Minimalist Challenge Week 1 | Take Stock

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The beginning of a new year is a time people love to declutter and organize. If this is you, then you’ve come to the right place. We’ll help you take advantage of the energy and motivation the new year brings. This weeks minimalist challenge is to take stock of your food. It will lead us to our next weeks challenge.. so let’s clean, organized, and declutter your pantry, fridge and freezer!

But first things first. Figure out why you’re doing this. Maybe it’s to find more space or to be more organized to find things easier or perhaps it’s to create more peace in your home. Whatever your reason that resonates with you, remember it and keep it in the forefront of your mind. Having that clarity will help you to declutter.. so let’s get started!

Do you have expired food? Toss it! Do you have lots of food or bags you don’t know where to put them in your pantry? I have some tips that are inexpensive to get you started. Walmart and The Container Store has some great organizing stuff for not too much money. And Don’t forget to wipe out the fridge and freezer after you clean out the food!

A rule of thumb is to have a place for everything. It’s better to have items sitting in a container or bin than to have them sitting alone on a shelf. It looks much prettier and organized.

These are the perfect white bins. I like that they aren’t see through so it hides the clutter. They come in several different sizes which is nice, especially to hold larger items. I love that they have straight sides because it maximizes the space not having a lip that goes around the top.

These shelves are great for holding canned food or to store smaller items on. It maximizes your space on your shelf!

I like these bins because they can stack on top of each other but you’re still able to see what’s inside.

These larger containers are nice to hold flour and sugar because it holds a lot and it’s easy to scoop a measuring cup inside it. It’s also a great container for cereal.

I don’t have a huge pantry so I don’t have space for a spice rack. I bought one of these and hung it on the inside of my pantry door. It saves a ton of space and holds a lot. I keep all my spices and few other items in there.

I finally caved and bought the OXO brand of pop up containers and I have to say I love them. It was a splurge for me. I try to work on my pantry a few times a year, I reorganize it and find a few new items to upgrade.

As for my fridge, I have bought some fridge containers. I love that it keeps my little cluttered items contained in one place so the rest of the fridge looks more neat.

These pull out storage containers are great because they can hold a lot of little items but you can pull it out to see what’s inside instead of items getting forgotten about on the bottom.

One thing I recommend is getting a label maker. It makes the space look more neat and organize. I bought this one, it’s the cheaper one and has worked great.

You can start here and as time goes on, you can upgrade to nicer materials to help the space get more organize or if you want an even prettier cohesive look.

Do you have some favorite items that help keep these spaces organized? Comment below and let me know, I’d love to try some new ideas!

-Brooke