1–2 cubic feet (30–60 liters).
Soup, chicken
Soup, lentil
Size Your kitchen’s built-in cabinetry and floor plan will determine the maximum size of a new refrigerator. Measure the available space, and shop with a tape measure. You’ll Use a slash mark to record each freezer meal or
avoid falling in love with a gleaming behemoth that’s just a frozen item stored in the freezer. Cross out each
fraction too tall for the space available!
item as used.
A refrigerator’s depth is important, too; you’ll need to Item in
Item out
make sure that there’s enough room to open doors fully in your kitchen space. Note whether doors open to the right or left; some refrigerator models feature adjustable doors. When judging depth, be sure to allow for an adequate clearance
▲ Track freezer contents with a simple write-on, wipe-off from the kitchen wall. A refrigerator needs 4–6in (10–15cm) whiteboard or make a freezer inventory list. A free printable form is available from OrganizedHome.Com.
of air space for air circulation over the compressor coils.
FOOD
117
FREEZER FOOD STORAGE GUIDELINES
Food item
Time at
Packaging tips
Food item
Time at
Packaging tips
0°F
(–18°C)
0°F (–18°C)
BAKED GOODS
MEAT, POULTRY, AND FISH
Bread, baked
12 months
Beef, raw ground
3–4 months
Bread dough,
2 weeks
Beef, roast
6–12 months
(yeast, unbaked)
Beef, steak
6–12 months
Quick breads
3 months
Wrap loaves tightly
Beef, sausage
1–2 months
(nut
bread,
in
plastic
wrap,
banana
bread)
then
insert
in
zipper
Beef, cooked dishes
2–3 months
freezer
storage
bags
Pork, raw ground
3–4 months
to
avoid
moisture
loss.
Pork, chops
4–6 months
Rolls, unbaked
2 weeks
Pork, roast
4–6 months
Rolls, baked
12–15 months
Pork, sausage (fresh)
1–2 months
Muffins 3
months
Pork, sausage (smoked) 1–2 months
Pancakes or waffles
6 months
Ham, fully cooked
1–2 months
Do not freeze ham
(whole or half)
slices or canned ham;
DAIRY PRODUCTS
freezing
will
affect
texture
and
flavor.
Butter, salted
3 months
The “salty” taste of
salted butter may
Casseroles with ham
1 month
intensify
with
freezing;
Bacon 1
month
store
unopened
butter
packages
in
moisture-
Chicken, whole
12 months
If freezing for more
proof
freezer
wrap
or
than 2 months,
freezer
storage
bags.
over-wrap
original
packaging
with
Butter, unsalted
6–9 months
freezer
wrap
or
Margarine 12
months
freezer
food
storage
bags.
Cheese (Cheddar,
4 months
Thaw in refrigerator.
Swiss,
Jack)
Chicken, parts (raw)
9 months
Cheese, cottage
3 months
Thaw in refrigerator.
Chicken, parts (cooked) 4 months
Cheese (Roquefort,
3 months
Freezing will affect
Turkey, whole
12 months
blue)
texture,
crumbling.
Casseroles, poultry
2–3 months
Cream (heavy,
2 months
Cream will not whip
Fish, fresh (whole,
6 months
Freeze fresh fish
half-and-half,
light)
after
freezing.
filets, or steaks)
in sealed containers
Eggs (raw and
6–12 months
Do not freeze eggs
or wrap to prevent
out of shell)
in shell; freezing will
moisture
loss.
affect
texture.
Fish, cooked
3 months
Freeze in covered
container.
MISCELLANEOUS
Ice cream, ice milk
2 months
Pasta, cooked
3–4 months
Milk 1
month
Allow
room
for
Rice, cooked
3–4 months
expansion
in
freezer
container;
freezing
Soups and stews
2–3 months
will
affect
flavor
and
(vegetable
texture
of
milk.
and/or
meat)
118
CYCLES OF AN ORGANIZED HOME
Cut food costs with
pantry
power
It’s the secret weapon of a frugal kitchen: a well-planned pantry. By creating a reserve of bought-on-sale foodstuffs and household supplies, a pantry saves time, money, and stress in the kitchen. Think you don’t have room? If there’s so much as a spare roll of toilet paper tucked beneath a sink, your home holds a pantry.
A pantry’s not a place, it’s an attitude!
What’s the goal of establishing and maintaining a pantry?
Stocking the pantry
It’s two-fold: household convenience and protection against Whether it’s Chef Boy-ar-dee brand ravioli or Wolfgang Puck’s unexpected events. A well-planned pantry means that the upscale condensed soups, build your pantry to suit your family, household will never run out of commonly used products such your finances, and the storage space you have available.
as toilet paper. More important, a pantry is a reserve against Single-income households with young children will build hard times. Whether it’s job loss, illness, or natural disaster, a pantries replete with cold cereal, formula, disposable diapers, pantry ensures that the family will continue to be fed, clean, and child-friendly snack foods. Empty nesters with an active and comfortable in the face of adversity.
social life and his-and-hers diets will lean toward pickled asparagus, low-sodium veggies, and tiny jars of cocktail nibbles Beginner, intermediate, or advanced?
for pick-up appetizers and hostess gifts. Dedicated home bakers A beginner’s pantry focuses on convenience and contains will include specialty flours, gluten, and dried buttermilk back-up products for each storable item used in the home.
powder in their pantries, while non-cooks will rely heavily on The standard is simple: for each open bag, box, or carton, the microwave entrees and freezer pizza. And just about every pantry contains a second, back-up product. A good first goal: family can stockpile basics for kitchen and bath, such as toilet a three-day supply of food and hygiene supplies adequate to paper, toothpaste, detergent, and paper napkins.
support your family plus one additional person.
More robust pantries serve additional aims. In case of Check the grocery list
emergency, a mid-range pantry can feed a family for a period Where’s the best place to discover your family’s pantry of two weeks to a month. This pantry includes substitutes for preferences? Your grocery list. If you buy it, use it, and it can fresh foods, such as powdered milk, dried fruits and vegetables, be stored, it’s a pantry candidate. Building a pantry from the and protein products.
grocery list is also a powerful antidote to Pantry Mania: the The most comprehensive home pantries are designed to indiscriminate purchase of case lots of canned turkey chili meet long-term food storage needs. For instance, members or house brand soups that no one in the household will eat.
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) are An expansive view of the pantry principle also allows for taught to maintain a one-year supply of food and clothing for freezer storage and a limited amount of refrigerator real estate.
their families. To do so, these premier pantry managers stock Carrots, potatoes, oranges, and apples enter the pantry zone versatile foodstuffs with long shelf life, such as whole wheat when bought on sale and tucked into corners of the vegetable berries, together with a variety of preserved and dried foods.
bin, while freezer convenience entrees qualify, too.
FOOD
119
Pantr
To work the pantry principle, you’ve got to get
▪ A dedicated pantry area can be a big help.
organized! Maximum pantry power requires that
Set aside a cabinet or shelf to hold pantry items.
you know what you have, how long it will keep,
Organize them by category, stacking cans and
and how to store it safely.
y
boxes. Flat-bottomed plastic baskets support and
contain bags of dried beans, rice, or pasta.
organization tips
▪ Starting a pantry does not require complex
▪ Complete pantry meals are one exception to
organization. Create it by buying twice as many of
the “store by category” rule. On a section of pantry each item as needed for weekly use, then store the
shelf, assemble all the makings for three to five
extras. When you’ve used up the mayo in today’s
pantry meals: a family-sized can of clam chowder,
tuna salad, retrieve the back-up jar from the pantry, an extra can of chopped clams, and the box of
and add “mayo” to the week’s shopping list.
oyster crackers shelved together make it easy to
▪ The beginner’s pantry can often be stored
spot the empty spaces after use, and restock.
side-by-side with opened or in-use items. For
▪ Larger pantries require more storage space
example, stack the open box of detergent on top
and may be sited in multiple locations around the
of the pantry box or line up cans of chicken noodle
house, depending on different foods’ storage needs.
soup front to back on the canned goods shelf.
Root vegetables and apples need to be cool and
▪ Rotate the contents of the pantry by placing dry; canned goods can tolerate greater temperature
just-purchased items at the back of the stack or
fluctuations. A written inventory can remind
row; use the front items first.
forgetful cooks of the location of pantry items.
pantry storage guidelines ▲ see pages 120–121.
120
CYCLES OF AN ORGANIZED HOME
PANTRY STORAGE GUIDELINES
Food item
Storage time Packaging tips
Food item
Storage time Packaging tips
Baking powder
18 months
Unopened
Herbs and spices,
6 months–1 year Discard spices when
6 months
Opened
dried
their scent fades;
Baking soda
2 years
Unopened
store in airtight
6 months
Opened
containers
Beans and peas, dried
18 months
Honey
1 year
Biscuit mix
12–18 months
Infant formula
12–18 months
Breakfast cereals,
6–12 months
Unopened
Jelly, jam and preserves
1 year
Unopened in
ready-to-eat (corn flakes) 2–3 months
Opened
original packaging
Breakfast cereals,
1 year
Juice, canned citrus
6 months
hot (oatmeal, farina)
Juice, canned non-citrus
1 year
Brownie mix
1 year
Marshmallows
3 months
Cake mix
1 year
Mayonnaise
4 months
Unopened in
Canned fruit
1 year
original packaging
Canned vegetables
1 year
Meat and poultry,
12–18 months
canned
Catsup, chili sauce,
1 year
barbeque sauce
Milk, condensed
1 year
Chocolate chips,
12 months
Milk, non-fat dry
6 months
semi-sweet
Milk, sweetened
Chocolate, unsweetened 18 months
condensed
Cocoa
Indefinitely
Molasses, unopened
1 year
Unopened
6 months
Opened
Coconut, grated
1 year
Unopened in
original packaging
Nuts, unshelled
8 months
Coffee, ground
2 years
Oils (canola oil,
18 months,
Unopened
corn oil, vegetable oil)
6–8 months
Opened
Coffee, instant
1 year
Unopened in
Store in cool place
original packaging
Oil, olive
9 months
Cornmeal, regular
1 year
or self-rising
Olives
1 year
Cornstarch
18 months
Pancake mix
6 months
Crackers
6 months
Pasta, dried
2 years
Store opened pasta
in sealed containers
Flour, cake
6 months
or airtight jars
Flour, white
10–15 months
Opened in
Pea
nut butter
6–9 months
airtight container
Pickles
1 year
Commercially
Flour, whole wheat
6–8 months
Opened in
prepared, unopened
refrigerator
in original packaging
Gelatin
12–18 months
Popcorn,
1–2 years
Grits, instant
8 months
unpopped kernels
Grits; regular
10 months
Potatoes, instant
18 months
FOOD
121
Food item
Storage time Packaging tips
Food item
Storage time Packaging tips
Pudding mixes
12–18 months
Sugar, brown
4 months
Rice, brown
1 year
Sugar, granulated
2 years
Rice, mixes
6 months
Sugar, powdered
18 months
Rice, white
2 years
Syrup
1 year
Salad dressing
10 months
Unopened in
Tea, bags
18 months
original packaging
Tea, instant
3 years
Salt
Indefinitely
Tea, loose
2 years
Sauces, condiments,
1 year
Unopened
Tomato sauce or paste
12–18 months