kitchen march 2009 | conbon

We’ve been in our new house for a little more than two months and I’ve started to notice something important…

Pantry organization is vital.

Our pantry in the new home is a bit smaller than our last and yet I’ve started noticing food can still go missing in a small tight place.

We purchase a box of snacks, or few cans of something for a particular recipe and then before long, it ends up in the back of the pantry as new purchases make their way onto the shelves.

With two people making purchases for the home, its not surprising that things get purchased, tucked away and forgotten about.

So the last couple weeks we’ve taken a few minutes each week to simply clean, re-organize and toss out a few outdated things.

This week I found a box of fig bars and Wheat-Thins hidden on a lower shelf in the far corner. I also found a few more breakfast bars I thought we were all out of.

As an added benefit, before I stopped to do the cleaning this weekend I was certain I’d have to run to the store to stock up for this week’s meals, I quickly realized we had much more in our pantry than I expected. I made a few changes to the menu and we’re ready to go.

Of course this problem can manifest itself in every area of the house — your bedroom closest, under your bathroom sinks, your garage, your dresser and others.

So take a few minutes this weekend and clean your pantry and then re-organize.

Check to be sure you know what’s in there and throw out those items that are outdated.

And then take a few minutes to tackle a few other areas in your home as well.

Let me know what you’re surprised to find in the process.

keep reading...

• How much is my clutter costing me? (A conversation)
• The weekend’s big secret
• Today ends our 2010 campaign