Faux Organizing

What do you do when you have just recovered from a bout of illness, clutter has gotten out of hand, AND you are expecting guests for dinner? How about some faux organizing accompanied by some light topical cleaning?

Faux organizing is the term we use for making a defined space look like it is not cluttered, even though there may be lots of chaos under the surface. The way to achieve it is to contain, cover and stow.

Contain those things that are scattered all over the place. For instance, mail my have accumulated on a counter and can be put in a basket on a shelf until after the party. Kids’ toys can be put in a plastic bin in the corner of the family room. Wayward plants can be grouped on a tray.

Cover by shutting all cabinet doors; place other loose items like cosmetics, jewelry, and other miscellaneous items in attractive stackable boxes.

Stow larger items in a closet or room that will not be seen by the guests. I have never met anyone who did not have a secret space they occasionally used for this purpose.

Then, do some basic cleaning. Make sure to dust surfaces and, if necessary, vacuum floors in the rooms that will be used for the gathering. Invest some time in thoroughly cleaning surfaces in the kitchen and bathroom. Sanitize the sinks and toilet bowls.

This routine takes about an hour to complete in an average house. The real trick is to recognize it for what it is—an emergency measure. When the guests leave and your energy returns, take the time to do it right, and find the right system to manage the mail, the toys and whatever else you had to hide.

A space that stays really organized is always easier to put back in order after brief lapses.

Beverly and Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Organize a Picnic

I love picnics—not the kind that you plan for weeks for a hundred people, but the intimate impromptu kind. When my children were small, I kept an insulated bag with plates, napkins, utensils and wet wipes on a shelf. When the weather was good and the kids were antsy, I just had to whip up some food and find some drinks. A ride to a nearby park gave us all a break from the routine. If the weather turned suddenly bad, we would spread a blanket on the floor and picnic in the house.

My favorite adult picnic is crusty bread, cheese, wine and fruit, an easy combo to pull together. I sometimes do this one by myself sitting in a scenic spot and enjoying the fresh air. My grandmother’s picnic lunch was a different story. There was always fried chicken and sometimes ham biscuits, accompanied by potato salad, a green salad and homemade chocolate cake. I think my husband’s early interest in me was sustained by Grandma’s picnic baskets that accompanied us on excursions to the beach.

Whatever you choose for culinary fare, here are some hints for quickly organizing a picnic.

Have a picnic spot in mind before you pack the food and supplies. Determine if you will have to bring along something to sit on or if picnic benches are provided.

A picnic is not a barbecue. Choose finger foods that do not have to be cooked. According to WikiPedia the favorite picnic foods are peanut butter and jelly and ham and cheese sandwiches, chocolate chip cookies, chips and soda. Healthy alternatives include vegetable sticks, string cheese and juice. Include plenty of water to stay hydrated.

Remember non-food supplies. You can count on needing napkins and/or wipes to clean up. Plates and utensils are nice and plastic bags are good for storing items to bring home. You may also need a bottle opener and knife to slice fruit or bread. A trash bag is convenient for quick clean up and disposal.

Protect yourself from nature. Include bug repellant, sunscreen and a lined cloth if you are eating on the ground. Make sure foods stay fresh and do not form bacteria by keeping them cold. Purchase a small cooler on wheels to make the hike to your favorite spot easier.

Treat yourself and those you love to a picnic before the summer ends. A picnic doesn’t have to be fancy to be fun.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Organize Your Refrigerator

Thanksgiving will be here in a few weeks. Will you be able to fit the leftovers in your refrigerator? If you are able to cram them on the shelves, can you actually find what you are looking for when you want to make a sandwich or reheat that great squash casserole? Will that last little bit of cranberry sauce look like a science experiment before you find it again? Take steps now to organize your refrigerator and be ready for whatever the aftermath of the holiday brings.

An organized refrigerator not only saves time and money, it helps maintain health by giving you a system to make sure the storage space is clean and the food stored there stays fresh and edible.

Start by taking everything out of your refrigerator and clean it thoroughly. That means taking out the crisper drawers and washing underneath as well as cleaning the undersides of shelves and the crevices of the butter and egg holders.

Examine the refrigerator contents before you place them back into the refrigerator. Discard expired products and food items that have spoiled. Place the most perishable items on the lowest shelves. Arrange the items so you can see what is there. Put smaller items toward the front and taller items toward the back. Place condiments and hardy items in the door shelves. This section has the highest temperature and more perishable items will spoil quicker here. Keep your eggs in the carton in the cooler part of the refrigerator. Do not put milk or dairy products in the door area, as they will spoil faster.

Use stackable see-through containers to organize your leftovers. Larger containers are great for making a sandwich supply box or salad contents box. Just fill with sealed bags of the salad or sandwich makings. These are also great for kid’s snack items.
Label the containers and make sure the whole family knows the system. You may also want to label the shelves and bins as a reminder.

Consider designating an “ingredients for meals” area that is off-limits for poaching. This suggestion comes from a personal experience when my children and their friends ate six capons I had reserved for a dinner party as an afternoon snack. They really liked the “little chickens”.

Once your refrigerator is arranged to your satisfaction, keep it organized by reviewing the contents once a week. Consider doing it the day before trash collection in your neighborhood. Discard all the spoiled or outdated products and haul them out with the trash. Wipe up any spills you see and rearrange as necessary.

You will be surprised at how good you feel as you systematically store your Thanksgiving leftovers in a clean organized space.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Organizing Meals

During the past week, three different people have talked to me about the difficulty they have getting all the dishes for a meal ready at the same time. One was talking about hosting a large dinner party and the other two were lamenting their inability to get a meal on the table for their families.

There are a few guiding principles for timing a meal so that the various items are ready to serve at the same time.

The first is planning. You know what you plan to serve and you have all the necessary ingredients available. Another aspect of planning is to consider the complexity of the menu and what items may be prepared ahead of time. For instance a salad may be put together prior to preparing a meal or while the roast rests prior to carving. A wonderful frozen desert can be made a day prior and kept in the freezer. Planning a mix of hot and cold dishes gives the cook more flexibility in preparing the meal

The second principle is preparation. Some sauces, deserts and sidedishes can be prepared prior to cook time. Caprese salad is an old stand-by that improves with some wait time prior to serving. Slicing, dicing and peeling of all items is best done prior to beginning to combine the items for cooking. Some exceptions apply of course. If you are cooking a turkey, for instance, you have time after you put the bird in the oven to peel potatoes or cut up squash. When in doubt, have every thing sliced, diced and ready to go before beginning cooking.

The third principle is execution and that is where timing comes in. If you are fixing a simple meal of chicken, asparagus and potato, you might consider that each of them takes the following times to cook:
Chicken: 25 minutes
Potatoes: 30 minutes
Asparagus: 12 minutes
Therefore, you start the potatoes first, the chicken five minutes after that and the asparagus thirteen minutes after the chicken. They should all be ready at the same time.

The fourth principle is serving. You may choose to plate the meal for each individual or you can serve it family style allowing your family or guests to pass the serving plates and help themselves. You could also serve buffet style by setting the food in an area away from the table and open for self-service. Simple buffets make serving easy, especially for a large group.

The last principle is enjoying yourself. Folks don’t mind if they have to wait a few minutes for the lasagna to cool. They are there for the pleasure of your company.

Getting yourself organized prior to the meal allows you to relax and have a little fun.

Beverly and Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net