By Jessica Hoelzel
REDUCE the amount of STUFF you have and LIVE GREEN
Introducing a NEW blog series: 21 Quick Clutter Fixes. Keep your eye on Day to Day Feng Shui for 21 ways to lighten your load by cutting out clutter bit-by-bit throughout your home. Plus, solutions that keep the environment top-of-mind, so you keep your waste-impact down.
Less Clutter = Healthy Home
Less Waste = Healthy World
In the Kitchen
4. Clean out your pantry. Here in America we love to consume. Our homes tend to get cluttered as a result, making us feel overwhelmed. The pantry is one place that things can easily get stacked and packed in, either because we:
- Buy in bulk
- Stock up because of a great deal
- Forget what it is we have, or lose it at the back of the cupboard
I personally do not buy in bulk because I don’t have the extra storage space, and because I don’t want to have that much stuff around. I like to KISS my home: Keep It Super Simple. If you have found significant dollar savings in buying bulk (Have you done a spreadsheet on it?), and have the storage space to keep things “on reserve”, go for it. But only buy what you know you WILL consume. Otherwise you’re creating more waste, and your dollar “savings” are wasted.
Action items to make your pantry streamlined and functional:
- Toss expired things. Recycle any cardboard boxes and glass jars
- Bag the things your family likely won’t eat, donate to the food shelf
- Be realistic when shopping: buy only what your family can reasonably eat, or buy ingredients only for specific meals, not 5 cans of chili beans just because they’re 5/$3
- Take the items you want to keep in the pantry out, organize them by category: dessert, sides, grains, etc
- Wipe the shelves down and put the items back, in their category grouping
An organized kitchen can help make cooking a pleasant experience, and also save you the money spent on eating out.
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