Organize Your Pantry.

March 13, 2013

Does disorganization in your cabinets or pantry get in the way of stress-free meal prep? If you don’t know what you have or where it is, how can you cook or even plan? Here’s a quick plan to get your apartment pantry well-stocked, well-organized and ready for action.

Organize your pantry.

Is your pantry organized?

Clean out. Go through your pantry and pull out absolutely everything. Split your items into two piles: stuff you use and want to keep, and foods you haven’t touched in at least three months. For the stuff you generally don’t use, decide whether to toss it, donate it to a food pantry or serve it soon.

Create zones. Group your pantry items by type—grains, drinks, pet food, baking items, canned goods, soups, snack foods, etc. Group similar items within each zone, and give each zone its own dedicated shelf or drawer. Once the pantry or cabinets in your apartment are all clean and organized, stick to these simple rules:

  • Know what you use. How to know what to keep a stash of? Ask yourself what you eat most. Avoid the common mistake of filling your shelves with foods you don’t often use, such as a super-size bag of flour or a row of powdered drinks.
  • Shop small. The idea is to keep all items in your pantry constantly in use, filling the space you have with whatever healthy foods you might need. Buy in bulk only the stuff you use often.
  • Go canned. A lot of people think canned goods are not as fresh, but you can also enhance what you’re serving by adding fresh items to canned products.
  • Unwrap. Remove excess packaging before putting away foods.

More here.

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