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My pantry<\/a> drawer dedicated to back-stock items is out of control. It holds all the grocery<\/a> duplicates I inevitably add to my cart, plus the Subscribe & Save products I can\u2019t remember to cancel. I organize it periodically and swear I\u2019ll keep it contained, but then King Arthur Flour goes on sale and I buy two five-pound bags because I have no choice<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I needed help, so I called one of my all-time favorite organizers, Stephanie Treantos, founder of Lemonaid Solutions<\/a> (@lemonaidsolutions<\/a>), a premier luxury home organization, staging, and styling firm in Maine. Treantos never minces words, and she quickly and efficiently diagnoses my problems, offering smart solutions every time. I couldn\u2019t wait to learn the secret to a successful back-stock drawer. I was not prepared, however, for her shocking advice: Ditch the back stock entirely.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe problem is \u2026 your zones,\u201d says Treantos. I was storing flour in four different locations in my kitchen (seriously). Extracts were three steps away from the brown sugar. My back-stock drawer was taking up valuable pantry real estate \u2014 basically screaming to be turned into a baking drawer \u2014 but I couldn\u2019t see it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I trust Treantos entirely, but I had questions and concerns. Here\u2019s what she had to say.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI throw out thousands of dollars\u2019 worth of food [in my clients\u2019 homes] because it\u2019s expired,\u201d says Treantos. Any savings gained at the time of purchase are lost with the wasted food.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Treantos asks if storing a year\u2019s worth of flour is really the best use of the space. \u201cYou still have to go to the store,\u201d she reminds me, and with a teenage boy in the house, our milk runs are pretty frequent. A two-week supply would be more than enough.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The biggest aha moment in the call came when Treantos redefined back stock for me. I explained that I will always have flour waiting in the wings because I don\u2019t decant until my flour canister is truly empty. \u201cOne extra isn\u2019t back stock,\u201d says Treantos. \u201cBack stock is three or more.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Here\u2019s the ingenious thing about eliminating back stock: If I need to know if we\u2019re out of coffee, I only have to look in one space. All of the coffee is stored together \u2014 both the beans I\u2019m using and the unopened bag. There\u2019s no need to dig through my back stock. For the flour problem, Treantos told me to make space in my baking zone for the bag I always have on hand.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Convinced? Here\u2019s how I applied Treantos\u2019 advice \u2014 and how you can use it, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I live in a large house, but (I now know) I do not have a pantry conducive to a Costco lifestyle. \u201cShop for the space you have; I will die on this hill,\u201d says Treantos. If you\u2019ve been thinking about ditching the Costco membership, this is your sign to go for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Consider how you actually interact with food. Everyday items get priority placement, and each zone should contain only one category of food items. \u201cIf you\u2019re making a snack, you should only have to open one [pantry] drawer,\u201d says Treantos.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Shelters, food banks, charities, and Buy Nothing groups will all happily accept your unexpired back stock.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Every summer I stock up on truly life-changing strawberry jam from a local farm<\/a>. To survive winter without a jam shortage, I need to make space for a dozen jars. \u201cThat\u2019s OK,\u201d says Treantos, as long as I\u2019m deciding mindfully what items make sense to store in bulk.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Now that I only \u201cbuy what [my] house can hold,\u201d shopping trips are quicker, and unloading is a breeze. This morning I made scones using my new baking drawer, and I was shocked by how quickly everything came together. My children\u2019s snacks are all in one place, and now I rarely hear, \u201cMom, I can\u2019t find my Inner Peas!<\/a>\u201d (which is sort of a shame, but I have plenty of other opportunities for chuckles.)<\/p>\n If you had asked me before the call if I could function without back stock, I would have laughed. But now I agree with Treantos: \u201cIf back stock isn\u2019t working, eliminate it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n This post originally appeared on Apartment Therapy. See it there: I Sent an Organizer a Photo of My Messy Pantry Drawer \u2014 Her Advice Shocked Me<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nMy Objections to Eliminating Pantry Back-Stock Items<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
I actually use my back-stock items!\u00a0<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
I will always<\/em> have an extra bag of flour on hand.\u00a0<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Where will my extra groceries go if I don\u2019t have a dedicated space?<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
How to Declutter Pantry Back-Stock Items<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Shop for the space you have.<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
If you must have back stock, choose mindfully.<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Benefits of Eliminating Back-Stock Items<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n