Pantry Panic- Day 3

This is the last post from my guest writer Emily and her pantry panic in dealing with food bugs. If you have questions for her, leave a comment and she can do a follow-up post with any additional concerns or questions that you have.

Read below as she offers help and suggestions on cleaning out, deciding what to keep or toss and how to know if the bugs are really gone or not!

Day 3:

Now you know it can happen to you, and you know what to do to help prevent the problem. But what if you realize you have bugs, too? If you find bugs, here is what you have to do:

- Throw away anything with a bug in or on it. Moan and complain at yourself for not keeping things better contained as you pitch $100 in food.
- Okay, technically, you can apparently still eat it. You can freeze the product, or put it in the oven at a low temperature for a while, and kill the bugs. (Look up the details on how to actually do this if you’re interested). Note that you are not magically removing them, they are just going to quit moving, and then you will eat them. I was not willing to go this route, but you may be. You will not know until you look into a can of flour, see a wriggling mass of tiny bugs amid the food, and gauge how you feel about it.
- To inspect items like boxes of pasta or bags of flour, open them up, pour them into a glass bowl or zip top bag, and look closely. Look into the empty box or bag as well. If you find nothing, keep it. Throw away the packaging. Put it in good canisters, or put it in zip top bags that you seal and put in other containers until you find good quality air tight containers.
- Anything that you are keeping that you know is safe like canned goods or bottles of oil must be washed in hot soapy water, since it could have eggs on it. Yes, this is disgusting to even think about. Dry thoroughly.
- If you want to keep something that you can’t wash, but feel is safe (such as some packets of muffin mix I had), place the entire package in a large zip top bag and look closely at the bag a few times over the next few days. This will contain anything that happened to be in there, and allow you to see it better if something does come out. Use it as soon as possible, and inspect the food itself carefully before you prepare and eat it.
- Think about items like potatoes and onions, both of which were in my pantry. I could see no bugs on them, but I didn’t want to put them back in the pantry and risk re-contaminating the space, in case they had something on them I couldn’t see. Since I was going to wash or peel and then cook them before use, I decided to put them in the fridge in a plastic bag until I could use them, therefore killing and containing anything potentially on them, and focus on using them quickly since you aren’t supposed to store either at such a cool temperature.
- Remove any canisters or plastic bins in your pantry and wash them thoroughly. Even if nothing got IN your canister, wash the outside.
- Vacuum out the cabinets (take the vacuum bag or canister outside immediately!). Wash out the cabinets with hot soapy water to physically remove any bugs or food crumbs.
- Decide whether you are going to spray the inside of the cabinets with insecticide. There are some products that say they can be used inside cabinets and cupboards, and that specifically target pantry bugs, as long as you let dry before putting your food back. I did go this route, let it dry overnight, and then put my food back in. I wouldn’t do this as a preventative measure, but it’s amazing how your tolerance to toxic chemicals go up when you see thousands of bugs in your food. Some people may still not want to do this, and that’s understandable.
- Some people say a dried bay leaf in your containers will offer further protection against bugs. I’m not sure if this is true, but it seems to be a safe easy method to try and I’ll probably throw a few in as added protection.
- Put some sticky boards in your pantry to help you monitor the situation. There are some triangle/pyramid shaped ones available, to keep you from gluing your can of tomatoes to a bug trap, as well as some specifically designed to attract pantry bugs. Check them every few days to see how many bugs they have attracted. The life cycle of some of these bugs is about 8 weeks, so you need to know if new ones are hatching or more start appearing. And once they have been clear for a few weeks, you can stop being afraid to open food containers and glaring suspiciously at any crumb on your counter.

It’s been an experience. I’m fortunate that I caught it before it got everything – luckily my extensive spice cabinet was spared. I’m relieved no one has eaten at my house recently, because I’d wonder if I fed them bugs! I’ve learned that bad bugs happen to good people, even if you keep a pretty clean kitchen. And I think it could be worse - this is better than mice, or roaches, or a number of other horrific infestation options. Hopefully this will help you not make some of the mistakes I did, and be prepared if you ever have a similar problem.

Pantry Panic- Day 2

Yesterday was Day 1 of Pantry Panic from my guest writer Emily. Today she continues her story with things she's learned and how she plans to do things different in her kitchen, going forward. Being someone that shops sales, clips coupons and stocks up on good deals her story has really gotten my attention and made me think that one problem like this could be costly of time, money and energy. Come back tomorrow for Day 3 of her pantry panic!

Day 2:

Yesterday I admitted that I had a pantry infestation, but I’ve learned some lessons, and found some good tips on keeping this from happening again:

- Anything you bring home could have tiny bugs in it, and you may never see them until it is WAY too late. Some things, especially things that come in paper bags like sugar, flour, or corn meal, should be put into air tight containers and the original packaging thrown away. That way if you inadvertently bring something home, at least it will be contained. Clear or opaque containers are best because then you can see inside better. You can also store these items in the fridge or freezer if you have room, which will kill and contain anything in them, and keep them fresher longer. I’ve read that some people bring home items like this and put them in the freezer for about a week, then move them to air tight containers.
- Don’t stock up on items that you cannot or will not repackage or store in the freezer. It isn’t a deal if you lose it all and half your other food due to bugs.
- Rethink whether “your air tight” containers are actually air tight. Some of my canisters were older, and I found bugs inside them. Good, durable containers may be expensive at first, but they should last for years and if they save you from throwing away dozens of food products they are worth it. I’ve already ordered a handful of larger, nicer storage canisters, and I won’t be buying replacement food until they arrive. I’ve always used canisters because they are more convenient to try to measure ingredients out of, but I’m realizing that their ability to keep out moisture and bugs is far more important.
- Take a good, close look at any food product that is getting old before you use it, or anything that has made it into your pantry and not been properly sealed.
- On a regular basis, clean out your pantry! Take everything out, wipe off the shelves, look inside for any traces of bugs, move older items to the front to be used, and take a moment to stare closely into your canisters. If you can see through your container, look closely at the sides or bottom. Evaluate whether you actually need 6 varieties of pasta and 5 boxes of corn muffin mix.
- Keep pet food as far away from the kitchen as possible. According to some websites, the items most likely to carry food bugs into your house are flour, corn meal, and pet food. Ours is in the garage in an air tight (hopefully!) container, so I don’t think it contributed to our problem, and we’ve never had a problem with bugs in the pet food. But, it’s a good reminder to be careful with pet food.

Coming up: what to do if you find bugs yourself.

Pantry Panic- Day 1

Good morning!

Today is the first of three days from Emily, a guest writer. For the next three days she will tell her story of how one loaf of bread that she had rising on the stove turned into the most expensive and time consuming pantry clean-out that she's ever had. I assure you that reading her story will have you racing home to clean out your own pantry and become very aware of the groceries you have accumulating. Thanks to Emily for sharing her story, visit again the next couple days for days 2 & 3 of her experience!

Day 1:

This week my pantry came to life, and I don’t mean that in a good way. I reached into my pantry to pull out a box of barley, and was horrified to discover that it was covered in tiny bugs, crawling in and out. As I started to pull things out, I found the bugs in my flour, rice, pasta, sugar, salt, macaroni, muffin mixes, and crackers…you get the picture.

I always thought bugs in your pantry was something that happened to “other” people – those who don’t clean their kitchen, who keep moldy food around, who buy questionable food products from clearance bins at the discount grocer. But my kitchen is clean, these were mostly products I use on a regular basis, and these were brand name products from major grocery stores. I did, however, make some mistakes. One, there were two or three items that I had been storing for far too long, and some had been opened but were still in the original container. Two, I use food storage containers for pantry staples like sugar and flour, but they aren’t big enough to hold an entire 5 pound bag, so I would fill up the container, then roll the bag over and set it on top of the canister until there was enough room.

Before you start thinking that you don’t have a problem, think about this: I made bread with some heavily infested flour and it was rising on the stove before I realized what was going on. I’m not entirely sure what I had, my bugs were very small, and looked like grains of sand that were moving (note to self: do NOT do an Internet search for “pantry bugs picture” unless you actually want to look at the pictures). They were very difficult to see, unless there were a few and you were very close, holding very still, and specifically looking. So don’t be too sure that you would notice it immediately!

Stay tuned for tips on prevention, as well as what to do if you find some unwelcome guests in your pantry.

Pantry Panic!

Does the thought of the food in your pantry make you feel safe, prepared, ready for any meal that gets suggested? If you think your pantry is a safe place then check back for the next three days for special postings from a guest writer who will share her tale of pantry panic and what she's had to do to recover, restock and restore the order in her pantry!

Anniversary

My husband and I are celebrating our 9th anniversary today! It's hard to believe that 9 years have passed and that we are just one year from being married for a decade! WOW!

Don't get me wrong, it's not that I thought we wouldn't make it, both of our parents have remained married throughout all things good and bad so we have learned from the best. I do know there are some things I have learned through the years..

• Marriage is a journey, not a destination. I hear so many couples who are engaged focus so much time and energy on their wedding and while that is important, the most important thing is that you are still going to be married at the end of that day, for better or worse!
• Marriage is a contract between two people. Think about the vows you shared and what those words really mean, regardless of the number of years that have passed that contract is still legal and binding!
• You are not the judge of your spouse. I make mistakes, my husband makes mistakes and chances are, we both know when we do it, I don't need him to remind me and I don't need to bring it to his attention. Our Heavenly Father is the only one qualified to judge me or my husband.
• I have two "memory rooms" in my head. One of those rooms has all of the great things my husband does in it, the other one, the negative things. Both rooms have true things in them but I CHOOSE to spend time in the good room filled with happiness, thoughtfulness and memorable moments. That other room? That's to pray for my husband and the door stays closed.
• Marriage is not easy but it's so worth it! The friendship, love, companionship, tenderness, helpfulness, sensitivity and so many other things are reasons why marriage works and is worth it. I understand it doesn't work for a lot of people but it does for me and I cherish my husband for the man that he is, the dreams that he has and the husband, father and man he commits himself to being.

Elmo Cake for a First Birthday!

Since I posted yesterday about my daughter's second birthday and her Clifford cake I thought I would post her Elmo cake from last year too. Obviously Elmo and Sesame Street are much easier to find than Clifford and between Walmart, Factory Card Outlet and several online stores I was able to find lots of Elmo items for her party.

For her cake I used the Wilton mini stand bear pan to make this 3D cake for her. I also made a sheet cake for the guests but this one was all for her and she really enjoyed tearing into it! I used reduced sugar cake and frosting (good for these shaped cakes since they have pudding in the mix) and the eyes and nose were made from fondant so I removed those before handing her the cake to destroy. Yes, she did get red but it didn't stain and came right off in the bath and made for great pictures!

I love planning parties and her birthday parties are fun without feeling overdone, if you plan parties for your kids or family leave a comment, I love hearing new items for parties!

Clifford Cake and Party!

One of the things that had me really busy in the past few weeks was my daughter's second birthday party. She LOVES Clifford the Big Red Dog and anyone who has a child that loves Clifford knows that finding Clifford party items isn't the easiest thing, even online. Stores that do carry it are often sold out.

I resorted to ebay and found some cute toys that I could use for decoration and she could play with later. Plus, we used lots of red items (bowls, plates, cups, etc.) to go along with the theme.

For her cake I made a doghouse cake using the Wilton Stand Up House mold (which I doubled to make it sturdier and serve more). The base of the cake is a brownie made in a cookie sheet pan, for the non-cake people! I also found some cute dog bowls at the Dollar Store which I put graham cracker "scooby snacks" in that looked like dog bones! She had a great time and loved seeing all the Clifford items.

I've got to say the most I spent was on food but it was a great party and since this was only my second cake like this (we did Elmo last year) I was really happy with the way it all turned out! Happy Birthday to my 2 yr old!

Disconnected!

It's been awhile since I've written so stay tuned for lots of new posts!

On top of my busy life I had the unfortunate experience of a broken cell phone about two weeks ago. Since life was filled with to-do lists I took the time to change my greeting with an alternate number where I could be reached and told callers I would check my voicemail periodically. The first several days were wonderful! I didn't have to worry about digging in my purse for a ringing phone, reaching around in the car in a panic or running through the house to get to it in time. For a moment I thought..wow...life before cell phones, how wonderful.

Then...I needed a phone number that was in my phone and the following day I was going to call from the car to check a stores hours and I realized, yeah, this is also life before cell phones, the convenience of having some information at your fingertips is also wonderful!

Yes, I had my phone fixed and I am back and connected but for the week I had to live without it, it was wonderful, relaxing and I understood why so many resist the urge to be so available all the time. If you haven't taken the time lately, disconnect yourself and just relax...and take a minute to write down numbers that you only store in your cell phone, you may be glad you did!