The skeletons in my cupboard (expiration dates and rancid nuts)

Last night I purged and reorganized our microwave cabinet, the spice/canned goods/oil and vinegar cupboard, and the dishes cupboard.

I found a Costco-sized bag of raw almonds hidden away behind other stuff, rancid. When will we learn? Almonds seem to go rancid easily. What a waste of money!

I also got rid of some kind of Trader Joe's sauce (pecadillo?) that had an expiration date of 2005!!! How did I miss that last year? (Guess I didn't look at the date and still thought I would use it.)

I also found some kind of Indian marinade without a date on it, but I know we've had it in the cupboard for years. Out it went. I don't think it would have harmed us if we had used it (my oldest son is very concerned about expiration dates, though!), but it was time to go. We tend to keep our herbs and spices past their best times...and I know they lose their potency, but I don't think they do us any harm. I'm too thrifty to throw everything away.

I have a bag of culinary lavendar I bought a few years ago at the Farmer's Market. I used it once to make raspberry-lavendar muffins, but they were disappointing. Wondering what I will do with this lavendar or if I should dispose of it.

Maybe I will really get my kitchen organized in January after all!

What's lurking in the cupboards...

I still haven't completely given up on my focus on the kitchen in January. It's still January, right?

Last night I tackled one of the kitchen cupboards. I didn't take before-and-after photos because I thought I had done that last year...but it appears that I didn't. :) Oh well. It was the cupboard containing baking staples, rice and pasta, Japanese foodstuffs, lentils, dried fruits and nuts, etc.

I found FOUR unopened packages of this: Bob's Red Mill gluten-free pancake mix. I combined them all into a ziploc bag and will store it in the freezer. Just goes to show what gets hidden in jumbled cupboards. I got rid of a variety of other items too--prunes that were too dried out to be edible, wild rice that had never been eaten, root beer extract that we've had for years and have never used, etc.

Onward!

One simple work organizing task, used with great success so far

I'm reading an unfortunately named book this week, Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy.

Three of the simple principles of Tracy's I've put in place this week, two days in a row so far:

• I'm starting out each day by making a list. It's simple--in MS Word, with four columns: priority, task, due date, and status. The next day I dupe and revise the same list (and delete what I've accomplished the previous day).
• I am prioritizing the items A, B, C, D, or E. Tracy recommends that you not do ANY "B" items until you accomplish all of your "A" items. This is based on the principle that you must do the important things first (hence the title and unfortunate image about eating the frog). Obviously, as the days pass, some of the B items will move up to become A items. (By the way, "D" stands for delegate, and "E" stands for eliminate.)
• When I have another task to accomplish, I add it to the list. He recommends not doing anything that is not on your list. Clearly, I've got to use some judgment. I wouldn't get much done if I had to write down every little e-mail before I responded to it.

So far, these techniques are helping me stay on task. I've always been a list lover...but I do have a tendency to get distracted from my goals, so this is helping me stay focused.

I have to confess that writing this blog post was NOT on my list. It was a 5-minute distraction. So back on focus!

I'm certainly not giving up my comforter!

Take a gander at this completely ridiculous article in the Wall Street Journal, no less.

The author, Sara Ruffin Costello, proposes that we all throw out our comforters and replace them with blankets.

HELLO? It's the bleak midwinter in most of the country! Where does Costello live? Even Florida is experiencing record-low temps right now.

As Costello writes, "Many aesthetes have been reconsidering the down comforter, some banishing it altogether." A set of sheets and a "coverlet" (such a snob...) just do not do it during the cold weather.

And I've never had a smelly comforter. Makes me wonder what on earth she has done to hers.

Her last words are that "Housekeeper or not, I shan't be revisiting my ex, Duvet, unless I find myself in a house without heat." Ironically, the link to the article right below this one is titled "See Energy Steps to Take for a Less Pricey Winter." How about using a fluffy, warm comforter instead of a thin blanket?

P.S. Just took a peek on Google for the author. Apparently she and her hubby put their VERY STYLISH west village townhouse on the market earlier this year for $13 million. Now, does this look like a warm, cozy, inviting bed? I think not.

Never empty a dirty dishwasher (or load a clean one) again!

Do you ever empty the dishwasher when it is dirty or load clean dishes into a dirty dishwasher? I'm notorious for it! We have a very small dishwasher, and we rinse our dishes pretty thoroughly before we load them in.

I absolutely LOVE this tip found at parenthacks.com and have already passed it along to Mike. I'm hoping he can remember to apply it!! It is so simple, you'll wonder why you didn't think of it yourself:

When you empty the dishwasher, refill the detergent cup. If you open the dishwasher and see soap, you'll know the dishes are dirty. If there is no soap, they are clean.

20 iPhone apps to help you get organized!

I joined the iPhone revolution last summer after some initial skepticism. What made me take the plunge was that my company changed its cell phone policy and began requiring employees to take on their own cell phone accounts. (Previously I had a BlackBerry.) In addition, I wanted to have a way to combine my iPod with my cell phone, plus have enough memory to keep all my music on one device. (I couldn't do this before with my iPod Nano.) When the iPhone 4s came out, the prices for 3GS phones began to come down. Now I have a 16-GB iPhone 3GS.

Because I'm so cheap, I haven't purchased many iPhone apps--I tend to go for the free ones. About the only ones I've bought have been BlogPress and Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. I'm using a free iPhone app to record what I eat--it's called "Lose It!"

So I'm always on the lookout for great free apps that will help me become more organized. Working Mother magazine has just released its "20 Best iPhone Apps," many of which I've uploaded. CardStar lets you store loyalty and library cards in one place, and Tango Card keeps track of your various gift card balances (and reminds you to use them)!

The one I think I'm most excited about the app that allows you to take photos of your sales receipts, Shoeboxed. I can't stand the amount of paperwork we seem to collect in our house, so this could go a long way toward eliminating that.

Making effective new year's resolutions

Happiness Project author Gretchen Rubin provides some excellent pointers on how to make effective new year's resolutions on her blog.

I like the way she thinks. She suggests that we think about what would make us happier. Fortunately, the resolutions I've already made (record what I eat and spend, paint my bathroom and other rooms in my house, write more personal notes and birthday cards, try to be more patient and loving with my family) all would make me much happier. And ultimately, getting my life organized both at home and at work--and living more intentionally at all times--would definitely make me happier!