Favorite Posts: 10-steps to being well stocked (including why do I have 6 cans of chipotle peppers and no Pepto?)

I have often been accused of being a little too intense. As in "overly serious." But I had not always been so. As a teenager, I was quite silly. In fact, one of my nicknames in high school was "the Joke Nurse" because I would laugh at almost anything that was funny.

Somewhere along the way my humor got bogged down (probably with all the paperwork that accompanies adulthood). And I missed it, but wasn't sure how to get it back.

Then one Friday last year I wrote this post, and laughed outloud by myself in my office. It was the first spark of humor I'd had in a long, long time. And it felt great--

If project #1 in my back to basics challenge is meal planning, then project #2 is stocking up on supplies. Pantry supplies, toiletry supplies, hosting supplies, emergency supplies. In other words, I want to be well-supplied.

My intended purpose behind stocking up is to a) make it easy on myself and b) be prepared for the unexpected. So...

Step #1: make a list of the supplies I need. Try deliberately not to add "new red pumps" and "olive green leather handbag" to the list. Also scratch chocolate and wine.
Step #2: add chocolate and wine back to the list. Who was I kidding? Of course they're necessary supplies!
Step #3: stare blankly into my pantry and closets and realize that I have a) no room, and b) a mountain of things I haven't looked at in months.
Step #4: put my list on hold because it's crazy to shop before taking an inventory of what I already have.
Step #5: contemplate deeply why I have six cans of french-style green beans in my pantry even though I don't like them. Also, meditate on why I have twelve tubes of antibacterial gel and only one tampon.
Step #6: start eating the chocolate and drinking the wine.
Step #7: get back to business and finally weed out all of the unused and unnecessary items. Donate the good stuff to the food bank, charities, etc. Pitch the rest.
Step #8: start a new list of supplies because I've misplaced the previous one.
Step #9: go shopping for supplies. Resist handbag aisle. In fact, resist all clothing, cosmetics, magazine, and housewares aisles.
Step #10: place supplies neatly into newly cleaned pantries and closets. Smile and celebrate my accomplishments with chocolate and a glass of wine.

Original published on 12.Sept.2008. Click here to view original post.

Other silly posts:
a letter...
Extra-curricular
The Balancing Act (as told through vintage advertisements)