Clean Pantry, Clean Diet!

If you want a clean diet, you MUST clean out the food you already have in your home. A messy diet comes from a mess of a pantry and fridge! Starting with a clean palate will help you to make better eating and shopping choices moving forward.

Here are some steps on how you can clean up your eating at home!

STEP 1: Pull everything out, EVERYTHING, yes - even the old crackers in the back!

STEP 2: Wipe it all down. You want a clean slate to fill your pantry back up! We enjoy cleaners that are all-natural to really set the tone of how clean you want your space. We’re trying to get rid of chemicals, right?!

STEP 3: Organize foods by type (dry goods, baking items, canned foods, snacks, sauces).

STEP 4: Group these like items into containers! Pantries look a lot cleaner when things are in containment systems like little baskets, lazy Susan’s, etc. (Check out The Container Store online for some great options.)

STEP 5: You will want to remove items that are overly processed from your home. Junk food, items with mile-long ingredient labels, these all need to go. If you don’t know what the ingredients are, you don’t eat them. You will also need to toss expired foods so be diligent in checking dates on labels. Dry items like flour tend to last about a year so replace these items as well - they are often forgotten!

STEP 6: DONATE what you aren't keeping. Please, please, don't throw good food away. Find your local food kitchen or shelter and donate. Options in the Keene area include the Community Kitchen and Hundred Nights Shelter. Call beforehand to see what they are in need of.

STEP 7: Put it back! Make sure to take the time to set up a system that works for you! If you want to maintain a clean and organized pantry/fridge you will want things contained and in their own places. Random items on shelves gets messy FAST.

TIP: Something I love to do is to move my ingredients (oatmeal, flour, nuts, rice) into glass containers from their branded boxes. Reducing visual clutter in your pantry helps keep things organized and visually appealing. Recycle the extra packaging or even better, buy foods in the least amount of packaging possible.

Remember, a messy home creates a messy mind which creates a messy diet and messy lifestyle. It can become a never ending cycle but never fear, with a little time, a couple trash bags and some due diligence the cycle can stop!

We specialize in just this sort of thing. Reach out if you are overwhelmed and need help!

Keep clean,

Ashley Nesbitt