Even though my pantry was reasonably organised, I decided to give it an overhaul today.  I had noticed that there were a few things stashed in containers at the front of the shelf that needed to be used or relocated.

This is what it looked like before I started.

The photo does not show the top shelf which has 2 tubs of glass jars – ones with pop-top lids in one tub and those without in the other.  I sorted all of the jars, made sure they all had lids, labels had been removed and were ready to be used when I need them.

I took a lot of the stuff out and re-arranged the jar storage system so inevitably things looked a lot worse before they got better.  Here is a view of the kitchen earlier this afternoon.

And more….

To add some interest to my day, The Duke announced at lunchtime that there were 3 branches that needed trimming of the lime tree but they were laden with fruit.  He was prepared to leave them for the time being but since the tree is never completely dormant I decided now was as good a time as any.  I picked a 10 litre bucket full of limes and cut the offending branches off.  So, in the midst of the pantry project I juiced the limes and have frozen them – some in ice-cube trays and some in 400ml blocks.

I moved a couple of things from the pantry to the sideboard so we cast a critical eye over the contents of the sideboard.  The Duke and I agreed that a few things could go.  A true minimalist would probably get rid of almost the entire contents but that is not my style.  However, it is good to refresh your memory of what is actually stored and I have resolved to use some of my ‘good’ things more regularly.

My op shop bag is now full and ready to go when I am next going to town.  I also have a bag of a few items for Belle.  I always offer anything which I think may be useful to my daughters before I consider sending it to the op shop or Freecycle.  However, they understand that there is no compulsion for them to accept it and I will not be mortally wounded if they say no.

I have finally finished revamping the pantry and this is the result.

Bottom shelves

I threw out a couple of bits of foodstuff – a few crumbs of powdered mustard in a tin that must be at least 10 years old, some jam that had gone mouldy and a handful of glace cherries that  were over 12 months old and were all dried and shrivelled.  I had about 3 bottles with a tiny bit of oil in each so that was all decanted into the current bottle.

I now know that everything in the pantry is useful, in working order  or fit to be eaten.  I also know exactly what is there and can work on using up some of the odd items which are not part of my regular basic stores.