Kitchen Organization #3: Vertical space & Knife racksJun 13, 2017Conceptually, I don't love knife blocks. I always wonder how sanitary it is down at the bottom of that slot that you put your knife in. All it takes is one or two times of not getting the knife totally clean... But that's speculation on my part. Knife bars are my joint. I love seeing them all out and displayed for easy use. Plus, we have almost no counter space. So, again, using the walls is the way to go. The knife rack is at an angle because otherwise it wouldn't fit on the wall anywhere near the cutting board.
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Kitchen Organization #2: Spice racks: More about vertical spaceJun 16, 2017Spices are weird. They are things that you absolutely need for certain things but usually aren't things you use every day. In fact you may use a specific spice once or twice a year. Plus, they are strangely expensive, so you don't want to just throw them out... even though they do lose potency after time. They are also a pretty awkward size/shape if you think about the standard shelf size and depth in most kitchens. Basically they are an organizational nightmare. Here are some thoughts/tips about organizing spices.
The spice racks are actually screwed to the outside of what was sold as a build in spice rack. (It's clearly an old ironing board cabinet.) We ended up having to seal it off when we got blow in insulation, but I've always had the spice racks on the outside. Just easier. * Microplane on Amazon: Don't get the curved ones. They just leave you with curved nutmeg, cheese, ginger, etc. which ends up wasting the product.
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Kitchen Organization #2: Use Your Vertical SpaceJun 9, 2017Really this one is partially a continuation of the first tip, keeping things that you use a lot handy. But since there is only so much counter space near where you need to work in a kitchen, use the walls! You could see in the last post that I have two mason jars next to the stove. Great, but that doesn't hold all my spatulas, ladles, and large spoons. A simple tool bar with S hooks solves that problem for just a couple buck and with a few screws.
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Kitchen Organization #1: Keep the good stuff handyJun 2, 2017I've decided to do a series of entries of the late spring & summer about kitchen organization and food/meal planning. Both are right in my wheelhouse as a former chef and not so intense for summer reading (and writing.) We'll start with kitchen organization. Let's start with kitchen organization. I have a much different perspective from the average "civilian" on how a kitchen should run. And, it actually works really well for me as an ADHDer. The first rule of my kitchen if you use it everyday, don't pack it up and put it in a cabinet. For example, my cutting board, knives, salt, pepper, olive oil, etc. are never away where it would be a pain to get them and use them.
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TryPod month... a little bit late....May 24, 2017So, it's clearly been a while since I posted, though I honestly hadn't realized how long it had been. Thus is the life of a business owner and a parent of an 8 year old and a 3 year old. So let's consider this my post for April. April is... was... TriPod month Scratch that. It was actually March that was TryPod month. Where have I been? The point is that most people still haven't tried listening to a podcast and many don't even know what they are and how to get them. I am a huge fan of podcasts. But, you may be asking yourself at this point, why is this relevant to ADHD? An understandable question, which I will not answer by asking you a question. Do you ever have a hard time doing those boring, repetitive, tedious, day to day tasks like laundry, driving the kids around, cooking dinner, doing the dishes, etc.? Well, there are many ways to make those tasks more enjoyable. Music is one. That's been around a while, if you haven't noticed. The radio works too. But there is often only so much NPR or sports talk one can take. Audio books can be good too, but sometimes they take too much attention and it's hard to get other stuff done. So, try a podcast, silly! I can almost guarantee that you can find a handful of podcasts to subscribe to that will fit the bill. Here are some that I love: 1. RISK (It's racy and edgy. Not for everyone. But very funny and often super poignant.) A storytelling podcast that usually features about 3 stories per episode. http://risk-show.com/ 2. The Moth. The standard bearer for story-telling podcasts. Consistently excellent and more "main stream" than RISK. https://www.themoth.org/ 3. Stuff You Should Know. If you nerd out on learning new things like I do, this might be for you. It can be a bit uneven, but I almost always learn something from Josh and Chuck. http://www.stuffyoushouldknow.com/podcasts 4. Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. Wacky weekly news game show from NPR. Great fun and okay to listen to with the kids. http://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/528670434/wait-wait-dont-tell-me-for-may-20-2017 I'll post some episodic suggestions worthy of binge listening in my next post. By the way you can get all of the at the itunes store as well. Listen on your ipod, phone, or computer... JUST LISTEN!
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Why not just hang up the clothes?Mar 17, 2017A quick follow up to last week’s post. It occurs to me that a neurotypical person might wonder why I don’t just hang up the clothes in the closet or put them back in the drawer at the end of the day. That’s what my neurotypical wife does… which still amazes me on some level after 13 years of marriage and 15 years of living together. Well the answer is hard to articulate but really gets to the heart of what ADHD really is. When we think “focus,” we generally think about sitting still in a lecture or something of that type. But one of the most under-appreciated and least recognized ways that a lack of focus affects us is the ability to do simple but routine and boring tasks. As ADHDers, because of our brain chemistry, we experience boredom in a way that a neurotypical person would have a hard time understanding. (I think I’ll do a post on just the boredom issue soon.) And, there is very little that is more boring for us than routine tasks like doing dishes, dealing with the mail, folding and putting away laundry, etc. This deficit is often attributed to motivation… or lack thereof. Personally I think lack of initiation is closer to the truth, but really, it’s just attention. It takes so much attention for us to focus on boring and routine tasks that it is far easier to not do them. The longer term consequences of having a messy room or a cluttered house just aren’t as compelling in the moment as the desire to avoid the excruciating boredom of engaging in the behaviors necessary to avoid that messy room. Standard Disclaimer: In an effort to foil my own perfectionist tendencies, I do not edit my posts much… if at all. Please and typos, mistakes, grammatical errors, or awkward phrasing. I focus on getting my content down. An imperfect post completed is better than a perfect post that goes unposted.
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