Ask Sarah: Food Storage

 

I hope you all had a nice weekend! Mine was full of busy, busy, busy!

 

This is my first Monday here on the blog and although I technically didn't really give anyone a chance to read this post today, it's better late than never. Life finally wound down for the day and I had a moment to sit and write. Ahhh....nothing better than climbing into bed. My feet are profusely thanking me for sitting down. The hubby and I just recently decided to paint the entire house this last weekend and it's definitely required a lot of standing. But things are coming along nicely and I hope that we're done in a couple weeks. Pictures to follow and a post on why I think painting every so often helps keep a house clean! But on to more important things...

 

Each Monday I'm going to do a segment called, "Ask Sarah" where I answer questions that were submitted over the weekend. We got a couple real great questions over the weekend and I've selected food storage for today. I must preface this Monday segment by stating that I am NOT an expert...just an enthusiast! So do whatever works for you! But here's what works for me.

 

Question from Gina: HOW DO I ROTATE MY FOOD STORAGE?

 

Excellent question, Gina! I think this is an obstacle for many people, including me! I have tried several things and after trial and error here's what works for me and what I eventually hope to achieve. Much of this is still "in progress".

 

1. Buy what you eat and get rid of what you don't. I just recently went through our food storage and got rid of so many things that we would never eat. Why in the world did I buy it then?! Because it was in sale...and that, in and of itself, my friends, can be a major trap!  There's no way you're going to effectively rotate things that you're not interested in eating. You have to clear out what you're not going to use before you can organize it to rotate. That said, when there's a good deal on food you'll eat, don't pass it up! (I was able to take what I wasn't using to a local homeless shelter. If the food is still good, look for things like this to still utilize perfectly good food.)

 

2. Make a menu. When you make your weekly / monthly menu, ALWAYS go to your food storage and look for ways to incorporate what you can. Start with those things that are expiring the soonest. Plan at least one meal a week around your food storage. Be creative!

 

3. Keep an inventory and store like items with like items. And I'm not talking about a yearly inventory. This one needs to be constantly in motion. When you take a can of green beans off the shelf, add a can or two of green beans to your shopping list. This has worked very well for me. I'm constantly replenishing what I use. Also, don't just throw everything on the shelf in a random order. You need to be able to SEE what you have. Store like items with like items so that they're easy to find: cake mixes all together, beans all together, corn all together, etc. You get the picture!

 

4. Find an effective storage method that allows oldest to be eaten first, and newest to be stored in the back. This can be hard depending on your available space and resources. I currently use some cabinets in my laundry room. But I always make sure that I scoot everything forward when I bring home something new. There are some amazing rotation systems out there, but they can be pricey. But brilliant people are out there right now coming up with ideas like the one below that I found on Pinterest. This was just recently added to the Hubby's Honey-Do List. He said, "No Problem". What a guy. And what a space saver! So organized! I love this! So be creative with your rotation system, but be persistent. There's nothing worse than throwing a ton out because you didn't rotate!

 

5. About every 6 months, reevaluate and purge if needed. I know how hard it is to throw out food that you bought, but sometimes you need to go through and make sure that there isn't a hazard like food poisoning waiting to happen. I remember opening a jar of spoiled mayonnaise and it was a good thing that it smelled awful or I never would have known! It would have been a horrible weekend if we had eaten it! So it's good to check in every so often and make sure that you're on the right track.

6. Don't forget long-term storage items. By this I mean that every so often, open a can of wheat (or whatever you want) and find ways to use it. Although these things will keep for 30+ years if stored properly, they're of no use to you if you haven't learned how to use them. Get creative!

There you have it! This is my preferred way of rotating my storage but do what works for you! What are some of your ideas for food storage rotation? I'd love to hear!

Pick one thing here to try this week, even if it's just organizing the pantry!

Happy rotating!

Sarah