She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from far away.
Proverbs 31:14
Women who are focused on living the full life of womanhood, always includes turning her house into a home. Home where comfort is, peace rules, and order reigns. Home where her family would rather be than any other place on earth. Now this is not a complete description, but it’s certainly a mission statement to strive towards. Home involves many parts which I will teach about at later dates. And today is a subject of importance when we talk about turning a house into a home. Who…. my friend, can have a great home without food in it? And good food at that! Which brings me to the topic today…… I have already posted videos talking about this subject, but this lesson today involves showing you on paper a part of the whole subject of food in the home. So I snapped some pictures to show you…. no it’s not picture perfect because mine is a working pantry that throws a party for guests every month or so…. but you can get the picture I think.
Bringing our food today from ‘far away’ can mean across town, an online grocery service or growing various food products yourself...... which takes some time to bring it from a seed to the table! Hence.... it’s far away! However this verse applies to your modern life there is one aspect of it that we all have in common. That’s the storage of food stuffs.
Sometime pantries can be as simple as a cabinet or as big as a whole room. Many have a closet type pantry with small shelving spaces floor to ceiling inside a door. However big or small yours is.... it can still be organized to help the chef find what she needs for family meals daily.
Remember that special dish that you were going to make, got all of the ingredients for it, maybe like coffee expresso powder then something happened and life moved on and you ended up forgetting about it. Only later to discovered that special ingredient now stale ..... found in the back corner! Pushed back and back by busy lives until it was forgotten. We spent the money on it- but didn’t use it in the end. I know.... me too!
The secret to NOT missing out on crafting that special dish is to keep it where you can see it. Maybe not the ingredients but a note about them for sure. How many special food/family experiences do we miss out on because of things, plans, or items falling through the cracks just like this! To be a Pro in the kitchen means we get the pantry under control...... yes us! The family gladly lets that space be ours most of the time, so let’s make it our own. Use lazy susans to fill every corner with usable space. I use large ones and small ones as much as possible in the allotted spaces. I have deep shelves that hold 3 lazy susans in a row - makes finding something a breeze! With a simple twirl the needed item is found no matter where it’s at.
Years ago I dreamed of having the picture perfect pantry with all sorts of food stuffs at my fingertips. I think it stems from being hungry a lot as a child. Anyway..... I started collecting a certain type of Tupperware (remember that early ‘container store’😊) each month I would buy just one piece. All oblong style with red lids, various highs and widths. But they were all from the same collection style. And after several years I accomplished it- and it made opening my little pantry a pleasure to me. Just to see that everything matched and was labeled brought me a sense of order and control. This was my space and I knew exactly when I was about to run out of something.... it essentially made my rushed cooking easier. Now systems of storing canned goods are readily available and I have a shelf long area of them. All the cans can be seen easily now.
Years ago I passed that Tupperware system down to my daughter when she started setting up her own pantry. It takes time to create and purchase a system to use, just take your time and make it a project that over time and without breaking your budget you will create a pantry you enjoy using.
So I started a new one. This time everything would be in glass jars. I’m not as picky as I once was, having everything to match, but it still has a order to it. And now I recommend using a glass system that has lock down wire lids. After my trial and error of using ‘cute’ ones but the lids did not fit tight enough to keep out bugs, I settled on this type and never had another issue. My glass system isn’t quite complete yet but I’m getting close!
Grains with grains
All the nuts together
Flours on the same row
Dried fruits together
Types of Sweeteners together in a row.
My homemade chow chow and pickles are set together on a lazy susan in a dark corner. Out of the way, but easy when I need to get a jar out.
By seeing my pictures…… you can see the ideas I have implemented over time. I have heard of women who alphabetize their spices…. I don’t have that much time, but I do have likes with likes for the most part.
We are now empty nesters and mostly eat sugar free/keto type foods so my pantry reflects that. Yours of course will be different depending on ages of children at home, your own lifestyle and food types etc.
However your style turns out to be, make your pantry a special place that you enjoy working out of. A modern Proverbs 31 woman most certainly has a working and organized Pantry that’s her own territory to manage! Plan yours and enjoy creating one that best reflects your own creativity!
Now when you bring your food ‘from afar’ you will not lose it nor forget where it is. Throw your self a party in your pantry and make this project one of personal pride!
Every homemaker needs a space for the foodstuffs - you can create your own ‘merchants ship’ and serve the greatest meals to your loved ones….
It’s a part of being The Proverbs 31 Woman.
