Filling Spaces and Food Storage

 

The other day Richard said we needed some food storage items and asked what kind of food my mom had in our pantry as I was growing up. Aside from the 200 pounds of wheat (or whatever it was) mom had canned tomatoes, apricots and other bottled products.  She tried so hard to build her RS empire.

It was probably 20 years later when we were told that if wheat is not a household staple, probably it would not be a good storage item.  It was recommended that we store what we already eat.  So Richard purchased a lot of canned products, pasta and beans.  He purchased items on Friday and yesterday we tackled the back room to rotate all new items purchased behind what was already there. 

I think we must have spent three hours or so arranging not only the food itself but the shelving units.  We assigned Jaime to take things to each shed and rearrange the game area.  We also got rid of some glued puzzle pictures and replaced each with a clock that looks like a big key and her graduation photo.

We are finished with the food, I think.  But still have odds and ends on the table that will need a home.  But we had to break for lunch and haven’t returned as we are each exhausted.  But there is no law that says we need to have it all done right now.  There’s always tomorrow.  Why not spread the fun out into this coming week?

Grocery Shopping

          Going shopping is always a major ordeal – no matter what kind of shopping it is.  Jenna tolerates shopping at best.  I loathe it.  Clothes shopping, home improvement, groceries . .  I hate them all.  Roland, on the other hand, loves to shop.  When he as at a store, he believes the clock stops and takes his sweet time reading every ingredient .  I wish he was as conscience about reading the price and comparing it to our budget.  I often do go shopping with him just to make certain he doesn’t overspend. 

         

          Once the groceries are purchased there is the matter of packing them into the car – and if they don’t all fit in the trunk, they get to ride on the back seat of our car – often next to Jenna who usually does her best to get out of going with us – but sometimes it is her that tags along with Roland while I stay home.

          Pulling into the driveway means the biggest ordeal of our grocery shopping is near its end – but is often more time consuming than the shopping itself:  Putting the Groceries Away

                            This is our routine:

          Roland will take them out of the trunk and back seat and bring them as far as the front deck.  Jenna than has the honor and privilege of taking them from the porch to the kitchen table (or drop off on the couch if food is going into the pantry or non –food items are going into a different room) and I get to put them away.  Slice open the packaging so we won’t have to do so later on (although I did leave both cartons of egg nog in the box and left the plastic on the eggs as there are over 2 dozen exposed eggs on top) and repackage meat if necessary.

          More than half our purchase was for food storage.  Roland assigned Jenna that job.  Lucky her.  We had just gone through the pantry the other day and I wrote down all of the items that were on the shelf and made a list.  I added to the list after the groceries were put away – I don’t know how accurately.  I guessed at the number of bottles or cans came in each case because it didn’t say on the receipts.  Oh, what fun!