Cleaning out my cupboard
September 8th, 2008
When was the last time you decluttered your cupboard or your pantry? If you’re one of those who regularly check expiration dates or have a FIFO method with your goods (first in, first out), good for you! But if you just haphazardly shove items into the cupboard and forget about them later on like me, then I’d think you haven’t cleaned out your cupboard in many, many months now. Well, that was the case for me. Here are some tips that I hope can help you clean out that cupboard.
Goodbye Spam, but hold the Pork & Beans!
My cupboard decluttering afternoon was brought about by a “Say No to Canned Goods!” agreement with H. Because we’ve been trying to eat healthier, it was a pleasant surprise that the canned meats in our cupboard haven’t been touched in months. I guess we’ve been better at this healthy eating thing than we give ourselves credit for. Off into huge paper bags went the canned goods, save for sardines and pork & beans. Hey now, we’ve got our weaknesses.
If you’re on a healthy eating diet or just simply want to avoid eating certain foods, take them out of your pantry! If it’s there, you might always find some excuse to eat it. If it’s not, then you save yourself unwanted calories and regrets starting with “I shouldn’t have eaten this…”
Holy crap, I had this all along?
Diving into a cupboard you’re not fully acquainted with is like digging through a pile of old clothes in a vintage store; you see the same old stuff but then you find one little gold nugget that makes you squeal. A box of Chai teabags did that to me. I also found a pack of elbow macaroni (expired), a bottle of pasta sauce (not expired), a bottle of strawberry jam (which, to my dismay, had been a buffet for some house ants), balsamic vinegar (for tenderizing steaks I once dreamed of cooking).
Leave no stone unturned! Take a look at each and every item in your cupboard. Throw out all the expired goods. Make use of those nearing their expiry dates. Get reacquainted with ingredients you once wanted to cook with. I think I’ll make a Chai Latte this evening.
How long do dried herbs and spices keep?
The answer to that is: a long, long time. There were at least ten bottles of dried and powdered herbs and spices in the cupboard. Before I let projects for recycling the bottles dance in my head, I opened a bottle of garlic powder and was hit by its beautiful, potent aroma. The dancing bottles in my mind were replaced with dancing garlic rice and buttered garlic toast. I did the same thing with the other spices, shaking them first before twisting their caps open. The aromas were still quite strong.
I did a quick check on the net and found out that dried herbs and spices can keep for years. That is if you store them in a cool, dry place. Given that I’d forgotten about these bottled herbs and spices, they were very safely stored indeed.
What belongs in the cupboard should be in the cupboard
Right beneath my wall-mounted cupboard is a preparation table for cooking. Instead of a space where I should do my chopping and dicing however, it contains my chocolate drinks, salt and pepper, boxes of tea, coffee. Since my cupboard was now clutter-free, into it went these goods. I’ve got more kitchen space now. Ah, space! I am coming closer to kitchen zen.
Try to place items for consumption in the cupboard. You’ll be grateful for the space that gets freed up!
If you’ve got any cupboard-cleaning tips, please do share! That’s one less thing to worry about. No more expired and undesirable items in my cupboard. Happy cupboard cleaning!
Image from stock.xchng
What if you’re happily married, and the-one-who-got-away suddenly comes into your life? Have you really found the one? Can you love who you’re with and still love the one who never really got away?
In my other blogs
