The kitchen detox - when “That Day” finally came...

My look when the spouse decided we needed a picture of this momentous day! 

You know ‘that day…’ the day you will get to ‘one of these days’, at some designated indefinite time in future? That day, when you will finally find the time / inclination / energy / mind-space / memory or a bit of all those to get certain tasks of your checklist? That day, that basically, may never come… ?

Those tasks, that just keep going to the bottom of the list, the ones you promise to get to one day, with appropriate equivalent butter-wouldn't-melt-in-your-mouth excuses, based on who you’re lying to (mostly yourself and in my case the spouse)… I’ve got so much to do… I forgot… I am too tired... The kids ran away… dog ate my homework… lost my kitchen….

In case the last has you confused, the last refers to a specific item on my checklist. Cleaning my kitchen was a task I had been procrastinating over for years. So at the beginning of this lockdown, it was very virtuously added to my check-off-bucket-list-item-during-lockdown (along with writing books, planning new projects, kick starting book club etc…)

In spite of a few ‘gentle reminders’ from the spouse, and my own conscience ‘That day, remained elusive. I had work stuff to get done… I was walking 2 hours in the house every day AKA… I hate being told what to do…

Although, to be fair, when I made my lockdown bucket list, it was through rose-tinted glasses using a golden fountain pen and perfumed onion skin paper. Because in all the ceremony of it, I hadn't factored in juggling work from home, household chores, and cooking twice daily – for my bhooka janta of 2 kids!

20 days into lockdown (we isolated on the Ides of March) on 5 April, ‘That Day’ still hadn’t arrived! I was inching towards it s-l-o-o-o-w-l-y, I promise... On the 5^th, the spouse, in a fit of frustration, reorganised our kitchen cupboards (moving things around to consolidate stuff; flours together, baking stuff in one place etc…).

And, in a strategic, rather diabolical move, he also left a pile of things he didn’t know what to do with, slap bang in the middle of my living room, in front of my cavernous pantry cupboard, its doors gaping wide.

Ignoring it was impossible since it was in direct line of sight from my designated work/dining space. Not to mention, sweeping was a huge pain in the arse! So yeah, big cupboard-maws silently reprimanding me incessantly, finally did what nothing could for years! 

Hallelujah, “THAT DAY” arrived!

And this past weekend, on 11 April, I 'Mary Kondo-d' my kitchen... (Somehow 'RushinaMunshawGhildiyal-d' just doesn't sound as bad-ass!) 

Now, this was to be an under-the-radar black ops exercise in small, quiet sorties (so I wouldn’t earn a specific kind of look from the spouse.) But it quickly escalated into a 12-hour purge and clean of the entire house! BONUS!  

At this point, I’m feeling supremely satisfied with myself. The spouse-points score card is looking a-m-a-z-i-n-g (because I'm so bad-ass I even cooked dinner after all that). My cluttered, chaotic kitchen is now a clean, organized, (almost) zen-like oasis of a space. And grandiose plans to NEVER LOSE CONTROL of it again!

I have a COMPLETE inventory of food items in my home. I’ve resolved to check before I buy. Note to self, (and you) I will NEVER-BUY-ANOTHER packet of Garhwali Jakhiya (I’ve hoarded a life-time supply) OR Irani Zaresht berries and Limoo Omani (excavated packets of these going back 6 years in my freezer!). I also have an all new Cooking Bucket List! (Amazing how lists spawn for us Virgos!)

Seriously though, this purge and clean has been a kind of detox! It’s like my kitchen, brain (and life) have been put through a sort of de-fragging! Storage space has been optimised and space for new things has been freed up!

I am rediscovering cookbooks, favoured ingredients and favourite recipes, figuring out ways to making the most of everything and use up stuff that’s been lying around for ages. But, most importantly, I’m filled with things I want to do going forward! Observations and ideas for blogs. Stories, articles, even books I want to write… and so much more!

In case you are feeling stuck, like you are not moving forward, consider making ‘That day, TODAY… and check off a task from your procrastination bucket list of life… I highly recommend it!’