Feast of Saint Andrew (And Packing Away After)

November 30 is Saint Andrew's Day, and what a rich culture unfolds when you take the time to look.

St Andrews Day is culturally fascinating, and a chance for easyStorage to help out with ideas for packing those feasting implements in the kitchen, whether for storage or as part of a house move - Scottish or not!

For many Scots, it’s actually called Saunt Andra's Day or, in Scottish Gaelic, Là Naomh Anndrais. And it’s Scotland's official national day as St Andrew is Scotland’s Patron Saint.  (It’s also called the Feast of Saint Andrew or Andermas, just to mix things up a little)

St Andrew is believed by Christian religions to be the first disciple, and he introduced his brother, Peter, to Jesus. (Muslim faiths also acknowledge his existence.) In addition to Scotland, St Andrew is also the patron saint of Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, San Andres Island in Colombia, Saint Andrew in Barbados (can’t help wondering why?!) and of Tenerife, Spain.

 

St Andrew’s is believed to have been celebrated in Scotland as far back as the 11th Century, despite only having become an official bank holiday in 2005. As it’s the Feast of Saint Andrew, all those celebrations make for an awful lot of feasting.  

Which takes us nicely into kitchens and one of our areas of expertise – packing!

How to pack a kitchen!

How to approach packing up a kitchen will depend entirely on what you’re packing up for. If it’s to move, pay attention to the food and drink bit. If it’s not, skip it. Storing food long term, even the dried foodstuffs, is best avoided.

You’ll need to plan however you approach things, as the kitchen is one of the most used rooms in a house, and the beating heart of many homes.

Set aside if you’re packing to move

Set aside anything you’ll need before you move, and, if appropriate, for the first couple of days in your new place. Include crockery and cutlery for as many people as there are in the house, essential items like the kettle/coffee maker, things to wash and dry up with, and include kitchen cleaner and a roll of kitchen paper. (Sometimes a bottle of wine is also called for, but hangovers on moving days are bad news!)

Food and drink not being used

Now is the time to clear space by packing anything still in sealed glass bottles like wines, vinegar, and oils. If bottles are open, consider whether it’s worth the cost/risk of moving them. Make sure everything is dusted, clean and well-sealed before packing.

It’s best to pack liquids upright, and don’t forget to mark the top of the box, and that it’s ‘FRAGILE’!

The clean and dry rule

We’ll repeat it, and keep repeating it, but anything to be packed, whether for storage or a house move, should be thoroughly cleaned and dried to avoid damage to goods, mould, pests, bad smells and more!

Start with what you don’t use

Kitchen drawers and shelves are great for storing things we think we’ll use but never do. Be honest with yourself as you move things to pack up. If you haven’t used it in the last year, will you really use it again? This is a hard time to answer that question, as COVID meant many of us were unable to entertain last year, so when it comes to seasonal things, cut yourself a little slack.

Make sure that everything is thoroughly cleaned and dried before packing. Damp and food bits encourage mould and maybe even pests, and soggy boxes lose their strength.

The cutlery drawer can be packed, keeping aside one set per family member.

Glass things can be carefully packed. We created a ten-step guide here: Guide to packing Glasses.

Dishes and plates can be packed next, leaving out what you need, of course. Again, we created a short guide: Guide to packing fragile things.

Saucepans and pots are relatively easy to pack, but don’t forget that they too can be damaged, and that properly packing them will save you space, and therefore money. Line the storage/moving box with a towel or thick wadge of paper. Nest pots, pans and saucepans inside one another, each one wrapped in newspaper or packing paper. You should have space around the side, which is great for kitchen utensils, which should also be individually wrapped. This not only saves space, it also means things aren’t banging together as they move.

‘White goods’ like fridges, dishwashers etc need planning for moving and storing. Preparing will save you heartache – consult manuals, and if  you remain uncertain, call a professional for things like disconnecting gas, plumbing etc.  Fridges will need defrosting, which may take longer if it’s cold. Whatever you pack, make sure it’s clean and dry, and well protected. Wedge doors just slightly open to avoid mould forming – a folded tea towel’s width is enough, and then use tape to seal doors so that they don’t flap, and use proper sized moving boxes.

Small appliances include items like coffee makers and grinders, and basically anything used for food or preparation, whether manually operated or electric. Although they can seem tricky to pack, it doesn’t have to be a chore.  Try to find the original packing or a box that’s as close to actual size as possible. Don’t be tempted to put lots of small appliances together in one big box. Treat them as fragile, and keep them safe by giving them as little room to jiggle around as possible. Packing paper and tea towels make great padding. Take off any removable parts, pop in a bag or separate box, making sure that fragile parts are well padded, and put these in the same box. Use kitchen ties, elastic bands or computer wire ties to keep leads tidy, and if they can be removed from the appliance (like kettle leads) do so. The less there is flapping about, the less chance there is of inadvertent damage. Mark the top, and mark boxes fragile.

Large furniture like tables should be disassembled as far as possible before moving or storing, and any joints, screws etc safely bagged or boxed and attached to the item.

Cleaning things like buckets, mops, etc should be thoroughly cleaned, dried, lids on cleaners, well sealed down, and everything wedged/stored as upright as possible. If not going not storage, put a plastic bag over mop and broom heads – not because of the wet/dirt as you’ll already have dealt with that, but to prevent bits tangling or shedding. An elastic band or two to hold bits tidy won’t go amiss either. If going into storage, a cloth bag will preserve them better by allowing them to breathe. (Remember that cleaning fluids should not be held in storage.)

Remember

If you need good, cheap storage, there’s easyStorage!

And if you need good quality packing materials, look no further than easyStorage Boxes.