A messy pantry can make cooking more frustrating than it needs to be. You might buy something you already have because you can’t find it, forget about food sitting on the back shelf, or end up throwing things away after they’ve been forgotten for too long.
A pantry cleanout doesn’t have to mean tossing everything you haven’t used recently. A quick check of what you actually have can free up shelf space and make groceries much easier to keep track of. You may even come across something you forgot you bought.
Here are some pantry items worth clearing out.
Expired or Spoiled Items
Expired food is one of the first things to check during a pantry cleanout. Some foods may still be safe past their printed dates, depending on the product and how it was stored, while others may show obvious signs of spoilage.
Check cans, boxes, bags, spices, baking ingredients, and opened foods for expiration dates, unusual odors, mold, pests, or damaged packaging.
For more information on foods that can last longer than their printed dates, check out these foods that last well beyond their expiration date if stored correctly.
- Expired canned goods
- Stale or spoiled snacks
- Very old spices and seasonings
- Expired baking ingredients
- Condiments that have gone bad
Duplicates or Excess Items
It’s easy to buy another bag of rice or another bottle of sauce because the one you already own was hiding behind everything else.
Before your next grocery trip, take a quick look through the pantry. Combine compatible opened packages where appropriate and keep track of what you already have.
- Multiple open bags of the same food
- Extra condiments you rarely use
- Several partial boxes of cereal
- More pasta, rice, or grains than your household can reasonably use
If you’re building a food supply, this guide to seasonings and condiments in your emergency pantry can help you decide what is actually worth keeping.
Foods You Don’t Like or Won’t Use
We’ve all bought something because it looked interesting, sounded healthy, or was on sale, only to discover that nobody in the house wanted to eat it.
There’s no reason to keep taking up shelf space with food you already know you won’t eat. Unopened, shelf-stable foods that are still safe can often be donated to a local food pantry.
- Food gifts your family didn’t enjoy
- Specialty ingredients bought for one recipe
- Snacks nobody reaches for
- Diet foods you’ve stopped eating
Damaged or Unusable Food
Give your pantry shelves a quick inspection for food that has been damaged during storage. A torn package, leaking container, or badly compromised can may be a reason to throw something away.
Look for:
- Canned foods with serious dents, rust, leaks, or bulging
- Opened or torn packaging
- Foods that have become stale or soggy
- Signs of insects or other pantry pests
When you’re unsure whether damaged food is safe, it’s better to discard it than take a chance.
Non-Food Items
Pantries often become catch-all storage areas. Before long, paper products, reusable bags, containers, and other household items can crowd out the food you actually need to store.
Pull out anything that is damaged or that you haven’t used in a long time.
- Cracked or missing-lid storage containers
- Reusable shopping bags you never reach for
- Disposable cutlery and napkins you don’t use
- Worn-out shelf liners
- Random household supplies that belong somewhere else
And yes, this is your reminder to deal with that collection of reusable bags hiding in the pantry.
Overstocked Items
Buying in bulk can save money, but only if you actually use what you buy. A great deal isn’t much of a bargain if the food sits untouched until it expires.
Take a look at your bulk purchases and ask yourself whether your household will realistically use them.
- Food purchased in quantities that are too large
- Old meal kits
- Expired meal replacement powders
- Pet food you no longer need
- Large quantities of snacks nobody is eating
If your pantry is packed because you regularly shop at warehouse or surplus stores, this can be a good time to rethink how much you’re bringing home.
Unnecessary Junk
Some pantry clutter doesn’t even qualify as food. Random items tend to land on empty shelves because the pantry seems like a convenient place to put them.
Once they’re there, they can stay for months.
Check for:
- Plastic utensils and straws
- Single-serving condiment packets
- Takeout menus, old coupons, and receipts
- Duplicate kitchen gadgets
- Specialty tools you never use
- Old or unused cookbooks
For example, if you already have a slow cooker that handles the jobs you need, that rarely used rice cooker may be taking up space for no good reason.
Move useful items to a better storage spot and toss anything that’s broken or no longer useful.
Foods That No Longer Fit Your Eating Habits
Pantry cleanouts can also be a chance to look at the foods you’re actually eating. If you’ve changed your eating habits, there’s little reason to keep filling your shelves with foods you have decided to stop buying.
For unopened, shelf-stable foods that are still safe, donating them can be a better option than throwing them away.
- Sugary snacks you no longer want around
- Foods you bought during a short-lived diet
- Heavily processed snacks you don’t enjoy
- Ingredients that no longer fit your dietary needs
A pantry should work for the people who live in the house. Clearing out food that no longer gets eaten leaves more room for the groceries you actually reach for.
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