Just cleaned and organized the pantry. How's yours?

[awakenedsoul]

I've been reading about stockpiling on the forum at frugalvillage.com. It's interesting to hear people's different reasons for stockpiling food. It inspired me to clean and organize my pantry. I took everything down, threw out some cake flour that was about ten years old, wiped out the shelves, and rearranged everything. It looks so much better! I transferred some of the nuts I'd bought at Costco into glass jars that I had recycled. I cleaned out an old bucket with a sealed plastic lid and put my bulk flour inside for baking. Felt so good to move it out of the bedroom!!! I added a few bay leaves to deter pests. It made me feel good that I've been using everything regularly, and that I wasn't wasting food. Just baked a loaf of french bread this morning. Having the bulk flour, yeast, and salt really makes it cheap to make my own baked goods.
Next I'm going to top off all the jars with coffee beans, sugar, baking soda, etc. I also need to dust my spice racks and wipe down those shelves. With an orchard and animals right outside my back door, a lot of dirt gets tracked inside...it feels good to clean it up, though. Next on the agenda is the fridge!

How's your pantry?

[Teacher Terry]

actually a few weeks ago I went thru all my spices and some were 8 yo:|(. Needless to say all that junk was thrown away. I also cleaned fridge & threw away everything expired. It does feel good to do that-organize/clean.

[awakenedsoul]

Good for you, Teacher Terry! I did keep some evaporated milk, a can or cream of mushroom soup, and a can of Ortega green chiles that had expired in 2013. I was reading about canned goods and expiration dates, and I feel like those will be okay. I plan to use them up quickly, though.
Yeah, instead of feeling guilty about my pantry now, I feel happy and well stocked...

[Lainey]

awakenedsoul,
I've been having trouble lately with the bags of nuts I've bought from Costco and other places turning bad before I'm able to finish them. Is this just inevitable, or is there a way to preserve these longer? I'm still surprised that a food like a nut would turn rancid or spoil anyway.

[awakenedsoul]

Really? That's weird, Lainey. Costco has a really good return policy, so I would take them back and explain. I've never had nuts go bad...I get them in bulk at Costco. I buy their peanuts, macadamia nuts, Smokehouse almonds, and cashews. I usually use them up within a few months.
Does it get hot where you live? I don't get it. Nuts are expensive, too.

[Lainey]

Maybe it's how I'm storing them. And yes, in Phoenix, it gets pretty hot, although of course I typically keep them in an air conditioned house in the pantry sealed in the same storage bag or can I bought them in.
Maybe I have to start marking the purchase date on them with a sharpie and make sure I finish them within 90 days or so. Otherwise they just taste "off." And yes, they are darn expensive but I've convinced myself they're a better snack than chips, cookies, etc.

[awakenedsoul]

I'm wondering if they were old when you bought them...It gets really hot here in the summer. I've had to switch the way I store bananas. I just sliced and covered them with lemon juice in a glass container in the fridge. If I leave them in the fruit bowl, they just rot. It's 97 degrees already. (It's only May.)

I wonder if you could store your nuts in the freezer? I'm going to have to slice up some carrots and keep them in a bowl of water in the fridge. My mom used to do that. They're starting to go. Costco is great, but it's a challenge to stay on top of it so that things don't spoil. 5 lbs. of carrots is a lot for one person...

[happystuff]

I cleaned my pantry about 2 weeks ago, also. It felt great to have it organized and things ready at the hand. Also "found" some dehydrated foods that had been stuck behind other items - lol. And, what I like even better... it's STILL clean!!!! After two weeks - around here - that's a great thing! LOL.

I need to move on to some cupboards now. I know I have some stuff shoved to the back of different cabinets that probably haven't seen the light of day in a year or time. Time to see what they are and declutter.

Great job! Congrats to you for getting it done.

[CathyA]

I store my nuts in the freezer....along with flour.
I fantasize about having a small room for a pantry. As it is now, I have it all in about 5 different places, and sometimes I forget what I have.
Some women fantasize about jewels and furs and clothes and cars.........I fantasize about having a big pantry. :)

[Florence]

I am in the process of cleaning out my kitchen pantry too. I have no idea how some of that stuff got into my pantry. I must have bought it to make something and then forgot about it..:|(

[pinkytoe]

My pantry is always a work in progress since our storage space is tiny and dh is in the food business - lots of samples. I keep things like nuts, rice, flour and cornmeal in either the fridge or freezer as they go rancid. Everything else is purchased in bulk and I store in labeled glass jars.

[awakenedsoul]

Thanks for all the replies. happystuff, I need to do some cupboards, too. Definitely my closet! Glad you've been able to keep your pantry clean. My mom was really good that way. Mine gets out of order if I don't stay up on it.
CathyA, I know what you mean. I have six packs of spaghetti and pasta under my bed. Same with tp, botton balls, q-tips, etc. My pantry is really only one good sized cupboard in a 1940's kitchen. But, it serves my needs and is stocked with everything I use.
Florence, Yeah, I found some enzymes that I used to take for my hip. I hate to throw them out. I think I'll reread the book and make use of those. They were expensive!
pinkytoe, That's a good idea. I remember a woman I used to rent from kept her nuts and sunflower seeds in the fridge. My flour supply is too large. It's in a huge airtight bucket. So far, so good. I bake everything from scratch, though. A huge bag of flour was pretty inexpensive at Costco...

[iris lilies]

In Feb and March I made a concerted effort to eat the misc stuff that had been piling up. So I would say that our pantry is rather bare, and I like it that way--clean, spare, room for stuff if needed.

One stupid purchase I have to eat down is a bag of faux couscous. The bag was labeled something like this: Mediterranean couscous toasted wheat pasta

I didn't read the small print and I grabbed it thinking whoah, good price! doh, not.

[reader99]

Nuts freeze very well and because of the high oil content they can be eaten straight from the freezer without thawing first.

[Gardenarian]

My pantry is a mess. My dh gets a little carried away at Costco.

[awakenedsoul]

I know what you mean. Mine still looks okay, but I think I'll clean the spice rack and refill some of the jars. I've got dried herbs from the garden and organic co op. It saves money if I keep up on the spices, instead of buying them dried, at the store. It sure makes a difference to have a clean, mopped kitchen floor! (I really need to do that more often...)