Superfluous organization is pure nectar of the OCD gods. Helloooo sweet spice rack. I should clarify that my commitment to maintaining my spices in this fashion has less to do with OCD and more to do with the immense amusement I feel each time someone tells me what a nice rack I have. My other non-spice rack doesn’t typically receive the same commendations, so I get my kicks where I can.
When people enter my pantry and see this spice rack, their tendency is to react in one of three ways:
- They are genuinely in awe of how lovely it looks and how wonderful it must be to have access to so many seasoning options.
- They are quickly troubled by the way I leap into action returning the little jars into place that have been relocated by a fraction of a nanometer. These same people also appear to dislike my icy stares, but it’s a necessary defense that I must employ. There are those who seek to bring chaos to my spice rack, but thou shall not mess with the jars. <– Commandment # 11. Look it up. (Or don’t look it up. That’s probably a better plan.)
- They roll their eyes because they know me well enough to see through veil and recognize the reality.
And the reality that this display fails to disguise is this:
Juniper berries? I thought that those were for throwing at each other while waiting for the bus to arrive.
- I don’t have the slightest clue how to incorporate most of these spices into my cooking, and almost all of the jars remain sealed with plastic wrappers around the lids confirming their lack of use.
Celery has salt? I only use salt salt. Apparently celery also has cream, and I have the soup to prove it.
- Every spice displayed in this collection expired between the years of 2008 and 2011, and I worry that their antique food status only qualifies them to be ingredients in a witch’s brew for certain death.
Star anise? Quite lovely, but if it wasn’t in a spice bottle, I probably would have given these to my daughter to make an organic bead necklace.
- The real reason that I don’t use them is because frankly, I just don’t want to mess up all that pretty.
If you walk a little farther into the pantry and look slightly to the right, you will find that my OCD is selective at best. What I actually incorporate into my cooking isn’t anywhere near as aesthetically pleasing, but you wouldn’t know that since my cooking incorporates other delicious flavors that are neither expired nor vacuum-sealed shut. I will confess that this rule does not hold when I attempt to grill steaks. Those are less savory and more akin to replacement soles for my husband’s work shoes. I don’t why I can’t figure them out, but if you ever come for dinner and I offer to personally cook you some steaks, it’s probably best to assume that I dislike you. With a passion.
Most people’s lives are very similar to my nice rack…I mean spice rack. (Ha! It never ceases to amuse me.) At a glance, the pretty and organized parts look really good on the surface. Delve a little further, and it’s probably not quite as put-together as the display implied. And if you dig really deeply, you may uncover the parts that we typically don’t celebrate if we even notice them at all. The mundane. The messy. The unpretty.
The semblance of order is beautiful, and it flirts with my incessant desire for predictability, consistency, and control. But even I know that it is merely a veil. Life refuses to commit to coloring inside the lines.
So forget the order and give up the false hope of maintaining control. Appreciate the amazing and wonderful magic of unpredictability that can only be found outside the pretty. Also maybe stick with the chicken at my table.
But keep your paws off my rack.
- Seriously – what the heck do people make with this stuff? No. Don’t tell me. I’m sticking with salt salt. These are expired anyway.
*** MoJo ***
This post was inspired by the WordPress weekly photo challenge. Details are below for those interested in joining the fun.
Order
The sites below approached the concept of order in completely different yet completely fantastic ways. I love each of these posts. They inspire me and remind to keep my eyes and my perspective open. Thank you calmkate, serendipity, colonialist, lifeofangela, and kochiphotography for your superb submissions.
calmkate’s corporate configuration –
https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/36430263/posts/1489880021
serendipity’s own spice shout out –
https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/32386031/posts/1110289965
colonialist’s clever colony –
https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/13900062/posts/9733
lifeofangela’s affinity for alignment –
https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/110993086/posts/15269
kochiphotography’s beauty of the birds –
https://kochiphotography.wordpress.com/2017/06/08/order-of-the-birds/
One last note of thanks to my dear friend Maria. I am tremendously grateful for your beautiful friendship in my times of order as well as my times of chaos. You are a gift in my life. 🙂
Like this:
Like Loading...
Momentum of Joy 
