Keeping an organized pantry in your Tampa rental home could be a very daunting task for some. 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 sure that your food supply is fresh and easy to access, here are a few 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! What you can do is to place items you often use together next to each other, like pasta noodles, and sauce or baking essentials. Grouping a pantry can be done in many different ways, though.
It would also be a good idea to stash your frequently used items in an easy-to-reach spot! Another idea is to make zones or stations inside your pantry. You use these to group your items according to function, or used during the time of day. Examples of this might be a coffee station, a bin with after-school snacks, or a shelf for breakfast. Make any of these systems work by making sure that they fit your daily routines in the pantry.
2. Rotate Your Storage
One thing that you should never overlook in pantry organization is the rotation of your food items. Very often, food items will get shoved back and forgotten for several months at a time. So that you don’t have to deal with expired food, you can come up with a first-in, fist-out system for your pantry. When restocking each shelf, place new items behind older items. To make sure that your expired items are properly disposed of, make sure to check your pantry regularly so that you can keep track of expiration dates. This allows you to make sure that your pantry is always fresh.
3. Choose Proper Storage Containers
Your containers don’t have to be expensive. Just make sure that each item in your pantry is stored and sorted out properly. 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 placing them in glass or plastic containers with tight-fitting lids. The bags of flour, cake mix, and other similar items may be problematic because they can hide insect eggs or other problems. It’s best to transfer these items 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. Get to know the different foods that are not supposed to be stored close to each other. 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, it’s important for you to choose storage containers that not only fit your pantry shelves but ones that provide convenient access to their contents. Mason jars are usually used for storing rice. But, because of its narrow mouth, scooping the rice becomes quite difficult. 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. You can go for removable labels so that each of your containers can easily be updated every now and then.
4. Size Matters
Finally, in your attempt to organize your pantry, while you make space for smaller items like spice jars, don’t forget to leave room for bigger items, as well. 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, you can always opt to carefully plan and organize your pantry in a way that is convenient and effective in keeping your food supply fresh.
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