I hate the “H” word, so when I heard that my friend Andra Watkins (who writes a wonderful blog called I Cilantro Cilantro!) was substituting “cilantro” for the “H” word, it caught my attention. I have successfully removed the “H” word from my vocabulary, along with talking negatively about myself. Neither is a good thing—EVER! But I am human, and from time to time, the “H” word rears its ugly head and sometimes actually jumps off my tongue…and I quickly run after it, trying to suck it back in, realizing that I’ve again uttered a word I “cilantro.”
Then there are my children who are tweens. They are coming into their own, forming their own opinions, and expressing those opinions quite often. I LOVE this, but cilantro when they use the “H” word. To combat that, I now have them using the “C” word to express their utter dislike of something. They adopted the change quite easily and to hear a 9-year-old say “I cilantro that idea,” is pretty freakin funny!
So with that said, I told Andra I would be happy to contribute to her blog, which I did. And now I’m reposting some months later here on my own blog for you, my reader. Since we’re on the topic of a spice and I’m an organizer, I thought I’d throw out several organizing tips for the kitchen.
- Countertops are NOT for storage—especially in a small kitchen. For families, the kitchen tends to be where “everything” lands at the end of the day. If the kitchen is the central area for “everything,” then designate a specific area for mail (utilizing wall space when possible) and a family calendar, etc. Clear these spaces off regularly.
- Utilize every square foot—pull out drawers help make use of potentially unused space at the back of a cabinet. Whenever possible, install pull out drawers to maximize space usage. Thanks to big home improvement stores, slide out drawers are stock items, relatively inexpensive and easy to install.
- Eliminate duplicates—to gain more drawer and cabinet space, assess what you have and remove duplicates. If you’re in a small space, put within reach ONLY what you use on a daily basis. Store platters, entertaining items (unless used weekly) and other related items in a pantry or dining room storage.
- Clean out the refrigerator and freezer regularly—you will know exactly what you have and reduce the chance items will expire. Consider designating one space for condiments (the refrigerator door is a good place for these), another for dairy and keep veggies together in one crisper drawer. If you do leftovers, keep them corralled to one space too, so they don’t get pushed to the back and potentially stink it up refrigerator.
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Love this idea. Not sure my kids will go for cilantro but I think I will let them substitute their own least liked food for it. I already know by 11 yr will say “sloppy joes”. He once told a doctor and nurse before surgery that he was allergic to sloppy joes when asked the “are you allergic” question. lol
Shawn’l, Too funny! Kids appreciate humor and if they can be creative in the way they communicate something, all the better. I like “sloppy joes” as a substitution!