Cleaning the pantry...

There is nothing I dislike more about our apartment here in Okinawa than the fact that my pantry cannot be messy because it sits being glass cabinet doors. Usually, while Jon is away I purge the food at least once. I throw away all the items I have bought and decided that they should have stayed at the store because I/we will never eat them. The pantry was a disaster with no organization after 6 months which was the last time it got done. I did find some items I did not know I had but I found a lot to throw out. I wish I would have take a picture before but I have an after picture at least. (Yes, I like SPAM)

Another thing I dislike about Okinawa is having to have 5 trash containers. Well, the 5th one is optional. We have our burnable trash, glass, non-recyclable, and recyclable. I also separate Jacob's diapers because those have to go out once or twice a day because they get smelling pretty ripe if not! YUK! The thought of the smell makes me nauseated. The bad part about cleaning things out is the fact that you have to open and dump packages and rinse containers if need be and sort. I knew I would wake Jacob up from his nap with all the noise I was making but thankfully he is still asleep.

Did I mention that opening and dumping packages isn't as simple as pouring it into the sink? We have no garbage disposal as most off-base housing here. So, instead we have to buy little bags that look like nets and put them in the drain of our sink. Again something that must be changed out daily because the smell can sometimes be worse than Jacob's diaper. But, these little baggies sure do beat having to bang the drain trap over the trash can and then brush it with a toothbrush to get it all clean!