We have an ongoing problem in our household. Weevils in our pantry. Well I think they're weevils, I don't really know. I like how the word sounds though. Weevils.
What I don't like though is the way the breed and multiply in my pantry leaving almost everything in there unusable.
Even though I always do a really thorough clean out at the first sight of them, the problem is always back within a couple of months. Nasty.
So, that brings me to today. 8am on a beautiful Sunday morning and I've just spent the last two hours throwing out food, scrubbing shelves and checking for weevils.
I've got rid of all my screw-top glass jars (the weevils get into them really easily) and started replacing them with airtight Maxwell and Williams jars (the weevils don't seem to be able to get into them). I already had about half a dozen and found some on sale at Myers yesterday. 40% off meant I got 9 jars for $30. Bargain! Only problem is I need about 14 more. I would have bought them all yesterday, but I had to blow half my weekly budget on paying my overdue phone bill*. The nice kids at Vodafone wouldn't let me upgrade to my iPhone whilst I had an overdue account.
It kind of leaves me with a conundrum. I like to do things on the spot (Gen Y anyone?). So I would love to go back to Myers next week and buy the rest of the jars. Only problem is that because I got them for 40% off I don't think I can justify paying full retail for the rest... It just seems wrong.
I think I will have to force myself to wait until they go on sale again and stock up then.
In the meantime my pantry can look like everything else in my house. Kind of ok and completely unfinished!
* I permanently have an overdue phone bill. One of the things I am truly bad at is paying bills on time. If I had've made New Years Resolutions this year maybe paying my bills on time would have been one of them. But I didn't make resolutions and my bills are still all overdue.
What you need to do is: When you first bring home flour and the like put it in the freezer for two days. That will kill all the weevils and eggs. Then just put them in the jars. It's not something wrong with your jars, your flour is coming to you with weevils in it!
ReplyDeleteThings getting into my food is one of my worst nightmares. Probably because I can't afford to replace destroyed stuff! I love the look of the airtight jars. I've got tupperware that I inherited from my grandmother and it's been fine so far. Mice are our big problem though.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips girls! Throwing out so much food felt very wasteful, hopefully I won't have to do it again.
ReplyDeleteI've experienced my share of weevels taking over the pantry too and I am now the container natzi and everything must be sealed straight away after its opened. I've been using the large glass jars you get coffee in, my work buys them and I take them home when theyre empty and use them for flour etc. I've got quite a collection now (there are a lot of coffee drinkers here!). I like your jars and agree I think you should wait for the sale. Why buy something full price when you can get it for less :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a score Michelle. I raided my Mum's stash of coffee jars last year and used them for a party I was throwing. They would have been perfect though :)
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