Pantry cleanout

I love Christmas. I love the tree, the decorations, the gifts, the get togethers, the annual viewing of Love Actually and, I think more than anything, I love the food. I love the Christmas food shop when you pile the trolley full of goodies that you don’t normally buy. Treats, boxes of chocolates, mince pies, extra cheeses for those unexpected visitors and all the rest of it. Chips, nuts, biscuits, cream, custard, brandy butter, sauces, salads. What I don’t love, of course, is any food waste ever. It’s especially hard when you run the NSW Government’s food waste avoidance program to align that love of food and abundance at Christmas with avoiding food waste. But it can be done!
 
This month, as we head towards the Big Day, we’ll be sharing all our hacks, tips, ideas and recipes to help you have a full, but food-waste-free Christmas. Starting here, with my personal favourite, the pantry cleanout in the first week of December. 
 
That might seem to be an unexpected hack for food waste at Christmas, more aligned with Marie Kondo and order than the shopping in a few weeks’ time. However, the early pantry clean out to me is the pinnacle of good food waste avoidance practice. It clears the decks for the festive season, identifies foods to eat up before the big day and ensures you don’t double up on ingredients you already have.
 
I have a VERY small kitchen, as you’ll see from the photos, and the accumulated supplies from a year of Covid is not going to allow space for even a wafer-thin packet of cheese biscuits. So, to avoid the bench top, fridge top, microwave top and every other surface getting lost under the weight of my Christmas supplies, now is the time to make room. 
 
Method
 
Take everything out of every cupboard and lay it out on the bench. Do a stocktake. Throw away anything that’s past it’s best before date (oops, curry leaves from 2017!), identify things you can eat up between now and Christmas to make more space and use while it’s still good and take note of what you have multiple items of. 

This year, I discovered hidden at the back of the cupboard (probably from last year) unopened jars of pickle and cranberry sauce (all absolute Christmas essentials!) so I don’t need to buy more this time, saving money for other things. I was also quite horrified to discover - given my job - multiple versions of the same thing, obviously bought every time I go shopping because I haven’t checked the cupboard before I go! I shall endeavour to use up those three cans of coconut milk, at least one of the seven bottles of soy sauce and a couple of cans of baked beans over the next few weeks to pave the way for other, more seasonal items.

When you return everything back into the cupboards, save a clear space for a Christmas food shelf, if you can. That top shelf in the photo will take my mince pies, jars, snacks and other goodies while keeping my bench space clear for cooking.
 
The pantry cleanout starts my countdown to Christmas. It helps me manage the food I’ve got better, reminding me to use food up before it goes off and helps to ensure the Christmas entertaining, cooking and prep runs smoothly.
 
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing other ideas on our Facebook and Instagram feeds to help you make the most of your festive foods, so keep a look out and let us know how you go.
 
Meanwhile, thanks for being with us on this food waste avoidance journey in 2020. Have a very merry, food-waste-free festive season and may the New Year bring us all no Covid and much happiness.
 
Best wishes
 
Amanda Kane and all the LFHW team.