A packed pantry can make it surprisingly difficult to see what you actually have. Before your next grocery run, it may be worth going shelf by shelf and clearing out the foods and miscellaneous items that have been sitting there untouched.
You may discover ingredients you forgot about, several packages of the same thing, or foods your family simply won’t eat. Clearing those things out makes it easier to see what you’re truly running low on and could keep you from buying another jar, box, or bag you already have.
Here are eight things to look for before you restock your pantry.
Expired or Questionable Food
Start with anything clearly spoiled, stale, or no longer safe to eat, along with products that have been sitting open for too long. Check canned goods, snacks, spices, baking ingredients, and condiments individually rather than automatically throwing something away based solely on the date printed on the package.
Half-Empty Packages and Duplicates
It’s easy to end up with two open bags of rice, several boxes of pasta, or multiple containers of the same snack scattered across different shelves. Combine identical products when appropriate and make a point of using partially opened packages before adding another one to your shopping cart.
Foods No One in Your House Will Eat
That specialty ingredient you bought for one recipe isn’t doing you any favors if you haven’t touched it in two years. The same goes for unwanted food gifts, abandoned diet foods, unpopular snacks, and other perfectly good products that continually get pushed to the back of the pantry.
If unopened food is still safe and meets your local food pantry’s donation guidelines, consider donating it instead of throwing it away. You’ll free up space while giving someone else the opportunity to use it.
Damaged Packages and Containers
Take a closer look at cans, boxes, bags, and jars as you clear the shelves. Leaking containers, badly damaged cans, torn packages, signs of pests, and moisture-affected food shouldn’t keep taking up pantry space.
Food You Bought Too Much Of
Buying in bulk can save money when you actually use everything, but it isn’t a bargain when half of it sits untouched. Take inventory of oversized packages, bulk ingredients, meal kits, drink mixes, pet food, and other stockpiled products so you can use what you already have before buying more.
Condiment Packets and Takeout Extras
A handful of ketchup packets can somehow turn into an entire container of sauces, napkins, plastic utensils, straws, and chopsticks. Keep a reasonable amount of what you actually use, and clear out the growing collection of takeout extras you keep passing over.
Storage Containers and Reusable Bags You Don’t Need
Pantries often become storage areas for more than food, which is how stacks of mismatched containers and reusable shopping bags start taking over valuable shelf space. Get rid of damaged containers, match loose lids to their bases, and reduce your reusable bag collection to what you’ll realistically use.
Things That Don’t Belong in the Pantry
Receipts, expired coupons, old shopping lists, unused kitchen gadgets, outdated menus, and random household items have a way of landing in the pantry and never leaving. Toss what you don’t need, and move everything else to where it actually belongs.
