Four important habits for a tidy home.

Hebrews 13:8

  

                 After a heavy lunch, kids went off to play in their room, your parents thought of taking a nap, while your hubby and you decided to watch a movie on TV. You turned the TV on, and while you clicked through the channels, your hubby cleared the sofa putting the three four days' newspapers and the kids' school socks from yesterday, to the chair next to the sofa. He took his place on the sofa, pushed aside the empty coffee cup on the teapoy and comfortably placed his legs on it. You got the right channel and you too found your place on sofa. What a beautiful afternoon. What could go wrong! But the beauty did not last long when a disaster struck. You heard the calling bell. Who could it be? You went to the door and peeped through the hole. "OMG! it's my manager and his family. What is this guy doing here? Clear the room!". Next few seconds in the house was a total chaos. You took the empty coffee cup from the teapoy, simply wiped the teapoy with you bare hands and ran to the kitchen, brought a cloth and wiped the dining table.  Meanwhile your hubby stuffed the newspapers and socks into the nearby cupboard and straightened the sofa cover. Well the main scene is clear now except for a few toys lying here and there. The guests wouldn't mind that..hmm..unless they step on it! You heard the bell ring for the second time. No more delay. Without even once seeing yourself in the mirror you had to open the door.
              Everybody has gone through a similar situation as I described above. But is it avoidable? Of course yes. In this post we shall see a few habits that every one in the family must have to keep your house always 'guest-ready' .


Habit 1:  Find a proper place for everything in the house and use it.

         There should be a fixed place for every object that you have at home. For example, a particular shelf for old news papers, a separate drawer for screws, screwdrivers etc, a basket for your kids' toys or a fixed drawer for spoons and knives in the kitchen. And each time you take out something, it has to go back to its original place after use. Make it a habit to put the magazine back in it's right shelf after you read it and teach your kids to collect all the toys and put them back in it's basket after their play time. Make it a habit to check for misplaced things before you go to bed. Thus your home would always be tidy and you needn't have to search the entire house for your earphones!

        Putting your clothes in right place also comes under this. All your clothes must have a place. Soon after you get home, putting the shawl over the chair or guys throwing their shirt on the floor is a big NO NO. Either it has to got to laundry or put it way in its right place. Teach children also the same.


Habit 2:  Do not pile up the unwashed utensils in the sink.

          You should be done with the utensils as you finish cooking. Either you put them in the dishwasher and run it at night or you wash them by hand as you go. This not only gives you a 'non stinking kitchen' but also you tend to use less number of utensils, making your work easier.


Habit 3:  Wipe down your dining table and counter top.

         Each time you eat at the dining table make sure to wipe it clean once you are done. You can ask your children to take turns to do it and appreciate their good work. Make it also a practice to wipe the counter top before you close the kitchen every day. To see a clean kitchen the next day morning is such a motivation :)


Habit 4:  Mop once in every week.

           Dusting and mopping your house once in every week keeps the house clean. Dusting too many times causes allergy problems.



     I hope the above tips help you to keep your home neat and well organised always. What tips do you have? Please share it by putting a comment below.

What to look for when buying jars and containers for kitchen.

1 Corinthians 13:4

                       

                       Two years back my husband and i moved to Coimbatore and as we were setting up the new house, buying jars and containers for my kitchen was something that i put at the bottom of my to do list. Who would even think of these little ones when you have the big budget stuffs like the sofa, dining table, fridge, washing machine, mixer, oven etc. Initially, the absence of these supporting actors in the film managing the kitchen went unnoticed, as i could easily manage the spices or flour straight out of the package they came in. I would seal the packet by tying a rubber band around the neck of the packet. Thanks to the Indian market where almost everything, from sugar to pulses, comes in the kind of plastic packet you get Cheetos in. And for the cooking oil, empty mineral water bottles did the job.Also i used clips to seal the opened bags. For those Indian women who are not familiar with these handy clips i add a picture below. Caution: These clips do not always give an air tight seal. 

                    Now back to the subject. Two months passed. I organized the cupboard once in every week, wiped the counter top every single night before i closed the kitchen. But every morning even after removing the items from the drying rack and placing them in their right positions i felt like the kitchen was still messy. Packets of spices (the Indian daily-used spices are countless :D) piled up on one side and two deformed plastic bottles, all covered in oil on the other side, ants marching in a perfect line into the cupboard where i have stored the flour and sugar very well secured with rubber band. I was curious to know what is so interesting in there for these hundreds of ants. My eyes followed their long queue to end in the sugar packet! The ants have put a hole on the packet to make the entrance to their heaven! So that is it. I checked the flour packets. Yes. As expected there they are, bathing in the ocean of fine pure powder. Do these ring a bell? Hmm..Finally i brushed the dust off from the long forgotten low priority, which is no longer low, list. On the list last but one item was the kitchen container set. By the way, last item was a new cover for my phone. So that was how i decided to get containers and oil dispensers for my kitchen.

Choosing the right container

                     
                    Properly storing oils, spices, flour, pulses, sugar and other similar items is very important. It not only makes your kitchen look well organised but also keeps the flavour intact and also preserves the food items from pests. Most importantly, not using the right container can cause many health problems. 

Are plastic containers good?

               When we think of containers, the first option that comes to our mind is mostly PET bottles or such plastic containers. They are lightweight, easily available and cheap. They come in microwave safe version making it easy to store and reheat the leftovers.

But have you ever wondered why your food tastes like plastic sometimes? Yes, you guessed it right. Plastic from the container does migrate to the food stored in it. Heating food in plastic containers seems to increase the amount that is transferred to food.

                    
                Using plastic containers to store food can lead to many serious health problems.  BPA or bisphenol A, a harmful chemical used to make certain plastics (Type 7 plastic with symbol 'PC' or 'other') seeps into the food stored in it leading to many health issues when consumed. It can disrupt the functions of hormones especially estrogen. Studies have showed that BPA has an adverse effect on the brain development of fetuses and young children. The European union and Canada have banned BPA use in baby bottles. PET (Type 1 plastic with symbol 'PET' or 'PETE') is also found to yield endocrine disruptors under conditions of common use. Type 2 (HDPE), Type 4 (LDPE) and Type 5 (PP) plastic containers are considered to be relatively safe for limited use as they are more stable (or release less chemical into food!).

              
                   How many times do you wash your plastic tiffin box after eating a spicy delicious biriyani out of it? Once?! Please do not lie. You wash it, smell it. Smells like biriyani. You wash it again, smell it. Smells like biriyani. The third time you wash it, smell it. 'Mmmm not much of that smell, bearable'. You leave it on the drying rack. Plastic can absorb traces of food which is why the smell or even the reason for the degradation of the flavour of spices which is stored in a plastic jar. So even after you wash three times, there is enough biriyani left on your tiffin box for  harmful bacteria to feed on! You don't want that.

 

Summary: I do not recommend plastic containers for kitchen. 

That's my old plastic container.

What about glass containers?

                One of the best choices of food containers is the glass containers. Glass containers not only add beauty to your kitchen but also they do not have a bad effect on your health. Glass is non reactive. So no fear of chemicals migrating into food. You can heat your leftovers safely in a glass container. Glass is also non porous which helps to keep the food fresh with flavours intact.  

           Today in the market we get glass containers in different shapes and sizes. My personal preference is a glass container with screw lid. I use them to store cookies, spices, flour etc. I feel like, with a screw lid, the container is completely air tight. I also prefer plastic or stainless steel lids to metal ones. Metal lids can corrode over time and get holes on them. Sometimes it's difficult to find a spare lid. When i use plastic lid i always see that the content of the jar doesn't touch the lid. 

  

Summary: I strongly recommend glass containers.

Are Stainless steel containers a good option?

   

            Yes they are. Stainless steel is also non reactive (be careful with acids though) and non porous like glass making it a good option to store food. It is light in weight compared to glass containers and easy to handle and clean.They can be put in freezer without hesitation.

                 Stainless steel oil dispensers are also available. Using glass oil dispensers is also a good option but be very careful. In case the oil drips and spreads on the bottle, there is a chance of bottle slipping off from the hand unless it has a silicon coating. So to be on the safe side you can use stainless steel oil dispensers. Be sure to get a wide mouthed dispenser for the ease of cleaning. The opaque nature of stainless steel also protects the oil from sunlight giving it a longer shelf life.  You can also store cookies or muffins in stainless steel containers so that kids can handle it safely.

If you need to store anything , for eg: rice, in bulk amount, big stainless steel containers are a good option.

             When using stainless steel containers be sure not store foods that are highly acidic.

Summary: I strongly recommend stainless steel containers.

Are there other options? 

           Another option available in the market is the ceramic containers. They are similar to glass. They are non porous, non reactive and very easy to clean. Ceramics are basically safe to store food. But usually ceramic wares are glazed and the only health concern about using these are the components that might come from the glazing like pigments, lead or cadmium.These materials are harmful when taken into the body, so the risk of them entering food is controlled during the manufacturing process. In Canada ceramic wares cannot be sold if it releases more than the allowed amounts of lead and cadmium. I am not aware of any other country having this strict regulation. So if your relative in Canada offers you a gift, you can undoubtedly ask for ceramics.  

              There are containers made from metals like aluminium and copper. I suggest not to store food in such containers as they are very reactive and corrode easily. It can mix with the food stored in it.

              Another option available in the market is the silicon made containers. But recent studies show that they are not leach proof either. 

Summary: I recommend ceramic containers which has no lead in it.

Conclusion

            My favorite is containers made of glass. They are simply pretty. Almost anything can be stored in it. It can be recycled and above all, i feel safe to store food in it.

               So that's it friends. I hope this article was helpful. Next time when your hubby tells you "What's the big deal about buying containers for kitchen?" , show him this post.   

Leave a comment. Tell me what i have missed out. Share with me how you store things in your kitchen.