"unclutterer" news and stories

I enjoy grocery shopping and spend more time in Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Shop Rite and my local produce store than is probably necessary. However, I know that lots of folks don't see grocery shopping as pleasurable endeavor in the same way that I do. For those of you, the folks at Unclutterer have put together a series of helpful tips on how to get in and out of the grocery store quickly and effectively.

They start by recommending that you make a weekly meal plan, so that you know what you'll be eating for a series of days. That way you can create a list and shop accordingly. They also suggest that you try to shop during off-peak hours so that you can move through the aisles and check-out stands in a more timely fashion.

I know that there are expert grocery shoppers among you out there. What are you secret tricks to keeping your kitchen stocked with a minimum of time and frustration?

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While I am typically not particularly picky when it comes to food or drink. However, when coffee is concerned, I am pretty darn selective (my coffee addiction has been well-documented here, here and here). I love coffee, and don't have a whole lot of tolerance for weak, burnt or stale coffee. However, even I sometimes get tangled in the "how to store you coffee bean" debate. For years I fell firmly in the camp that believed that coffee should live in the freezer. But then I read somewhere that it was best to keep it at room temperature and so I begrudgingly switched. These days I keep my coffee out on the counter, in large part because I go through it fast enough that I don't worry about the oils in the beans going bad.

Over at the Unclutterer, Erin has put together a helpful guide with tips on how best to store coffee. According to her research, my storage technique seems to be okay (room temperature is acceptable, as is the freezer for beans that you want to keep for the long term). She does stress that coffee beans should not be stored in the fridge, as it is far too moist in there.

How do you guys store your coffee beans? Fridge, freezer, room temperature or some combination?

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The refrigerator in my apartment is a very bare-boned model. The shelves are bare wire racks, which means that if something leaks on the top shelf, it very quickly saturates the entire fridge. There isn't a cheese drawer (I have an old clear plastic shoe box on the bottom shelf that corrals the cold cuts and cheeses) and the space on the door is slim. The one thing I do have is two crisper drawers and I use them as much as possible, often stuffing them beyond a comfortable capacity. This does sometimes mean that I lose a green pepper or a head of broccoli, only to find it again when it is soft and brown.

Over at the Unclutterer, Erin has a similar problem with her crisper drawers and began to wonder if the crisper drawer was the best place to store her fruits and veggies. She has put together a list of produce and the storage recommendations for each item. It's a helpful resource and one that may save you a lot of money and pain, as it will teach you how to keep your apples crisp (keep in bags punched with holes on the shelf for good air circulation) and your corn fresh (keep in husk if you're going to use it immediately, otherwise remove the husk and silk, vacuum seal and freeze). She also says that bananas can go in the fridge to slow down their ripening, that onions should go someplace cool, dry and ventilated (not the refrigerator) and that potatoes can be stored in the crisper drawers, but should be given a day to warm up to room temperature before you use them.

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