Workable Workstations

It can be a big step to decide to undertake canning/preserving the season's goodness. When I went from college degree to stay at home mom, I found myself needing a productive project. Taking care of babies is a blessing and a calling, keeping house serves a purpose for the family's health and happiness...but let's be real, here. It is all a little frustrating...like hamster on the wheel frustrating. You mop, muddy feet enter. You cook, they eat and leave in a blink and are back for a snack just as fast. You feed and dress baby, he spits up AND loads the fresh diaper. Just slightly frustrating.

I needed something I could mark and quantify [accounting geek]. I needed to feel like something stayed accomplished for more than an hour or two. I gardened because it saved money -- I preserved for the same reason. I can admit it...I get warm fuzzies when I see my pantry shelves and freezer full of goodies to last through much of the year.

Yet it didn't happen overnight. I did not grow up this way.  My parents both worked and the biggest garden I saw was my aunts' gardens on spaghetti sauce day. Some people say it's amazing I do this with four kids...I say I would go crazy if I didn't have something like this to do as a SAHM. Even when working though, I loved having the joy of putting up the harvest and having good food to feed my family all year!

Canning and preserving is intimidating for some, but it becomes a lot easier as you get your feet and know what you are doing, what you need, and where you want everything. So today's lesson is the workable kitchen. You have to figure out what is going to work for you in your kitchen.  If you try it and something bugs you about the process, make a tweak to it next time until you get it where you want it.  It will make starting up each time easier if you do it consistently.  Make your own system.

Here is an example of how I setup to make the most of my space and be as efficient as I can. For me it is like a pivoting dance, all within a 10 sq. foot area in my L-shaped kitchen:

Setup your workstations:

• Sink (washing/garbage catching) -- scrap bucket at the ready for chickens.  I keep a towel next to the sink for the washed product to reduce the water everywhere problem. This is where I wash my jars up if they are not fresh from the dishwasher, too. Right side soapy water, left side working area.
  
• Island (workspace, scale, chopping block) -- I keep all of my needed tools, measuring cups, canning supplies in the island drawers so they are handy. Cutting boards, etc. below the countertop. Measure, chop, cut, where you have space. It helps to have back-up jars close to the stove too, if you can (if you don't have counter-space, a box of jars can live on the floor until cleaning/using). If you don't have an island, another solution would be the kitchen table -- basically you want a clear workspace so you don't have to shuffle things around constantly.
  
• Processor (and holding bowls) - this is where you make it ready for the recipe. Note caffeine available when needed ;) I have to say an actual food processor has simplified my canning tremendously -- if you are serious about doing this, put that on your wish list. The first few years I cut everything by hand and it worked but took FOREVER!
  
• Packing -- A towel helps contain any mess on the counters. OCD me uses dark towels for staining foods (tomatoes, beets, etc.) My salt, spices, and jar lids are all in the cupboard above my workspace here.  My vinegar is in the corner lazy-susan to my right. My magnetic lid-wand is usually found stuck to the range hood and the jar holders hanging on a cabinet knob (far left of photo). EVERYTHING handy -- you need to move fast during this phase to keep from letting things cool or get contaminated.
  
• Canner/Stove - this is the four-burner plan, kids -- the reason our kitchens top 100 degrees all through August! Lids, jars, cooking, canner. You will also want a timer handy. Don't wander far from the stove for safety reasons.
  
• Cooling - after processing, your jars need to cool at least 1" apart.  Best if they sit for 24 hours before moving, checking seals, and wiping down for storage.  If you don't have enough space, I understand. I eventually carefully (keep level and do not shake) move them after I hear the pop of the dome lids to the island a few feet away.
  
• Cleaning - Wash as you go -- don't let the dishes kill you at the end of the day.  Clean as you go -- FlyLady would agree, friends! As soon as your last batch is ready to go, make space and start washing!  I find most of my canning dishes are too big for the dishwasher anyway, so if I don't do them right away, they just pile up!
  
• Storage - store your jars of goodies in a cool, dark place if you can. I keep my jars in the boxes to limit light and store on our pantry shelves in the basement. I recommend stacking only two boxes high per shelf, only stacking if weight is evenly distributed on the bottom layer -- otherwise you may damage the jars below. Heavy duty shelving is a must -- if you've lifted those dozens of full jars you'll catch my drift! 
  

A few other tips -- just a few things that I found make this endeavor a lot smoother:

• Keep the kids busy: this is a great time for outside play, movies, or hanging out with the other parent.
• Buddy up: If you and a friend work together -- you can keep moving even when something is missing and needs fetched, or kids need wrangled.  This also helps to cut back the labor-intensity -- everything is better with a friend!
• Beat the heat: It is a sad inevitability when you are processing food for preservation -- the kitchen is getting hotter all day. Go to another room to enjoy a fan or AC in-between steps. Run outside and take a quick dip in the pool. Wear a bandana at your hairline to keep the sweat out of your face. Have a cold, wet bandana around your neck. Don't stray far for long, but a few minutes of relief makes a world of difference.
• Keep meals simple: Have a lunch you can just pull out and serve, or a dinner in the crockpot. This way, you are not splitting your attention between your preserving efforts and making a meal for the family. Even better -- if you have an older child that is capable, put them on lunch duty. Anytime the kids can help with household stuff is a double bonus -- you save time and they learn to be part of the team!
• Tune in: Get some music going. I tell you the truth, nothing lifts my spirit like an afternoon serving my family, being productive, and listening to the local contemporary worship station. How can you get down and tired with uplifting music going? You're dancing through the kitchen and the time goes quickly!
• Remember what's really important: Here's the big one, friends: all this work and busyness means nothing if we are doing it for our own glory. Yes, that little voice inside me says "I did this!" With good motivation, but still that is my nasty little pride talking. I did not do this. God did this through me. Just like He provides my husband's income to buy our groceries and pay our house payment...He provides the sun and the rain and the harvest for my canning efforts. He provides me the energy (and the resources like caffeine and vitamin B to boost that). He provides occupied children so I can get it all done. He provides good friends and family to motivate, encourage, and teach me. Mine are just the hands he uses to provide for my family - the glory is His.

See? A little organization and perspective can go a long way to dispel the myth that canning is too intimidating. With a plan and a song and a joyful heart -- you CAN...well, can anything!