How Often Should I Clean Out My Pantry?

Faith Durand
Faith DurandSVP of Content
Faith is the SVP of Content at Apartment Therapy Media and Editor-in-Chief of Kitchn, and the author of three cookbooks, including the James Beard Award-winning The Kitchn Cookbook. She lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband and two daughters.
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published Feb 22, 2010
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Q: Is there a rule to how often you should clean out your pantry? Just today I took the time to go through everything and I found so many expired items. (Jell-O with a date from 2005!)

Is there a standard for how often you should go through your shelves so you don’t end up with so many expired items?

Sent by Pattie

Editor: Pattie, it sounds like you could use the Kitchen Cure! We all could, after all — since cleaning the pantry and fridge aren’t exactly things that get done on a regular basis.

We don’t have a set frequency for cleaning out the pantry, but we do go through it at least twice yearly during the Kitchen Cure. We also try to institute a “cupboard challenge” week of meals about once a month where we try to cook with only what’s left in our cupboards. This is actually really fun, and often a great way to try new recipes and styles of cooking, too.

Readers, what’s your take on this?

Next question?

Related: Condiments and Expiration Dates: Pantry Cleaning Tips

(Image: Flickr user adamwaCO from the Kitchen Cure Flickr Group)

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