I have been dithering about the kitchen decluttering again. Dithering isn't much help unless the good Lord decides to drop something revelatory on me in the middle of my dither..........
I have my dining room table covered in pots and pans and lids. My first act was to match up all the pots with their lids. Then I noticed the lids were kind of yucky. So, they all are getting washed. I'll do a second load today. Then I realized that the bottoms of the cupboards in the back, is the place where most of the easily donatable stuff lives. It is, however, the place hardest for me to get to. Getting down on the floor is both painful and scary. There is the ongoing challenge of getting back up once I've gotten down there. I really don't want to starve or die from dehydration right there in the middle of my kitchen.
After much thought I had just about decided to skip looking at the stuff in the back of the bottoms of the cupboards. On these bottom cabinets, there are two shelves. The top shelves slide out. But the bottoms are stationary. Maybe I could just go through the things I could reach easily and hope to get the remainder of the bottom cabinets sometime later when I'm stronger.
Then came the revelation. I was trying to reach something difficult in the garage the other day. When I couldn't I grabbed one of Joe's golf clubs. I managed to use the golf club as if it were a long-handled hook and my problem in the garage was solved. The revelation is to try the golf club trick on those bottom cabinets. I'm betting it's gonna work...........Stay tuned for an update.
Okay, do you think people would think it's crazy to have a golf club in your kitchen? Well, that means either people are gonna think I'm crazy or they're going to adjust! Yes, I really DO have a golf club in my kitchen and it's a BIG help. I've used it to clear out the backs of two shelves in there so far. I've filled up two brown paper grocery bags in the last two days. I donated 12 pie plates and I'm still wondering if I kept too many, LOL. I also donated my waffle maker. I may have used it once or twice in the 30 years I've owned this place, but, for sure, not in the last 20 years. I kinda don't think I'll miss it. I should have donated a springform pan, but I kept two. I may end up getting sensible on that and deciding to only keep one. We'll see. Donated a microwaveable bundt type pan and numerous little kitchen gadgets.
Haven't made the final decision on the pots and pans yet. I have gotten rid of a steamer pan and a pan designed for poaching eggs. I've never used the steamer pan so I won't miss it. As for the poaching pan, I had totally forgotten I owned it so I'm pretty sure I won't mourn about it being gone. Besides, way back when, when I did use it, it was a demon to clean.
With the pots and pans, there are two main puzzles. The first puzzle is with regard to 3 large skillet type pans. They are all 3 about the same size except that one is much deeper. In other words, you could fry up some beef and have plenty of room in the pan to put together a stroganoff sauce without spilling. Of the other two, the primary difference between them is that one has two handles and the other only one. Cooking for one, I surely do not need three of these pans. The other mystery concerns two large 5 or 6 qt stockpots. One is one of those pasta pots that was so well advertised on TV a number of years ago. The other is just an ordinary stock pot but much better quality. One of those is gonna go; I'm just not sure which one........(Probably the pasta pot.)
So far, I have gone through all the bottom cabinets but one. I still have one upper cabinet to go. And, I've been through all the drawers. And, of course, I have to make the final cut on the pots and pans. Darn, I almost managed to forget I also have to do the upper cabinet that will require me to climb. I chickened out when it's turn came up so now I'll have to circle back. Anyway, then there are 3 open shelves that contain dry goods. Mostly, as best as I can figure it, that will require wiping down the shelves and searching for duplicates that I can combine somehow to save space and sanity. And I have shelves in a bay window, mostly used for mugs and cups. I foresee many of those going away. I have 4 favorite mugs, giant things, I use over and over. There are probably 6 large mugs I don't use and at least a dozen odd mugs, various souvenirs, etc., that are never used. It seems better to make them available to someone who will use them.
I had a client help me get the bigger of the 2 dog beds I inherited when I got Alissa out of the house. I just put it on the curb, hoping someone would want it and would quietly take it home with them. No such luck. I felt bad about ditching it but, by today's standards, it made the master bedroom feel minuscule. I lived in fear of stumbling over it in the middle of the night on the way to the bathroom. It ate up a major portion of the walking space at the foot of the bed.............
That's it for now. See ya later.......
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