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My cats, Spirit in particular, had a real problem with my behavior late last night. What kept her sitting on the staircase and meowing for a couple of hours? Or Beauty darting in and out, up and down, trying to figure out what was going on?
I decided to clean the pantry.
This might sound like normal behavior given it's spring and we're hosting my family's Easter celebration, but I'm not a cleaner. No one would ever accuse me of having an ounce of Domestic Goddess running through my veins. But I'd finished a chapter on the proposal and something took hold of me. An alien, a specter of a housekeeper, who knows? But I set to work.
What spurred this into action was a simple Ikea bookcase. I purchased it early in the week for my cookbooks which I kept in the pantry. I wanted them out of there so I could have more room for food. My recent Costco purchases were piling up on the pantry floor!
So I grabbed a screwdriver and set to work on the bookcase. I could only get so far (the screws just wouldn't go in) so hubby took over. I then organized all my cookbooks! Best part, they all fit. I got the small Billy Bookcase in a cherry wood finish.
With the cookbooks in their own place now, I took a good look at the other shelves and realized I had a big problem. My pantry became the catch all for things when I wasn't sure where to put them. Stuff that really didn't belong in a pantry so I had to find places for those things which meant organizing cupboards in addition to the pantry. The cats and dog weren't sure what had gotten into me, but neither did my hubby. He was, in a word, amazed, and soon joined in.
As I mentioned yesterday, I used to be big into couponing. Well, I learned last night without some semblance of organization, food will go bad. I couldn't believe how much was expired, everything from spices to canned food to cold medicine. Thank goodness most of that stuff was practically free!
Little Beauty was right there the entire time, even sharing the step stool with me. At one point, she was half-asleep, but her kitten curiosity kept her front and center where the action was instead of leading her to her cat tree or bed on the hearth.
But today, on this Good Friday, I know my efforts were worth the late night. Things are organized and I still have lots of room! And I can't wait to reward myself with some chocolate on Easter morning.
