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| 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!
