Pantry Nightmare

Pantry Nightmare

Surprise, surprise, you may have expired foods sitting in your pantry. If you stock up on dry goods like breadcrumbs, cake mixes, noodles, and canned goods, it is possible that many will expire within one to three years (if not already).  If your pantry is overflowing and disorganized (like mine), it is easy to overlook products that have been sitting on your shelves long past their prime.

With Spring-cleaning looming, it may be time to tackle your pantry.  Yes, some guilt about getting rid of unused expired products may be lurking around, but expired food can cause health problems such as gastric distress, gas, bloating, or diarrhea.

Many materials found in dry food packaging are perfect for recycling.  Make a green choice by recycling expired foods packaging materials.  Keep in mind that some packaging materials may look like foil or another material but is plastic. Try these tips for responsible recycling as you clean out the pantry:

1.       Remove plastic packages such as cake mixes and noodles from the cardboard packaging. This is easy to throw away in the green recycle bin.

2.       Remove dry foods from their plastic wrappers. You can make plastic wraps more suited for the recycling bin by rinsing them off quickly under the tap.

3.      Dump out the contents of expired canned goods, rinse them out, and throw them in the recycling bin.

After following these steps, you will reach the best part, a pantry with room to clean, reorganize, spray for bugs (if needed), and stock up on healthy foods for this summer!