If pantries were so easy to keep organized, groceries and supermarkets wouldn’t have to tidy and restock their shelves every day!

When it comes to organizing your pantry, if you don’t have time to empty boxes of cereal, rice, or mixed nuts into their own individual glass jars and put a pretty label on it–and who does?–then this is the perfect pantry organizing solution for you.  Here’s how it works:

1. Start by emptying your pantry and group all like-items together such as:

candy, chips, snacks, crackers, cereal, dried fruit, nuts, rice, grains, pasta, lentils, canned items, dried spices, baking supplies, bread crumbs, broths, stocks, non-refrigerated milks (almond, coconut, soy), oils, vinegars, cooking sauces, nut butters, jams, jarred items, etc.

2. Use larger containers, like hard plastic food storage bins designed for cabinets, to segregate different categories of items in their original packages. This keeps them from migrating to other areas. Hard plastic bins can easily be washed and, best of all, you can pull them out easily to get what you need without having to go searching for the right item.
3. The bins should be deep enough to fit your shelves and wide enough to contain several like-items or several related categories, such as dried fruit and nuts. Check out mDesign bins available from their website, or iDesign bins available from The Container Store.
4. You may also have to readjust your shelf heights to accommodate taller items like cereal boxes. Check out this video to see how. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTBSpVWmVl0
5. Even if you have smaller quantities of items, like bulk spices, in re-closable bags or bags that don’t sit upright, they can still be contained in one of these bins so that they don’t fall over into another category.

Imagine sealing off an entire cabinet in your small kitchen to empty space!

That’s exactly what you do when you dedicate a cabinet to empty food storage containers. They are space-thieves! You know you need some but how many?

Here’s how to make more room in your kitchen and still have a supply of food storage containers for when you need them:

1. Start by matching bottoms to tops and tops to bottoms. At most, keep only enough to hold a week’s worth of leftovers.
2. Keep no more than will fit neatly into one cabinet shelf or one medium sized drawer when they are assembled! TIP: Don’t nest lids or bottoms unless they are all the same size.
3. Keep a supply of disposable food storage containers (tops and bottoms) in a less frequently used storage area to send family home with leftovers on holidays, like Thanksgiving. Store them with your holiday dishes or supplies.
4. Recycle any clean, dry plastic food storage container that has the numbers 1, 2, or 3 embedded in the plastic. Toss containers that are warped, stained, smelly, or broken.

If you still are uncomfortable tossing them there may be options for donating to your local community schools, churches, or shelters, but more restrictions are in place during COVID-19.

Is your bathroom full of unused self-care items that you just don’t need anymore? Chances are many of them are still usable.  Why not put them to use and do good in this time of uncertainty. You’ll feel good about not throwing away perfectly acceptable products while helping others.

Empty your bathroom cabinets of small and travel-size items you’ve collected from hotels, department stores, and airlines. Create Hygiene-To-Go Bags to donate to organizations such as The Salvation Army, Operation Care and Comfort, or local homeless or women’s shelters in your community.

Here’s how it works:

1. Sort all items by type, including surplus women’s sanitary items you no longer need and pack a gallon sized, re-closable bag with as many individual, unused items as you can fit. Even a few bags are worth your time!
2. Include a variety of items–whatever you have, such as unscented* soap, shampoo, conditioner, sewing kit, razors/cartridges, body lotion, dental supplies, tampons/pads, etc.
3. Never pack items that are opened or have leaked.
4. Toss items you’d never use, are more than half-used, or expired. Old lotions, shampoos, and skin care products do go bad!
5. Create a travel bag for yourself so you’ll be ready to go for your next trip!

*Scented items can cause allergic reactions for some individuals or may leak scents into other donated items such as food.