The challenge

So, it's the morning of day two of Project Use What Ya Got (I'll ponder on a catchier name. Suggestions are welcome).

This is the sum total of what I'm dealing with:

Part of my dining table (realistically just "table" - I live in a one bedroom, so this table is technically in the living room and I use it for anything I need space for - cooking, writing, piling crap on). This is where I have a problem with snacks getting slightly out of control. And for people who know me - yes, those really are bananas. I had a weird craving for them. I still don't like how they smell, but I have eaten 3 already.

Part of the shelf in my "hallway." This is where impulse buys go and rarely get used (this includes the soda, the sea salt, and whatever that is in front of the mustard). Note the large number of green "Archer Farm" items. Also, don't judge about the marshmallows - I bought them for a specific recipe that I haven't had a chance to bake yet.

My refrigerator. It's actually not in that bad of shape, since I just cleaned it out on Sunday. I'm working my way through the chicken salad (middle shelf, from Trader Joe's) and the pancake batter (top shelf, looks similar to a whipped cream can).

My Freezer! Packed to the brim with Trader Joe's items, which is definitely the worst place for fun freezer impulse buys. The problem is that you can't even see the layer behind the front, which I'm sure is where all the old stuff is lurking. I just bought the powdered chai on top of the freezer for my sister, who has a recipe she wanted to try last time she visited and we couldn't find it anywhere. I swear I'm going to give it to her.

The cabinet above my sink. Keeper of several lurking items that need to be used up (I'm looking at you, refried beans and applesauce), but for the most part this is actually full of staples for both baking and cooking that I have no guilt about owning.

Part of the cart in my kitchen. These need to be used up or put into cabinets because it is literally the only counter space I have in my entire kitchen, and..well, obviously, I can't use it as it currently stands.

Ok, I actually forgot about this cabinet until I started taking pictures. It's above my stove, and is full of instant mixes and cereal. I used to use the instant mixes quite a lot, but then I actually started baking and now they feel like cheating.

The goal is to empty my table (Picture 1), shelf (Picture 2), counter space (Picture 6), and seriously cut into freezer items (Picture 4). I cleaned out my fridge (Picture 3) on Sunday morning, so everything in it is fresh and yet to be expired. I also have my cabinet (Picture 5), which is full, but I have no delusions of emptying it. Compared to the other locations, the cabinet plays a supporting role - it has a lot of ingredients (flour, beans, rice, sugar, baking supplies) that will hopefully get used up as I wade through my other supplies.

(I just realized the entire above paragraph is written as if I were composing a "Results" section of a peer-reviewed paper. You can take the kitchen out of a scientist, but you can't take the scientist out of the ...well, anyway.)

Oh, and I also have a tea problem:

I actually have a couple more teas stashed elsewhere because nothing else fits in this cabinet. Oops.

Much of the tea I've actually acquired over the summer (I'll pretend that's true), when it's too hot outside to have a mug in the evening or morning. However, I may need to branch out into iced teas in order to make a dent in it before December.

Currently I am busy trying to eat all the fruit and early perishables (blackberries, mango slices) that I have in my refrigerator. As well as eat as many pancakes as possible this morning (the batter that expires August 16 - cutting it close!).

My breakfast - pancake sandwiches with blackberries and a cocoa almond butter (similar to Nutella). So far, eating what I have is pretty tasty.

My milk expires in a couple days, so I may need to set some ground rules about what I am allowed/not allowed to replace. I feel that milk is acceptable. I have yet to decide about items such as yogurt (I usually eat it for breakfast, which could prevent me from using up some other items such as instant oatmeal), or fresh fruit (mainly berries, which are all super delicious, but sometimes I do a poor job of finishing them before they go bad). Any suggestions as to rules I should set for myself? Although even allowing myself into the grocery store for milk could be a dangerous game...

A new leaf

So I had to give away most of my plants. And the three I kept (bell pepper, strawberries, and some herbs) have been slowly dying over the past month. The bell pepper looked promising at first, but some sneaky little bugs just moved in last week and have accelerated its yellowing process. I tried cleaning the leaves of both the strawberry and the bell pepper yesterday, but most of the leaves crumbled in my hands.

Sadness.

HOWEVER - there have been other happenings on the horizon. Including, most significantly, approval to FINISH MY PHD (ok, you all already know this, since the six people who read this blog are my parents, sisters, husband, and maybe my in-laws). But I still repeat it a lot because that makes it more real.

So, what does that mean? That means that I am doing my darndest to set a calendar and stick to it. My current plan is to defend in early December and be out of Boston by the new year. It sounds far away, but I've already committed sending my first dissertation chapter in late September, which sounds very close.

What also sounds close is that over the course of less than four months, my apartment needs to empty itself out. I have to use/sell/donate/throw away/ship to Switzerland everything that I own (options listed in order of preference). And I own a LOT.

I have issues with books - especially remainders, or "Bargain Books" as they call them at Brookline Booksmith ("Ooooohhh, only $4 for a hardcover! I've vaguely heard of this subject area, and now suddenly I want to know everything about it and this book is the perfect opportunity! I can't let it get away. Look, a mystery! And a current fiction! And sudoku! And more crosswords! MUST BUY THEM ALL." The dangers of bookstores are highly underrated). Although, to be honest, I also have a problem with getting rid of books, so most likely we are looking at some expensive, heavy boxes to be shipped (to save, I plan to send them by ship, preferable a steam one. Is that still a thing?)

I have issues with clothes - especially clearance ones. ("Oooh, another graphic tee, and this one is only $6! One can never have too many graphic tees! Plus who wants to do laundry regularly? If I get these four shirts, that's almost another week I can skip. Hmm, but in order to do that, I'll need more socks. Ooooh, these socks have sushi on them! I definitely need these.") I have managed to cut down on this habit and now anytime I try something on at home and don't like the way it fits, it automatically goes into a donation bag. I just donated six bags of clothing this past weekend - and I still have 2 closets, an overflowing dresser, and a plastic bin full. It's a slow process.

I also have problems with food and groceries. Possibly because the grocery store is between home and lab, so it serves as a poor substitute for retail therapy after a long day in lab. Or possibly because when I am heading home I am always hungry, and even frozen french fries suddenly appear delectable amid the grumblings of my stomach.

Accentuating the groceries problem is that I buy dog food at Target. Which, of course, means that I am in Target every two to three weeks. The Target closest to me recently expanded, and now the dog food is next to the people food. Those stupid store designers/psychologists are REALLY good. I've read articles about how they design the stores to make people wander and look at/buy things they don't need, yet I still do it - every single time. Gah. Target is the Holy Grail of "Snacks you never knew existed and yet now need to buy" and I mostly blame Archer Farms. Stupid dark green packaging and attractive photographs! Apparently the only way to not spend too much money at Target is to never, ever GO to Target. At least at the grocery store I do a decent job of sticking to the edges of the store and thus typically buy fresh-ish type of items.

/end Target rant

So, why am I posting all this? Because I have posed myself a challenge over the next few months. After hitting both Target and Trader Joe's this past weekend and finding myself a couple hundred dollars down (if I had smelling salts, I would now give them to my parents and husband. Sorry and I love you guys!), I realized that I needed to get serious about using up items I already have.

The problem is that I have often told myself to do this previously. True, I didn't have an exit date looming on the horizon, but I did have a full fridge and cupboard. And I still bought more. So, how to make myself accountable? Well, first thing, I posted my intentions on facebook (the keeper of all commitments). However, I figured people there didn't need to hear my updates on how I'm doing, so while the initial intent is honorable, the follow-through is nil.

So instead, I'm hi-jacking my defunct garden blog (although the garden will be resurrected in Zurich next spring! I've made a patio for plants part of my "must have" list for an apartment - right below "dishwasher" and "kitchen larger than a cardboard box") and using this as a way to keep me on track and also keep note of any fun recipes I might discover on the way.

If you want to follow along, please feel free. If you have no interest and prefer to wait until I talk about plants more, feel free to check back in next March or April (when does it get warm in Zurich?). <3

PhD? What PhD?

Disappointed that I will be finishing my PhD at the end of the summer (I had hoped to finish by May), I've decided to make the best of it and carry out one of my (not-so-secret) desires to have a garden. Unfortunately, I live on the 5th floor in an apartment and have no yard or garden. What I do have is a small iron patio outside my kitchen. It's not a proper fire escape, as there is no ladder or stairs, nor is it truly a patio, as the only way to get out on it would be to stand on my stove and crawl through the window. I'm not sure what purpose it has ever served. But this summer, I plan to use it to grow (in my mind) a treasure trove of delicious fresh herbs and veggies.

I first went to Target, unsure if they even have a garden section. They do, but it's two small aisles stuck between the barbecue and patio sections. It has a disappointing selection and also assumes that all gardeners must grow plants in bulk, a strange assumption given that this particular store is quite close to central Boston, not known for its large backyards or gardening spaces (although I have walked by several community gardens that look lovely, and I can only dream that I would have the time to devote to such an endeavour). Despite their slim pickings, however, I selected five seed packets of "organic" seeds for various herbs (two types of basil, chives, oregano, and thyme) and two trays of seed starters. Both claimed to be eco-friendly, which appears to mean that they can be planted directly into the soil and the "cup" will degrade. One tray claimed to be self-watering (upon closer inspection this simply meant it was capable of not being watered as often, which in reality is quite different), so I bought it, hoping that at least some of my seedlings would survive my inability to judge when things should be watered.

My next stop would be Home Depot, but by the time I got out of Target (it had recently expanded to include groceries, so I felt compelled to walk down every aisle and buy more snacks than I could ever consume), it had closed. I put it on my list for another day and headed home.

Thanks to my good friend Melissa (of Researching Paris) and the book The $64 Tomato by William Alexander for inspiration - the former for the blog, and the latter for the garden!