My Tip: once in a while only eat Out of your pantry. See how Long you can go without Shopping, then See what meals you can do with as little new Stuff as possible. For me it is Like a Game and i want to See how good and creative i can get.
I've been doing this during the pandemic to avoid going to the grocery store as much as possible. It is fun, and really rewarding when you end up with a great new recipe!
I think you beat yourself up a lot in this one. I am very organized and dont have hoarding disorder but food spoils and rots in my cabinet too. It happens to the best of us. You didnt mean to and I dont think you were like...hoarding the food from other people who really needed it. We've all been there and you will probably be there again. You are doing your best :)
Thank you ❤️🙏🏻❤️ I needed to hear that 💕 I do feel better now. Plus your name is AprilGoddesss and I’m an April baby too...so I feel like my sister is comforting me!! Lol
One a month I like to do a “starve” where we try to finish as much food out of the pantry, freezer and fridge as we can without going grocery shopping. This cuts way back on food waste and saves us a lot of money. We have to eat some weird meals, but it’s worth it to keep all of those spaces minimal and organized
I've been watching your channel for a while and today I noticed something. You now seem to be actually enjoying decluttering, whereas, at first you were overwhelmed. You've come a long way! Way to go and way to encourage others!!!
Ohhhh...thank you so so much for being my friend & sending such encouraging loving messages! You know what? I was excited to declutter! I didn’t want to wait for the drawers to be installed...I just wanted to get in there!! Lol How awesome is that?! I feel so much more confident now, thank you 🦄💜🌟🙏🏻❤️
I am a minimalist and even I have to throw out food because we either didn't like it or we just don't eat it. Don't feel bad about throwing stuff out. We all have to sometimes. You will do better and will have less to throw out the next time.
Thank you for your videos! You go girl! Composting spoiled food really helps me. Even powdered to near granular stuff can be put directly on the lawn. It disappears! The lawn loves spoiled milk. By next spring I can tell which plants were blessed.
You could put a magnetic grocery pad on your fridge. When you use the last box/jar/can, write it on the list to take with you to the store. That way you don't get more of what you already have. Great job!
That's what we do but it's on the wall in the pantry and we do it when it's getting low so that we aren't out (live in the country not a quick trip to the store)
Sugar, honey, and a lot of staples don't expire. If the sugar is hard you can either microwave or put a piece of bread in the bag and it will soften up. A lot of those dates are a sell by date and are still edible. I should know I just made my husband a birthday cake with cake mix that expired in 2017 and frosting from 2018. It was fine it just split down the middle.
You can be the most organized person on earth, but if you don’t make a grocery list before you leave the house, anyone can buy multiples of things. Grocery lists are also key.
Before I got married I had no real planning when it would come to meals and grocery shopping. But my husband takes inventory and plans simple meals. We now write out a list for the week. Taking that extra 30 minutes or so helps.
I know there is always guilt with getting rid of food that is expired. But by getting rid of it you have a better chance of having your fresh food not getting lost in it and being able to reduce the amount of food that will expire. The amount of progress is amazing🙌
I completely agree with Susana. And for me the future is important not the past. We all have done mistakes and will do it in the future. Progress is to not make the same mistakes over and over again. Keep going 👍🏼💖
Food waste is a constant struggle for me...the guilt of wasted food and money can be hard. I throw stale chips, cereal, bread, etc out for the birds (my boys loved doing it when they were little) and on the night before trash pick-up we have "clean out the fridge" night - all the leftovers, deli meat that's getting close to expiration, etc hit the table and we throw out what's left...sometimes the combinations are weird but no one goes hungry! Similar thing with the pantry...Cake mix close to exp date? Time for cupcakes! More soup than you can use before it expires? "Soup and grilled cheese" for dinner once a week until it's gone (or on that late work night when you don't want to think about cooking). Finally, once your boys hit their "tweens," you will never have food waste again....they'll eat anything and I mean ANYTHING...
Feeling that guilt means that you're a good person. Use that feeling to empower yourself to do better. Meal plan and regular do a quick scan to see if anything you're not using can be donated. Also, making a donation is a wonderful way to make up for any expired foods. Great job this week! 💜
I find that most of my healthy foods are what we keep in our fridge, like fruit, veggies, proteins. Don’t be too hard on yourself for having less healthy snacks, it’s not entirely representative of your family’s diet 🥰❤️
Miss Heart! You are doing wonderful! I have a tip for you. I also feel very guilty about overspending at grocery store and having food expire. Recently I started following a very strict rule. Anything that needs to be bought (can of soup, flour, etc.) is written down on grocery shopping list. I shop only the things that are on the list. That way I avoid random purchases and buying stuff because "I don't remember if I have this at home". Obviously if we want to buy some treat or get something new to try, but otherwise try doing this. You will be surprised how much you cut down on your food budget! Hopefully this helps and you find this useful! Keep up the great work! You are doing awesone👍
I do the same... I have a piece of paper on a magnet on my fridge and whenever I use up the last of something I write it down the same moment. I try to keep 4-5 items of the things we eat more. That way I never run out of something.
One thing I do when I bring groceries home, is to write the expiration date on the front of the item. I use a black sharpie and circle the date. It may seem like a lot of work, but you never have to look for the expiration date again, which sometimes requires standing on your head! This will save you so much time in the long run. This way when you need a jar of pasta sauce, you can choose the one that is expiring next. Great job on your organizing!
You did a wonderful job recording the pantry! No need to add sliding shelves now that the bins wit so well! I also liked how you labeled the front bin with the back bin items too. Keep up the good work!
Since I have an issue with OCD, and some hoarder tendencies, I make a stock list. Then I put it in a sheet protector. With a dry erase, or even a wet erase pen, I put the list on the door so I know what I have. That way, when I go to the store, I can check the list (on the door) and see what I need. Unfortunately, my kitchen is mayhem right now, due to a remodel, so it's even more complicated now. Bright side, after summer I'll have a freshly remodeled kitchen that I can organize again.
Oh a video! Love it. Also... First? Edit... Okay 5th. Remember to store in the last in last out method, meaning new food should be organized on the back to avoid having things go bad. In the front should be what will expire first so you use it up.
Wow, what a tranformation! I think you are so brave. I don't have a hoarding disorder but it's a pleasure for me to watch your videos and hear how you explain everything. There is something soothing in it. I also learn from you a tender way to treat myself, my home, to do things step by step and take a break if I feel tired and to look into my emotions. Thank you🤗
What a fab job! This makes my organising heart so happy. ❤️ 💜 💚 The great thing about bins is that it will create natural limits so that things don’t get to overflowing like they were to begin with, and a side benefit of the labels means that your family will also know by default where to put things so the maintenance is not all on you. 😁 So proud of you and how far you’ve come. Your attitude and positivity are such a great influence on me.
I want you to know how much you have inspired me I'm in the middle of my 30-day declutter challenge... if you're wondering who's been liking and watching all your older videos that would be me... I get to binge watching them and then I am so motivated I tackle so many things I actually started the 30-day challenge in the middle of the month last month and then restarted it on the 1st I can already tell you it's a major improvement... my wonderful husband tells me he really loves the changes he has always been supportive I am a hoarder not a squalor... I'm glad you explain the difference because I've always said I'm a hoarder and no one believes me because I have no problem discarding trash... my problem is home decor I have an excessive amount of it... I have donated and sold items like crazy... I also started the 30 day no spend challenge I have not purchased any new home decor or crafting supplies... I love you Mrs. Heart and I appreciate all of your videos... your inspiration and you sharing your journey... your pantry looks incredible it is so beautiful I love the bins... great job...💕
Don't beat yourself up. The donating of the food is a good idea. The dollar store for storage containers is great. I know it makes me feel better. I have found that if I use the last item in the bin, I start a grocery list. You did a great job! Keep it up!
Looks fantastic 😉 Make sure when you put new stuff, to always place them in the back and push the old forward. Remember, your goal is not to just organize, but to be able to consume them all☺️ You got this!💪
Wow that looks so much better. Don't be too hard on yourself that there was so much expired, things get shoved to the back of everyone's deep kitchen cupboards especially if it's things you don't use regularly. The pull out baskets should really help you see what's there now so hopefully it won't get like that again :) Maybe try and get into the habit of checking what's in there before you write your shopping list?(now you can easily see it all!) I check cupboards, fridge and freezer every time I need to go shopping, so I always stick to the list and don't grab extras 'just in case we need it'. We've reduced our food waste to next to nothing now I do that and meal plan for the week.
I see your progress and humility--not your mistakes--when you declutter. You are inspiring! (And your face eating those stale chips made me laugh out loud!)
That looks great, makes me want to go reorganize my pantry. One thing I do if I have time, is write the expiration date big on a part of the package that's easy to see. Then I try to always grab the food that expires soonest.
I think you can address the guilt by instead focusing on how grateful and blessed you are that you had the money to purchase enough food, to create food security for your family, and also emotional and mental security for yourself since you are recovering in your hoarding. Also give yourself some grace; because nobody's perfect, and yet we are all made exactly as God intends. So you're not wrong or bad for the behaviors you're learning to change, and you will be incredibly successful in doing so! You've made amazing progress!
My daughter had lots of toiletries. I gave them to my neighbor who volunteers at a food pantry. I donated some soap to a shelter. We opened one bar and didn't like the scent. Tina
One thing that has helped me to not waste so much is only opening one bag of chips or whatever at a time. Writing down the staple foods that go quick and paying attention to which ones don't get used helps too. That and storing extras together and having just enough of everything in close reach. Kind of like how stores put the extra stock on the top shelf.
That turned out so good! It’s really easy when you categorize it and put it in containers 😊 That was a really good idea labeling the front container with what is in the container behind it! Love the slim long containers for pulling out to get what you need. Also, don’t feel bad for throwing out expired food. It’s more commun than you think and now you know how to do better next time. Lesson learned and now you’re improving! Nobody’s perfect and we all learn and grow all the time! Love your channel! ❤️
Omg what a transformation 👏 How did all that stuff fit in there? 🤔 With regard to the panic buying because of the pandemic I did the exact same thing with pasta, rice, cereals, tea and coffee, so please don’t be hard on yourself at all. It happens to most of us and it’s never intentional. You’ve everything so well organised now you know it’s highly unlikely it’ll happen again. You definitely keep me motivated to keep sorting and let go of stuff. Well done on donating to the food bank, your always so thoughtful and kind. Stay safe and healthy. Mary, Joes wife 👏👍🦄🥳🙏
The hardest thing is having too deep of cupboards because you can't see everything that you have. I'd rather store non food items in deep cabinets than food. That way things don't get lost. The biggest thing is getting organized, don't over buy, eat what you buy, and always always keep a list going of what you ran out of or close and only buy it then so you don't have so much of something that may expire before. you eat it. We never have no more than 2 or 3 bags of chips open at a time. I prefer no more than 1 bag personally. Know that we've all had something expire on us. Don't beat yourself up. Just learn from this experience and go from there. You did a great job!
I love how you work through these projects and your emotions. I'm so proud of you! Learning from you has been so helpful as I interact with people in my life who are more attached to their things than I am. I have become more compassionate and understanding. Thank you.
17/8/21... So funny to see all that food over yr floor. I never thought you’d get it back in! So clever of you! I used to store food in a lower cabinet, but when we moved we had a full height pantry. BLISS! Having ingredients at eye level is sooo much better! ❤️🐨🦘🦘🦘🦘
We eat mostly out of pantry or freezer. We garden in the summer. Take inventory, compile a meal list , then convert to a weekly meal plan. Great beginnings!
When you have to put away your groceries, pull the current items to the front of the bins, then put the new items in the back of that bin. That keeps your stock rotated.
Kudos darling! Out of sight out of mind. I try to organize my pantry so I see everything at a glance otherwise I forget what I have. Yep expired food gives you permission to get rid of stuff! You can only move forward you can’t go back! You got this 💜 I feel guilty too sometimes when I’m decluttering. Also you don’t need those expensive containers. Mason jars make great inexpensive pantry containers, beans pasta, rice etc. 💜👍💜👍💜👍💜👍💜 Looks so good!!!!
It looks awesome! IF you need more clear containers (like ones you put flour,etc in) go to Walmart! They have some that seal great, food last fresher/longer and are a great price! I buy one or two every time I go there. I really like to see you organize, you are good at it!
Great job. I I when you go back to spaces. it’s inspiring. I would love t see you do the laundry room. I love to watch how your muscles have gotten stronger
This is so amazing! I'm very impressed with the final result. Please don't blame yourself on wasting food. Even those who don't have a disorder have sometimes difficulty to be organized and eat everything they have before it expires. You are doing great and your videos are very inspiring
Great inspirational video. It’s good to be feel guilty. We learn from our mistakes and I think you will learn from this mistake. Yes donating food or money is good to make you feel better. I suggest for your hubby to a riser with a piece wood to see what’s in the back. Clear containers are the best for organizing. Great idea on the label making. Put dates with chalk pen on the containers. The end result is beautiful. You’re great at organizing. Now keep a magnetic shopping list on your refrigerator and write the things you need when you’re running low. Always look at your pantry and refrigerator before shopping and only shop for the items needed for that week. Have a menu. I make menu accordingly to the season and the sales on the flyers. Great video.
Great job-your pantry looks great. What a smart idea to label the back bin on the bottom of the front bin-very creative!!! Walmart has awesome clear food storage containers that are waaaay cheaper, but just as good, as the pricier stores. 🦄💜
You must use the fly lady menu planning day. When you plan menus, you will hoard less food. Just choose a day, sit down and a week’s worth or two week’s worth. Fly lady also has event holiday planners to download. You are doing so well. Keep up the great work.
Oh! My! Goodness! That reveal was AMAZING!!! You don’t give yourself enough credit for how great you are doing at organizing things!!! Great work girlfriend!!!
Everyone has some degree of food waste. But look at it as a learning experience, what quantity of each item do you need and actually go through; the more open bags of chips cookies or crackers the quicker they all go stale before being eaten. I’ve tried buying things from bulk stores & discovering that I don’t actually use THAT much of a product (even if I do use a fair amount of it), but I only selectively buy those items to try. I know I won’t use 20lbs of flour...5-10 in a year is a lot for me, produce from bulk stores is too much, but I’ve also discovered I can use the entire jug of soy sauce or jar of minced garlic easily. Surprisingly the bulk sized container of cornstarch is being used up. We can eat the entire frozen food product before it gets freezer burnt. I periodically go through the pantry & look at dates. If it’s getting close, I try to meal plan around that item. So tomorrow I’m planning to grill some chicken & pineapple because I’ve got 3 cans of pineapple, I really don’t need 3 and I haven’t eaten this recipe in awhile. I know I’ve got some canned ravioli that’s getting older, so I need to pull it forward for a lazy lunch or dinner. And remember, many (not all) dates on pantry staples are a recommended use by date, not a it absolutely must be used by this date or else you will get sick. So depending on what the food is, give yourself a grace period of 3 months past the date. (Some people will choose a much longer period, but to each their own.) Perhaps try putting the food that’s close to the date on the kitchen counter to remind you to use it. I use a similar meal planning strategy for fridge foods to my close to date pantry foods. I didn’t double check the size of cottage cheese for a recipe & bought too big of a container...so stuffed shells last week & lasagna this week, then no pasta dishes for a few weeks, but I need to use the cottage cheese before almost anything else. But this also showed me I’ve only got 2 jars of sauce & 1 jar of mushrooms left, so I need to watch for sales on sauce to pick up a few. And let’s not talk about my pasta mountain...it’s all in date, I only buy when there’s a sale. But I’ve got a bunch of pasta recipes I want to try or I like a specific shape for so I’ve got a gazillion different shapes...ziti, rotini, spirals, linguini, fettuccine, wagon wheels, texaroni (because why not make home made mac & cheese with Texas shaped noodles lol), elbows, raditori, orechetti, jumbo shells, lasagna, spaghetti...I bought 3 packages 3 weeks ago because I forgot I had rotini (but I’ve got 2 recipes calling for it so not the end of the world), ziti for a recipe and wagon wheels because those are harder to find. I don’t plan to buy anything else pasta related for 3-6 months. I hadn’t bought pasta for 2-3 months at least prior to this last bunch. And remember a meal plan is not a carved in stone “must do this exactly”, it’s a rough idea to try and use up specific items you already have, or something special for a event like a holiday meal. The number of times I end up using ground beef in spaghetti or stew meat in stew instead of some other use because it’s easier & means I don’t have to cook for a few days because leftovers (yay!)...right now I need to use up green beans, broccoli and the cottage cheese, beyond that I have no set plans, the chicken & pineapple will work with this, or I can adjust as needed.
Oh, with containers for flour, after all the recalls a few years ago, I cut the part of the label with the batch # and best by date & taped it onto my container. Perhaps put the dates on yours too, just so you can go "oh, my cornmeal expired 2 years ago, whoops!". I keep a lot of stuff in its original packaging for this very reason...I want that date! Individual oatmeal packets don't have the date, granola bars don't have the date, poptarts don't have the date.
Amazing job!!! We all feel guilty when we do a food clean out and have a lot of waste... it happens to us all, don’t beat yourself up, just try to take notes of what you didn’t eat and adjust from there.
The results are amazing! Two tips re organisation: •add expiration dates to the containers with decanted product (flour, sugar etc) •Label the same items on the bins at the back incase the order is switched then you still know what’s in them.
I love that you are able to see everything at a glance!! 👍❤️ A little tip, if you want to save time looking for the expiration date on each item, you can write it on the top of packages or cans, so you can see dates by glance.
I have been following you forever, I’m so proud of how far you’ve come! I am so excited for your future as well! Congratulations on your journey! You’ve come so far! Keep going!
You did a fantastic job of organizing! We have ALL done that clear out from time to time where we end up tossing out good food, and it does sting to do that but usually that makes us all more careful not to do it again. One thing that really helps me is to meal plan each week, usually with my family, we decide what we want to eat the following week and then search what we have, if we notice there are lots of something that needs to be used-up we make sure to make a meal where it can be used. Then make a list and take that with me to the store. I usually put my shopping list and any recipes on a clip board to take with me and if I can’t find one of the things I need for a recipe I can best determine an alternative product I could use. I typically plan for 5 meals and the other two are for left overs or fend for yourself night. I also set a food budget and make it a game for myself and family to stay within that amount as best as possible. Another area that has helped is creating a LOOK HERE FIRST section in the refrigerator. When my family is needing a snack they know that is the first place to go to so those items get used up. We have drastically reduced the amount of spending and waste with doing these things each week. Maybe you could do a weekly or monthly video where you talk about how you will meal plan and help reduce food waste in your home?
Looks great! I like what you said about pull out shelves. Sounds like a great future project. Those baskets and containers are a great visual to limit your inventory and thereby avoid future waste. Thanks so much for sharing.
Wow, what a difference! When I put food into new containers (like flour), I also use the label maker to print out a little "BB'23" (Best By 2023) or "Exp'22" (Expires in 2022). That way, I can always check to make sure it's still good if I haven't used it in a while. I put the date label on the bottom or on the lid of the container. When I refill it, I just print a new date label for it.
This is really great! Getting rid of all the extraneous stuff is ok if it means you’re actually going to eat what’s left. It looks like you can see and access what you really want to eat now. Another great job!
Don’t feel guilty. Even though the food wasn’t consumed, it wasn’t a waist. It wasn’t a waist because you learned something. You learned that you don’t like your pantry to look like that, you learned that you want to bless others who can’t afford food and you learned you can organize. You also acknowledged your hoarding triggers. Maybe do a quick inventory before you put away your incoming pantry groceries after a shop. You could toss expired/stale food and donate unused items at that time. Good work!!
Fantastic job of ‘starting where you are’ - not waiting around for pull out drawers, but achieving something similar with bins and baskets!👏👏👏🦄🏆 Please don’t be too hard on yourself about the expired food - I’ve had the same problem when I’ve cleaned cupboards, and I’ve been a menu planning minimalist for years! I did the same when Covid hit, buying lots of what we liked when I saw it, in case it was cleared out next time. Be proud of what you’ve accomplished!
Awesome job! It looks great. Another way to recover from the guilt of waste is to be more mindful that you have learned from this. Also, you can buy based on what you need. You have organized it so well that you can check your pantry while making out your grocery list. 😁❤️
To honor your journey and recognize how far you've come, I am also going to make a $100 donation to our local food pantry.
❤️
You're awesome!! 💖
Five unicorns for you too Infopubs for your generosity and support of Mrs Heart you are so sweet ☺️
🌟🦄🌟🦄🌟🦄🌟🦄🌟🦄
Me too
@@heathhart36 Hooray! I gave to the Redwood Empire Food Bank in California.
My Tip: once in a while only eat Out of your pantry. See how Long you can go without Shopping, then See what meals you can do with as little new Stuff as possible. For me it is Like a Game and i want to See how good and creative i can get.
The pantry challenge is an awesome idea.
Ohhhh...yes a pantry challenge!! Great idea!! I could create a video on it too!! Thank you love 😍🦄💜🌟
I've started doing this a lot and realized that I could almost get rid of my extra freezer and actually have a smaller pantry and be fine!
I've been doing this during the pandemic to avoid going to the grocery store as much as possible. It is fun, and really rewarding when you end up with a great new recipe!
I do this all the time. I pretty much buy when the fridge is bare it makes cleaning easier and I dislike shopping.
love the way you labelled what was in front and behind, such a smart idea!
I think you beat yourself up a lot in this one. I am very organized and dont have hoarding disorder but food spoils and rots in my cabinet too. It happens to the best of us. You didnt mean to and I dont think you were like...hoarding the food from other people who really needed it. We've all been there and you will probably be there again. You are doing your best :)
Agreed! Everyone does it. Especially with a family
yep same here. i feel guilt every time though. but really it happens to most food-secure americans i believe
Thank you ❤️🙏🏻❤️ I needed to hear that 💕 I do feel better now. Plus your name is AprilGoddesss and I’m an April baby too...so I feel like my sister is comforting me!! Lol
I love that you donate to food pantry’s after your food declutters. Very cool
One a month I like to do a “starve” where we try to finish as much food out of the pantry, freezer and fridge as we can without going grocery shopping. This cuts way back on food waste and saves us a lot of money. We have to eat some weird meals, but it’s worth it to keep all of those spaces minimal and organized
We would do this on Sundays growing up and call it “catch”
We do that too!
i've been doing this lately because i'm moving at the end of the month, i didnt know there was a term for it!
what a wonderful idea!
I absolutely LOVE this idea and I will definitely do a pantry challenge in the future!! Thank you 🙏🏻🦄🌟💜
I've been watching your channel for a while and today I noticed something. You now seem to be actually enjoying decluttering, whereas, at first you were overwhelmed. You've come a long way! Way to go and way to encourage others!!!
Ohhhh...thank you so so much for being my friend & sending such encouraging loving messages! You know what? I was excited to declutter! I didn’t want to wait for the drawers to be installed...I just wanted to get in there!! Lol How awesome is that?! I feel so much more confident now, thank you 🦄💜🌟🙏🏻❤️
I am a minimalist and even I have to throw out food because we either didn't like it or we just don't eat it. Don't feel bad about throwing stuff out. We all have to sometimes. You will do better and will have less to throw out the next time.
The after looks great! I loved the idea of coming up with something positive to do to alleviate your guilt. What a great coping mechanism!
Thank you so much ❤️🙏🏻❤️ That means so much coming from you bc I always look up to you for advice & guidance 💜💞🦄
Thank you for your videos! You go girl!
Composting spoiled food really helps me. Even powdered to near granular stuff can be put directly on the lawn. It disappears! The lawn loves spoiled milk. By next spring I can tell which plants were blessed.
You could put a magnetic grocery pad on your fridge. When you use the last box/jar/can, write it on the list to take with you to the store. That way you don't get more of what you already have. Great job!
That's what we do but it's on the wall in the pantry and we do it when it's getting low so that we aren't out (live in the country not a quick trip to the store)
Who hasn't ever had a hoarded pantry? Abundance is both a blessing and a curse. Way to tackle it.
I haven’t ever had a hoarded pantry as an adult. Growing up we had a hoarded pantry and it scarred me for life, apparently!
So glad you got to the pantry. It's has bothered you for a long time. 💛
Sugar, honey, and a lot of staples don't expire. If the sugar is hard you can either microwave or put a piece of bread in the bag and it will soften up. A lot of those dates are a sell by date and are still edible. I should know I just made my husband a birthday cake with cake mix that expired in 2017 and frosting from 2018. It was fine it just split down the middle.
You can be the most organized person on earth, but if you don’t make a grocery list before you leave the house, anyone can buy multiples of things. Grocery lists are also key.
Shop your own pantry before the grocery store.
Before I got married I had no real planning when it would come to meals and grocery shopping. But my husband takes inventory and plans simple meals. We now write out a list for the week. Taking that extra 30 minutes or so helps.
I loveeeee the app Shoppylist! I’ve made lists for all my favorite stores so I can use it to not over buy and also not forget what I need.
I know there is always guilt with getting rid of food that is expired. But by getting rid of it you have a better chance of having your fresh food not getting lost in it and being able to reduce the amount of food that will expire. The amount of progress is amazing🙌
I completely agree with Susana. And for me the future is important not the past. We all have done mistakes and will do it in the future. Progress is to not make the same mistakes over and over again. Keep going 👍🏼💖
Food waste is a constant struggle for me...the guilt of wasted food and money can be hard. I throw stale chips, cereal, bread, etc out for the birds (my boys loved doing it when they were little) and on the night before trash pick-up we have "clean out the fridge" night - all the leftovers, deli meat that's getting close to expiration, etc hit the table and we throw out what's left...sometimes the combinations are weird but no one goes hungry! Similar thing with the pantry...Cake mix close to exp date? Time for cupcakes! More soup than you can use before it expires? "Soup and grilled cheese" for dinner once a week until it's gone (or on that late work night when you don't want to think about cooking). Finally, once your boys hit their "tweens," you will never have food waste again....they'll eat anything and I mean ANYTHING...
Feeling that guilt means that you're a good person. Use that feeling to empower yourself to do better. Meal plan and regular do a quick scan to see if anything you're not using can be donated. Also, making a donation is a wonderful way to make up for any expired foods. Great job this week! 💜
That looks so amazing!! And you basically already made drawers with the baskets. Great job! So proud of you!! 💛
The more decluttered and organized you become you will save money because you won’t be buying duplicates. Good job keep going!!!
I find that most of my healthy foods are what we keep in our fridge, like fruit, veggies, proteins. Don’t be too hard on yourself for having less healthy snacks, it’s not entirely representative of your family’s diet 🥰❤️
Miss Heart! You are doing wonderful! I have a tip for you. I also feel very guilty about overspending at grocery store and having food expire. Recently I started following a very strict rule. Anything that needs to be bought (can of soup, flour, etc.) is written down on grocery shopping list. I shop only the things that are on the list. That way I avoid random purchases and buying stuff because "I don't remember if I have this at home". Obviously if we want to buy some treat or get something new to try, but otherwise try doing this. You will be surprised how much you cut down on your food budget! Hopefully this helps and you find this useful! Keep up the great work! You are doing awesone👍
I do the same... I have a piece of paper on a magnet on my fridge and whenever I use up the last of something I write it down the same moment. I try to keep 4-5 items of the things we eat more. That way I never run out of something.
One thing I do when I bring groceries home, is to write the expiration date on the front of the item. I use a black sharpie and circle the date. It may seem like a lot of work, but you never have to look for the expiration date again, which sometimes requires standing on your head! This will save you so much time in the long run. This way when you need a jar of pasta sauce, you can choose the one that is expiring next. Great job on your organizing!
You did a wonderful job recording the pantry! No need to add sliding shelves now that the bins wit so well! I also liked how you labeled the front bin with the back bin items too. Keep up the good work!
You're not the only person eating all of that! Everyone needs to go through it each day..and y'all need an inventory ❤️❤️
We can't help what already happened all we can do is learn from it and try to do better. And that reveal! I love it and it's beautiful 😍
Since I have an issue with OCD, and some hoarder tendencies, I make a stock list. Then I put it in a sheet protector. With a dry erase, or even a wet erase pen, I put the list on the door so I know what I have. That way, when I go to the store, I can check the list (on the door) and see what I need.
Unfortunately, my kitchen is mayhem right now, due to a remodel, so it's even more complicated now. Bright side, after summer I'll have a freshly remodeled kitchen that I can organize again.
Oh a video! Love it. Also... First? Edit... Okay 5th. Remember to store in the last in last out method, meaning new food should be organized on the back to avoid having things go bad. In the front should be what will expire first so you use it up.
Ohhhhh...yessss!! I did do that with the soup and totally forgot to say that 😅😅 I gotta do it with the rest of the stuff too!! Thank you ❤️🙏🏻❤️
Wow, what a tranformation! I think you are so brave. I don't have a hoarding disorder but it's a pleasure for me to watch your videos and hear how you explain everything. There is something soothing in it. I also learn from you a tender way to treat myself, my home, to do things step by step and take a break if I feel tired and to look into my emotions. Thank you🤗
What a fab job! This makes my organising heart so happy. ❤️ 💜 💚 The great thing about bins is that it will create natural limits so that things don’t get to overflowing like they were to begin with, and a side benefit of the labels means that your family will also know by default where to put things so the maintenance is not all on you. 😁 So proud of you and how far you’ve come. Your attitude and positivity are such a great influence on me.
I want you to know how much you have inspired me I'm in the middle of my 30-day declutter challenge... if you're wondering who's been liking and watching all your older videos that would be me... I get to binge watching them and then I am so motivated I tackle so many things I actually started the 30-day challenge in the middle of the month last month and then restarted it on the 1st I can already tell you it's a major improvement... my wonderful husband tells me he really loves the changes he has always been supportive I am a hoarder not a squalor... I'm glad you explain the difference because I've always said I'm a hoarder and no one believes me because I have no problem discarding trash... my problem is home decor I have an excessive amount of it... I have donated and sold items like crazy... I also started the 30 day no spend challenge I have not purchased any new home decor or crafting supplies... I love you Mrs. Heart and I appreciate all of your videos... your inspiration and you sharing your journey... your pantry looks incredible it is so beautiful I love the bins... great job...💕
Don't beat yourself up. The donating of the food is a good idea. The dollar store for storage containers is great. I know it makes me feel better. I have found that if I use the last item in the bin, I start a grocery list. You did a great job! Keep it up!
Looks fantastic 😉 Make sure when you put new stuff, to always place them in the back and push the old forward. Remember, your goal is not to just organize, but to be able to consume them all☺️ You got this!💪
Wow that looks so much better. Don't be too hard on yourself that there was so much expired, things get shoved to the back of everyone's deep kitchen cupboards especially if it's things you don't use regularly. The pull out baskets should really help you see what's there now so hopefully it won't get like that again :)
Maybe try and get into the habit of checking what's in there before you write your shopping list?(now you can easily see it all!) I check cupboards, fridge and freezer every time I need to go shopping, so I always stick to the list and don't grab extras 'just in case we need it'. We've reduced our food waste to next to nothing now I do that and meal plan for the week.
Wooow that is one hell of an organizing job! Well done!!
Thank you so so much ❤️🙏🏻❤️
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You did a great job organizing this!!!!!
I see your progress and humility--not your mistakes--when you declutter. You are inspiring! (And your face eating those stale chips made me laugh out loud!)
Dawn from the minimal mom has a great video on food purchasing. Your kitchen looks amazing!
Maybe you can a “don’t buy” column to your grocery list for things you have lots of, to remember and not pick up more just bc it’s there
That looks great, makes me want to go reorganize my pantry. One thing I do if I have time, is write the expiration date big on a part of the package that's easy to see. Then I try to always grab the food that expires soonest.
I always put the food in the order it expires,with the shortest date stuff at the front obviously 😏It makes such a difference to waste.
I think you can address the guilt by instead focusing on how grateful and blessed you are that you had the money to purchase enough food, to create food security for your family, and also emotional and mental security for yourself since you are recovering in your hoarding. Also give yourself some grace; because nobody's perfect, and yet we are all made exactly as God intends. So you're not wrong or bad for the behaviors you're learning to change, and you will be incredibly successful in doing so! You've made amazing progress!
Best thing ever is pull out screw in draws! You can finally see everything.
My daughter had lots of toiletries. I gave them to my neighbor who volunteers at a food pantry. I donated some soap to a shelter. We opened one bar and didn't like
the scent. Tina
Yes pullout drawers in that pantry would be great. But loved what you did with what you had💕😍
One thing that has helped me to not waste so much is only opening one bag of chips or whatever at a time. Writing down the staple foods that go quick and paying attention to which ones don't get used helps too. That and storing extras together and having just enough of everything in close reach. Kind of like how stores put the extra stock on the top shelf.
That turned out so good! It’s really easy when you categorize it and put it in containers 😊 That was a really good idea labeling the front container with what is in the container behind it! Love the slim long containers for pulling out to get what you need.
Also, don’t feel bad for throwing out expired food. It’s more commun than you think and now you know how to do better next time. Lesson learned and now you’re improving! Nobody’s perfect and we all learn and grow all the time!
Love your channel! ❤️
Great! I love your floor. I'm not too afraid of expired food.
Well. 2018...I'm afraid of that. Haha
There's NO REASON why I can't do this! Thank you for the inspiration! This will be my project after I do the media area in the living room.
It looks beautiful and so much easier to see what category you are actually low on BEFORE you go shopping. Very impressive transformation!
Omg what a transformation 👏 How did all that stuff fit in there? 🤔 With regard to the panic buying because of the pandemic I did the exact same thing with pasta, rice, cereals, tea and coffee, so please don’t be hard on yourself at all. It happens to most of us and it’s never intentional. You’ve everything so well organised now you know it’s highly unlikely it’ll happen again. You definitely keep me motivated to keep sorting and let go of stuff. Well done on donating to the food bank, your always so thoughtful and kind. Stay safe and healthy. Mary, Joes wife 👏👍🦄🥳🙏
That labeling system is so smart and it will avoid food waste 👏👏👏👏👏
The hardest thing is having too deep of cupboards because you can't see everything that you have. I'd rather store non food items in deep cabinets than food. That way things don't get lost. The biggest thing is getting organized, don't over buy, eat what you buy, and always always keep a list going of what you ran out of or close and only buy it then so you don't have so much of something that may expire before. you eat it. We never have no more than 2 or 3 bags of chips open at a time. I prefer no more than 1 bag personally. Know that we've all had something expire on us. Don't beat yourself up. Just learn from this experience and go from there. You did a great job!
I love how you work through these projects and your emotions. I'm so proud of you! Learning from you has been so helpful as I interact with people in my life who are more attached to their things than I am. I have become more compassionate and understanding. Thank you.
Wow you did so well. Don't beat yourself up. You are awesome. Xxx
17/8/21... So funny to see all that food over yr floor. I never thought you’d get it back in! So clever of you!
I used to store food in a lower cabinet, but when we moved we had a full height pantry. BLISS! Having ingredients at eye level is sooo much better! ❤️🐨🦘🦘🦘🦘
We eat mostly out of pantry or freezer. We garden in the summer. Take inventory, compile a meal list , then convert to a weekly meal plan. Great beginnings!
I loved how you tied the label onto the basket with the twine. Thanks for a great idea.
When you have to put away your groceries, pull the current items to the front of the bins, then put the new items in the back of that bin. That keeps your stock rotated.
Kudos darling! Out of sight out of mind. I try to organize my pantry so I see everything at a glance otherwise I forget what I have. Yep expired food gives you permission to get rid of stuff! You can only move forward you can’t go back! You got this 💜 I feel guilty too sometimes when I’m decluttering. Also you don’t need those expensive containers. Mason jars make great inexpensive pantry containers, beans pasta, rice etc.
💜👍💜👍💜👍💜👍💜 Looks so good!!!!
It looks awesome! IF you need more clear containers (like ones you put flour,etc in) go to Walmart! They have some that seal great, food last fresher/longer and are a great price! I buy one or two every time I go there. I really like to see you organize, you are good at it!
Great job. I I when you go back to spaces. it’s inspiring. I would love t see you do the laundry room. I love to watch how your muscles have gotten stronger
This is so amazing! I'm very impressed with the final result. Please don't blame yourself on wasting food. Even those who don't have a disorder have sometimes difficulty to be organized and eat everything they have before it expires. You are doing great and your videos are very inspiring
Great inspirational video. It’s good to be feel guilty. We learn from our mistakes and I think you will learn from this mistake. Yes donating food or money is good to make you feel better. I suggest for your hubby to a riser with a piece wood to see what’s in the back. Clear containers are the best for organizing. Great idea on the label making. Put dates with chalk pen on the containers. The end result is beautiful. You’re great at organizing. Now keep a magnetic shopping list on your refrigerator and write the things you need when you’re running low. Always look at your pantry and refrigerator before shopping and only shop for the items needed for that week. Have a menu. I make menu accordingly to the season and the sales on the flyers. Great video.
Great job-your pantry looks great. What a smart idea to label the back bin on the bottom of the front bin-very creative!!! Walmart has awesome clear food storage containers that are waaaay cheaper, but just as good, as the pricier stores. 🦄💜
You must use the fly lady menu planning day. When you plan menus, you will hoard less food. Just choose a day, sit down and a week’s worth or two week’s worth. Fly lady also has event holiday planners to download. You are doing so well. Keep up the great work.
You got this don"t be so hard on your self you doing a great job
Oh! My! Goodness! That reveal was AMAZING!!! You don’t give yourself enough credit for how great you are doing at organizing things!!! Great work girlfriend!!!
What a great inspiring video! I especially like that you mostly used what you already had instead of buying new bins.
Yup did great once again congratulations 👏💜
Everyone has some degree of food waste. But look at it as a learning experience, what quantity of each item do you need and actually go through; the more open bags of chips cookies or crackers the quicker they all go stale before being eaten.
I’ve tried buying things from bulk stores & discovering that I don’t actually use THAT much of a product (even if I do use a fair amount of it), but I only selectively buy those items to try. I know I won’t use 20lbs of flour...5-10 in a year is a lot for me, produce from bulk stores is too much, but I’ve also discovered I can use the entire jug of soy sauce or jar of minced garlic easily. Surprisingly the bulk sized container of cornstarch is being used up. We can eat the entire frozen food product before it gets freezer burnt.
I periodically go through the pantry & look at dates. If it’s getting close, I try to meal plan around that item. So tomorrow I’m planning to grill some chicken & pineapple because I’ve got 3 cans of pineapple, I really don’t need 3 and I haven’t eaten this recipe in awhile. I know I’ve got some canned ravioli that’s getting older, so I need to pull it forward for a lazy lunch or dinner.
And remember, many (not all) dates on pantry staples are a recommended use by date, not a it absolutely must be used by this date or else you will get sick. So depending on what the food is, give yourself a grace period of 3 months past the date. (Some people will choose a much longer period, but to each their own.)
Perhaps try putting the food that’s close to the date on the kitchen counter to remind you to use it.
I use a similar meal planning strategy for fridge foods to my close to date pantry foods. I didn’t double check the size of cottage cheese for a recipe & bought too big of a container...so stuffed shells last week & lasagna this week, then no pasta dishes for a few weeks, but I need to use the cottage cheese before almost anything else. But this also showed me I’ve only got 2 jars of sauce & 1 jar of mushrooms left, so I need to watch for sales on sauce to pick up a few.
And let’s not talk about my pasta mountain...it’s all in date, I only buy when there’s a sale. But I’ve got a bunch of pasta recipes I want to try or I like a specific shape for so I’ve got a gazillion different shapes...ziti, rotini, spirals, linguini, fettuccine, wagon wheels, texaroni (because why not make home made mac & cheese with Texas shaped noodles lol), elbows, raditori, orechetti, jumbo shells, lasagna, spaghetti...I bought 3 packages 3 weeks ago because I forgot I had rotini (but I’ve got 2 recipes calling for it so not the end of the world), ziti for a recipe and wagon wheels because those are harder to find. I don’t plan to buy anything else pasta related for 3-6 months. I hadn’t bought pasta for 2-3 months at least prior to this last bunch.
And remember a meal plan is not a carved in stone “must do this exactly”, it’s a rough idea to try and use up specific items you already have, or something special for a event like a holiday meal. The number of times I end up using ground beef in spaghetti or stew meat in stew instead of some other use because it’s easier & means I don’t have to cook for a few days because leftovers (yay!)...right now I need to use up green beans, broccoli and the cottage cheese, beyond that I have no set plans, the chicken & pineapple will work with this, or I can adjust as needed.
Oh, with containers for flour, after all the recalls a few years ago, I cut the part of the label with the batch # and best by date & taped it onto my container.
Perhaps put the dates on yours too, just so you can go "oh, my cornmeal expired 2 years ago, whoops!".
I keep a lot of stuff in its original packaging for this very reason...I want that date! Individual oatmeal packets don't have the date, granola bars don't have the date, poptarts don't have the date.
This came out awesome! It's good inspiration for when I get around to organizing my pantry!
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼yes looks soo good 👍🏼
Amazing job!!! We all feel guilty when we do a food clean out and have a lot of waste... it happens to us all, don’t beat yourself up, just try to take notes of what you didn’t eat and adjust from there.
The results are amazing!
Two tips re organisation:
•add expiration dates to the containers with decanted product (flour, sugar etc)
•Label the same items on the bins at the back incase the order is switched then you still know what’s in them.
I love that you are able to see everything at a glance!! 👍❤️
A little tip, if you want to save time looking for the expiration date on each item, you can write it on the top of packages or cans, so you can see dates by glance.
You are making such great process. I hope it allows you to feel proud after the guilt passes away
I have been following you forever, I’m so proud of how far you’ve come! I am so excited for your future as well! Congratulations on your journey! You’ve come so far! Keep going!
You have turned into an organization queen! 😍 Love how the pantry turned out
You did a fantastic job of organizing! We have ALL done that clear out from time to time where we end up tossing out good food, and it does sting to do that but usually that makes us all more careful not to do it again. One thing that really helps me is to meal plan each week, usually with my family, we decide what we want to eat the following week and then search what we have, if we notice there are lots of something that needs to be used-up we make sure to make a meal where it can be used. Then make a list and take that with me to the store. I usually put my shopping list and any recipes on a clip board to take with me and if I can’t find one of the things I need for a recipe I can best determine an alternative product I could use. I typically plan for 5 meals and the other two are for left overs or fend for yourself night. I also set a food budget and make it a game for myself and family to stay within that amount as best as possible. Another area that has helped is creating a LOOK HERE FIRST section in the refrigerator. When my family is needing a snack they know that is the first place to go to so those items get used up. We have drastically reduced the amount of spending and waste with doing these things each week. Maybe you could do a weekly or monthly video where you talk about how you will meal plan and help reduce food waste in your home?
Love what you are doing! Slowly are you getting there! Keep it up! Small steps leads to big changes!
Looks great! I like what you said about pull out shelves. Sounds like a great future project.
Those baskets and containers are a great visual to limit your inventory and thereby avoid future waste.
Thanks so much for sharing.
Wow, what a difference! When I put food into new containers (like flour), I also use the label maker to print out a little "BB'23" (Best By 2023) or "Exp'22" (Expires in 2022). That way, I can always check to make sure it's still good if I haven't used it in a while. I put the date label on the bottom or on the lid of the container. When I refill it, I just print a new date label for it.
😮 Wow!!! Amazing! It'll be so much easier to determine what you already have before getting new groceries.
I think everyone’s pantry gets like this. I’m over the top organized and mine backslides all the time. Husbands and kids do not help 😂
This is really great! Getting rid of all the extraneous stuff is ok if it means you’re actually going to eat what’s left. It looks like you can see and access what you really want to eat now. Another great job!
OMG you ARE in the organising stage!!! You should be so proud!
It’s so great how you give back in the community! I just purchased some organization bins and yes they are costly!
Don't fell guilt, you are still the best and my biggest decluttering idol!!! Lots of love and hugs from Sweden!
Amazing job, well done. Don’t feel guilty or ashamed you are learning and evolving and you do so much good. I love seeing your progress 🦄💗🌸
Don’t feel guilty. Even though the food wasn’t consumed, it wasn’t a waist. It wasn’t a waist because you learned something. You learned that you don’t like your pantry to look like that, you learned that you want to bless others who can’t afford food and you learned you can organize. You also acknowledged your hoarding triggers. Maybe do a quick inventory before you put away your incoming pantry groceries after a shop. You could toss expired/stale food and donate unused items at that time. Good work!!
Hugs friend. Good job on the pantry. ❤️
It seems like you've gotten so much better at decluttering and making the hard choices! Also your hand writing is so preeettttyy!!!
Fantastic job of ‘starting where you are’ - not waiting around for pull out drawers, but achieving something similar with bins and baskets!👏👏👏🦄🏆 Please don’t be too hard on yourself about the expired food - I’ve had the same problem when I’ve cleaned cupboards, and I’ve been a menu planning minimalist for years! I did the same when Covid hit, buying lots of what we liked when I saw it, in case it was cleared out next time. Be proud of what you’ve accomplished!
Glad you used dollar tree bins and bins you found mostly!
Looks great! I also struggle and feel bad about throwing away food, better safe than sorry.
Thanks for sharing!
Great job cleaning out and organizing your pantry. With those baskets, you really don't even need pull-out drawers.
Awesome job! It looks great.
Another way to recover from the guilt of waste is to be more mindful that you have learned from this. Also, you can buy based on what you need. You have organized it so well that you can check your pantry while making out your grocery list. 😁❤️
You're doing an amazing job! Always great to see you pulling through those down moments and rising up!
This is amazing.! Love your organisation, knowing the guilt-feeling. 🍀
Awesome job💕💕
wow great job !!