I decided to reclaim my kitchen this morning. I'd been avoiding it due to the counters covered in donated vegetables and baking ingredients that couldn't fit in the overcrowded fridge and cupboards. What was causing the overcrowding, you ask?
4 ketchup bottles
3 milk jugs
2 mustard bottles
2 mayo containers
5 various bread products
so many left overs that the container drawer is near empty!
I could continue, but my minimalist soul has already suffered enough.
Furthermore, there has not been any pizza in my kitchen for weeks and anything that is not pizza makes me want to hurl (that would make more sense if you knew we were expecting again, but we haven't made that announcement so this non-announcement will have to do). I haven't even mentioned the layer of grease that is covering all the dishes because without hot water and soap, you cannot cut through grease. You'd avoid your kitchen if it were fraught with these problems too.
But alas, it could be avoided no longer. I found a place for everything and put everything in it's place and am breathing much easier now because of it (deep, rib-rising breaths because that's the kind that close ab muscles which 4 babies have separated, apparently).
Other kitchen frustrations: my only paring knife and 6 of 8 dish rags have disappeared. I've gotten used to having a scavenger hunt before cooking, but it usually only takes a few minutes for the other-placed item to appear. These things have been missing for days. I can hear the first world problem in my explanation of how cloths are used in this house: these are only for cleaning dishes, those are only for cleaning bodies, those are for cleaning anything else. We had the same issue with soaps a few weeks ago and it has yet to be resolved. Yes, you must use soap AND hot water to wash dishes. No, dish soap doesn't go in the spray mop.
Sigh.
Combining families and cultures is...not dull. ;)
**
This whole post might not make sense if you didn't already know that we are hosting a family of asylum-seekers. I wrote part 1 of the story here and was interviewed on Dwell Happy's blog here.
4 ketchup bottles
3 milk jugs
2 mustard bottles
2 mayo containers
5 various bread products
so many left overs that the container drawer is near empty!
I could continue, but my minimalist soul has already suffered enough.
Furthermore, there has not been any pizza in my kitchen for weeks and anything that is not pizza makes me want to hurl (that would make more sense if you knew we were expecting again, but we haven't made that announcement so this non-announcement will have to do). I haven't even mentioned the layer of grease that is covering all the dishes because without hot water and soap, you cannot cut through grease. You'd avoid your kitchen if it were fraught with these problems too.
But alas, it could be avoided no longer. I found a place for everything and put everything in it's place and am breathing much easier now because of it (deep, rib-rising breaths because that's the kind that close ab muscles which 4 babies have separated, apparently).
Other kitchen frustrations: my only paring knife and 6 of 8 dish rags have disappeared. I've gotten used to having a scavenger hunt before cooking, but it usually only takes a few minutes for the other-placed item to appear. These things have been missing for days. I can hear the first world problem in my explanation of how cloths are used in this house: these are only for cleaning dishes, those are only for cleaning bodies, those are for cleaning anything else. We had the same issue with soaps a few weeks ago and it has yet to be resolved. Yes, you must use soap AND hot water to wash dishes. No, dish soap doesn't go in the spray mop.
Sigh.
Combining families and cultures is...not dull. ;)
**
This whole post might not make sense if you didn't already know that we are hosting a family of asylum-seekers. I wrote part 1 of the story here and was interviewed on Dwell Happy's blog here.
Congrats on the family expansion project!! And while I am not as minimalist as you, I think sharing a kitchen is probably the part I would struggle the most with in terms of sharing a house with another family. Many blessings of patience, grace and understanding on all parties as you continue to do this important (and hard work). Your actions matter and are making a difference.
ReplyDeleteCousin Abby
Thanks for the encouragement, Abby! <3
DeleteNever a dull moment at your house! I enjoy hearing how life in a blended/extended family is going. Congratulations on the newest extension!
ReplyDeleteThis week our sparrows washed dishes with Murphy's Oil Soap. We are going through a bottle of ketchup every two weeks. We've had eggs and beans two nights running. And someone is hiding the mangoes.
ReplyDeleteOh golly! Haha and you've been instructing in proper soaps a good many months longer than us! Helps to hear the confusion is not unique!
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