Decluttering Your Pantry {Freedom From Clutter in 40 Days}

Welcome back to {Freedom From Clutter in 40 Days} day 36!  Wow!  We’re almost there!  Are you feeling the “Freedom”?  I know I sure am!

I’ve been working on Decluttering my kitchen over the past 36 days and it truly is amazing how a few minutes a day has gone such a long way.  I’ve Decluttered drawers, cabinets and my refrigerator.  The refrigerator was definitely the biggest project.  This week I’m sharing my method on Decluttering Your Pantry.  Now that I have my kitchen in order it definitely makes cooking a lot more fun! 

Empty your pantry.  The best way to tackle this project is to completely empty your pantry. You’ll need a nice flat surface like your kitchen table or counter to place everything on.

Clean your pantry. Now that your pantry is empty you’ll want to give it a good cleaning.  Wipe down shelves and vacuum and wash the floor.

Sort through pantry items.  You’re going to want to have a trash bag available so you can toss out some of what was once cluttering the shelves of your pantry.  Keep these three questions in mind as you go through everything.  1. Is this expired?  2.  Do I like this?  3.  Do I use this?  Once you’ve tossed out anything that can be the next thing you’ll want to do is consolidate.  If you have two identical items with a little bit in each  (Like spices) consolidate them into one container. When you’re ready to start putting things away give some thought to where things should be placed.  I like to keep similar spices together on the same self and items that are used the most get placed where it’s easiest to access them. I also purchased some clear plastic storage containers for things like cereals and snacks.  The clear containers make it easy to see when I’m running low on a certain item and it helps solve the problem of empty boxes being placed back in the pantry.  (Do you have someone that does that in your house?) Another brain storm that I had about a year ago is to add shelving to the inside of the door!  Not sure why I hadn’t thought of it sooner. It was empty space not being utilized.  Now I have so much extra storage and it makes the perfect spot to store my spices.

Commit to keeping it this way.   It’s just so much easier when you don’t have to shuffle around clutter to find what you’re looking for.  You’ll waste less food and money by not buying duplicates because you can’t find what you’re looking for.  Getting dinner on the table will be a lot faster, easier and more fun.  I know I enjoy cooking so much more when everything I need is at my fingertips!

Have you joined our Facebook Group yet?  It’s the best way to make sure you don’t miss out on all the Decluttering “Fun” we’re having over there!

This week Christina shared: Decluttering Your Small Kitchen and How to Get Your Family to Declutter. Make sure you stop over and pay her a visit!

Now that you’ve tackled Decluttering Your Pantry and everything is in order let’s get cooking!  Here are some of my latest recipe posts.  Just click on the picture for the recipe.