Day 25 of the 500 Pound Declutter - The Pantry

A few years ago, we finished our basement.  Okay, let's not overstate that, we paid someone else to finish our basement.  (And Brian will want to interject here that he watched a YouTube video and learned how to do the trim.  And that he did a darn fine job on the trim.)

In finishing the basement, we were able to move our laundry out of a closet in our back hall and downstairs (as you saw in the last decluttering post).


We had some shelving installed and declared the old laundry closet a pantry.


But the problem was we never really thought through what should be in there and what shouldn't.


So it looked like this.

Haphazard stacking.  Illogical order (does that statement even make sense?).  Ketchup next to crackers.  Coffee next to canned tomatoes.  Mini pots of parsley seeds hanging with the bag of Box Tops for Education.

Do you see what I see down below?  Yes, I had, at some oh-so-wise point, stashed paper plates and napkins left over from a party or picnic in with our cleaning rags.  Super smart move, I'd say.  And appetizing, too!

Part of the problem is that the pantry isn't just a pantry.  It's also the area we keep the backyard things like grill tools and dishes.  And it's the recycling storage area.


(And yes, that is my old vacuum sweeper and yes I got rid of it, but no I didn't count that in the total.  That has been one of my rules, if I get rid of something only to replace it with something else, I don't weigh it...)


Would you like some Endust with your pasta?

Or how about some chips?  Sure, I can get to the chip and dip dish, as soon as I move 13 other things.

What I realized when doing this area is that you don't need to keep things just because of a "what if" situation.  And I was living in the "what if."


What if we suddenly have 20 people for dinner?  Well then we must keep all 20 plates here to be at the ready.

Or what if I run out of all of my aluminum foil and need three boxes, stat!


Let's face it, we never have 20 people over for a backyard dinner.  And if we are going to, I can go to the basement to bring up the dishes.


Same goes for the extra foil and baggies.


So I decided that was how I would approach the pantry.  Only keep things in there that we might actually need to casually walk over and get.


Which was funny, because while I was keeping those things in the pantry, our extra cereal, that we need about three times a week?  That was in the basement.

And don't even get me started on small appliances.  Let's just say that if you have a small appliance, like say a coffee pod maker, and it's dusty, that is a sign that you don't need it anymore.  Gone.

Do you see that?

There is even a shelf that is almost empty!


Between small appliances which I will donate to the Minnesota Blogger Rummage Sale benefiting the Child Hunger Ends Here efforts.  And a bag of food that I plan to bring with me to donate at the Minnesota Bloggers Night Out I got rid of 30 more pounds.


Which brings the grand total to:

442 pounds

If you want to hear more about my decluttering journey, and for once, not through just my words, be sure to check out the Pioneer Press tomorrow.