I recently bought a set of storage canisters for my flour, sugar, etc.
Somehow, this makes me feel like a real woman.
When I first set up house, I thought I was too good for Tupperware. Not Tupperware in general (I actually sold it for a while after college and was rather obsessed with it) . . . but too good for Tupperware as canisters.
I thought that as a part of a new generation of appreciative-of-beauty-and-style-in-every-facet-of-life women, I would have pretty glass canisters sitting on my counter.
Obviously, this was also when I was still living in slob-denial. I thought that once I was married, and then once I had kids . . . my counters would stay magically clear at all times.
Instead, my glass containers were generally spotted with cooking splatters . . . and hidden behind piles of who-knows-what.
As I’ve worked on this deslobification process, I’ve managed to get the hang of cleared counters a little better.
But it’s too late. My glass containers are long gone, decluttered in an I-just-can’t-do-this-anymore moment, and I’ve learned to love my free-of-fru-fru counter tops anyway.
Because of my artsy-canister-failure, I thought for years that I couldn’t handle canisters of any sort.
Honestly, I didn’t think I deserved them. I know it doesn’t make sense, but looking back, that’s how it was.
So many failed attempts at organizing kept me from even trying.
But recently, I decided that I wanted some. I feel that I’m ready for the responsibility of transferring flour from its package into a container.
Every time.
It’s a commitment, I know.
I bought the canisters a few weeks ago. I washed them last week. I dreaded putting them to use.
Why?
Bugs.
About a month ago, I called an exterminator because I was seeing little tiny bugs. The treatment helped, but I’ve started seeing them again. I put one in a baggie and the bug man took it to his entomologist (can you imagine having that job?).
He said it was a pantry beetle. It probably got into the house in something we had purchased . . . like flour, rice, or oatmeal.
I was petrified to go searching. My skin crawled every time I thought about finding a big moving pile of these teeny bugs.
But today, I did it. I started in the cabinet that held the things I wanted to transfer to canisters anyway.
I decluttered this cabinet about a year ago, so it’s not that bad.
For me.
I looked inside every bag of something-or-other, and stared for a moment to see if I saw anything moving. I threw out two partial bags of flour and some sugar.
I never found a big mass of the bugs, but on my rice bag, the one we heat up in the microwave instead of a heating pad, I found several. I took it outside and banged it around until they were all off, but then I saw that there was a loose seam where others could easily have gotten inside.
I decided to throw it away. I almost cried.
After I took everything out, I scrubbed out the cabinet, reasoning that I’d rather drown the bugs than smush them.
Because I had decluttered pretty well a while back, I didn’t get rid of too much.
Just the air popper (I’ve recently re-discovered the joy of stove-popped popcorn), and a mini-muffin tin. I have a bigger mini-muffin tin, and since I don’t use either one, I thought I probably shouldn’t keep them both.
I chose to keep the fryer, even though we haven’t used it since the last time I decluttered. We rarely fry anything, but when hubby does want to fry fish . . . . it’s nice to have. Of course, according to the instructions I found, it’s
Whatever.
After I trashed quite a bit of brown sugar and powdered sugar that had been in there for a very long while (evidently from the days when I thought I was a baker), I had room to move my rarely-used cooling racks into that space, removing them from the drawer under the oven. I’m so excited about this, as that drawer has been overfull for a long time, and was difficult to close.
In the end, I was pleased with my grown-up-looking cabinet.
Because I used to be the Tupperware Lady, I not only have heard, but have given the speech about how bugs come home with you in your packages from the store, and if you store your food in airtight containers, they suffocate and die.
Die, bugs, die.
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Check out my Decluttering page to see more of my decluttering projects and read what I’ve learned (from way too much experience) about how to declutter.
I’ll be linking this up to Orgjunkie.com‘s 52 Weeks of Organizing.
My family tends to give me a hard time (jokingly – I think – LOL) about all of my containers for dry goods. I'll be sure to direct them to this post as self defense in the future! LOL
Good job switching everything to canisters. Once you get into the habit – you'll see it's easy to maintain. I bought myself a set of plastic containers in 1992 when I got my first apartment and they still function as my "baking" canisters today.
Much easier to pour a bag of flour into a container than to deal with the bugs that might come out of it later!!
Eww about the bugs. I keep all sorts of things in canisters but there are probably a few things that should be in canisters that aren't. Thinking I should remedy that soon.
I really, really need to declutter my house. When it gets to the point that I feel cleaning is pointless, it's time to let go of a lot of things. The hard part for me is going through stuff because I talk myself back into it.
Ugh on pantry moths! I have a girlfried that had them and she had a heck of a time getting rid of them. She eventually had to get rid of everything boxed and bagged. Canned goods were the only safe thing to keep.
I do know that putting stuff that can bring in the buggers is to put it in the freezer first.
ok I never knew that was why you were supposed to use containers. I just use them because my mom did! Yikes! I've got empty containers because I thought it was silly to be transferring everything all the time. When I get home, the brown sugar will be frozen and then containerized!
Oh, and at one point in high school I wanted to BE an entomologist. Then I discovered that your main career options were forensic, crop research, and the guys on TV who crawl through dead trees in the rain forest, getting eaten up trying to identify new bugs. No thanks. I still love butterflies, though, just no money to be made there…
Just popping over to get to know you and your blog today…love your writing style and I actually gleaned a few tips to get me a little more organized.
My Tupperware lids are starting to crack and I am thinking about going to a totally different container. I like the looks of yours. We four men in my house I have to store lots of food in the pantry and there isn't much time for bugs. 🙂
I think that is a good thing. Adding you to my Google Reader.
I use containers, too. But I keep my flours in the refrigerator (I have an extra one in the basement) as another line of defense from the bugs.
I have my Tupperware canisters for about 15 years now! They last forever, I am sure you know that! Way to be a "grown-up even tho I think you may be one already! Happy Organizing!
Okay…um…I'm sorry, but it is not much of a consolation to think that I could find DEAD bugs in my sugar instead of LIVE ones. I mean, yes, less freaky but still – BUGS?! In my FOOD?! Yuck. Double yuck.
I have always used canisters, because I just thought it's what you're supposed to do. But you're right – they do get filthy sitting up on the counter like that. Also, I don't put brown sugar or powdered sugar in canisters. Those stay in the bags and then go in freezer bags. You know, to kill the bugs?
🙂
Ew! Never heard about the bugs in bags. I'm about ready to go get some canisters myself. I will feel like a big girl once I do too, don't worry, I feel like it is a big step too. I'm about ready to tackle our pantry this week. Hope I have a great success like you!
Ewww! Just reading this makes me want to go throw away everything in my pantry that's been opened – ick, ew, yuck!!!
Very cute post other than the bugs 🙂
I am participating in the 52 Weeks of Organizing Challenge as well. I have found it very motivating to tackle some problem area each week. Yuck – there's few things as icky as bugs in one's kitchen! I've been told to freeze grains for 24 hours to kill bugs before storage. When I was doing a lot of cooking with brown rice, I used to do that.
Samantha
Ack it is very gross to think about bugs coming home in my flour and sugar! I don't have a freezer big enough to freeze it either.
I store pasta and cereal in my pantry, and this post makes me want to go put it all in airtight containers!
Dead bugs inside my food packages…… nasty!
We Americans are so squeamish about bugs, but for many people, they’re an important protein source and are often a delicacy!
The reality is that we *all* eat bugs!
To keep from growing more bugs once food is in your house, here’s some good advice: http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Weevils-(Flour-Bugs)
BTW, I am on day 6 of a major de-cluttering effort. I’m a borderline hoarder and can’t drive past a big pile of stuff on the side of the road without stopping to glean. But enough is enough. It’s seriously affecting the quality of my life. So I’ve been priming myself for months, reading lots of blogs and working on changing my mindset to a mimimalist orientation.
I am now on a rampage. Donated over 600 books to the library for their annual sale, gave bunk beds & tons of linens to a family of 8 who were taking in two nephews (all kids under the age of 9!!!), gave away two recliners, bookcases, twenty (!!!) bags of clothes, 30 pairs of shoes that my feet outgrew years ago, duplicate pots & pans, dishes, etc, etc, etc.
What’s astounding is how much stuff there still is. And from the sound of it, I’m not the only one with too much stuff. If we could evenly distribute our stuff around the world, we could clothe and furnish everyone!!!
Okay… gotta get back to it. This is the last day of my “vacation” (I was supposed to go to the beach with a group of people, but this became higher priority).
Carol that is amazing! Well done you! How did you change your mindset from hoarder to purger? I ask because I have a family member drowning in clutter & won’t get rid of even a little bit. So I was fascinated by your comment & amazing turnaround.
Love from the UK x
I guess that I’m going to come across a lot of “I’m planning to do that!” posts, but… I’m planning to do that! I have a gluten allergy so I don’t have one flour, I have about a dozen to blend. And I just emptied two deep kitchen drawers (onto my currently decommissioned dining room table) so I can repurpose one as GF flours in canning jars and one as baby kitchen gear. After I finish the master bedroom disaster zone, and get the new shelves put up in the basement.
Thanks for the inspiration, and my dawning realization that decluttering AND cleaning are ongoing processes.
You can put unused flour (that’s still in the bag) in the freezer to keep bugs out. I have Tupperware canisters and put my extra flour in the freezer.
I am reading all the links under the post on “How to declutter your Kitchen” Thank yo so much for the list of lings below the post! This one is awesome…. I am confused how I didn’t know that killed the bugs that are in there…. I am a bit horrifide. I have always used canisters because I thought that kept out the bugs….. Now I know why those specialty flours we have tried at times had bugs, because I didn’t have canisters ear marked for them…. yuck….
I use old Mason jars, left over from a project, to store my rice, barley, oat bran, etc. I also use some cleaned glass jars from mayonnaise, instant coffee, pickles, etc. Freezer bags around my noodle bags as an extra layer.
A few years ago I discovered that my pantry moths were coming mostly from my raisins, which were just in the cardboard canister they came in. I now bag that in a freezer bag as well.
This happened to me yesterday! Having read this post years ago meant that I didn’t freak out nearly as much as I might have done, and now I have a grown-up baking cupboard too. Thank you!
My Mom always put the flour in the deep freeze for a day or 2 when she bought it. Freeze the bugs!