Beautiful weather.
BLAH.
I spent the weekend on home projects that have been waiting on me ever since Mar 1, 2012. Cleaning the house, organizing the kitchen, and most importantly, organizing my stockpile.
A troop of ants spurred on my cleaning frenzy. The worst part of having a stock pile is protecting it from little insect intruders. So I marched my way down to Lowes and picked up a shelf for my basement stockpile.
I debated between using the basement or the garage and finally decided to use the basement because I didn't want to have to creep into a cold garage to grab a can of beans. I also like the basment because there are plenty of spiders down there to keep any ants at bay. I only store cans down there, so nothing short of an earthquake followed by a flood would cause any real damage.
Therefore, in light of my own dilemna, I thought I would write a few tips on how to protect your own household goods from damage.
1. Stay Organized- I can't emphasize enough how important it is to know exactly how much of any given item you have in your stockpile. I don't have a lot of time to make lists, so I like to make sure I can visually glance at a shelf and know what I have on hand. For example, I always have a Sharpie handy so I can write the expiration date in bold letters on the face of a box/can. I then organize all items by putting the foods that expire the soonest in front of the items I can hold on to a bit longer.
2. Seal it Up- Try to keep your opened items separate from your closed items. A big problem with warmer weather is all of the intruders the weather brings with it- ants, flies, moths, etc. Keep your opened packages in one area and sealed in an airtight container.
3. When in Doubt, Throw it Out!- Don't take a chance eating expired food. It just isn't worth the trips to the bathroom. If you don't know when was the last time you ate those Christmas sugar cookies (maybe in Dec..?) then just throw it away. Saving a few bucks isn't worth risking your health.
4. Reassess your storage space- Do you have enough room for everything? For a few months I had dozens of cans falling on my head and only after a few good clunks to the head did I realize I needed to get another shelf pronto.
5. Donate Excess Items- I got rid of 15 boxes of cake mix for two reasons: 1) I don't use cake mix and 2) I needed more room in my pantry. Most food shelters take donations of food so long as the expiration date hasn't passed. You'll also get a tax break if you get a receipt.
Well, I'm off to enjoy the beautiful weather we're having. I'm so tempted to skip the gym and drink a beer on the porch.
Spring Cleanin'
P. Manolos
BLAH.
I spent the weekend on home projects that have been waiting on me ever since Mar 1, 2012. Cleaning the house, organizing the kitchen, and most importantly, organizing my stockpile.
A troop of ants spurred on my cleaning frenzy. The worst part of having a stock pile is protecting it from little insect intruders. So I marched my way down to Lowes and picked up a shelf for my basement stockpile.
I debated between using the basement or the garage and finally decided to use the basement because I didn't want to have to creep into a cold garage to grab a can of beans. I also like the basment because there are plenty of spiders down there to keep any ants at bay. I only store cans down there, so nothing short of an earthquake followed by a flood would cause any real damage.
Therefore, in light of my own dilemna, I thought I would write a few tips on how to protect your own household goods from damage.
1. Stay Organized- I can't emphasize enough how important it is to know exactly how much of any given item you have in your stockpile. I don't have a lot of time to make lists, so I like to make sure I can visually glance at a shelf and know what I have on hand. For example, I always have a Sharpie handy so I can write the expiration date in bold letters on the face of a box/can. I then organize all items by putting the foods that expire the soonest in front of the items I can hold on to a bit longer.
2. Seal it Up- Try to keep your opened items separate from your closed items. A big problem with warmer weather is all of the intruders the weather brings with it- ants, flies, moths, etc. Keep your opened packages in one area and sealed in an airtight container.
3. When in Doubt, Throw it Out!- Don't take a chance eating expired food. It just isn't worth the trips to the bathroom. If you don't know when was the last time you ate those Christmas sugar cookies (maybe in Dec..?) then just throw it away. Saving a few bucks isn't worth risking your health.
4. Reassess your storage space- Do you have enough room for everything? For a few months I had dozens of cans falling on my head and only after a few good clunks to the head did I realize I needed to get another shelf pronto.
5. Donate Excess Items- I got rid of 15 boxes of cake mix for two reasons: 1) I don't use cake mix and 2) I needed more room in my pantry. Most food shelters take donations of food so long as the expiration date hasn't passed. You'll also get a tax break if you get a receipt.
Well, I'm off to enjoy the beautiful weather we're having. I'm so tempted to skip the gym and drink a beer on the porch.
Spring Cleanin'
P. Manolos
1 comments:
Great article - top tips on how to protect your household goods. If it is pantry/kitchen moths that you particularly have a problem with, now that the weather is warming up, then here is a check list for getting rid of food moths for good:
1. REMOVE - Remove your food from the affected drawers or cupboards and vacuum really thoroughly paying attention to edges, cracks and crevices inside and out.
2. CLEAN - Thoroughly clean all surfaces that may be affected and leave to dry. Discard any infested foodstuffs away from your house.
3. KILL - Spray the affected storage unit to kill any eggs and / or larvae
4. MONITOR / PREVENT - Place moth traps close to affected areas to monitor for adult moths and to break the breeding cycle
5. REFRESH - Keep moth traps current and replace every 3 months – please remember, with warmer houses food moth damage and infestations are now a year-round problem, and moth prevention is better than cure.
Take a look at a great new site, MothPrevention.com http://mothprevention.com for excellent advice and a full range of products.
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