Is It Really Necessary To Transfer Pantry Items Into Containers?
May 3, 2023
source: Everyday Cheapskate
It’s undeniable that home organization has experienced a massive boom since the beginning of 2020. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and people spending infinitely more time at home, home organization and storage tips have suddenly become top of mind. If you spend any time watching home organization shows on Netflix or those addicting home organization and reset videos on TikTok, you’ll know there’s been a recent popular trend of transferring pantry food items into aesthetically pleasing, clear plastic containers. And while this trend certainly makes shelves and your pantry look much nicer, is there really a huge benefit in doing so?
While the idea of transferring all of your dried food items like cereal, pasta, rice, and crackers into clear containers seems simple enough, there’s a chance this extra step may not really be suitable for your busy lifestyle. “You have to ask yourself the realistic question: Do I have time to do this every time I go grocery shopping?” says Jessica Moynihan, owner of NEAT Method Boston, to Epicurious.
Epicurious continues that it’s also important to acknowledge your eating habits. Baking items like sugar, flour, and baking powder that are not used daily can be considered good candidates for container storage and a good place to start. Going well? Build from there and slowly start adding other food items to containers.
Container storage can also be helpful in eliminating food waste because you can actually see how much of any given item you have left. Epicurious continues, “For Alison Cayne, founder of Haven’s Kitchen in New York City, the decanting habit took hold with her kids’ snacks. After too many times discovering a pantry stuffed with ‘bags of popcorn with four kernels left at the bottom, or empty boxes of Cheerios,’ she shifted to container-based storage. ‘I started taking everything out of the box and putting it in an airtight sealable container so everyone could see it, and it saved me a lot of frustration,’ she says.”
Of course, transferring items that do not come in resealable bags can also help prevent food from going stale. We’ve all reached into a sleeve of crackers only to find that they’ve been past their best for some time. Keeping items like pasta, cereal, cookies, and crackers in fully sealed containers is a great way to keep these types of items fresher for longer.
At the end of the day, to container or not to container is a personal choice. You’ll need to consider your grocery shopping and eating habits, as well as the habits of those you live with. If you think you may want to transition to container pantry storage, we suggest starting out small and working your way into it. Remember, you don’t need to follow every trend – but if something works for you, then great!