MOL

If you read yesterday's post you know I am now staring at involuntary retirement. 

More specifically, through no fault of my own, I was a victim of the massive tech layoffs that are in so many of the day's headlines.

As such I have decided to embark on new activities that in all honesty should have been regular activities. 

Which leads us to a new feature here on RoundSeventeen: 

The Man of Leisure Chronicles: Day 1

As I am writing this it is Monday morning. And as you can see from the picture above, I have challenged and conquered my unruly kitchen pantry. Maybe yours looks much cleaner and better organized than this, but I'm in Marie Kondo heaven right now having sifted, sorted, tossed and trashed so much kitchen detritus that has resided in this pantry since Eisenhower was in office.

Ok, that's an exaggeration. But I did come across some boxed Tomato Soup and Chicken broth that said it was best sold in the year 2015. Normally that would not phase me, as I believe many of these best sold dates are simply examples of comestible planned obsolescence. 

Sure, these foodmakers want us to throw out perfectly good food so they can sell us more perfectly good food. I'm onto to you, Big Ag. 

However, since I now reside alone there is a distinct possibility that had I slurped up the now-lumpy, aforementioned tomato soup, there is a chance I could keel over with gut-wrenching botulism and writhe around on my kitchen floor, with no help in sight. 

Additionally, as I made my way through shelf after another, I discovered an alarming number of duplicate items. 

For instance I had 4, count 'em 4, bottles of red wine vinegar. Admittedly, I use a great deal of red wine vinegar and olive oil as part of my new Mediterranean diet. And to make my homemade chimmichurri sauce which adds flavor to my daily consumption of salmon. Salmon. And more salmon.

Note to self: prior to grocery shopping and to avoid future duplication, write note to self.

It took more than an hour to reconstruct the pantry. And you'd think that would have exhausted me, particularly since I still have swimming, weight lifting and bike riding to do. But there is no rest for the unemployed. And so, feeling invigorated, I set my sights on something even more challenging than the pantry.

Behold the Junk Drawer...

Again, yours may look a whole lot better than this. But I'm awfully proud of the way I put the various screwdrivers, pliers, and tool-like object in one container. The cables and various electronic accoutrement in another. And even carved out a separate space for an old Casio calculator from 1983. I know there's a calculator on my iPhone, but I come from a family of CPA's and just couldn't part with this tactile relic from the past.

Of course not everything is in its place. The middle container houses all the miscellaneous stuff that didn't match my demanding organizational criteria. Think of it as a junk drawer, within the junk drawer.

Maybe I'll save and tackle the new shrunken junk drawer for a future Man of Leisure Chronicle entry? Bet you can't wait.