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!
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Hi! I'm Toni Tiu,
and I've been blogging at
at Wifely Steps since 2003. This started as a blog to help newly weds adjust to married life. It has evolved into a home and parenting blog. I write about things close to my heart -- good eats, good reads, family, marriage, and the little things that make everyday happy.
witsandnuts
September 8, 2008 at 12:26 pm (16 years ago)I’m into FIFO. I have the habit of checking out stuff almost weekly. But still I’m amazed to see items that I never thought I’ve long been hiding and never thought I’d actually bought. Like my quasi-diet paraphernalias, Special K cereals and many others.
Have a great week!
witsandnutss last blog post..Persuading Emma
Sinta
September 8, 2008 at 5:47 pm (16 years ago)I clean out my cupboard every few months
and must admit I do have quite a few canned meat in it. Very bad processed meat, but they are for the days I come home from work, shattered and the idea of cooking supper unappealing. I’m glad you said dried herbs last forever! I have some fresh herbs from my garden drying in the airing cupboard, which I will then store. It’s brilliant! As for cleaning tips, I don’t have much really. Just always be aware of what you have and use it before it goes out. I have a small household, so the cupboard needs replenishing routinely, especially tomato soup. I love tomato soup.
Sintas last blog post..Twilight
Rach (Heart of Rachel)
September 8, 2008 at 10:31 pm (16 years ago)Great tips Toni. My husband is more consistent in checking the cupboards but I also make an effort to check from time to time.
Rach (Heart of Rachel)s last blog post..Weekend Snapshot #41
rowie
September 8, 2008 at 11:44 pm (16 years ago)FIFO person here. Not super-strict about it, but I kinda try to follow it by putting new grocery-bought items at the back of the cupboard so that I notice the older items first.
We also have a running grocery list on the refrigerator. Instead of sitting down to prepare the grocery list in one go, the minute we run out of something we write it down.
My mom labels left-overs she puts in the refrigerator with the date that she puts them in. I tried doing that for awhile but didn’t have the discipline to keep it up. Now I just put all left-overs on the top shelf so that I notice them first.
We also clump items together according to type. All the breakfast and dairy things are one shelf. Lunch/Dinner items (including seasonings which are altogether on one tray) on another shelf. Paper and plastic products (Ziploc bags, etc.) on a third shelf. That way, in the morning, when we’re trying to figure out what to prepare for breakfast, we know exactly which shelf to look at.
None of this is fool-proof of course. I still find items that expired several months ago … we have too many boxes of cereal open … and occasionally we still find out that we’ve inadvertently bought four packets of pasta or five boxes of pancake mix ….
So I still need to do major cupboard-sorting every 2 months. 😛
rowies last blog post..Teriyaki Chicken Rice
odette
September 9, 2008 at 6:22 am (16 years ago)i love your vintage-y cupboard!
i don’t have a system either, but since i don’t buy in bulk with only 2 stomachs to feed, my supply gets replenished every 2 weeks or so. it’s my refrigerator that needs the FIFO system. it’s frustrating to throw away food you just totally forgot about.
when i was in amsterdam with kj, i cleaned up his cupboards which hoarded boxed and tinned food which were 5 years or more older. i was totally shocked. after going through each and every item, the cupboard was empty by the end of it. men.
odettes last blog post..i am swann
Sexy Mom
September 9, 2008 at 7:33 am (16 years ago)it’s good to clean cupboards regularly. pero nowadays, di na masyado ang laman ng cupboard because the groceries we buy, at the same price, would be less in quantity (lol)
and i would like to share with you a fatal accident a few years back with one of my officemates. her husband brought home a bottle of poison, placed in a ventolin bottle, which he left in the kitchen without any label. it stayed there in the kitchen area for some time, then it was accidentally kept in the cupboard. after the new year when my officemate had a bout of asthma, because of the fumes and the litter that she was cleanng outside the home, she grabbed the ventolin bottle from the cupboard and drank a spoonful, not knowing it was pure poison, she didn’t reach the hospital–DOA. lesson is, label things properly and place things in the proper place where they truly belong. haaaayyy
Mrs. G
September 9, 2008 at 2:02 pm (16 years ago)@Sexy Mom – That story is so scary! I will share that with our helpers. Another reason to be OC about food.
My system is like Rowie’s. FIFO. Stuff inside the freezer are all labeled with a list on the refrigerator door. Come grocery time, we have a list with the number of items to be bought.
I tend to hoard so I have to be very strict. I make the rules but my helpers enforce them. They make the list because if it’s up to me, I’ll buy everything in 6s.
The condo staff knows when I’m cleaning my pantry because I usually feed them merienda. A few months ago, we served them arroz caldo because I found out that I hoarded several packs of soon-to-expire White King Arroz Caldo. Hehehe.
Mrs. Gs last blog post.."C" Sees: Oops! She Did It Again
Em Dy
September 9, 2008 at 2:30 pm (16 years ago)Toni, I decluttered too last weekend and found a bottle of lotion from long ago. Aside from the cupboard, the medicine cabinet is also one space that should be decluttered often.
Em Dys last blog post..Babylon A.D.
Gracie
September 9, 2008 at 10:26 pm (16 years ago)I try to de-clutter the cupboard at least once a month to try and get rid of whatever “junk” I have in there that needed to be thrown away.
chelsea
September 10, 2008 at 1:36 am (16 years ago)being the busy person that i am, with school during the day and work in the evening, i even have barely time to sleep. i usually eat out, and the closest thing i do to grocery shopping is buying some stuff i need at watsons. its my grandmum who usually fixes the pig sty i live in. shes a neat freak and im.. errr.. a busy bee. thank god for people like her =)
Junnie
September 10, 2008 at 9:22 am (16 years ago)now you just reminded me…the expiration date says “Best Before….so and so”…if it passes 2-3 month, “Better lang yun”…if it past 4 months to 6 months “Good pa”….pero more than 6 months – tapon na yan.
oy loko lang…anything past the expiration date is bad na hehehe
kaoko
September 11, 2008 at 11:02 pm (16 years ago)Heehee, I confess. We have some canned goods that have seen better days. But the ones we eat on a fairly regular basis (i.e. tuna, chorizo) get replenished so it’s not that bad.
kaokos last blog post..Curried Tuna Rice Bento
tin
September 18, 2008 at 1:23 pm (16 years ago)i make it a point to clear the pantry at least once a month. i can’t risk serving “expired” foods to my little girl. katakot.
good on you, for deciding to eat less canned goods. matutuwa sa yo nyan si jamie oliver.
tins last blog post..[LP] Golden Sunset
jaypre ston
March 19, 2022 at 1:53 am (2 years ago)Thank you so much for this enlightening post,
I have significantly got some thing right here and I will bookmark this page for your next upcoming post.
Amber @ Themastercleangroup
November 29, 2022 at 3:23 am (1 year ago)I just try the backwards hanger method! Put all clothes in with the hangers backwards and if you put something back put it the right way and that way you will see what you wear and what to get rid of! Hope it makes sense! Also love your content!!
Amber @ Themastercleangroup
November 29, 2022 at 3:30 am (1 year ago)I just try the backwards hanger method! Put all clothes in with the hangers backwards and if you put something back put it the right way and that way you will see what you wear and what to get rid of! Hope it makes sense! Also love your content!