Hello World
Who is interested in Pots and Pans talk?
What on earth is there to know about Pots and Pans?
How many of us find the Pots and Pans stuff Boring?
WHY would we want to read about Pots and Pans?
Is there anything to say about these everyday utensils?
Do we think buying Pots and Pans is not worth our time?
Do we rarely cook but have a unit full of Pots and Pans?
Do we have fancy Pots and Pans for that special day?
Do we actually take deep care of our Pots and Pans?
Do we think investing in decent Pots and Pans is going to give us years of real use?
Do we see our Pots and Pans as something to use, but never give it any attention?
Do our Pots and Pans have stains that we have never considered removing?
Do we hate the washing up where the Pots and Pans are soaking, as we burnt stuff during cooking?
Do we hot trot to the shops or go online to replace a pot or pan, soon as it looks too manky for our fancy kitchen?
Do we tend to spend our money on nonsense, instead of buying a pan that would serve us?
Do we lose the lids and never seem to tidy up our Pots and Pans, which are all over the place?
Do we wish we had the perfect pot to cook the stew?
Do we hanker after a pan that could do the job properly?
Do we wish we could afford good quality Pots and Pans, but we have not considered looking after the ones we do own?
Do we ever take time out and give the inside of our greasy pan a good scrub?
Do we ignore the outside of our pan, which has those dark brown ingrained stains?
Do we find the space in our day to do the Odd Job of deep cleaning our saucepans to bring them back to life?
What if our Pots and Pans could communicate to us?
What if the actual state of our Pots and Pans tells a story?
What if the way we store our Pots and Pans gives us a clue of how much we value them?
What if our Pots and Pans simply confirm to us how we go about daily life?
In other words, the respect and appreciation we have is shown to us by the condition of our Pots and Pans?
What if taking care of our Pots and Pans should be a standard that is the same as taking care of ourselves?
What if we stopped to consider what our Pots and Pans offer us by way of reflection?
What if having an arrangement of Pots and Pans that are barely used is not the answer?
What if looking after our Pots and Pans should be a Priority for our daily living?
What if we could teach our kids the value of the small things like our Pots and Pans?
What if we started to Appreciate that our Pots and Pans really do deserve our attention?
How many of us find a favourite pot and use that above anything else, even though it is completely worn out?
How many of us find joy in using our Pots and Pans and reviewing from time to time, to ensure we only keep what we need and use?
How many of us gift someone a Pot or Pan because we felt the value of it in our own home?
How many of us choose a cheap pot to give as a gift, whilst making sure we have the top end range in our own house?
How many of us pay no attention to what is in front of us and ruin the non-stick with an electric mixer and scratch it all up, making it impossible to use again?
How many of us get frustrated when we use the wrong size pot and then Blame the pot, which makes no sense?
How many of use tissue to wipe the inside and stack it away for next time, instead of a good old washing in the sink?
How many of us give our Pots and Pans a quick rinse, as anything more is not where we choose to give our time?
How many of us think the throwaway society we live in means we can discard of our Pots and Pans when we have had enough, as it’s ok to just replace them?
How many of us care about where the Pots and Pans end up that we trash out?
How many of us have even considered landfill sites and what goes into them?
How many of us hoard pots that we inherited and all those we collect but never use?
How many of us find the time to keep our cupboards clean where our Pots and Pans are stored?
How many of us are simply not interested in the love, deep care and attention to detail that is possible for our Pots and Pans and every other item we own?
How many of us are simply not interested in paying attention to the detail that is possible for our Pots and Pans?
How many of us would love to take more care of our Pots and Pans, but would like someone else to do it for us?
Dear World
Have we ever considered that if we started to take deep care of our body and our environment, then this would have a ripple effect?
This means we would see all things the same and value and respect anything and everything and that includes our Pots and Pans.
What would our world be like if we all started with this simple taking care Business in our individual lives?
Could the Simple tasks in daily life be the game changer?
In other words, our micro movements would change the macro – our world.
Comments 9
I doubt pots and pans are everyone’s cup of tea, so this may not end up being a popular blog, but is it worth considering what is being presented here?
I used to be the owner of many pots and pans but with downsizing home after home, we now live pretty simple and I love that.
A long time ago we invested in some strong life long type of pans that are still going.
Some of the daily regular use ones do require the extra effort and I make sure it is not done when I am tired or not feeling the impulse to do so.
There always seems to be the space and the time, when to get the brillo pad out and some super focus and off I go in anti-clockwise movements to remove the ingrained stains that seem to be on the bottom or sides of a wok or frying pan.
I love doing this job and I know my pots and pans appreciate this.
It is my way of saying thank you and that I care for them, just like I take deep care of my body. I see them as no different.
Probably a bit way off and whacky to think like this or even write a blog about it – but WHAT IF ?
What if everything is everything and everything matters?
Just because we are not taught to value and appreciate this stuff, does it mean we just discard and trash out pots and pans when they get too manky or do we treat them with the utmost regard and respect?
I feel our world has become a throwaway culture and kids are growing up only knowing that we are a disposable society and it’s ok to not care about important items in our home, like the pots and pans.
What if we go back to old fashion simple living in our homes and then in our work too?
What would our world be like and think about how little the waste would be on our planet as a direct result of us taking more Responsibility.
What an excellent blog and an excellent subject.
I don’t know a single other website going to the places this website goes.
Pots and pans as a metaphor for life. This really resonates with me.
A dear friend recently bought us a fantastic, practical pan.
I had had a big pots and pans clear out and this pan arrived like a gift from Heaven. The perfect size. High quality. Clearly a pan they appreciated using.
Everytime I see that pan in the kitchen or use it, I feel and equal that appreciation.
And funnily enough, just last week my son and I set to the browned bottom of a pan with a scourer.
We talked about taking care of it because it takes care of us.
And reading this blog, I can feel how so true that is and how true it is that these things become a normal part of life when you have a high level of care and respect for yourself as your foundation.
Just reading your comment here JS, I realised that the brown stuff appears more often than not and whilst we all have busy lives and pots and pans are really not in the priority list, I know it plays a part.
This week it was another review Sunday and everything under the kitchen sink was cleaned and looked at to see if it is needed and there are always signs – prompt reminders like the brillo pads saying “hello, time to start using me and my mates here”.
Well it worked as I cleaned up some saucepan lids yesterday and my husband followed through and done the saucepans. My goodness they look brand new and you would want to use them to cook in. This has now started a new movement here – let’s get the others done where needed as not all require this deep clean.
You are right JS – there is no website like this and who talks about pots and pans as a metaphor for life.
To me it means we are letting things slip or can’t be bothered attitude is in the air and above all it gives off a stagnation. All of that is like a dis-ease in my home and I love fresh air, clean and clear vibration which is the opposite.
So I make sure there is a consistent and regular review of anything and everything and with it comes a simplicity and that follows through in other areas of life.
It would be like saying the one life is where everything is the same same.
Everything matters because everything is everything.
The bigger picture that I am now more aware of than ever before is about why would I not take care of my pots and pans, just like I take deep care of my body without perfection of course. If not, the discarding and getting rid of has an impact on our world and this is something I want to look at closely.
Ending up in landfills or another part of the world because I neglected a pan and wanted a new one to replace it is not something I want to subscribe to. We have become a culture that has no bounds when it comes to waste.
I plan to do my bit and take more Responsibility and that means no more nonsense buying just because I can – even if it is a new pot or pan.
Since reading this blog, I can feel where an upgrade is needed to our pans at home.
We have been limping along with a battered old number we use a lot for boiled eggs.
You can feel the limp when you pick it up or wash it.
Isn’t it interesting, that we know what is needed? We can feel the low standard. It registers inside even if we don’t act on it.
Sometimes it takes someone walking the walk (e.g. writing a brilliant blog like this) to open our eyes or help us activate what we have already seen.
Yet another superb blog – thank you Simple Living Global.
What I love about this one, is that it is a very simple and clear metaphor for life.
What if everything matters and so how we care for those seemingly small things in our lives makes a BIG difference to how the macro life of society is?
We have dropped our standards so low now a days, that it leaves me questioning whether en-masse there are any standards at all and that’s also why this blog is so refreshing, because it is re-introducing standards back into our lives.
Personally, I do take care of my pots and pans and actually enjoy doing so. I have a few pots that have been given to me by close friends and I think they would be pleased if they saw the condition they are in, as I have loved and looked after them since they have been given to me.
I also have a set that are at least 7 years old now and they are also doing pretty well. With the help of my friend brillo – they have kept their shine as stainless steel pots.
The bit that I enjoy most with my pots and pans is drying them up and putting them away after they have been used, as a way to say thank you and in preparation for our next meeting.
I always put my pots and pans back in the same place, out of respect and these simple actions feel like standards to me and they are standards that I will never drop.
We have a big casserole pot and we use it to cook up some favourite recipes.
The pot is well made, solid, dependable.
There is something about getting that pot out. Everyone in the family knows it’s delicious ‘Aussie stew’ time or similar.
For me, this is interesting. That a pot can illicit a response before there is anything even in it.
It goes to show that how we use our pots and pans, the way we cook in them, the way we take care of them, all register.
A big clean up today after a big cook up.
I asked my 8 year old to try his hand at washing up the big roasting trays.
Usually we keep these pots for the adults to wash, as they are unwieldy and hard work.
He went to town on them with care and precision.
It was amazing to see. Perfectly capable and using his initiative, he got the job done with little support.
He took more time over those trays than I do and that was great to feel.
It made me realise that each of us brings a different technique and angle to these simple tasks.
Surely our pots and pans benefit from cycling though this different TLC, and our kids get to contribute to all the aspects of homelife, too.
Pots and Pans – we may think that this is hardly a topic worthy of a blog, but the underlying message is very important.
Just because they are ‘only’ pots and pans, does it mean we should treat them less than anything that we consider important in our lives?
Without these ‘Pots and Pans’ we wouldn’t be able to cook our food which potentially means a lack of proper nutrition and just as importantly, a lack of true nurturing.
It makes sense to treat them with the respect they deserve and make sure they are cleaned properly, put away properly and cared for properly.
And yes, I am guilty of ruining a pot by scratching the bottom whilst whizzing soup –
This was done simply because I was away with the fairies, thinking about something else and not concentrating on what I was actually doing – how many times has something happened to us when we are not focusing on the task at hand and instead we are daydreaming about something else?
To date, I have not scratched another pot and it is something I avoid simply by being consciously present with myself while I am doing the whizzing.
Of course, this goes for everything I do now – without perfection, as I still catch myself sometimes having done something and wondering to myself ‘where was I’.
A friend was washing up and we got talking about needing to give those brown ingrained stains at the bottom of the pan a good clean with the old fashion brillo pad that has a pink soap.
I found some and started the task of cleaning first the heavy duty stainless steel one used for soups. What a joy to bring it back to life as that is how it felt. Brilliant clean and shine with no effort. This is something I have been practicing and that is not to push or press hard or use force to get a task like washing pans or cleaning the bathroom tiles. I have realised the job still gets done but no pain in my hand or arms as the movements were gentle.
Next – today I happened to notice the casserole pot base was ingrained with those brown stains that accumulate over time and brillo pad was just there on the work top next to the sink and it just felt like the perfect time to action. I did not push it and bring out more to clean – only the one I had to wash up and it was amazing to see the whole pan feel so different when I finished. I realised how something so practical can bring attention and focus to detail and whilst doing the task I was fully present and it helps with having no distraction.
I feel inspired to one by one go through all the pans and get them upgraded with my brillo pad. There is no need to replace pans when they look a bit used as that is our modern day world of throwaway and replace. No concern about recycle or landfill or charity goodwill shop. As long as we can have new that is what we want.
What if we did this task regularly?
What if it is not tedious or mundane?
I know for sure I will keep this up now as I simply love knowing that my food will be even grander and greater coming from a pot or pan that has had some real love and care.
Washing up in resentment left my radar decades ago.