Day 13: Clean Pantry

Updated on June 4, 2024

Welcome to day 13 of the ‘31 Days of Deep Cleaning Your Home‘ series!

Today’s task is to clean your pantry.

I don’t really have a pantry. I have a cabinet we purchased from Walmart that serves this purpose, plus a few of our cabinets in our kitchen. But, I know a lot of you have a designated pantry space in your kitchen.

Start by taking everything off one shelf. Wipe down the shelf, and put everything back. Be sure to check expiration dates. Place your items that are ready to expire towards the front so you remember to use them up first. Throw away any opened bags or boxes of food you know you won’t eat (hello chip crumb and cereal bags!). If you have food that you know you won’t use and is not yet expired, set it aside to donate to the food bank. (And make a mental note not to buy that item again.)

Tip: For sticky items like honey or syrup, I like to place these in some sort of container in my pantry. This way if they drip, I don’t have a sticky, gooey mess all over the shelf. An old baking sheet, a Tupperware container, or even a ceramic tray work well for this purpose.

Continue working your way down all your shelves until your pantry shelves are clean. I suggest only tackling one shelf at a time, because life happens. If you can’t finish, at least your whole kitchen is not covered with pantry items!

Lastly, be sure to move everything off the floor of your pantry and sweep and mop (or vacuum) in there.

While you are cleaning out your pantry, it is a good time to see if you need any new storage containers or baskets. Put them on your list for when you have the time and money to get them. Don’t forget to think outside the box when organizing your pantry. The Dollar Tree has inexpensive baskets and containers. You can also use mason jars or cleaned out pasta jars to store things like beans and rice.

See you back here tomorrow for day 14 of 31 Days of Deep Cleaning Your Home.