Reworking the Pantry | Mindful Homemaking
This post is a sponsored post by Ball® Canning. All of my opinions and experiences are my own. Many thanks to the brands that support my work here on Maia Terra.
A Nourished Pantry
In these times of global pandemic, in our home, we’ve found it important to try not to overspend, over shop for items and hoard out of fear. This pandemic has put the economy, societies and the whole world on pause and in a state of uncertainty. It has asked us to reexamine our lifestyles and what is essential in our day to day. I find myself struggling because on one hand I feel very grateful that my family is healthy, that my extended family is safe, and that we are preparing our gardens to grow our food and sustain us through these uncertain times. I feel very grateful that we still have access to food and supplies, and that this time has brought us closer together as family unit but people across this country and the globe are facing illness, lack of healthcare, job loss, and death and economic inequalities are being exacerbated by the virus and its effects.
For the majority of Americans, with stay at home and shelter in place orders from the federal and local governments means much more time at home and indoors. Instead of going out for pizza night on Tuesdays people are making pizza at home. My personal experience is that these times are calling for a slow down, a restructuring and reorganization, in our homes and of our economic and social structures. We have an opportunity to create the nurturing, sustainable world we’d like to live in on the other side of this pandemic.
These changes start in our homes and in our hearts. I’d like to share how we’ve reworked our pantry with the help of Ball® Canning to serve us better in these stressful times. And how we’ve kept track of what we have with A Nourished Pantry List, found at the end of this post..
Back to earth and the day to day realities and routines, that are not a return to normalcy but adjusting to new ways. I’ve been undertaking some tasks around our home to help us not become overwhelmed now that the kiddos are home full time. I love my children dearly but keeping them occupied, entertained, fed, while aj is working from home and I am attempting to get this business off the ground is no small task. The easier I can make this transition on myself, the better.
This time spent in social isolation, away from school, restaurants and public spaces has translated into more cooking, more snacks, more healthy food and more dirty dishes. Though we are eating more at home, we want to make less trips to the market to reduce our exposure to the virus.
This has meant purchasing more items at one time. While we have tried to reduce our plastic waste over the past couple years, our access to bulk items is almost non existent because of the pandemic, so are low was goals have taken a back seat. With the help of Ball® Canning, we’ve reworked our pantry to serve us better during these uncertain times. Being more aware of what we have available, to clearly see what is on our shelves and what is low has been so necessary to reduce overbuying and the addition of these Ball® Leak-Proof Storage Lids have been a game changer. These leakproof lids are one-piece screw-on lid. They are airtight, leakproof, freezer and dishwasher-safe, making them a go-to all around the kitchen and the pantry. The lids are sold separately and come in wide mouth and regular mouth that will fit jars already in your cupboards.
I love that they are one piece, because heaven knows I’ve misplaced a ton of my two piece lids, and they store more easily in my drawer. For now, i’ve moved my two piece lids, down to the cellar until canning and preserving season is upon is, which is coming soon!
Soaking Beans
Having a stocked pantry while maintaining our budget has meant buying a 25lb bag of beans and rice. We’ve been food prepping more, making big batch of dried beans, broths and soups to freeze. I use the Ball® Wide Mouth Half Gallon 64 Oz Jars with leakproof lids for soaking beans and storing broth.
To soak beans: fill the jar 3/4 of the way to the top with water and then add my dried beans halfway and a tablespoon of sea salt. This gives the dried beans enough room to expand. I top with the Ball® Leak-Proof Storage Lids and let soak for 4-12 hours. When they are done soaking I can clearly see how many beans we have with the measurements on the side of the jar. You can cook your dried beans in the instant pot as well, but I find soaking beans better for my digestion.
Reworking the Pantry
I've found one way that has given me a sense of clarity has been simplifying spaces in our home and making them work to nourish us, by clearing clutter and reorganizing what we already have. From a place of knowing what we have, we are able to make more nourishing meals, reduce our food waste, and shop more efficiently, effectively and less often.
Making more meals at home means its important to know what ingredients you have on hand. Being able to clearly see the items in our pantry helps us meal prep meals and get more creative in the kitchen.
For Herbal Preparations + Infused Cleaning Vinegars
As you may know, if you follow along my journey on instagram, I love herbal infused vinegars like this four thieves vinegar. I use vinegars for just about everything, for cooking, for drinking, for my hair and most importantly, cleaning! Although with COVID-19 solely vinegar cleaners will not disinfect, you need to use 70-90% alcohol to disinfect, my dear friend Julia, author of Simply Living Well has a recipe here.
I’m still making my infused vinegar cleaners for quick spills and clean up. These Ball® Leak-Proof Storage Lids are perfect for the task. Usually when making an infused vinegar or an herbal preparation with vinegar, like an oxymel, you need to place a piece of parchment under the lid to prevent the metal canning lid from rusting. These lid are ready to go atop your infused vinegar, shrub and other kitchen creations and then can easily go in the dishwasher when you are done.
Thank you for reading and following along. Click below to A Nourished Pantry© Inventory List we’ve been using to keep track of what we have in the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry that has helped us shop more wisely, meal prep more effectively and offered some structure to the chaos that is life.
How is your family and home faring these days? I hope you are all safe and healthy, please feel free to share your experience below.
In Solidarity,
x Alyson
This post is a sponsored post by Ball® Canning. All of my opinions and experiences are my own. Many thanks to for the brands that are supporting my work here on Maia Terra.