As we begin our third week of Coronavirus isolation, I’m checking in to see how everyone is faring, and hoping that you are employing some productive alternatives to spending too much time on social media, and can keep from visiting too often your now-neat pantry to see what your next snack should be!

Organization is not just about cleaning out the refrigerator and pantry, which we talked about last time; it’s also about organizing our time wisely to get to some important tasks in the rest of the house.  

Perhaps we have found our “new normal,” and we have carved out some regular time during the day to exercise, to try new recipes, to chat online with family and friends, and even to read more.

See if you can schedule some time each day--even a quick 15 minutes--to tackle some organization task in the house. You will feel such a sense of accomplishment!

Here are four ideas for you to do now. 

Clean out your recipe files. You may have a folder of recipes you have torn out of magazines or printed from the internet. Organize them by appetizer, main dish, side dish, and dessert. Make separate files. Make notes as to whether or not you tried them, and if you changed them up at all. Be sure to note if it was a success. Other categories might be special occasion dishes, large gathering meals, Sunday brunch, tea party. Get rid of those ones that sound good, but you know you will never actually make.

Spend some time in the car. What really lives in your glove compartment? Get rid of  old packets of take-out condiments, pare down the supply of napkins, keep only your current inspection and registration cards. What else has accumulated in that center console?

Clean out your smartphone! Go through those old photos and eliminate the nearly identical multiples of the same shot. Create some folders for the photos to live in. Go through your notes and organize them and delete the ones that are for older items you don’t need anymore. Go through your apps and delete the ones you never use. Edit old messages and emails. You could free up so much storage space on your phone that you may no longer need to purchase your monthly additional storage plan. 

Go through your old receipts. Many are probably from stores that are no longer in business. Toss them. Make a folder for larger important household purchases like your kitchen appliances. Keep stuff for the car separate. You probably have a lot of receipts for items that you no longer have.

Commit to doing one of these items each day this week, and come the weekend you will feel like you really got some stuff done this week.

“So where do you start and what can you do to make yourself feel productive amid such uncertainty?”

You are okay on toilet paper. The fridge has goodies. Your plans are all cancelled. You have a few good books and know what Netflix shows you want to binge watch and in what order. You have nothing but time on your hands.

The next few weeks will probably be rocky, but you will come out on the other side of it. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could say you accomplished a few things during this time?

So where do you start and what can you do to make yourself feel productive amid such uncertainty?

Why not consider this time at home a windfall for accomplishing some of those pesky organizational chores that you have been putting off forever? Here is my list of a few in-house jobs that you could actually accomplish and that will make you feel that this time is not wasted.

This blog will start in the kitchen. Next time we will look at other parts of the house.

I’ll call it the Corona Kitchen Plan.

Pantry

Things you can do right now:

You just stocked up at the grocery store. Now it’s time to organize everything you purchased. Group your foods (cans, pasta, spices, chips, baking items) by category in your pantry. 

• Look for older items that have expired and toss them out. If you have multiples of an item, make sure you put the older items behind the newer ones. 

• Face all labels forward. It just looks nicer this way!

• Put all the items you need for a task together. For example, your coffee and tea bags should be grouped with your filters and sugar packets; your meal replacement bars should nest alongside your protein powder.

Organization tools you can find on Amazon, at a hardware store, or maybe even in the basement

You can add a few hooks to the sides of the pantry for hanging oven mitts, kitchen towels, and aprons. 

• One of my favorite hacks is to hang up a shower organizer for plenty of bonus storage. You can even use one as a rack for your produce like onions, potatoes, and garlic. (Just be sure to store your potatoes and onions far from each other or else they might spoil quickly.)

• Similarly, you can use a shoe rack with plenty of pockets for storage of many different pantry items.

• A different type of door rack can be used to keep all of your lids for your pots and pans organized and out of the way, thus freeing up space in your pots and pans area. 

• A Lazy Susan in the corner of the pantry can help organize all those packets of soup and dressing mix and spices you don’t use that often.

• If you are lucky enough to have an open wall in your pantry, you can hang a pegboard on it and hang all your pots and pans for even more free space in your cabinets

Refrigerator

Many of the same tips can be applied to your fridge and freezer. 

We are all being so careful now to clean every surface we come in touch with.This is a perfect time to deep clean your refrigerator. Take everything out and wipe down all surfaces and compartments. For those sticky drawers, put some hot, soapy water in them and let them soak for a bit. 

Remember that meatloaf from the MLK long weekend that was so delish? Sorry to say, it still lurks in a Tupperware behind that bag of spinach that expired last month. It’s time to really go through and toss out expired foods.

When it’s time to put it back in, place Items that expire fast — like eggs and milk — in the back of the fridge where it is the coldest. Eggs should be stored in their original cartons where a more constant temperature will be maintained.  You can store condiments, butter, soft cheeses, and processed juices in the doors. 

You can use another smaller Lazy Susan in the back of the fridge for condiments.

Small sticky baskets can be attached to the side of the fridge for items like string cheese and condiment packets. 

Clear office file organizers can be used to store snacks for easy access.

If you line your produce drawers with paper towels, it will make cleaning them out so much easier. 

Don’t forget to replace the box of baking soda. Keep it near the back to soak up odors. 

With everyone home for the next few weeks, the kitchen will get even higher traffic than usual. Everyone will be looking for snacks. It will be nice to know that everything is clean, organized, and ready to go. These tips will help you lead A Simpler Life Now.