Using fresh produce in season has a variety of benefits, says the Home & Garden Information Center at Clemson University. First, freshly harvested produce is at its peak nutritional value and is unlikely to have needed extensive storage or artificial ripening. Produce sold in season is also more cost-effective for the end user, since seasonal abundance typically lowers prices. Finally, eating fruits and vegetables in season helps support local farmers and the community, while reducing the environmental impacts associated with soil degradation and long-distance transportation. #FreshProduce
Tag: fall
Keep Your Seasonal Produce Fresh
If you’re anything like the staff of The Organizing Blog, you grow and/or buy a lot of fresh seasonal produce during the summer and fall. But keeping things fresh can be a challenge! To avoid food waste and eat everything at peak, keep heavy items at the bottom of your shopping bag to avoid bruising delicate produce such as peaches and tomatoes, SF Marin Food Bank suggests. Know where to store items for longevity, whether it’s in the refrigerator, on the counter or in the pantry. And if you can’t use fresh produce before it goes bad, process it for later use and freeze or can it. Plan ahead, and you can eat healthy year-round. #FreshProduce
Get Summer Produce While You Can
It’s the end of the growing season for many #summer ruits and vegetables, but you still have a few weeks to take advantage of nature’s bounty. Summer vegetables such as tomatoes, corn and peppers are still widely available, and many root vegetables such as carrots, beets and onions are still coming in. Harvest them, pick up some at the local farmers market or buy some from a CSA before it’s too late. Store-bought produce just doesn’t have the same flavor — and when something lacks flavor, Growing Spaces says, it usually comes up short in nutritional content, too. #FreshProduce
How to Store Your Off-Season Stuff
If you live in an area where the #seasons change, you probably have multiple wardrobes based on the outdoor temperature: shorts and T-shirts for #summer, corduroys and coats for winter, and multiple layers for everything in-between. That demands a lot of #storage #space.
If you’re a person who is blessed with giant walk-in #closets dedicated to different seasons, you won’t have any concerns. But in terms of #clutter, it never hurts to pare the #wardrobe down to the things you actually wear and have them at the ready when the weather dictates.
Many of us perform a biannual swapout to prepare for the new season — or at least we should. Otherwise, you’ll need to sort through your swimwear in order to find your favorite sweater, and vice-versa. Take advantage of the change in seasons to #organize and edit your #clothing.
“Before you put anything in storage, you must take stock of your current off-season inventory,” says The Home Edit. “Editing will give you the opportunity to reevaluate your wardrobe to clear space and start fresh.”
Set aside anything that doesn’t fit, doesn’t fit quite right or fits uncomfortably. Set aside any items you haven’t worn in more than a year. Now’s the best time to get rid of any summer #clothes that didn’t get worn since the season and what you wore is fresh in your mind.
Next, sort the #stuff you want to wear during the #fall and #winter into the easiest-access #storage real estate — those shelves, hangers and hooks that you see as soon as you open the closet door. Do the same edit on the incoming fall goods, setting aside anything you can’t envision wearing.
Store the off-season “keepers” separately from the incoming season’s must-haves. That might mean a high shelf, under the bed or in the basement; just try to make sure those garments are protected from moisture, mold, mildew and insects.
Finally, bag your lightly used set-asides and #donate them to ClothingDonations.org by scheduling a #free #donation #pickup. Any damaged or stained garments can be thrown directly into the trash or shredded into rags.
#Streamlining clothing storage with the change of seasons will pay off by keeping your drawers and closets #clutter-free. What’s more, you’ll save lots of time by being able to find what you want to wear when you want to wear it, all season long.
Clean and Organize Your Garden Tools
A lot of #fall #garden prep involves #organizing and #storing things so they will be useful again when #spring comes. #Clean any hand gardening tools such as trowels and stick the metal ends in a bucket of sand “laced with vegetable oil” to prevent corrosion, says Better Homes & Gardens. Sharpen cutting blades on loppers, shears and mowers; drain hoses and irrigation equipment; and empty all gas-powered implements of fuel. Finally, empty flower pots and other containers of soil and store them in a dry, protected environment such as a shed or garage so they don’t crack during the freeze/thaw cycle. #FallGardening