Lost Pantry Items
Am I the only one who loses things in their pantry? I have a cabinet that is floor to almost ceiling and all my dry goods are in there...do I ever remember that I have a can of refried beans or box of pastina, a bottle of sesame oil or jar of apricot preserves? Nope!
I go to the store thinking I don't have any capers because it hasn't been seen in months and somehow that lost jar wiggles its way out right next to the new one I bought.
Spices...that's a whole other posting!!!
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21 Comments:
pantry-normal activity?
gastronomeg at 11:10AM on 11/02/09
Oh, how I wish I had a pantry... Instead, I just have one of those double-door bottom cabinets that pretends to be a pantry. However, I'm proud to report that nothing has gotten lost in there since I put in 2 IKEA lazy Susan turntables. They force me not to overstuff the cabinet, and everything is instantly visible once you give the lazy Susan a whirl. That's where canned goods, jars, bottles of oil/vinegar/soy sauce, etc., live. On the partial shelf above, bulk goods are in clear IKEA storage containers.
Onepot at 11:19AM on 11/02/09
Take an inventory ( I know this sounds exhausting) and keep a running list.
That'll take care of duplications and also help you weed out overdue spices, canned goods. It's amazing what gets lost and forgotten in there. I do the same thing with my frrezer.
bessfour at 11:24AM on 11/02/09
Good one @gastronomeg!
My cabinet of canned goods, grains and baking supplies seems to do the same thing. I've moved the same can of chickpeas twice because whenever I need chickpeas, I just buy them and forget about the can in the cabinet.
yayfood at 11:25AM on 11/02/09
I just moved into a house that has a pantry cabinet like that, and I've already "lost" tons of stuff. i also bought a couple of double decker lazy susans. it helped, but still left some wasted space. im going to now install some sliding drawers (getting some custom made but you can also buy at a place like the container store). so you dont lose things in the back...
nalega at 11:33AM on 11/02/09
Maybe it’s the Virgo-ness or the OCD list-making compulsion but what works for me is keeping an alphabetical list of spices on the inside of my cabinet door. That way, when I run to the store I can reference the list to make sure I don’t buy what I already have. On the list, I note also anything I’m running low on or anything that I have an excess of in my pantry. Hope that helps!
virgogrrl at 11:33AM on 11/02/09
not a pantry item but my vegetable peeler (which I used to use almost everyday) got spirited away. it's been missing for a year.
hmw0029 at 11:48AM on 11/02/09
We keep our pantry items on a top corner cabinet in our kitchen, which for me is fairly inaccessible (I'm diminutive, and getting into the pantry requires a stepstool)... we've taken to calling it the black hole. A list on our cabinet would be good for keeping things organised, since we seem to purchase the same canned items over and over again!
avaryne at 11:51AM on 11/02/09
Oh, I just remembered that we had a tragic loss of some delicious pâté.
We went to France last year and brought back a few jars of different types of pâté. I didn't realize at the time that 1.) they wouldn't last indefinitely and 2.) they would need to be stored in a cool place. Instead, we stored it on a high shelf in the kitchen and it must have gotten too warm up there over the summer because their lids popped up and opened their seals. It was really a shame. We hadn't tried them when we were abroad and now we shall never know what they would have tasted like.
yayfood at 12:16PM on 11/02/09
@hmw0029 I bet it's with mine. Ungrateful little bastards. Anywhoooo.....
our pantry is large and deep and things get lost all the time. I will see something on a daily basis until I need it then it is nowhere to be found. I am in the process of getting some clear bins and in the next week or so hopefully get this monster in shape.
finsbigfan at 12:18PM on 11/02/09
I just do a periodic re-organizing which helps tons.
(I am overdue and was thinking about doing so just this morning.)
CJ McD at 12:29PM on 11/02/09
I think when it gets to this point (as mine as been for awhile now) it's time to clean out and re-organize!!
arm1970 at 12:41PM on 11/02/09
I lose things in my pantry and my fridge!
End up finding 'em a few months later covered in mold and forming their own eco-system.
AyeEat at 12:55PM on 11/02/09
Mine's not so much a storage problem, but it's a shopping problem. The first issue is that when I need one of something, I inevitably buy two. So I'll be at the store knowing that I need a can of pumpkin for a recipe, and I'll buy two "just in case." Just in case of what, I don't know. Maybe I think the first can will be abducted by aliens, and I'll need a second can before the recipe is done. Or maybe I think I'll mess up the recipe, and I'll need an emergency supply of pumpkin in the middle of the night. So I have a spare can of pumpkin that I won't use for three months.
When it comes to things like pastas and rice, if I see something new or unusual, I buy. This is particularly true of pasta shapes. If there's something interesting, I'll pick it up because I know that the next time I want that shape, I won't remember which store had it. So I need one box of dried pasta for a recipe, and I come home with three boxes. It's not like I won't use it, but meanwhile I have to store it.
And then there are the times when I'm at the store wandering around looking for inspiration, and I come up with a recipe on the fly, depending on what's on sale and what I feel like cooking. And then I need some kind of rice or pasta, and I don't remember what I have at home. So I buy two boxes of wagon wheels (because for some stupid reason, wagon wheels are hard to find when you want them) and when I get home and I go to put away the spare box of wagon wheels, I find another box of wheels on the shelf, along with three other types of pasta that also would have worked for the dish.
And then when I get home from shopping, I realize that I have everything I need, but then I go to make the recipe and I use up the last bit of some bulk item, and I have to go to the store soon for that. And then pasta shapes will be on sale, and I'll buy an extra box, just in case.
Aaargh.
dbcurrie at 1:25PM on 11/02/09
I have a large pantry and it is work keeping it organized. Coincidently this is my pantry, drawer, shelf, cabinet cleaning week.
You have to take it all out and organize it.
I use the main pantry (there are holding areas in the garage on a shelving unit and the basement on a shelving unti also. Call them secondary pantry areas.
Mine works this way every 60 or so days I clean and straighten.
Why? Because those food stuffs and staples you purchased are inventory, they cost money. Overstocking is wasteful, not being organized is wasteful and not using resources you have nullifies having a pantry.
I organize my main pantry into 10 sections
you may organize yours anyway you can eyeball quickly and know what you have and what you need.
Put all your pasta together, all your canned veggies, tomatoes and beans together. Condiments, rice, dry baking items, syrups and sugars, coffees and snacks. This is just me throwing out how I section off my shelves.
You spent money on these items so treat them like they are assets.
JerzeeTomato at 2:27PM on 11/02/09
I get made fun of all the time because I'm organized in the pantry to the point of OCD. The truth is that if I don't put things in the same places all the time, I wind up re-buying stuff I already own and that drives me crazy.
I have a slightly oversized closet that serves as a pantry but what I wouldn't give for an entire small room. It could hold pantry items AND kitchen electrics. Cuisinart and KitchenAid always live on the counter but for the other items, waffle maker, buffet server, etc., a room would be great.
You want to kill an hour? Peruse this site dedicated to Other People's Pantries. I like busting people for having crap in their pantries like Cake Mix and cream soups.
therealchiffonade at 2:57PM on 11/02/09
"I organize my main pantry into 10 sections
you may organize yours anyway you can eyeball quickly and know what you have and what you need.
Put all your pasta together, all your canned veggies, tomatoes and beans together. Condiments, rice, dry baking items, syrups and sugars, coffees and snacks. This is just me throwing out how I section off my shelves.
You spent money on these items so treat them like they are assets.
JerzeeTomato at 2:27PM on 11/02/09"
Right on JerzeeTomato- couldn't have said it better myself.
CJ McD at 3:01PM on 11/02/09
Hey therealchiffonade! I love the site and WOWEE are some folks lucky to have all that room, but the one looks like a grocery store! Wonder how many kids they have with all that food?
Rozenjoze at 3:31PM on 11/02/09
Where do all my beans go? Invariably I have a tin of EVERY sort of bean/lentil under the sun for a quick fix instead of the one I want/crave at that minute.
BananaMonkey at 3:58PM on 11/02/09
they are in the washing machine water pump along with hundreds of socks.
olddad at 7:11PM on 11/02/09
I actually have boxes in my lower cabinets with a jumble of things. Also some drawers on tracks though, and they help. A cousin has a short hallway off the kitchen that leads to a bathroom, and on either side she has floor to ceiling shelves just a can wide. Beautifully organized because she can see everything. Would love a place I could do this.
lemonfair at 7:23AM on 11/03/09