How Many Boxes Does it Take to Pack a Kitchen?

I have a problem. A food problem, and I admit it. I love grocery shopping and can’t resist something that looks fresh. Even worse I can not pass up a sale.  Here I am with days to finish packing and moving, telling myself that I have no time to cook and still I manage to come home with an adorable fresh bunch of baby bok choy. What was I thinking?! Theses precious little green things will never be used to their full potential in a stir fry, or braised with bacon fat and mustard.  I barely make a sandwich right now let alone a rounded meal! We’ve been surviving on impromptu food like bruschetta (from the container garden), or cheese, crackers, and fruit (local spring onion cheddar with wild berries anyone?). I swore I would do no shopping and we would just eat our pantry down. Well, we haven’t eaten as much of it as I thought we would. Turns out that we are stocked until winter 2012.

You just don’t realize how big your kitchen is until you have to pack it.   We are moving on Saturday and I am faced with boxing up all of my kitchen treasures.  Excited for the move where a huge blackberry patch waits in my backyard, but plain annoyed that I have to pack my accumulation.  I think I might keep tally of how many boxes are devoted to ‘Kitchen.’  The current count is 16 and climbing.

I like to pack in what is of course the most logical order. First you pack what you will want last. This is directly opposite to others who start packing what is right in front them.  While that might be an efficient way of packing if it is a one day marathon pack and move, it is no good for a long drawn out 3 hrs a day pack, wait a while, then move.

During a particularly productive packing day, I opened the cabinets in my pantry wide. Trying to decide what I wanted the least was such a task! I did, however, know the items that I would be packing last.

On the reserve list:

cast iron skillet

2 coffee mugs

2 forks

2 knives

2 spoons

1 chefs knife

a cutting board

kitchen shears

a rubber spatula/scraper

Truly will all of it get used? Doubtful. We will probably use a knife without the board to cut some cheese and we will surely use the coffee cups.  I contemplated just drinking coffee from the straight from the pot but Tall Dark and Handsome likes sugar in his coffee and I just can’t do it.  Sugar for coffee is also on the pack last list along with things like toothpaste. I think we have like 4 types of sugar: White (on the packing reserve list), Brown, Raw Organic, Powdered, and lavender flavored. Ok, so that is five. I told you I have a problem! I guarantee that I have at least 5 types of flour, too.

We certainly did not do a great job of eating the pantry to a manageable move size.  There will be at least 3 boxes of dry food goods and more cold food than I can fit in my cooler. What was I thinking?!  At least I will not have to re-stock after the move. Although, if there is room in the new cabinets, my pasta selection is looking thin, and I think I am down to only one can of tomatoes.

Must resist the urge to shop!