Good morning and welcome to Day 11 of our 31 Days Of Deluttering In December! I was thinking about all of the decluttering that we have accomplished so far: the linen closet, the refrigerator, living room, nightstands and dressers, the items that you had multiples of, purse or diaper bag, entryway, the recycling, under the kitchen sink, the items you had borrowed from others, and seasonal items that you are no longer using. That’s a lot of decluttering!
Today’s challenge is decluttering, organizing, and cleaning out your pantry! If you don’t have a pantry, you can still participate! Your challenge is to clean out 2 cabinets that you store food in.
As you complete this task, keep your grocery list handy and mark down items that you are out of or know you will be needing to buy. I need to go grocery shopping today, the kids have informed me we have “nothing to eat in this house!” I would have to say I disagree with that as I’m about to tackle the pantry but we are definitely low on many items. This week the kids have wiped out many of our pantry items to donate to the local food pantry.
I like to start by taking all the items out of the cupboard. I then wipe out the cupboard taking care of anything that has spilled and any dust or dirt. If any of the cans have gotten dirty or dusty I wipe them off as well.
Next I group the items with like items. I like to group all the pasta in one place, canned veggies in another, and cereal in another. This way when I need something I know where to look. I can usually tell just by opening the cupboard what I am low on when the like items are grouped together.
As you are decluttering, be sure to check the expiration dates on the food. If it’s expired, throw it out! If it’s about to be expired, add it to your meal plan and use it up. If you have bought some items on sale that you know you won’t be using, consider donating to the local food pantry. Our church also collects food to give to people in the community who need it.
Check your spices if you store them in your pantry (mine are in a separate cupboard). Spices also have an expiration date. If you are like me, you may also end up with 3 containers of chili powder and find that you can donate at least one if it hasn’t been opened yet!
As you are about ready to put the food back in the pantry, it works well to put the items that you use the most in a place that is easily accessible. I don’t want to dig in the back of the pantry for canned fruit or vegetables because we use them a lot (especially now that our garden is done producing for the year.) Items that you rarely use are a good fit for in the back but don’t forget about them!
The last tip I have for you is if you need to buy some storage containers for your pantry, write them on your list. Would it be easier to store your pasta or chocolate chips in an airtight container? If so, add that to the list. I love Lock & Lock containers. One of my friends introduced me to them and I use them for my flour, sugar, powdered sugar, lasagna noodles, etc. I’m not saying that you need to invest a lot of money into items like this but it may help you. It certainly did with me!
I can’t wait for your updates on your pantry and cupboards look tonight! If you want to link up, snap a picture and meet back at 6 CST. For those of you who don’t blog, leave a comment and let me know what you were able to declutter, and hopefully bless someone else with!
Here are the previous challenges in this series:
31 Days Of Decluttering In December: The Introduction
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