Are your New Year’s resolutions to eat better already falling by the wayside? It’s all very well to decide to cook more healthy meals, but if you can’t find the ingredients you need in your cupboards, pantry, or refrigerator, it’s all too easy to pick up the phone and order in.
This ends up costing you a lot more over the course of the year, and there’s no guarantee that the food that gets delivered to your door is going to give you the healthy new start that you had planned on.
It’s not too late to get onto the healthy eating track, and there’s no better way to start than by clearing out and reorganizing your food storage so that you can easily find what you need to cook up a nutritious and tasty home-cooked meal!
Before You Start: Lay in Supplies
It’s best to get everything that you need ahead of time so that you can complete the job as efficiently as possible. There’s a few key items that will help you keep your food organized for the long haul.
If you’re planning to decant things into glass or plastic containers, have those ready to fill. There are plenty of options available, but consider canning jars as an affordable and versatile alternative. Sold by the dozen, they come in sizes from one cup to a half gallon, and you can buy plastic or wood lids instead of using the separate rings and lids used for canning. Run everything through the dishwasher before filling them. If you don’t have a wide-mouth funnel, make sure you get one before starting.
Lazy Susans are a great way to make the most of shelf space, both in cupboards and the refrigerator. They save you from having to pull out a whole shelf’s worth of jars to get to something at the very back, and make it easy to quickly determine what you’ve got available. You can also find organizers for cans that can keep soups and sodas handy and neat. Consider baskets or bins for corralling small items. And if you don’t have a dedicated place for herbs and spices, consider investing in a wall-mounted rack, a pull-out rack, or a drawer organizer.
You’ll want to clean all the surfaces once your shelves are empty, so make sure you have what you need. It’s also a good idea to have some vinyl shelf liners ready to install to help make things easier to keep clean in future.
Dry Storage
Whether you have a few cupboards or a full walk-in pantry, your dry storage space can benefit from a complete overhaul at least once a year. That way, you can eliminate expired goods, decide what ingredients you’re unlikely to use, and prepare a list of what you’ll need to be able to prepare those delicious, healthy meals! Let’s get started.
Emptying and Cleaning
You need to start by removing everything from the shelves. Don’t tackle every cupboard at once; do one at a time or you’ll be overwhelmed by the quantity. You will be amazed at how much a few shelves can hold once you see the contents of one cupboard spread out on the counter.
Once the cupboard is bare, your next step is a thorough cleaning. Start by using a vacuum cleaner to get rid of any crumbs, dust or dirt that’s accumulated. Keep an eye out for signs of pests, such as mouse droppings or dead insects, as you will want to take action to prevent future infestations.
Next, use a good surface cleaner to wipe down all the surfaces. Once the shelves are dry, you can lay down vinyl shelf liners. Not only can they add a pleasing pop of color or pattern, but they also make it easier to wipe up spills that may occur.
Purging
Now that the cupboard is cleaned, turn your attention to its contents. Start by organizing roughly into categories. That way, you can see if you have doubles of certain ingredients. After all, when it’s hard to find something at the back of a deep shelf, you may end up buying more without knowing it! For instance, if you have two jars of oregano, you can safely get rid of one. Check all your herbs and spices for age, as dried herbs and ground spices lose potency over time. They should all be replaced every 2 or 3 years at most.
You may also have certain items taking up space that you rarely, if ever, use. Put those aside as you sort through the jars, boxes, and bags on your counter. Finally, check every bag and box for signs of pests. A nibbled cardboard box means that the contents have been contaminated, while webbing inside a bag or box means that pantry moths have gotten in. Throw any affected items away.
Decanting
The best way to prevent future pest infestations is by decanting all foods into glass or plastic containers with a tightly sealed lid. If insects or rodents are a problem in your home, this is the best way to keep your food supplies safe. As well, clear containers make it easy to see when you’re running low on anything so that you can add them to your shopping list.
As mentioned above, glass mason jars are an affordable and versatile option for decanting goods, but even cleaned empty pickle or peanut butter jars will work just fine. Set the wide-mouthed funnel in the jar, and fill it up. Label each jar, and if necessary cut out the cooking directions from the original package and tape it to the back.
Once you’ve finished decanting, you should already be feeling good about your progress. It’s satisfying to see order emerging from a jumble of bags and boxes, and now you get the fun of creating a perfectly organized cupboard!
Organizing
Now is the time to bring out your lazy Susans, racks, and bins. If you haven’t previously had well-defined sections in your food storage, set them up now. For instance, it makes sense to keep baking supplies such as flour, sugar, and baking powder close to where you will be using them, while seeds and nuts can be grouped together. Bags of chips and other snacks can be put together in a large basket where they’ll be easy to find, but not clutter up the shelves.
Some things should be kept as close to your cooking space as possible, such as oils and seasonings. That way, it’s easy to grab a bottle of olive oil or a jar of herbs to add to a dish as you cook. However, you shouldn’t have them too close to the stove, as exposure to heat will shorten their longevity.
If you have a large pantry to store things in, you should easily be able to find room for everything, but if there are some items that only get used infrequently, consider keeping them in the basement or garage if you have limited storage space in the kitchen.
By the end of this process, you should have uncluttered, well-organized shelves with everything within easy reach.
Refrigerator and Freezer
Of course, many food items need to be kept in the refrigerator or freezer, and it’s an on-going battle to prevent the accumulation of old food that is never going to get used. Setting up a well-organized system will help you stay on top of things.
Defrosting
Even the most organized and clean of refrigerators or freezers needs an occasional deep cleaning, so let’s start there.
If at all possible, schedule your refrigerator or freezer cleaning for when it’s cold outside. That way, you can move your food to a cool spot to keep everything at a proper temperature while you defrost and clean. However, in a pinch you can use coolers for temporary storage.
Once defrosting is complete, wipe down all surfaces with a good cleaner. Remove shelves and drawers and wash them thoroughly. Once things are dry, turn the unit back on and let it start to cool off again.
Editing
Meanwhile, focus your efforts on the food you’ve removed. It’s a good idea to have some soapy water and a clean cloth handy to clean off anything on the jars and bottles as you sort through them.
Start by checking expiry dates, and toss anything that is too old or looks or smells off. Set aside any almost-empty containers that aren’t really worth keeping, and add those items to your shopping list. You may also find some stuff that, while still good, simply never gets used in your family. Pitch them as well.
Restocking
Organize what’s left into categories so that you know how much room you need to find for them. In your refrigerator, decide which items will go where, and set up any lazy Susans, can organizers, or bins that will make it easier to keep similar things together and prevent items from getting hidden at the back. Remember that shelves are adjustable, and measure to see what heights will work best for your needs.
While it’s tempting to keep milk in the door, it’s best to keep that and other perishables in colder sections of the refrigerator, while condiments and bottled sauces can make better use of the shallow door shelves.
In a chest freezer, things can easily get lost at the bottom. Use plastic crates to lift out for easier access to meats or prepared meals. Sauces or condiments such as chopped garlic or pesto can be frozen flat in small freezer bags and stored upright in sliding baskets. If you freeze leftovers or soups in plastic freezer containers, stack them to one side by category so that they’re easy to find.
Weekly Routine
Of course, no food storage system is a one-and-done affair. Now that you have organized things more efficiently, add a quick maintenance step to your weekly routine. The day before garbage pick-up is an ideal time, as anything that gets thrown out won’t be sitting around for days on end.
Quickly check through the refrigerator and throw out leftovers that have been sitting too long, or fruits and vegetables that have started to deteriorate. Check expiry dates on dairy products. Wipe up any spills.
You won’t have to worry as much about expired items in your dry goods, but sometimes things don’t get put away properly. Take a minute to make sure that everything is in the right place so that your shelves stay neat and tidy!
You will still have to do the deep-clean and decluttering once a year or so, but it won’t be as much of a chore as it was when you first set up your new system. Now you can concentrate on creating those healthy, delicious home-cooked meals!
Cooking Healthier Home-Made Meals
One of the best ways to cook healthier meals is by decreasing your use of fats and oils. Nonstick pans are often touted as the best way to cook without these ingredients, but they actually aren’t a healthy alternative. The coatings that prevent food from sticking to these pans may release toxic fumes when heated, and also tend to abrade and chip over time, becoming unwelcome additions to your meals in the process.
However, 360 Cookware’s quality pots and pans are free of any of these risks! Made of surgical-grade stainless steel, they’re the healthiest way to cook your family’s food. And our patented Vapor© Technology will preserve the nutrients and flavor of your ingredients while using less fat in the cooking process.
It’s never too late to get started on a new regimen of healthy eating for you and your family. A well-organized food storage system, and quality, non-toxic cookware will help you stick to your goals!
