I’ve been spending a lot more time at home these days, taking care of an active nine-month old, keeping the house tidy, and well, cooking up all sorts of meals to feed this little hungry family of mine! Admittedly, some days are chaotic especially while trying to still juggle a bit of work in the mix. Is anyone else feeling like the cleaning just NEVER stops?! I’ve found the key to keeping calm is having an organized kitchen which makes preparing meals simpler and high quality cleaning supplies to make clean up time much easier!
Despite the limited time I have, I knew it was necessary to reorganize our pantry cupboard in hopes for less hectic meal times and I’m so glad that Scotch-Brite™ Brand provided me with a variety of powerful, safe and easy to use tools to make this project a breeze and sparkly clean!
Before, I this most-used pantry cupboard was reorganized, it was a mess! Things were out of place, hard to find, and well, most items were also way passed the expiry date (yuck!). My plan was to reorganized all the common pantry goods in clear storage containers with visible (and pretty!) labels so that I can easily spot what was where and more importantly, when something needed to be replenished.
I first emptied out the cupboard, sorted out the keep vs. toss pile and then re-stocked the essential pantry items I needed, such as flour, brown sugar, etc. Once I knew what I had on hand, I planned out how many containers and what sizes were required. I primarily selected containers that were between 1-1.5 L as I found that most pantry items are sold in that size. I recommend starting with a few, then adding to your collection, otherwise, you may end up with lots of containers that you don’t need (nor have room for!). When choosing containers, I also urge you to pay close attention to the lid. Finding ones that have a smart, air-tight lock system will keep items fresh and prevent any unnecessary spills.
Planning and stocking the pantry cupboard was a big job but next on the list was the most important of all – cleaning the containers for use! Though the containers I purchased were all dishwasher safe, I prefer to wash and dry them by hand to ensure there are no water residue before filling them up with all the goods. And since I was applying custom vinyl labels, I needed to ensure the container faces were 100% spotless.
Most of the containers were shaped narrow and tall, therefore I used the Scotch-Brite® Bottle Scrubber, most suitable for water bottles, coffee to-go cups and teapots, to help me easily clean all the hard to reach nooks and crannies. The Scotch-Brite® Bottle Scrubber has a soft sponge edge which also makes it super ideal to clean glassware to avoid any scratches or damage.
While reorganizing my pantry, I also took the opportunity to clean and scrub the interior of the cupboard shelves. It’s been a few years since I’ve emptied out this cupboard so it was no surprise to find food spills and mess caked onto the surface. The Scotch-Brite® No-Scratch Scrub Sponge was the perfect companion for this job as it offers powerful scrubbing without scratching surfaces. This sponge is safe to use on the most delicate surface from marble countertops, stainless steel cookware and even glass surfaces such as windows! I love that this sponge can easily be sanitized in the dishwasher for everyday use.
While resorting the cupboard, I also found a few old canisters and jugs that had REALLY old stains and residue stuck on them. For these type of heavy duty stuck-on messes, I used the Scotch-Brite® Heavy Duty Dishwand to keep my hands out of the mess. This Dishwand is a must have in every kitchen because the handle is refillable with any choice of dish liquid and the head is also interchangeable with three different options – Heavy Duty, No-Scratch, and Stay Clean.
Overall, I’m so happy with the result of this pantry cupboard. I can now see what I’ve got on hand and oddly enough it’s inspiring me to cook and bake even more then I already am! I also adore the labelling! I made the labels with the help of my sister and her nifty cutting machine! Every time I open this cupboard, I now have a smile on my face instead of an overwhelming headache! An organized and clean kitchen can honestly boost your mood and energy!
I’m looking forward to tackling my next project – the snack cupboard, and again, with the help of Scotch-Brite™ Brand products! In fact, I’ll be keeping all these tools around to assist me in tackling my everyday cleaning jobs not only in the kitchen but the rest of the house!
Disclaimer: This post was produced in partnership with Scotch-Brite™ Brand, but all opinions are my own. To learn more about Scotch-Brite™ Brand and their powerful cleaning tools and instructions for use, visit www.scotch-brite.ca.
