4 Steps to Get Your Pantry Ready for Thanksgiving
The pantry organizers of your dreams - links for each item are in the blog.
Oh, hi November. It’s officially less than four weeks until Turkey Day, and it’s your turn to host family and friends for the big dinner.
Do you feel a pang of anxiety bubbling up? While you appreciate your guests for offering to help make some of the food, you know that deep down, you’ll make like Bobby Wagner and tackle them before they even get near your pantry (“C’mon, Aunt Carol. I don’t know where the cranberry sauce is in the pantry, let alone how old it is!”).
If this sounds familiar and you’re afraid of other people peeking into your messy pantry, it doesn’t have to be this way! Let’s tackle your pantry in the next month and set you up for Thanksgiving dinner success.
Step 1: Take each item out of the pantry. Yes! Each. Item.
Any time I organize, it’s going to get a whole lot messier first, but it’s only temporary. So clear off the kitchen island and dining table because all the stuff in the pantry has to go somewhere. I would sort like-items together: canned veggies, baking items, condiments, etc.
Step 2: Dispose of anything that’s past its prime.
Shoot, this can of beans expired in 2011? It happens to the best of us. Make sure to look for a printed date on each item, and figure out if it should be disposed. Here are the differences in dates:
Best By/Best If Used Before Date: This date suggests when it’s best to consume the food item by. It’s generally safe to still eat the item within a week after the printed date.
Use By Date: This date also suggests when to consume the food item by, similar to Best By dates. However, Use By dates should be more strictly followed. If you have refrigerated items past the Use By date, the USDA recommends disposing it (and I know you’re going to be inspired to clean out that refrigerator once you’re done with the pantry *wink wink*). If you have canned goods past the Use By date, use it as soon as possible after this date.
Sell By Date: This date means that the food item should be sold by then. It also means that the item could be safely consumed anywhere between a few days up to two weeks after the Sell By date.
No Date: If there’s no printed date and you didn’t purchase it recently, it’s time to let it go. With food, you don’t want to risk eating something questionable and getting sick.
Note that these dates are merely suggestions printed by the manufacturer. It is their best guess by which you can experience the highest quality of the food item. The only exception is baby formula, which is federally mandated to print dates. Also, use your best judgment. If the item smells funny or doesn’t look right, toss it.
I know how you’re feeling at this point. You’re looking at your bags of expired food and feeling guilty. But please don’t be! Once you toss out the expired food, you’ll end up feeling like a weight has been lifted from your shoulders. This is a learning experience: to know what foods you aren’t necessarily eating before it expires and saving money from buying it again, to know what foods you might not need to buy in bulk anymore to avoid waste, and to know that you still have enough food in the pantry after this decluttering process.
Step 3: Put the items back by category and where it makes the most sense.
Now that you’ve got only the food items you’ll keep, it’s time to step back into the empty pantry and visualize where it make the most sense to put items back.
What are the items that you use the most? They should be stored front and center (think eye level and a little bit lower).
Do you have kiddos who aren’t tall enough to reach the higher shelves? Cereal and snacks could be placed on lower shelves so the kids can make breakfast for themselves and grab snacks before heading to school in the morning.
Do you have items that aren’t used very often? If you bake cookies and cakes, but only during the holidays, baking items could be stored on higher shelves.
You’ve already done the sorting work in Step 1 so make sure to put like-items back in the pantry together. Also, leave space in case you have extra items you’ll need to replenish after your grocery run.
Step 4: Storage and labels galore!
After decluttering and figuring out what’s left to put back in the pantry, now it’s time to assess whether you need additional storage items. Here are a few pantry organizing items that I love to use, but you’ll want to make sure you take measurements of your pantry and see if these will work for you (the below are not affiliate links; I genuinely love using these products):
White Montauk Woven Rectangular Storage Bins: These come in a medium and large size and are great for storing snacks. They’re so stylish, too!
iDesign Linus Pantry Bins: These also come in a variety of sizes. What’s great about these are that they are clear so you can see what’s inside them, and they are super sturdy.
OXO Good Grips POP 5-Piece Canisters: OXO makes canisters in square or rectangular shapes, and they are stackable. These canisters have an airtight seal, keeping food fresh. This 5-piece set is a great starter.
madesmart Expandable Pantry Shelf and Spice Organizer: I swear by this organizer. It has non-slip lining so your cans or spices will stay lined up, and it can expand to whatever size you need (up to 25” wide). This lets you see all your cans at once without moving them around to see what’s in the back. Plus, don’t they just look like their lined up, ready to sing in a choir?
madesmart White Lazy Susan: For those weird, pesky corners in the pantry, a lazy susan might be the best use of space. Bottles of oils can be stored like this, and all you have to do is turn it to find what you need. There’s also a two-tier version.
I would be remiss not to mention that The Container Store is having their Kitchen and Pantry Holiday Sale with up to 25% off on select items right now until November 10th (sorry, the sale is over!).
The final thing to think about is labeling. Whether it be on the storage bins or on the shelves themselves, it will help you and your family identify where items are located and remind you where to put things back. Chalkboard labels (tags or adhesive) are great since you can wipe away the writing if you want to change it in the future.
That’s it! Let me know how it goes - send me questions or pictures of your amazing pantry to hello@peonyproorganizing.com. And happy (early) Thanksgiving! 🦃