise lard press/sausage stuffer, a hundred-year-old apple peeler, and a tortilla press. On my wish list are a cider press with grinder and a good kraut cutter.
• Old tin-plated utensils (food mills, graters, etc) and enamel plated ware are all romantic and served their purpose well, but as much as I love the past I'd recommend replacing these with stainless steel as money becomes available. They'll all rust eventually. Whenever you replace or buy new equipment, buy the very best you can afford. Cheap kitchen equipment costs more in the long run.
  
• If your kitchen isn't working, change it. I'm not a follower of Feng Shui or any of that non-sense, but I do know that sometimes it takes several tries in arranging our homes to get things right. My husband maintains that all furniture should be bolted to the floor and never move, but with gentleness I can usually get him to understand that change can be a positive thing. If you find yourself tense time after time as you get out a certain piece of equipment, or if you find yourself hesitating to wash it and put it up, maybe it isn't in a good place.

"Baby Steps" is a buzzword in online homemaking circles and I'm not much on buzzwords, but sometimes as homesteaders we get overwhelmed and need to do one thing at a time. More news from the kitchen to come.

Blessings to you all,

Judy