It looks so much more when it's all spread out all over the worktops doesn't it!
While I waited for the cupboard to dry after a good cleaning and spraying with anti-bacterial spray I worked my way through all the food, checking dates and quality. The only thing to get binned was a jar of capers that were all wearing little furry hats :-)
The jars that I thought would be okay for donating to the local Foodbank were in fact out of date and as they don't accept out of date food we will eat that ourselves.
So everything except the jar of capers went straight back in, only this time all in date order with the oldest items at the front and the well in date stuff at the back of the cupboard.
Before
After
Although in the second picture the cupboard looks much tidier, there is in fact quite a bit more food in the cupboard now as I was making things more logical and bringing in bits and pieces from the other cupboards. So now like is stored with like and it should be much easier to find stuff and keep tabs on exactly what we have in stock.
As soon as I finished one cupboard the next one was done in exactly the same way, emptied out, cleaned, foods checked and in this case some of the packets decanted into jars.
The bottom of this cupboard still had my ambient leftover store-cupboard foods from my £28 for 28 Days Challenge, that I finished in November of last year. (See here.) I decided to simply put them back as they were, ready to be used as the basis of a new Challenge that I have on my mind for in a couple of months.
Before
After
Again I have made this cupboard more logical and although the majority of the same things went back in some more foods were brought from other places and a few things were left waiting on the worktop ready to go into a different cupboard.
It was all very confusing and seemed to take ages, but it was well worth doing. I'll come back with the rest of the photos tomorrow.
🥘
I do love a well-ordered store cupboard....hence why I put things away, husband just shoves things in anywhere there's a gap, irritates me no end.
ReplyDeleteI had just got into the bad habit of not having like with like, having rice, for instance, in 3 seperate places. Hopefully I will stay logical now as we eat our way through the stores.
DeleteAs I commented the other day you are nudging me into sorting out my own cupboards.
ReplyDeleteI love the description of capers in little furry hats; I’m sure there’s a cartoon in there somewhere.
I ignore the use by dates and rely on my senses, mainly common sense, to decide whether food
is fit to eat.
Perhaps today is the day to start my clear out.
Sue
I should have photographed them 🤣
DeleteYep, off you go ... stop reading and go sort those cupboards 🙂😉
Very neat - it all looks lovely and so well organised. You put me to shame.
ReplyDeletexx
I do keep opening the doors and grinning at my new neatness 😃
DeleteMy cupboards are tidy as I put like with like and in rows in my large larder cupboard. But I think I may clear a shelf at a time and give them a good clear. Plus I could do an inventory of things at the same time, thanks for the prompt Sue xx
ReplyDeleteHaha, so are mine ... now!!
DeleteI considered doing an inventory, but now I've been through everything and it's fresh in my mind, and considering that I'm not buying in for the moment I think I can manage without one.
I wasted almost nothing from Christmas and the leftovers are still providing meals when combined with store cupboard items. Over stuffed cupboards and freezer are failings of mine but currently I seem to have amassed more than ever! There is a little niggle in the back of my mind that perhaps I am subconsciously stockpiling in case of post Brexit shortages!
ReplyDeleteI seem to go from having nice minimal cupboard to overstuffed and annoying full over and over again. I'm determined to cure myself of this for the last time this year.
DeleteI'm really not worrying about Brexit shortages or stockpiling for that.
I have missed your challenges and am so glad to have found you once again.
ReplyDeleteRight now we are fairly stocked up as winter is here in all its cold and snowy glory. The less I travel the roads the better I like it. We will be eating everything down however in preparation of another stock up towards the end of March. Cupboards and freezers need to be emptier by that time.
God bless.
I'm glad you found me :-)
DeleteYes it's nice to know the food stores are full when it's cold and Wintery outside.
I love my nice, neat pantry - and sometimes I do like to open the door and just stare at it for a bit! :-) Now I just have to make some sort of dent in it!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I'm not the only one that opens recently tidied cupboard doors just to smile at the ordered contents ;-)
Delete