How to Build a Packageless Pantry

As we ease into the warmer months, you may feel the need to strip back the layers a little. A little cleansing, clearing of the wardrobe and perhaps slightly less conventional, a clearing out of the pantry. The pantry is surprisingly a place of major clutter for many people, it’s amazing what can hide in there.

So, what does a packageless pantry mean?

It basically involves a removing of all the unnecessary packets of plastic, foil and wraps and replacing everything with a jar or sealed container. This means everything is more organized and remains fresh for much longer. A pantry doesn’t have to be hidden, once it’s beautified you could have it on display and bring some life and inspiration to your kitchen.

But where to start?

1. Simplify

This crucial step involves pulling everything out of the pantry. Then it’s time to sort into piles of what to keep, what to compost or what to give away.

2. Repurpose & Clean

Gather all your empty jars and containers - fill your sink with hot soapy water, soak and scrub them, then lay them out to dry fully (crucial!). If you’re short on jars, visit your local second-hand store or GoodFor store and get yourself equipped with a new set. Remember after a good scrub, any old jar will suffice!

3. Empty & Refill

Next, empty out all opened packets, bags or boxes of food and transfer them into your shiny clean jars. Get rid of anything past its use-by date and work towards buying only what you need or use and then buy in bulk.

4. Label

Once you’ve filled your jars, it’s time to label them. There are many ways to do this, a white chalk pen works well on glass, paper tape & a vivid, otherwise investing in a label maker could be a good idea.

5. Organise

Now it’s time to fill your pantry. Start by dividing it into sections. Keep spuds and onions on the lower shelves in cane baskets or boxes. Then find space for your spice jars; spreads; grains and legumes; then oils and vinegars. This is where your creativity comes into play.

Now it’s time to find your local store where you can take your jars, bottles and containers and refill without a hassle. GoodFor is the ultimate spot for this, “BYO packaging” is standard store etiquette, otherwise they provide paper bags which you can fill, then empty into your jars at home, too easy.

All Golden Yogi Members now get 10% off when you shop in the GoodFor Takapuna store. Simply present your valid Golden Yogi members card at checkout.

YOUR NEW LOCAL:

GoodFor wholefoods refillery

360 Lake Road, Takapuna

Opening Hours:

Weekdays 10am - 7pm

Weekends 10am - 6pm

www.goodfor.co.nz

0800GOODFOR

Winter Motivation & Inspiration

Over the winter months our natural tendency is to slow down and hibernate from the cold. It is important to keep our bodies moving so we stay healthy. When we exercise and move our body it helps to boost circulation of blood and lymphatic flow through the body, and makes us feel happy.  

Your lymphatic system needs exercise to work. The lymphatic system is known as the guardian system to remove waste products from the body.  Unlike the circulatory system pumping the blood around the body, the lymphatic system has no pump so relies on us moving our body to stimulate this system.  Whenever we move our muscles we are helping the lymphatic system move lymph fluid through the body. To remain healthy it is important that the body is removing toxins and waste products efficiently from the body.

Exercise keeps us happy. It is hard to stay motivated to keep active over the cold winter months when the circulation is sluggish. When we feel sluggish we generally have lower motivation and do not feel like exercising.  Exercising regularly will benefit both our body and mind to keep you feeling great over the winter. The hardest part about exercising is having the motivation to get to a yoga class, the gym, or out for a walk in the cold. To keep motivated it is best to create an exercise routine for yourself.  Once we start and our blood flow starts circulating we generally feel great!

Write yourself a weekly exercise schedule. This will help you to stay on track. Try to aim to do something most days as little and often is a lot more achievable than doing big long sessions.  Set goals for the week and make them achievable for yourself so you can succeed with the plan. Aim for 20-30 minutes per day.

Yoga keeps you happy & healthy 😀Yoga is great to move your body but also stimulate the glandular system to keep you healthy.  The Nadi Energy channels are like an energy highway system through the body and these energy channels link to the glands. Yoga postures create angles and shapes to pressurise the Nadi channels and stimulate through the glands in the body. Healthy glands are important for your health, immunity and regulate your mood.

With less natural sun light there is a higher incidence of depression and low mood over the winter months. Yoga and meditation helps boost your mood so you can feel happy. The important glands for happiness are pituitary and pineal glands. These glands regulate our neurotransmitters to allow us to feel happy and balance our mood.

By Erin O'Hara

Setting Intentions

“If it is important enough to you, you will find a way. If it is not, you will find an excuse.”-Ryan Blair

To truly get the most out of the year ahead and out of your life in general, set some intentions and don’t just leave it there but be proactive in making your dreams and goals come to life. If you really want to achieve something, you must participate in the process of making it happen.

Sometimes the hardest part about setting intentions is knowing or figuring out what it is that you really want. We often have fleeting bursts of inspiration, where we imagine starting something we think we will love or we imagine cutting something out that we think will make us a better person and while having these bursts of inspiration is great, it isn’t alone enough to achieve these aspirations; however, it is a good place to start.

So, what is it you want?

Step One - Brainstorm

On a piece of paper draw a big circle. Inside the circle brainstorm and write down everything and anything you want; use your intuition to guide you and just pour words from your heart into the circle. Don’t be afraid to dream BIG. It doesn’t have to be neat or concise in anyway and you don’t even have to believe you can make it happen; at this stage you just need to determine whether or not you want it, and if it is going inside the circle you have just drawn. Simple.

Now, on the outside of the circle write down what you don’t want. People tend to have some certainty about what it is they don’t want, which can be really helpful when it comes to figuring out what it is you do want, as at least you know what to steer clear of.

Step Two - Create Goals

Create some of your own steps! Whether it is something you consider a big dream or not there are always going to have to be steps that you must take in order to get there.

Dissect the words that you have written inside the circle and consider how broad or defined they are. Be clear about what exactly it is that you want and from this point create some goals that you will aim to complete within certain time-frames.

Divide a separate page into three; in one column, place goals you want to achieve within the next year, in the next column place goals that you want to achieve within the next 3 years, and in the last column put the bigger goals that you wish to achieve within the next 5 years. A lot of the goals in the first and second column may be goals that work towards the bigger goals in the third column.

Step Three - Create a Vision

Really consider if you want to or are willing to put the energy towards the steps that will get you to that final outcome and even ask yourself if the outcome is going to be worth it. What are you going to gain from this? Because the end result will be the driving force, so it has to be something that continues to inspire you to push through times of doubt.

Once you’re sure of what you want and you’ve taken some time to consider what must be done to achieve it, then keep it in mind! Create a vision board or journal. Actually take a minute each day to visualize or look at what it is you’re aiming for and keep aligning yourself with what must be done in order to get there!

Finally, be conscious of your efforts and don’t keep putting these things you want on the back burner. This is your life, go and live it!

Written by Nicole Ander