Time management - cooking, cleaning, and exercise

kkrish · Nov 16, 2016

Good morning
.
Yesterday I started on the next shelf of my pantry and again discarded many items. Put back all the items and added them to the list.
You must be wondering why the list. Will let you know soon. I want it to serve two purposes.
This evening I will complete the pantry.

************
The project for the next few days or till is completed is to organize my kitchen. Here I am applying, not following, but applying FlyLady's one-week a room approach.
Only, I am going to take as much time to get the kitchen organized completely before moving to another part of the home.
*************
As I am cleaning out the pantry shelves, I am going to move on to another small project that is kitchen related.

I will create a master list of all the groceries I need for my family, MS Word/Excel. Just the basic needs; not items that I plan to make some exotic dish some day.

Will tape the print out in my kitchen where it is easily seen.

See you soon. Best wishes.

Madhumagie · Nov 16, 2016

hi Ma'am

Can you please post your groceries master list , so that i can plan one like that if not exactly the same

I too started with the kitchen yesterday , i cleared one shelf under the cooking slab , but i have stacked my cooking utensils there . i discared few plastic canisters etc, somewhere i had read about plastic less kitchen me too planning one . lets see how much will i be successful in doing a kitchen plastic free in the plastic world

justanothergirl · Nov 16, 2016

As I am cleaning out the pantry shelves, I am going to move on to another small project that is kitchen related.
Click to expand...

I love to bake but find it hard to find time ..which means this in my kitchen....at any point in time there are so many packets of random unfinished ingredients. Its another thing that the one critical ingredient I need to whip up something is usually not there or has expired. Which leads me to the question....how do u keep inventory with expiry dates for a home kitchen or is this an overkill?

Madhumagie · Nov 17, 2016

justanothergirl said: ↑

I love to bake but find it hard to find time ..which means this in my kitchen....at any point in time there are so many packets of random unfinished ingredients. Its another thing that the one critical ingredient I need to whip up something is usually not there or has expired. Which leads me to the question....how do u keep inventory with expiry dates for a home kitchen or is this an overkill?
Click to expand...

Hii
I too have face this sitution before , later through my trial and error method one day it striked .

I come from a middle class family where i cant invest good amount on kitchen storage containers ( i dream of going plastic free kitchen one day ) what i started doing was , collecting jam bottles of 700grms .
In one such bottle i wrote in black marker pen the expiry month would be usually six months and above for baking products i use , wat i did was write the date say 2.2.16 to 2.6.16 ( i have one month waiveable means my marking dates are for 5 months ) in this way i know i should empty the bottle or else watever chota packets lying there will expire , this is how i came out of wasting money on unused baking products. Not only it reminds me to bake at home but also saves my money

everybody have there own ideas of doing it , see if it works for you .

kkrish · Nov 17, 2016

Madhumagie said: ↑

hi Ma'am

Can you please post your groceries master list , so that i can plan one like that if not exactly the same

I too started with the kitchen yesterday , i cleared one shelf under the cooking slab , but i have stacked my cooking utensils there . i discared few plastic canisters etc, somewhere i had read about plastic less kitchen me too planning one . lets see how much will i be successful in doing a kitchen plastic free in the plastic world
Click to expand...

Here you are @Madhumagie

This is just the basics that I need to run my family as of today. You will not see sambar powder, rasam powder, ghee, or garam masala becasue I make them myself as I need them.

Yes, this is all I need. Everything else is for occasional cooking.

kkrish · Nov 17, 2016

justanothergirl said: ↑

I love to bake but find it hard to find time ..which means this in my kitchen....at any point in time there are so many packets of random unfinished ingredients. Its another thing that the one critical ingredient I need to whip up something is usually not there or has expired. Which leads me to the question....how do u keep inventory with expiry dates for a home kitchen or is this an overkill?
Click to expand...

@justanothergirl Oh JAG, you have no idea how happy you made me. I've been thinking I am the only one who buys ingredients with good intentions, while time thinks otherwise and does not let me do them (It's never my fault you see )

I was thinking on similar lines that @Madhumagie suggested.

Actually many years ago I stopped making non-traditional foods.
I often suffer from bouts of frugality and would want to make many things at home. During one such fever, while grocery shopping I was picking some yeast and stuff to make pizza at home.

My husband looks at the shopping cart and asks, "Do you love me?"
I, "Yes..."
Hubby, "Do you love your children?"
I, "Of course I do. How can you even doubt it?"
Hubby, "Then why you deny us good pizza from outside?"
I, quietly put back all the ingredients!

Since then, every time I try a new dish and my hubby starts, "do you love me?" I know that dish will never be cooked at home

Despite that, when my children come home for Christmas they'll buy salsa, sriracha sauce, etc. and I'll buy baking powder, cocoa powder, and stuff for baking - and after they leave these will just sit in my pantry getting stale and rancid. What I threw out Monday (or was it Tuesday?) were all these. I know when the kids come home, fresh ones will come home too.

This time I am not baking though - want to show my family I love them

kkrish · Nov 17, 2016

Madhumagie said: ↑

Hii
I too have face this sitution before , later through my trial and error method one day it striked .

I come from a middle class family where i cant invest good amount on kitchen storage containers ( i dream of going plastic free kitchen one day ) what i started doing was , collecting jam bottles of 700grms .
In one such bottle i wrote in black marker pen the expiry month would be usually six months and above for baking products i use , wat i did was write the date say 2.2.16 to 2.6.16 ( i have one month waiveable means my marking dates are for 5 months ) in this way i know i should empty the bottle or else watever chota packets lying there will expire , this is how i came out of wasting money on unused baking products. Not only it reminds me to bake at home but also saves my money

everybody have there own ideas of doing it , see if it works for you .
Click to expand...

Very good idea @Madhumagie. I'm going to follow this and see. I already do it for my frozen food, but never thought about applying it to these.
Thanks much.

chillbreeze · Nov 17, 2016

Hi all, so much useful info here.

I organised the kitchen last month only..before diwali. I managed to run a load of laundry and make idli batter yesterday evening. Today sorted out some stuff I got last week (like onions, garlic, oats, etc). Yet to arrange the groceries I got last week.

@kkrish I got a new paniyaram pan in cast iron. Can you please tell me how to season it.

My meal plan work is still pending. What I regret is with hectic work healthy living takes a backseat. All I can do at the end of the day is sleep and sleep for 8-8.30 hrs atleast which again delays my next day. This is like a never ending cycle. And on those days that I manage to wake up early, I feel all I do is house work and office work. Its like I go to sleep and in a wink its 6 AM the next day and everything starts all over again with no time for me. Don't know if I am making any sense! Hoping I can use the weekend to prepare whatever I need for easy cooking.

MalStrom · Nov 17, 2016

chithirainilavu said: ↑

Thanks for the lovely suggestions of including colorful veggies kkrish mam.

But kids r not touching country vegetables like Brinjal, Avarakai, Peerkangai(ridge gourd), Any suggestions ?

Nice to see Chillbreeze, Divya here

shara
Click to expand...

Shara,
My mom had the same problem with us when we were little. She would make a very tasty masiyal to disguise the peerkangai, then we would eat. Green beans taste very good when roasted. Perhaps you can try the same with avarakkai or hide it in kootu. My brother adamantly refused to eat regular brinjal curry. He used to call it 'attai poochi' curry. My mom would make baingan bharta with the large brinjals and on occassion my grandmother would make the stuffed brinjal curry with the tiny ones.
Of course after one semester in hostel we started eating everything.