What’s something that you do daily to make your life better?

It may seem small, but taking time to organize some of the smaller spaces in your home can provide daily motivation and self-esteem as you do something your future (and present) self will thank you for. 

That’s why we’re sharing four tips from MaryRuth herself to keep your pantry and fridge organized and working for you! 

An unorganized pantry may seem insignificant, but could potentially lead to disorganization in other parts of life. Having a clean and organized refrigerator and pantry will help you continue to cook healthy meals for yourself and loved ones, as well as save time when making your shopping lists and meal prepping. 

Here are MaryRuth’s 4 tips for keeping your kitchen spaces organized all year long!

Set aside 5-10 minutes each day with time blocking

First thing in the morning, MaryRuth always makes sure to time block five to ten minutes after waking up to spend in the kitchen before everyone else is awake. This quiet morning time helps her feel fresh and inspired for the day while she takes her liquid multivitamins, drinks a glass of water, and organizes the fridge and pantry.

Time blocking and utilizing the power of even five minutes is a great way to intentionally spend your time each day. We all have our own “to-do’s” in our heads of things we want to accomplish, but taking the time to actually write them down on the days that work best will help you move forward with less stress. 

Plus, even if you can’t organize your entire pantry in this 5-10 minute time frame, you’ll be utilizing the compound effect to slowly organize your entire space after practicing this daily ritual.

You can download and print our time blocking sheet here to use each day!

Take inventory of your pantry and fridge daily

After taking her vitamins, MaryRuth will open the refrigerator and then the pantry to take a visual inventory of the food they have. 

By being aware of the perishable and non-perishable items on hand, she can see if anything looks like it has gone bad. This helps to notice if items need to be tossed, or if any are about to go bad and should be eaten that day.

Check all expiration dates

Once a month, MaryRuth will also time block to check all expiration dates on items in the pantry and fridge. Since these can’t always be as easily seen or noticed in the daily five or ten minutes spent organizing, this may require a longer chunk of time dedicated. 

As a culinary chef, MaryRuth knows the importance of food safety and highly recommends that you always check expiration dates before cooking! 

Planning time to check expiration dates on your canned and jarred items, condiments, and more on a monthly basis will help ensure that you don’t potentially waste food by allowing it to expire. Plus, it can create opportunities for activities with children! For example, if you have a box of blueberry muffin mix and notice it’s about to expire, you can plan time that week to make some muffins with the kiddos. That’s a win-win!

Use this time to create your shopping list and plan meals

As you spend your time every day to go through your pantry and fridge, it’s also the perfect opportunity to meal plan! 

Each morning, MaryRuth will make note of three things:

• What do we have? 
• What needs to be tossed? 
• What groceries do we need to buy?

This is a great time to see what staple items you’re running out of or what foods may be going bad soon that you should plan a meal around soon. Especially if you have children that you know have their favorite regular snacks, you know that you never want to run out of those items! Plus, you don’t want to forget about that organic jar of pasta sauce or that you’ve been wanting to try but forgot about when it got pushed to the back of the pantry.

From here, MaryRuth makes her shopping list for her weekly date to Whole Foods with her husband David!

If you liked these tips, discover more on the blog. And, subscribe to get these and more delivered right to your inbox!