My pantry ( a very small closet) is pretty well managed - but the DH went shopping today, and bought yet another package of frozen puff pastry.

Humm, he bought two just before Christmas in case we needed them for appetizers. We didn't use either of those. What possessed him? It wasn't even on sale.

I cleaned out the pantry a few days before Christmas. I did have to toss three or four items and it does pain me to throw out food. It is satisfying to get the job done - I do love to open up my tidy pantry!

Yep. Did mine today since trash pick-up is tomorrow. I'm getting better about it but still have to remind myself that with only two of us and the fact we eat out a lot it's no saving to stock up any longer.

Gosh I hate when I have to do that, I always feel guilty about throwing food out, still happens though.

It rarely happens that I throw out food. But here, in this house I am staying in, is so much food that is expired it is awful. I have cleaned out another cabinet. All out dated food is gone. Only 5 cans were safe. I shall use them before their date for sure.

Meanwhile, it cleared out space to put other stuff here. That is a big bonus, as I needed a spot to put things I have cleaned.

Moni

I took all of my out of date jellies and preserves (the ones that get hidden in the back of the frig) and put most of them on top of the compost pile. Sugar is a good soil supplement.

When I passed by later it was covered with bees. So I just set a jar out for them on a porch railing. I would not have thought that bees would be out in winter.

Now I am the eccentric old lady thar feeds crows and bees.

I'm pretty good about not over buying or over stocking the pantry shelves. I use much of the space as a parking dock for counter top appliances. I HATE stuff on the counters!

So much in my cabinets, I need to throw away. SOOOOOOO old.

My brother and I did this at my dad's over Christmas. We had to just stop because the garbage can would have been too heavy to move. *sigh*

My Dmom always kept her pantry stocked and since she's passed I don't think my dad has used hardly any of the stuff in there.

Some of it the seals around the cans had started to leak.

I don't use canned goods much since Glen died so whenever they have a food drive (boy scouts, postal employees) I load them up!

I worked on cleaning out my pantry yesterday and today. I still have more to dispose of, but the garbage will be picked up early in the morning. I tend to buy way too much when it is on sale and I have coupons, but I've made a firm resolution not to do that this year. We donate a lot to the local Women's Center where it is always appreciated.

I go through my cupboard food stash at least 6 times a year. Anything I know I won't use goes to the food bank. since I don't really overbuy, rarely is anything outdated. My kitchen is far too small to hold a large stash.

When the house was full of teenagers it was never a problem. Now, we're having to be more careful.
This does remind me of an incident a few years ago. A couple of my sons and I were installing a landscape for an elderly lady. It was mid August and very hot and humid. In the middle of the afternoon she asked if we'd each like a coke. The cokes had Santas on the cans! After my son finished his he checked the expiration date on the bottom of the can; they were from Christmas 2 and a half years earlier.

Ron

Ron's story reminds me of the ketchup incident. Dad had made hamburgers and my son started to use the ketchup. He remarked that it looked much darker than our ketchup. Then he read the label and noticed there was an offer for a free coffee mug - yep - the expiration date was 2 years earlier. The next day I went through my Mom's refrigerator and pantry and started tossing.

It's rare that I have a expired product - that's one thing that I stay on top on. But then my pantry isn't a room!

One think that makes it easier is when I bring home a staple I use a Sharpie to write the expiration or 'best by' date on the top or front of the can or box so that I can easily read it without having to rearrange everything.

The same goes for the freezer. Before I put any meat in the freezer I wrap it in plastic wrap, then foil and usiing my trusty Sharpie write the date on top.

I worked in a supermarket all during college and one of the things I learned is to 'rotate' my stock. New items go in back of older ones.

This is something I really must do and be more careful buying. As someone said it really isn't a good buy if you end up throwing it out!

I limit canned goods that I buy, and I routinely check the shelves and purge. The food that I can myself goes on an excel sheet. That way I can always see what I have on hand and what I need to work on. The oldest jars stay at the top, so I just see what's up there and come up with recipes for that stuff so it never gets too old. DH set it up for me and it's easy to keep up. We will be doing the same for the freezer soon.

here's a site I found a while back --- when things are 'out of date', etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: Still Tasty

Now that it's just two of us in our house; I agree with Wildchild; it just doesn't pay to stock up. I rarely even plan menus because we like to go out now; and sometimes it's even cheaper to do that than to cook!

No. Not a problem. :0) I bake and cook most things from scratch. I purchased a case of flour tortillas, 120 ct.....I froze half. When lean pork chops were on sale I purchased 15 lbs, froze them in pkgs of 2 ea. It will all be eaten before I buy more. :0) Ok.....I do stock up on those BIG pkgs of toilet paper.....buuuuuuuut....

I date the cans, too, although I use the purchase date. My DGD assumed it was the expiration date, and wondered why I was using expired food all the time. :-)

Most of what I've thrown out was not canned goods. I tossed packages of flour, grains bought in bulk, a can of cooking spray, baking powder, a couple of bottles of vinegar, a big bag of whey protein without a date (I don't even use this anymore), and the star of the show: a tall container of unopened rolled oats that expired in 1998! (I could swear I've cleaned the pantry since then.) LOL

I also discovered a nice surprise--an unopened bottle of Grey Goose vodka. I don't keep alcohol in the pantry, so I don't know how it ended up there. But I was not sorry to find it!

Don't forget to check your freezers too - when we moved years ago the family freezer was an old 14cu chest model. We found an old roast that was literally 14 years old. Neither myself or my Mom could reach the bottom. When my Dad was alive we used to unpack the old freezer every January and haul everything out to the back porch. The freezer would get scrubbed down and then repacked. Old stuff either got tossed or put on the dinner schedule (my Mom would plan a months worth of meals back then). I don't have a large freezer like that now. I like the idea of writing dates on the foil with a sharpie and the same on the cans. Good habit I might use if you don't mind.

Good info here too.
Cheers,
Peggy

That vodka is still good. I'm glad to hear you got a prize for all your hard work!
Last night we saw a show on extreme coupon users. They each had a garage or basement stocked with thousands of items - I'm talking 100 quarts of soda, 50 bottles of salad dressing, enough deodorant for 3 lifetimes. There is no way they could possibly use that stuff before it it expires. But, they all took great pride in their neatly organized stashes. It was like tidy hoarding.
Alisande, I'm surprised you tossed the vinegar - does it actually go bad? (I was kinda hoping it might turn back into wine lol..)

Looking for spices for Christmas baking, found several very outdated, like from 2001, 2004, 2007. I kept thinking of the bug test posted here a few years ago-lol. Some of the stuff didn't even have a smell anymore. I still need to go through that whole cabinet and clear out outdated stuff. Oh, found some outdated multi vitamins too...what a waste...huge bottle nearly full.

Alisande, I'm surprised you tossed the vinegar - does it actually go bad? (I was kinda hoping it might turn back into wine lol..)

Good luck with that. LOL

One bottle of vinegar had been opened; the other had not. Both were cloudy, with heavy sediment and pieces of something (sediment?) floating around. It would be really hard to pass it off as a pinot noir.....even an off-year pinot noir. :-)

Oh, yeah, Kath, I neglected to mention the supplements I threw out. A couple were outdated, but at least one got tossed because in my determination to be realistic I realized I probably wouldn't use it.

I was happy to see the garbage men arrive this morning. Now I can start filling up the cans again.

Thanks for the website, Cate52. I'm sure it will come in handy.

Good for you for getting your stock organized. I actually love my small pantry and I like to keep it organized. I do need to get into the home canned jars and see if any of them need to be tossed. I stock up to like Nicole and I am a budget, thrifty shopper. Cathy from Idaho mentioned couponing a few days back and I decided to drag out my coupon box and start using it again. I did a little research and found out how to really do the coupon thing to your advantage. Oh and I saw that couponing show.....how sad that those people do that....How can anyone use 300 toothbrushes or like you said soda......I've had soda taste bad in just a matter of a few months.....The point is to buy exactly what you know you will use and stock up. I love having a stash and I always have paper products and cleaning supplies as well as food...Our Albertson's has great buys of meat for loss leaders and I take advantage.........

I'm guilty of keeping spices for too long. I learned something when I finally got a new bottle of cayenne a while back. Yes, fresh spices really are MUCH stronger than antique spices. Yowza.
Yea.. that cloudy thing is off putting. Good luck with the rest of your clean out. It sounds like stuff is happening at your house this year!

I am so jealous of this. Wish I could make myself do it. When I think I'm getting inspired, I just go to the organizing forum and I get over my inspiration! I can live vicariously through those folks and voila!! I'm satisfied.

In almost all cases/situations, slightly outdated doesn't mean that the stuff is not useful: the packagers want to make sure that they have some cushion in the dating, don't want to get sued.

ole joyful