Today is the day to look for food and drink that is past it’s use by date or that you just don’t like.

It’s easy to go food shopping and buy 2 for 1’s and then realise you don’t like it in the first place. Christmas is a great time to get things you will never need. I have no idea what to do with cranberry sauce (that is still in date) 2 years after I was given it! I am also saving some weird medicinal looking alchol I got on a trip to Germany. I am not sure what I am saving it for, it tastes vile.

Labeling can be misleading;

• “Use by” is the one to take seriously because eating food past it’s use by date can be dangerous.
• “Best before” dates are just about quality, not safety. Food past it’s best before date might not taste as good when it was in date but it will still be safe to eat.
• “Display until” or “Sell by” are instructions to shop staff not for shoppers and can be ignored.

Head for your cupboards and find 5 things you will never eat.

• This could be because:
• You don’t like the taste
• They are really bad for you
• They are out of date
• They have gone off

If the food is past it’s use by date then it usually needs to be thrown out. It may be compostable though! If you have stale grains or cereal could you feed them to the birds instead of to a bin?

Some charity shops take pet food, usually the smaller, pet rescue ones are really happy to have any tins.

If you have a hard time throwing away good food you could see if your local food bank could find a use for it. You could re-gift it to someone who might like it or give it to your local church for harvest. There is also a phone app called Olio which connects people with spare food to others that can use it.

Happy decluttering!

Take all week to gently declutter the kitchen

I’ve compiled all the kitchen prompts and full instructions into one lovely book. You can get it by clicking on the picture below.