Having an organised pantry can help to reduce waste and minimise clutter in your kitchen, enable you to cook and bake more efficiently, and make it easier to see what you have and what you are running low on, and to find what you need.
A lot of items used to organise a pantry are typically plastic. However, you should avoid using plastic as much as possible, as not only is it not sustainable and takes years to decompose, but it also can contain toxic chemicals and cause harm to the environment and your health.
Read on to find out ways to organise your pantry in a more environmentally-friendly way, without using harmful plastic.
Decant into glass containers
Swap out your plastic and single-use storage jars, bags and boxes for glass containers. Decanting into clear containers will allow you to easily see what you have, and how much you have left of each item.
If it seems like too large a task, you recently bought plastic containers, or you are short on time, then you should start small. There is no need to replace all your containers at once, just replace them over time.
Try to reuse and repurpose glass containers such as sauce or jam jars, and try to use appropriately-sized containers. If they are too large, they will take up space unnecessarily, or if they are too small then you will end up having several containers with the same thing in them.
Label your containers
If you decant your items into blank containers, you may be concerned that you will forget what is in there or when each item expires. Labelling your containers will help with this.
You could use stickers, a paint pen, or a dry erase marker, or you could put a bit of chalk paint on them and use chalk. The latter two options would be the most eco-friendly as you will be able to simply wipe off your writing and re-write on new contents or expiry dates.
Declutter your pantry
Check through your pantry every few months and throw out anything that has expired, storage containers which are missing lids, broken appliances, dinnerware or tools, and anything that you have not used in a long time or never used.
If you have drawers in your pantry, be sure to go through them and dispose of any expired vouchers, and old receipts and menus.
Re-organise your pantry
Having a well-organised pantry will help you to find what you need more quickly and easily. Take out everything in your pantry and group similar items, in whichever way works best for you.
For example, you could group items together by meal (breakfast / lunch / tea), expiration date, or food group (dairy / fruit / vegetables / grains / etc.), or split into cooking and baking.
Be sure to clean inside the pantry before you put everything back in, and keep things stored together in their groups. Try to have larger containers and like-for-like items with later expiration dates towards the back of the pantry.
Switch to reusable wraps
Instead of using cling film and sandwich bags, try a more eco-friendly alternative such as reusable food wraps and snack bags, made from cotton, natural, or recycled materials.
This will help you to cut down on plastic and reduce the amount of waste you produce, and can be more cost-effective in the long run.
If you need help with decluttering, cleaning and organising your pantry or any other part of your home, or would simply prefer to leave it to the professionals and spend your time doing other activities, you may want to consider hiring a cleaner to take care of your cleaning for you.
Time For You specialises in providing properly screened and vetted domestic cleaners to private households to provide you, our client, with more time for you. Find a cleaner near you by simply entering your postcode, and let us take care of the cleaning, so you do not have to.
Time For You is the premier international house cleaning service company with hundreds of local business owners which clean tens of thousands of homes around the world every week.
Time For You are the premier international house cleaning service company with hundreds of local business owners across the UK, Australia and Canada. Time For You are currently cleaning tens of thousands of homes across the world on a weekly basis.
