34 Weeks of Clean! Week 2- The Pantry

Welcome back!  If you are just joining us, we are glad you are here.  You can find week one, Holiday Decorations, here if you want to start from the top!  If this is your second week back, YAY you!  As my 17 year old says, cheering oneself on is always ok! ;)  Know that we are cheering you on as well. We are so excited to hear about all the people across the country who are determined to take back their houses with us - one week at a time!

So how'd you do with week 1?  Hopefully your trees are at the curb and your lights are taken down.  Trust me, your neighbors will appreciate your effort!  I would love for you to link up your success at the bottom of the page to help not only celebrate your success but to inspire others.  If you were ahead of us and had the week off - glad you came back!  Here is a button code for you if you are participating!


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Up this week, The Pantry!

Why start with the pantry?  I can only speak for myself here, but the holidays seem to be a season of food, more food, and even more food.  And a lot more junk food than normal.  I found myself opening the pantry, throwing something in and shutting the door as quickly as possible to avoid the mess.  Yep, I am THAT kind of gal during the holidays.  But guess what ya'll?  Eventually, that mess starts trying to come out on its own.  So even if your pantry does not look as bad as mine, (please do not tell me) yours surely could use some sprucing up as well.

Before - my mess!

Here we go!

This week we are concentrating mostly on the food.  If you have food in other areas of your kitchen as well, don't leave it out!  Spices and such will be covered soon as they reside elsewhere in my kitchen.

• Pull everything out!  Yes, just do it.  I will wait.

• Check expiration dates and throw things out.  One of our goals should be to NOT poison our families this year with bad food.
• Wipe down all of the shelves, wood or otherwise.  Between sticky honey drops (anyone else?) and dirty handprints, those things need to be cleaned!  If you are all natural, you can use my favorite natural cleaner recipe.  If you use store bought stuff, no worries - I won't tell anyone!
• Wipe down the floors of the pantry and the doors as well.  You know women did not design all those fancy doors with little rims and grooves!  Sometimes it takes nothing short of a Q-tip to get those clean.  Yes, go ahead and get out your Q-tips!
• Decide a plan of attack BEFORE you put things back.  I try to keep like things in one area and here again, baskets become my best friend.  It took me a few tries to get it the way I wanted it and for all the things to fit.
• Confession time- I DID buy these wire racks.  Again, I am pretty sure a woman did not design this pantry.  (No offense to the guys, they just do not usually care about a pantry's design)  Who needs several feet of space in between the shelves?  Can you say wasted space? Anyway, the added space helped me get more back into the pantry while looking a little neater. Call me crazy, not to my face please, but I love that neat and tidy look when I open a closet, cabinet, or drawer.

• Put things back with purpose- do you use something only occasionally?  Put it higher up!  Do your kids need access to cereal?  Put it on a lower shelf.  We hang snacks in a bag on the door (gotta love those Command Hangers) and all of our wheat-free items are in one basket to avoid confusion.  Shoe organizers, found at the dollar store, hold smaller packets of stuff.

• Use glass jars when you can!  I admit, I love glass jars.  Here's why - I love the uniform look, I love that you can see exactly how much of something you have left, and I get so tired of looking at half opened boxes and bags.  I seriously would put our potato chips in a glass jar if I thought I could get by with it.

• A quick word about food storage.  Yes, we do store extra food in case emergencies come up. (think power outages, blizzards, hurricanes, etc., but not in the same state, I know!)  We keep those foods in a large plastic tub that is inventoried and kept in the basement storage area where 1. it is cooler, and 2. little hands do not reach in and help themselves.

Finished results-

To help you this week, my friend Kemi, blogging over at Homemaking Organized, has made some fun chalkboard labels for you as well as a pantry inventory list.  Head on over to print them all and and tell her thanks! I will be printing out the labels and covering up my ugly handwriting on my lovely glass jars!

And because a few of you have asked - nope, I am not going to give you a list of all the weeks in advance! ;)  I remain convinced that it is best to only share each assignment as we go.  I think our tendency is to go in strong to a project like this, push too hard, and then fall off the wagon from exhaustion.  This way you can truly concentrate on the task at hand and not be weighed down by what is to come. 

So, I think that is about it!  This should not take you all week, but go on and get started.  There is never a better time than the present! And don't forget to link up pictures of your progress or leave a comment to let us know how you are doing so far!

Until next week - Happy cleaning and many blessings,

Week 1- Holiday Decoration

Week 3- Kitchen Cabinets and Doors

An InLinkz Link-up