How are we organizing our pantries and freezers? Not necessarily in terms of what you use for storage and organizing, but how you make sure things don’t get lost. I just bought a bag of bread flour only to discover I had three half-opened bags at home…

Question

Julia · Answer

Make perishables & open containers the most accessible: I recently reorganized my fridge by putting veggies, fruits, half-used jars/cans, and other perishables on most visible selves and door and the condiments, sodas, and treats with longer shelf lives into the drawers.

Now I'm less likely to forget about all of the healthy food I bought with the best intentions, and I'm finding I actually finish the half-used sauces and leftovers before they go bad!

As for the treats now in drawers, you probably will still remember they exist and be willing to put in the extra effort to grab them.

chelsi · Answer

Dedicated containers and inventory lists: I am something of a freak when it comes to food waste and organization. These are things that work FOR ME, they may not work for everyone.

Dedicated containers

For me, having dedicated containers for ingredients has more or less eliminated the pantry problem you describe. Things like rice, sugar, flour I just pick a bin that can hold the whole package of the thing and put the old stuff on top when I get a new package. I do a lot of baking at home so I have a bin of open miscellaneous flour, and one for different opened sugars - basically operating under the assumption that there is always an open bag to work through first.

Lists

-fresh list of foods that need to be used (veg, meat, open can of coconut milk, etc)

-freezer inventory list broken down by prepared meals, whole proteins, and cooking components

-grocery list broken down by stores that I frequent.