The Great Pantry Cleanout

We’ve all done it. We buy random ingredients for a particular recipe and then completely forget why we bought it. Then it sits in the pantry and/or refrigerator for months, nay, years.

If you know me, you know I love organization. A well-organized pantry has the essentials and not a lot of deadweight items. A bonus to an organized pantry is being able to see your ingredients you need right away instead of forgetting about it as aforementioned.

Here are a couple of tips to clear out the deadweight and create a stress-free pantry/refrigerator:

Expired. By far the easiest category because it is not debatable. Go through items and start looking for the ‘best buy’ date. Throw away anything past its time. The ‘best buy’ date is the date that items start to lose freshness. It is technically safe to eat but the texture and taste may begin to be compromised. Some common items are those Panko breadcrumbs, chips, and other snacks. The sell-date is different. That is what stores use for inventory and doesn’t have anything to do with safety.

Baking goods. Check things like flour, cornmeal, oats, and grains. Pests love them! Ants love sugar and can attract them if they are not sealed. Unopened dry yeast and instant yeast has a shelf life of two years. Once you open it - it drops to four months.

Cooking oils and fats. If your cooking oil smells even kind of off, toss it. When you toss it, don’t pour it down the sink because it can cause clogs. Just throw it away in its original container.

Dented cans. The USDA says deep dents are deep enough that you can lay your finger into it. Deep dents tend to have sharp points which damages the seam and allows bacteria to get inside of the can.

Dried beans. For the most part, dried beans last a long time. But keep in mind, after a couple of years, they start to lose nutritional value. Most of the natural vitamins in beans are gone within five years.

Maple syrup. This one is near and dear to my heart. My husband is a Vermonter. LOVES maple syrup. It is not uncommon for his family to ship us a gallon or two. Doing a little research, pure maple syrup can mold if it is unrefrigerated. We typically split the gallon containers into Mason jars with special pour tops that I found on Amazon and put them in the refrigerator. So yes, 90% of my refrigerator is maple syrup 🙄.

Unwanted stuff. You know those gift sets friends and family buy around Christmas time? Just stick to a use-it-or-lose-it policy when it comes to these things. If you haven’t used it in the past year, toss it.

I hope some of these tips help. I am sure you’ve heard them before, and if so, maybe at least you’ve got some motivation to get it done!

Happy Cleanout, T