Cleaning your kitchen and clearing it out are two different things entirely. Cleaning it involves soap and water and such. Clearing it out, which is much more fun, just requires a garbage bag or two and these ideas from Betty Confidential.
In the Pantry, Freezer & Fridge:
Throw away anything you haven’t used in the last year, because it’ll probably go unused for the next 12 months too.
If you bought ingredients for a recipe you didn’t make, consider taking them to your local food shelf or share them with a neighbor.
Combine similar ingredients. Got 3 bottles of BBQ sauce taking up space? Pour them into one bottle. Same goes for tea in bags; consolidate them into one box or container.
In the Spice Rack:
If it was once green but it isn’t anymore. Spices expire, so toss it or use it up in Betty’s Herb Soup recipe*.
Reduce the number of spice bottles you have by combining those you use together. A tasty Italian mix might be a combo of parsley, sage, oregano & garlic powder, for example.
Betty’s Herb Soup
Saute an onion in some olive oil and add all those jars of herbs you
really can’t even remember why you bought. Toss in the celery leaves,
sage, lemon grass … come on, you know the ones I mean. Then add a
little stock and simmer for a few minutes. Puree and freeze in little
zip lock baggies to use as stock over the next few months.
