Monday, February 21, 2022

Going Back To Normal - Pantry Edition

 Can we please normalize the pantry?

I enjoy IG, I like quite a few folks on it.

I learn a lot on favorite sites.

But when I see over and over these massive walk in pantries

where these young/youngish gals are showing pantries

that are larger than my kids rooms were, and many are

not even part of the main kitchen and all the storage that is already in there.

well.... ahem

My home is not small, nor grand, but four of us were just fine here

with a pantry behind a single door. Not a walk in, or designer

but tidy and well, see...




(Don't go counting the cocoas they came in sets lol)

With a little thought and organization there is far more than a months worth

of food in here. I will eventually repaint in here I think, as I never painted

the extra shelves I added when we moved in, and it would be fun to see some color.

That will be the extent of my redesign after 29 years. 

Because you can afford it, does not necessarily

 mean you should have it, or do it, or buy it.

Wants are not needs.

There is a young couple on IG

redoing an older home on their own and when they showed

their beautiful new double doored pantry cupboard they received numerous DMS 

and snarky comments about

how small it was. Those folks expected they should

 have blown out more walls or added on another room.

Adding on a 2nd bathroom when you have 6 people 

living under one roof ? If you can, yes.

But spending tens of thousands of dollars to be able 

to store a years worth of food, or show off  pretty containers?


I so admire the tiny house movement and if I could park one anywhere in CA 

near the kids that was affordable it would already be done.

If I could have downsized from my current home and afforded a small place here or CA,

it would have been done. But since I sacrificed

 and budgeted like a mad woman and paid off my home in nine years

 it made sense to stay put until I can't any longer. 

Climate, raw material usage, and trash floating islands in our seas?

Threats of dissolution of democracy, if not war; for me, would be a deterrent

to such expense etc. But that's just me I suppose. My age is showing.


Now because I've droned on about that, and because our temps

plummeted - here's a fun quick soup

on constant rotation in my house.


1 roasted chicken  meat removed
( I only had  TJ's meat today so I used that but flavor is better from store/home roasted)
4 cups or two cans of chicken broth
( you see 2 cartons because 1 was already opened)
2 cans cannellini beans
( I drain and rinse)
1 can or 1 3/4 cup water 
1/2 jar of Salsa Verde
Cilantro if desired

Heat it all up and let simmer a bit so 
chicken absorbs some of the other flavors.
I add fresh chopped cilantro to taste at the very end,
but if you hate, forget it.

Now you can add tortilla strips or roasted corn, whatever 
floats your boat. 
Today I did a dollop of sour cream




Z

BTW -Finished up rows on quilt
now to join in stars and make a plan for completion WOOT!

and every night I put away Walter's toys
When I awake, I find 


Remember he goes to sleep under my covers 
before I even fall asleep. 
He is there when I awake. 

Does he sleep walk  play?











5 comments:

TheCrankyCrow said...

Oh heavens....I usually start off commenting about blog posts somewhat in the same order of the subjects posted about, but I can't stop laughing about Walter and his toys. I'd be so tempted to set up some kind of surveillance for a night or two just to find out what that little guy does. It would make me smile first thing every morning. I have a somewhat similar issue (although not quite as humorous). I have 2 cats and they are not allowed on, nor do they go on the counters...while I am awake at least. They both sleep with me and go to bed when I do, and, like Walter, are (again, usually) there every morning when I wake. But...most often something that was on the counter when I go to bed is no longer on the counter when I get up...it's on the floor and usually in a different room...if not disappeared altogether. As for the pantry...I agree with all you said (and yours looks amazingly well-organized...but I would have expected nothing less from Z)... And funny, after 25 years in this house, we finally remodeled and added on (it was TINY)...but still no formal pantry. Probably because I didn't think about it and was hurried through the entire project, but I make do with the cupboard space...It won't be prettily organized like yours...and not as user-friendly, but it is what it is. ~Robin~ (PS...I wasn't counting cocoa....likely because yours comes in packaging I don't recognize...but I do recognize the Jello boxes. What the heck do you do with all that Jello? LOL. I don't think I've bought a box in a year or better.)

susan hemann said...

Honestly, I'm so glad you talked about pantries and more! I remember when I was a young adult living in a small house and I was grateful.
Pantry what pantry?
It's criminal and sad what social media has done to wants. Keeping up with the Joneses!
I own my condo, paid off. My pantry is a small closet (coat closet).
I have extras in my bedroom closet, the large things. I could eat for a year too. Having enough food, however, the storage, was a lesson I learned from my mother and grandmother.
I have cut back on my viewing time on Instagram. I also unfollowed quite a few people, only keeping my favorites

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...


Hmmm... the toy thing, that's interesting. Does he sneak out and come back? kinda hilarious!

We have the big pantry, but only because we build for a living so it's very doable. I grew up in an old farm house and all we had was the kitchen cabinets and fridge - no extra closet even. It worked fine.

Kit said...

Great topic! My pantry is my regular cupboard. I never had any room for one. So I shop once a week. Being an introvert, it is good for me to get out, even if I am only talking to the guy who loads my groceries...lol Some days we wake and the living room floor is covered in pom poms. We never even hear her playing. 😊 Kit

Colleen MacKinnon; Penny Rugs and More said...

Good rant, I feel much the same way. I had a pantry just slightly larger than yours in our old house and thought I had died and gone to heaven. Now here in the townhouse, barely enough space in one cupboard. I long for more and then think, nope...it's a want not a need! Exactly as you say. I need to clear out my tiny freezer and use up the food I have, I am curbing waste and think about our planet often. Yes, maybe it's age, wisdom, less needs.

Well that Walter sure is a stinker! Too funny!