Sustainable Pantry Guide - How to Keep Your Pantry Low Waste, Food Safe, and Delicious
Oftentimes, we focus on food waste in terms of fresh food: we can visualize a banana rotting, meat turning brown, or carrots becoming mushy. However, food waste is not limited to what our fridge holds. Pantries can be a bottomless pit of forgotten food and half-used ingredients, too. While a lot of items are shelf stable, it doesn’t mean they have a never-ending lifespan. Some pantry ingredients are best restocked every month and some once a year. Let’s dive into the details of your regular pantry restock requirements to keep things fresh, in stock, and safe to eat.
Before we dive into buying new items, let’s go through what you currently have. It is really easy to push a bag of rice to the back corner of your pantry when making room for new items. That bag starts to collect dust next to your forgotten crackers and half eaten chips. To avoid this, we recommend an annual audit of your pantry. Carve out an hour of your week once a year to pull every item out of your pantry and sort things into these categories:
Expired: These items have an expiration or use by date that has passed. It is no longer safe to eat and cannot be salvaged. Let’s toss those items out. Also included in this category are half used items that have gone stale or no longer serve their intended purpose.
Donate: Next, let’s sort out any items that you, your family, or roommates will not eat. This could be items you bought for a specific recipe that you forgot to make or unopened crackers from before you cut out gluten. Whatever the reason may be, these items are safe to eat and un-used but don’t serve a purpose in your home any more. Collect these goods and take them to your nearest food pantry or donation center to give them a second life.
Expiring Soon: These are items that are not past their expiration date, but they are approaching soon. When we put the pantry back together, let’s put these items towards the front. This will keep them fresh in your mind and help you use them before they spoil. Remember FIFO: First in First Out!
Keep: Our last pile is full of items that are here to stay - whether it be pantry staples, baking goods, or just fresh food, all of these will be kept and put back where they belong.
By starting this process by taking stock of what you already have, we can avoid purchasing duplicates and increasing the risk of food waste down the line. Now that we have our four groups, it's time to fill in the gaps and build your staple grocery list.
Monthly Staples
Whether you go to the grocery store twice a week or twice a month, the following items are ones that come in and out of pantries fast. The ingredients in this section are helpful to have on hand at all times for quick and easy recipes. Whenever they get used up, be quick to fill that gap on the shelf. We recommend keeping the following items fresh in your pantry every month:
Pasta
Stocks and Broths - Chicken, Beef, or Vegetable
Tomato Paste
Nut Butters
Canned Vegetables - Corn, Green Beans, Tomatoes, etc.
Soy Sauce
White Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar
Balsamic Vinegar
Tinned Fish - Tuna, Anchovies, Sardines
Quarterly
These are items that may not be used every week, but their shelf life isn’t as long as you may think. Be sure to replace these items once a quarter to keep them fresh, pest free, and safe to eat:
Whole Wheat Flour
Nuts
Seeds
Oats
Annually
These ingredients are not your daily drivers. They may have specific uses in baking or a few recipes here and there. If you don’t use them up within a year of opening, it is good practice to replace them:
Baking Soda
Baking Powder
White Flour
Dried Beans
Lentils
Brown Rice
Spice Blends
Cooking Oils (Opened)
As Needed - Essentially No Expiration
Lastly, the following items can last a very long time (1+ years) unless they are exposed to moisture or bacteria or they show signs of spoilage. Keep these around for as long as you see fit:
Cooking Oils (Sealed)
Sugar
White Rice
Ground Spices
Dried Herbs
Honey
Vanilla Extract
Download Our Verdantt’s Sustainable Pantry Guide
There is a lot to remember in terms of what to keep on hand and when it all needs to be replaced. Don’t worry - we made you a cheat sheet! Download our Sustainable Pantry Guide for all the information you need in one place. Similar to the lists above, you will find
essentials to have at all times and when those items need replaced.
Keeping tabs on what you have in stock is great for organization, but it also helps you save money and reduce your food waste. At Verdantt, we want to be your partner in food management systems for your home. Download the Verdantt app now, and manage your inventory’s shelf life, keep food out of trash, and keep more money in your pockets.
So useful!