Labor Day “Fun”

I have spent today, Labor Day, doing some much-needed labor in my kitchen.

Here is what I did:

1) Cleared out the refrigerator and got rid of all those bottles of extras that have been there way too long. I then cleaned the shelves and drawers for a fresh start. I threw away cough syrup dated 2009. Even I won’t use that and I’m of the school that thinks those expiration dates can be stretched a bit. But not five years. 2) Reorganized the freezer and decided to thaw a couple of things that will be good this week to eat and make my life easer. I also washed down the walls and the shelves. I found some frozen shrimp that I don’t remember buying. I’m wondering if one of the girls bought it when visiting. Oh well, we will enjoy that little delicacy in the next week or so. 3) Tackled the much-dreaded plastic container cupboard, culling all plastic containers without lids. I also collected one whole set with lids and boxed it up to go up to Ojai for our meals up there. (Yes, this cupboard was ridiculously full.) Also, I washed off the shelves and stacked all the containers so that they can actually be used since they all now have their lids. I’ve been avoiding this job for a while, but today was the day to get rid of all of those extra containers whose lids have been carried out to the backyard by Cordelia over the past couple of years. 4) Cleaned and organized every drawer and cupboard in the kitchen, including underneath the sink.

I won’t bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that I worked steadily from 11 am until 5:30 pm except for 1 hour off for a quick bite to eat and an involuntary nap.

So now my kitchen is clean inside and out and I feel extremely happy about that. Honestly, the last time I did this much focused cleaning in the kitchen was when we had it painted a few years back. From then to now, I’ve tackled little targeted jobs, but have not gone on a deep cleaning binge. The surfaces and floors are cleaned once a week, but that is different from pulling everything out from under the sink and getting on your hands and knees to reach back into those dark corners.

I am tired but feel pleased. I can say without a doubt my kitchen is as clean as it can be at least for today, which is a good beginning for the fall season. This was a “fall” cleaning instead of its spring counterpart. Certainly, high time.

You might protest that this was not a fun way to spend a holiday. I understand your logic, but I could argue that having an uninterrupted stretch of hours to take care of something that’s been nagging at me for a quite a while brings a fair degree of happiness. Maybe not classic fun, but fun nonetheless!

I hope to keep all those plastic containers under control at least for a while.

I guess it doesn’t hurt to dream…