Ok…If you’re like me, life gets a little overwhelming at times (especially around 4:30 pm!) As a wife, mom, and YES, even a single, hard-working gal, trying to stay on track with a healthier lifestyle can send us over the edge. You strive to move towards a simple, healthier lifestyle yet, a week of nutritious meals never happened. Why? Because the pre-packaged foods in your pantry leap off the shelf and into your pan about this time of day!
Organized Pantry = Healthier Lifestyle!
I understand the frustration. Convenience foods take most of the meal prep off your hands. Yet, I believe our addiction to convenience is making us unhealthy.
As covered in a post from The Organized Home, some simple organization hacks will clean-up those busy dinner times. She states storing like with like, using bins, baskets and clear containers make a world of a difference.
How will this make a difference you ask? By organizing into categories, you get the opportunity to pitch the expired stuff and get a more objective view of what types of foods make up your pantry.
Here are SIX simple steps to keep your pantry from sabotaging your path to a clean healthier lifestyle:
- Pitch all expired packages-food banks will not take them and they are not worth serving to your family.
- Using the bins, baskets, or containers mentioned above, let’s group the items into canned, boxes baking, etc.
- Place the oldest items in the front of the container so they are used first…First in, First out.
- Place a bin of snack items for your kids/family in an easy to reach area so that little hands don’t go knocking over boxes to gain access to their stash. (Here is a great reference for how to choose the best store-bought snacks for all your kids.)
- Dry goods like flour, sugar, rice, pasta, etc should be stored in clear jars (think Flour Beetles, etc!)
- Label all containers with either (or both) the purchased date and expiration date. Labeling a container that obviously holds pasta is kinda silly…now the dates, those are priceless!
In Lifestyle Shifts Shortcut, we take the steps you need to move forward in your health journey. Jump in and let’s work on Clean.Simple.Living.
with strength, focus and simplicity,
