Greening Your Pantry
Posted on June 14, 2010 by
I have a confession to make…I have a very bad habit of letting my pantry get out of control and then end up buying things that I already had in my pantry that I couldn’t find. Recently I came to realize how green this wasn’t and decided to change the way my pantry works.
Chaos bothers me. For the most part I’m a very orderly person. Jamison and Alexis however both have no problem with messes any and everywhere. Over time my pantry had become a mess. Things were haphazardly thrown in here and there and you couldn’t find anything! For a month or so I was determined that I was going to get it straightened up and organized. I can’t tell you how many times I went to find something in the pantry of chaos only to get overwhelmed by the spiral of stuff piled everywhere and I just gave up and bought what I needed the next time I was at the store. Not very green at all, especially when you have products in your pantry that have expired because you couldn’t find what you were looking for.
A week ago I got on this organization kick. In fact I’m still on this kick, there are other areas of my house that are screaming for a reorg! In the past 2 weeks I’ve straightened my closet, organized my mud room, “redesigned” my spice cabinet, specified a drawer in my kitchen just for my teas and reorganized my pantry! It’s amazing what I can now find at the tips of my fingers that I had to search and hunt for before!
My general idea with my pantry was that similar products should be together and I should be able to spot what was in the pantry simply by opening the doors. On the top shelf I have general baking “accessories” like nuts, chocolate chips, dried apples, oatmeal, dried tomatoes, cocoa nibs, etc. I can pull out the top shelf and find what I need in a flash.
On the second shelf I have a whole area devoted to Jamison’s gluten free things (Though obviously the sour dough pretzels are not gluten free!) and an assortment of dried beans, oils and “mom’s treats”. There is a little overlap here and there, but I can again slide out the shelf and see at a glance what is there.
On the third shelf I have Lex’s assortment of pastas and rice…She’s really a pasta/rice girl! I also have my assortment of vinegars and crackers. I like to put these down on Lex’s level, though she’s more than adept at using her stool too.
And finally on the bottom shelf I have the “big” stuff that is too tall for the other shelves, along with a treat jar that Lex is allowed to get one thing out of a day, spaghetti sauce, tuna, and the overflow of vinegars from the shelf above.
So how is this greener? It’s simple. With one glance I can see what is there, use what needs to be used and not purchase duplicate products while identical items sit in the pantry and go bad. It’s less wasteful and allows an ease of use that helps my chaos loathing soul. It’s also cheaper in the long run, which is always a good thing, and allows you to save money by using what you have instead of buying something you don’t really need.
What’s in your pantry? Any tips or ideas that work for you? I’m curious….
We are blessed to have a large pantry because we are SO messy. The top shelf is chips and treats. Second, paper plates and napkins, along with random food. Third, random food. Fourth, cans and baby food, onions and potatoes. On the floor we have our trashcan and unopened bottles of apple juice.
These are great tips! I am generally pretty organized about my kitchen, but I also live in a small apartment without a ton of cabinet space, so I’m kind of forced to keep the clutter down.
Except for the junk drawer. My junk drawer is impossible to organize.
I’m fortunate that my son is the self-designated fridge and pantry checker in the family. I’ve observed him, in several family member’s homes (including mine) going through foods and chucking all the expired items. I’ve cleaned up my act because, among other reasons, it’s embarrassing to get a lecture from the pantry police! Now I’m almost as environmentally righteous as he is. OK – maybe not, but I love him more than my luggage! And he keeps me honest.
More than your luggage? Aw, thanks Mom!
This is great! I, too, let me pantry get out of control at intervals. I happen to be at one of those points where I just cannot take it anymore and have to reorg. Now to just find the time… I personally love to get containers that match (I’m a big fan of the glass jars from world market) and I label them. This works for me because 1) I can usually find what I’m looking for in a snap; 2) I can see if I am running low on something; 3) everything is all labeled and pretty and the same size so it’s pleasing to the eye, which has a calming effect on me; 4) I can buy in bulk where possible to cut down my carbon footprint; 5) my older son is able to see his snacks and pick out what he would like. There are of course a number of other reasons, but you have inspired me to take a couple of hours and just go through everything again. It’s been more than six months, it’s totally time.
Mickey, can you come clean out our pantry?
I like the glass jar idea! I do that too to an extent. I really need to check out World Market!
I just found this website… luvs it.
Even though this is an older article, I feel compelled to comment on the glass jars. I’m slowly converting to glass containers and getting away from plastic, and I’m happy to see the previous posters talking glass. One other benefit of glass is it’s cleaner, chemically speaking.
Now make it all greener… don’t buy glass containers unless absolutely necessary. We are already buying plenty of food products that come in glass. If a larger container is needed, find out what’s being tossed at the local restaurants or even from the school cafeteria kitchen.
Roxanne, I usually cook them before I freeze them. It takes away the rubberiness that you can get when you freeze them raw.