The Kitchen Clean Out Challenge Week 1: Pantry, Fridge, and Freezer

 The beginning of the year is a great time to clean out and refresh your food stores. What in your pantry and fridge/freezer has expired or gone stale. What did you buy and didn't like so it just sits there. What hasn't been used in months and has never been opened. Or are you challenging yourself to eat better in the new year and want to remove all the unhealthy food from temptation. January is a great time to start fresh in the kitchen. 

We will look at the kitchen a couple ways. What can be donated and given to someone in need and what needs to be thrown away. 

Things you will need to start: a trash bag and another bag to place donation items.

Where can you take donations? You can give them to someone in need you know or donate them to a food pantry or community micro pantry. With rising costs now adays there are many who could use a helping hand. This clean out will not only benefit you and your family but can also benefit those in need in your community. 

So, let's get started!

This first week may be a bit overwhelming depending on how large of a pantry, fridge, and freezer you have and how long it has been since you have cleaned it out. So, I will give you some guidelines to follow to help. 

Pantry:

1. Pull everything out and evaluate it. 

2. Is it expired? Has it gone stale? Has it been used in the last 6 months? 

3. If it has been opened, then throw it away if you are not keeping it. 

4. If it has not been opened but you have not used it in months, then put in in the donate pile.

5.  Don't forget your spice cabinet! The same steps follow. Most people have expired spices in their cabinets. They are no longer as flavorful and if they are expired should be tossed. If you don't use them, get rid of them. You can either pass them to someone that wants them or throw them away if opened or donate if unopened. 

6. Also make sure you go through your oils, vinegars, condiments not in the fridge. Same concept for those. 

7. Lastly, if you keep your baking ingredients separate from your other pantry items don't forget to go through them as well. 

Refrigerator:

1. Pull everything out and evaluate it.

2. Throw away anything expired.

3. Clean out all leftovers and containers that have been in the fridge for a while. If it's gone bad throw out. 

4. Check your condiments...have they expired or are they almost empty. Make note to replace. 

5. Is there anything still good but you haven't used and do not plan to?  If unopened think about donating if possible. If not throw away. 

6. Lastly, this is a great time to clean that fridge! Then restock and organize your fridge with items you are keeping. 

Freezer: (this includes any standing freezers)

1. Pull everything out and evaluate it. 

2. Throw away anything that has sat in there for months and has not been used. Good rule of thumb is anything over 6 months goes. In a freezer, this is up to you. If it looks covered in ice crystals it may have been in the freezer too long. 

3. Throw out anything loose in the freezer that has come out of a bag or container. 

4. Lastly, clean the freezer! Then restock and organize the freezer. 

*Note: If you use mason jars for storage and do not have expiration dates, if you haven't used it in months, toss it. When you refill the jar, first clean it. Then next time you fill the jar write the expiration date on the jar. You can do this with a label or a marker that you can wipe off later when needed. 

Look at all the jars I cleaned out and can now use! I was down to 1 jar then cleaned out and now have close to a dozen clean and ready to use!

The Organized Kitchen: Mason Jars

 

The newest kitchen organization trend is not even a new concept. I'm sure your mother or grandmother may have done this in the past. It is using mason jars to store your food stores. Mason jars can be used to store anything but today we are focusing on our pantry and refrigerator food stores. 

One way to use mason jars is to remove the food from the boxes they come in and use jars to store. The jars seal tight so things last longer, they are sustainable, and they take up less space. It is especially helpful if you tend to but products in bulk with minimal packaging. 

You can store your spices in mason jars or buy from a company that uses glass jars. This is a more sustainable practice. The jars then can be re-used for blends like homemade chili powder or italian seasoning. 

You can store fresh herbs in the fridge like a bouquet in a mason jar filled with water. This will also make your herbs last longer as well which will help cut down on food waste. 

Mason jars are also great at storing your produce in the refrigerator and also helps cut back on waste. Lettuce, strawberries, blueberries, carrots, celery, etc. can all be stored in mason jars in the refrigerator. Some research is needed because different items need to be stored differently. Some can be cut up like carrots and celery, but others like berries should be stored whole. Don't believe me? Give it a try and see how much longer your food lasts. Check out the video below from my sister in law's you tube channel, Planting Birches. She has become a believer in using mason jars to store her food and she did a video about the benefits (if you like her channel- subscribe for alerts).

The benefits of using mason jars in your kitchen storage:

• come in various sizes
• sturdy
• looks very nice 
• prolongs the life of your food items thus saving money and food waste
• keep pests out of grains
• can be used as drinking glasses as well as storage so are multipurpose
• you can find them everywhere from big box stores, to markets like Harvest Market, to antique and thrift stores.
• can be used in pantry, fridge, can be used as a container in the freeze, and is microwave safe. 
• Can use to store other kitchen items like utensils, cookie cutters, baking items
• You can also use them for prepared treats like cookies, trail mix, etc. 
• You can also buy just the lids for times when the lids need to be replaced but the jars are just fine
• Can be used as an herb planter
• Can be used to take lunches to work or school

The Organized Kitchen: Mise en Place Pantry redo

 Okay, I love organization. I love being able to find what I want when I'm looking for it. I hate the feeling of being surrounded by chaos. Mise En Place is a French culinary term for everything being in its place. 

Some or most of you have probably heard of master organizers like The Home Edit and Marie Kondo (the Konmari method), some may have even heard of the Clutterbug method. I love them all. At some point down the road, we will explore all of these types and more. 

Today, I am going to tell you about my pantry mess.

First, if you follow Clutterbug, I am very much a micro-organizer known as a Cricket with some Ladybug tendencies. I prefer things out of sight and well organized, but if things are needed to be out, I prefer it to be visual. Why is this important to know? My current pantry situation drives me nuts!  It's chaotic, messy, I have to move things all the time to reach what I need. It drives me crazy!

Recently, I had decided I needed to buy a new freestanding pantry cabinet to fix my organization. My apartment does not have a lot of kitchen storage, so I have had to be creative.  I have had issues finding what I need easily in my current set up. This not only leads to chaos but can lead to waste if you don't know what's in your pantry and things go bad or don't get used. 

I really wanted as much out of sight as possible for a couple reasons. 1. It looks tidier and is less chaotic looking. 2. I have cats, and 3. It's just the way I prefer to organize. 

One day, I was looking around my apartment and looking at what I had. Did I have enough to rearrange my pantry situation without buying a whole new cabinet. It's more economical and sustainable to use what I already have available. I thought I could make it work so I started rearranging. 

My big swaps were with my baking items which were shelved on the island and my pantry items which were on a large 8 cube storage organizer with baskets and open shelving. I got to work and was able to get all of my pantry items on the island. 

This island stays pushed against the wall until I need something, so it is hidden but much more organized. 

I then took the storage organizer and made that into my cleaning and miscellaneous storage area. It holds extra coffee mugs, wine and wine glasses, glass storage and plastic storage containers, and some cleaning supplies. These are all organized in baskets. 

The wire rack was left alone because I had recently re-organized it. The only thing I changed was adding cookie cutters and muffin cups to the glass container on the top rack that was empty. This is multipurpose for decor and for use.  My canned goods were recently added to turntables on the 2nd rack so I can see what all I had better. These are now categorized and spread across three turntables instead of all stacked on one. The bottom shelf still holds miscellaneous small appliances. 

I did buy secondhand a secretary desk that I can use as a baking supply station. I love it and it keeps things organized and hidden. I also have put my flour, sugar, brown sugar, and baking soda into large glass jars. I already had butterscotch chips and other chocolate chips in small mason jars. The cabinet holds other baking supplies in the bottom that are used less frequently. 

So, why did I share all of this with you? It's important to know what your organization style is and what works for you and your household. Just because something doesn't work doesn't mean it can't work if you just make some adjustments. It's always better to be able to re-use something you already have than to buy something new if this is an option. I'm not saying you can't treat yourself to something new if that works for you. However, if cost or time is an issue, maybe think about what other ways you can rearrange to give yourself a working system. 

My kitchen is still a work in progress, and I know I will make many more changes, but today I am happy with the results of my Mise En Place Pantry Redo.