Have you ever felt overwhelmed during the month of December with all the stuff that enters your home? The trick I've found helps me is to declutter throughout the month. Will you join me in the Net Zero Decluttering Challenge?
Each day this month I'll share some decluttering tips and ideas so you can end the month with the same number of items in your home (or maybe even less!) than what you started the month with.
Today I'm sharing tips on decluttering your pantry (or whatever cupboards you keep your food in).
Today's Suggested Decluttering Task
Your pantry works hard during the holidays, just like your fridge and your freezer. You're in and out of your pantry (or whatever cupboards you store your non-perishable food in) for meals and snacks several times a day. Things can get pretty messy in there, making everything more frustrating and take longer. Not good during the holidays!
Here are some tips to help you declutter your pantry:
- As with your fridge and freezer, toss items that have expired or are no longer fresh enough to eat {you can decide how far past a date you want to keep things... we play it pretty loose with dried goods but are less likely to keep canned goods past their date}
- Use up items foods that are close to their best before or expiry date
- Give away items you are not going to use in the next month or so {food banks are usually in need of lots of food this time of year - just please make sure the food is not expired or really close to the date!}
- Donate excess food items to make more space for the extra food you'll be storing during the holidays
- Toss food that is in packages that have been open for a long time {how long will depend on the kind of food item}
That should clear up space for the extra food your pantry will hold over the holidays!
Here are some more tips for decluttering your pantry:
And if you'd like to organize your pantry to help keep it from getting cluttered in the future, check out these posts:
Decluttering My Pantry
3 excess cloths, 3 boxes or packages of stale crackers, 1 opened package of cookies that's been in there for several months, 1 bag of chocolate covered pretzels that's been in there quite awhile, 4 rolls of dried up gum (my son got braces last year and hasn't been chewing gum very much anymore), 2 old packages of candies that are so sticky you can't get the wrappers off anymore, and 1 tin of margarita dip that I didn't finish and is quite old.
And after I took the picture my hubby agreed to toss a bag of nuts that has been open for quite awhile and he won't likely finish. 16 items out of my pantry and a quick tidy and we're good to go for the holidays!
And then I also decluttered another cupboard that we keep some food in.
I decluttered 1 old bottle of salad toppings, 1 old package of crispy onions, and 1 partially used taco kit. See the date I wrote on the envelope? November 2014! I had no idea it was that old! Good thing I wrote on it or I would probably still have kept it.
My Progress in the #NetZeroClutter challenge
My kids got their report cards and we're keeping them so that's 2 items in. So that puts me at -17 items today in the #NetZeroClutter challenge and -303 overall. At the half-way point and I've already achieved my goal! I'm very happy with that but will continue decluttering :)
What's Next For You?
Take some time today to declutter your pantry. Or anything you'd like to declutter! Take some pictures and share your progress on social media using the hashtag #NetZeroClutter. Let me know how you're doing in the challenge so I can cheer you on!
Sign up to receive my blog posts by email so you get each day's post in your email inbox every morning. You can unsubscribe after the challenge is over if you don't want to continue receiving my blog posts by email.
I'd also love for you to join our 365 Items in 365 Days Facebook group as you do this challenge! You'll be able to share with others what you're decluttering and feel encouraged and inspired by everyone else who is also decluttering!
If you'd like more decluttering ideas, you can check out my Decluttering/Purging Tips & Ideas board on Pinterest.
So that's today's post in the Net Zero Decluttering Challenge! I'm enjoying doing this challenge and I'm excited to have you join me. I love hearing all the stories of how much more you're enjoying your holidays because you're not overwhelmed by all the stuff in your home!
What was the most expired item you found in your pantry? How can you keep your pantry organized so it doesn't become cluttered moving forward?
Happy
I link up at these great parties - Check them out!
Here are all the posts in this challenge in case you missed any or want to share some with your friends or family!
