February 18, 2017

The Great Pantry Clean-Out!

Over the past two years, I've been working on my kitchen pantry. I think pantries are the biggest places in the kitchen - besides the Tupperware Cupboard - which seem to turn into a complete pit of Hell when it comes to cleaning out. 

And none of us really want to take on the pantry. It's always full of things we don't want to confront. But once you take it on, and get a good part of it done, you'll be more likely to get into the next time it needs a clean-up.

The first thing you need is a clean kitchen counter. Make sure you also have enough room for what's going to come out of the pantry. 
Have a bin next to you with plenty of bin liners - you are going to throw out some things you no longer need.
Then, you'll need cleaning products as well. 

What you need to do first is go shelf by shelf, starting with the very top shelf. Take your time and pull everything out of there, put it on the kitchen counter and - once it's empty - clean the whole shelf, sides and ceiling of that part and then, look at everything on the kitchen counter. If it's out of date, throw it into the bin. Then, organise it so you can find things easily on that top shelf.

Do this with every other shelf in the pantry and make sure to check all the dates and wipe down all your items before putting them back on the shelf. 

If you've bought some new little containers or storage items to make life easier for yourself in your pantry, put them into action now so you can use them over time and see if they work for you. And if over the next month or so, they don't work for you, don't hesitate to find something that does work for you... always try to figure out what works for you in your pantry space.

I do find that if I can't see almost everything in my pantry, it doesn't get used. So, make sure you can see everything you're hoping to use - even if it means installing a small, battery-run light inside each shelf, so you can see what you've got in there.

Have you got any great ideas for cleaning out pantries? If so, drop them in the comments below and let us all in on them. I hope this has helped you out.

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