Keeping an organized pantry in your Kendall rental home can be exhausting. If you want to keep things fresh and new for as long as possible, you have to know where they are, and where they’re supposed to be. To be certain that your food supply is fresh and easy to access, take note of these simple pantry organization tips.
1. Create a System
Most people approach pantry organization with a relatively simple system: grouping similar items together. This is not the only way to organize a pantry, though! Group items that you often use, such as pasta noodles and sauce or baking essentials. Keep in mind, there are several other methods to pantry grouping.
You could also group together all of your frequently used items in an easy-to-reach spot! You can also set up zones or stations inside your pantry, grouping your items according to their function, or according to the time of day, they generally get used. Examples of this might be a coffee station, a bin with after-school snacks, or a shelf for breakfast. Regardless, you should know best what system to use because it should show your everyday routine in the pantry.
2. Rotate Your Storage
Rotation of food items should be done regularly — this is often overlooked in pantry organizations. What usually happens is that those food items start to pile up and the older ones get pushed to the back and forgotten. So that you won’t end up throwing out expired food, get a first-in, first-out system in place for your pantry. When restocking each shelf, place new items behind older items. Always sift through the items and look at their expiration dates so that you can do away with the ones that are expired. This allows you to make sure that your pantry is always fresh.
3. Choose Proper Storage Containers
Use storage containers to keep your food fresh. You don’t need to get the expensive or fancy ones — just use them to segregate and store your items! Not all of your items are going to be canned food. Most of them, perhaps, will even be in different packaging and will need to be transferred to airtight containers to stay fresh.
To ensure long-term freshness, decant flour and other grain-based food items by taking them out of the bags they come in and place them in glass or plastic containers with tight-fitting lids. Insect eggs or other problems could come with the original bags of flour, cake mix, or other similar items. It’s always best to transfer them to another container. It would be a nightmare to one day discover that your pantry is infested with bugs.
There are a few essential things to remember when grouping your pantry items. When grouping food items, note that there are foods that shouldn’t be stored close to others. Common items like onions and potatoes in your pantry should always be separated. If you don’t, the onions’ strong odor can permeate the potatoes and cause them to spoil faster.
Lastly, in your search for storage containers, remember to look for ones that fit the shelves in your pantry, but, more importantly, ones that give you easy access to their contents. A really common container for storing rice is the mason jar. However, scooping the rice can be problematic because of the jar’s narrow mouth. Pick containers that can be labeled, so that you don’t get confused with what’s inside, as well as to keep track of the content’s expiration date. Buy removable labels so that you can easily update each of your containers every so often.
4. Size Matters
Finally, in your pantry organization, think about arranging smaller items like spice jars in their own space, so that you can make room for bigger items, too. One way you can keep different items in their own area is through the use of smaller shelving or trays. If possible, create some taller spaces for cereal boxes, bottles, or other tall or oddly-shaped items.
Ultimately, the way you organize your pantry should reflect your daily routines and practices. With these tips, you can make sure you have yourself a pantry that keeps your food supply fresh and ready to use.
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