3 min readI’ll admit it: I truly enjoy organizing and do a good job staying on top of clutter in my home for the most part. I make frequent donation drop-offs and host yard sales with friends, and I’m quick to toss anything that’s stained or broken.
That said, my home’s pantry has long been a problem area. I don’t really like cooking, and I also travel often, which means that I’m not keeping a constant eye on all of my ingredients. Recently, though, I decided to give my pantry a refresh, which meant removing several items that weren’t serving any real purpose and were simply taking up precious shelf space. The result was that it made my cook space look and feel instantly calmer—something I did not think was previously possible.
Below, here are the four things that I removed from my kitchen pantry that made the biggest difference.
Pastry Decorations
While I love the idea of becoming a frequent baker and dropping off homemade treats with my friends, the truth is that this doesn’t happen often—my small New York City apartment kitchen doesn’t make whipping up gourmet treats the easiest of tasks.
However, while doing my pantry cleanout, I noticed that I’ve accumulated a wide array of sprinkles that I bought with the intention of using on cookies and cupcakes at some point, and clearly never did. While expiration with these kinds of pantry staples isn’t really an issue, the truth was that they’d been sitting untouched in my cabinet for years.
I chose to discard them, and if I do find myself whipping up a batch of cupcakes in the near future, I can always grab some newer, fresh sprinkles at the grocery store if needed, without worrying about whether or not my existing ones will still taste good.
Drink Mixes
I love to host, so I’m never shy about scooping up fun ingredients to use while entertaining. That said, I completely forgot that I had two bags of a drink mixer that I’d been wanting to try on hand until I spotted them on the top shelf of my pantry.
So that I don’t forget to enjoy them before they expire, I decided to move the mixes into my bar cabinet, where they’ll be much more top of mind as I party prep.
Cough Drops
Why I even had cough drops stored in the pantry is beyond me, but as soon as I noticed a bag of them sitting in there, I relocated them to the hall cabinet outside of my bathroom, which I use to store overflow toiletries and medicines. Cough drops aren’t candy; they definitely do not belong in the kitchen!
A Gourmet Gift Set
When I came across a set of jams, I decided that they might be better off going into my gift stash so that someone else could eventually enjoy them. Yes—I keep a gift stash, so that I’m never heading to a last-minute gathering empty-handed.
Sure, I could have opened all of the jams myself and taken part in a little tasting, but the truth is that I don’t consume much jam, and the packaging was so cute that I’d rather present it to somebody else. If you end up receiving this sampler set from me, please act surprised!
