6 Items You Should Purge From Your Pantry ASAP
It's time for some pantry spring cleaning
The pantry is a magical place—it’s where we keep our snacks and cereals, not to mention the condiments and spices that make our cooking ten times tastier. And yet, it’s also one of the spaces we tend to neglect the most.
Take some time this weekend to go through your pantry. If you see one of the items listed below, don’t hesitate to throw them out:
Any ingredients you haven’t used in more than 6 months
A jar of olives, a bottle of Italian seasoning… if you bought these items just for one recipe and never used it against since, it’s got to go. Chucking these in the trash will give you room to grow—and hopefully fill up your pantry with ingredients you actually use.
Years-old spices
Unlike most food items, dried spices do not rot—but they lose their flavor if you keep them for too long. As a general rule, most spices are good for two to four years. Consider buying smaller quantities the next time you shop for groceries.
Expired or rusted canned goods
How long has that can of tuna been there? Since canned goods have long shelf lives, we tend to put them at the back of the pantry and subsequently forget about them until we need to do spring cleaning. Toss them in the trash if they’re expired or if the cans are covered in rust. Â
When adding in new canned food, make sure to move the older ones up front, and put the newer ones at the back of the cabinet.Â
Old onions and garlic
It’s easy to just grab a bulk bag of onions and garlic from the supermarket, but pause for a moment and think if you can really use up that amount in a few months’ time. These aromatic veggies are good only for two to four months, so check your stash for signs of softness or discoloration.
Opened jars of food
Pickling is a great way of preserving food, and you can keep them in the pantry as long as the jar is unopened. But if they’ve already been opened and you didn’t put them in the refrigerator, it’s time to toss them out. Better safe than sorry!
Unsealed bags of rice and flour
If you have a bad habit of opening rice or flour and not putting them in airtight containers afterwards, it’s time to give them a check. If it smells off or it shows signs of bug infestation, throw them away. And invest in quality containers for the next time!
