Cleaning House

Today is Sunday, and I’m cleaning house, and it’s not even spring. Sometimes, the “spirit” just hits and cleaning MUST be done. I have not left the house for three days, and tomorrow looks to be the same. My writing coach and I will work in the morning, but mostly the day will be spent at home. Or, if I actually get an on-line grocery order put together, today, I may set it to be picked up on Monday afternoon. In the meanwhile, this day is consumed with laundry (I do have to have clean clothing) and computer work. I’m very serious about finishing a huge job using the computer and creating new, more efficient files for all of the paper that enters my house.

Daughter #3 started this work while she and her family were here over the Christmas holiday. You may remember that I requested a gift of organizing my household for Christmas; a gift that Daughters #1 and 2 and Grands #1 and 2 accomplished in fine fashion for me.  So, now, my job is to take the work that was Daughter #2’s gift and finish putting all of the papers she organized into a filing system for my future use. I’ve promised myself that nothing – NOTHING – would interrupt this process until it is completely finished. So far, I’ve been working on it since January 2.  There is a LOT of paper! And, now, a lot of file folders.

But, today, as I was in the basement with the laundry and thinking about that on-line grocery list, I looked at the shelves that hold canned and boxed foods, as well as other products that I’ve purchased some time in the past and thought – there are some of the same things that I planned to put on my list. Searching through the items, I pulled some items to bring up to the kitchen; I wouldn’t have to add them to the list. That should save some dollars.

Of course, when they got to the kitchen, items in the cupboard needed to be rearranged to make room for the basement items, and so it went. Larry built a Lazy-Susan into the corner of the cupboard he constructed for the kitchen. It held most of those items brought from the basement. But, then, there were items that I had recently purchased that had never made it into the Lazy-Susan; each item had to be examined to see exactly what it was. I will have the scalloped potatoes for supper, along with the black olives and some kind of protein – not sure, at this point, if that will be chicken or shrimp.

Two of the items were, I think, gifts given during the “twelve days of Christmas” gifted by the folks who provided a gift that was received every day with our Meals-On-Wheels delivery. “Ice Tea” jam and “Apple Coconut Lemon Verbena” – both jams by the Brad B Jammin’ company located in my state.

The other, however, is a little scary. And, the scariest part is that I think I bought this product for some recipe I intended to make. It is plum sauce by the Dynasty company. There is a tiny notice on it that says, “CHINESE STYLE COOKING & DIPPING SAUCE.”  And, an even tinier notice that reads:  “WARNING: Consuming this product can expose you to chemicals including furfuryl alcohol which is known to the State of California to cause cancer, and birth defects, or other reproductive harm. For more information go to www.PW65arnings.ca.gov/food”

So, I did, go to that website. It seems that Proposition 65 is the listing of carcinogens identified by California. I don’t know all of the products on that list, and I’m not going to research them. I do think that with the warning listed on the jar of plum sauce is enough for me to remove this product from my kitchen shelves. Truth be told, I can’t remember why I bought that product, in the first place; or second; or third …

There is so much more to cleaning house than dusting,

Be Safe and Be Well
The Cranky Crone
Thoughtful comments are appreciated.