These common mistakes could lead to food waste, dirty pantry shelves and more.

Learn how to resolve them and use your pantry to its full potential.

This is why we have pantries.

a photo of a man looking into his pantry

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Some of us have whole separate rooms where we keep spices, grains, beans and other nonperishables.

Set regular reminders for yourself to revisit that junk drawer and its contents.

Make it a weekly task on your day off while you’re brewing your morning pick-me-up.

Even taping a list to the inside of a cabinet door can be helpful.

Lastly, don’t give yourself anxiety by falling prey to expiration-date confusion.

The use-by dates on nonperishable foods don’t necessarily mean that you cannot eat them past that date.

Many times, these dates have nothing to do with a product’s safety.

Learnwhat dates on products really meanso you’re able to organize your pantry safely.

However, appearances may be deceiving when it comes to having an organized pantry.

You should organize your pantry based on how you use the items in it.

Plus, few people feel confident about cooking a meal using a dusty or sticky container of food.

Your pantry needs to be functional so that you could prepare meals efficiently.

One thing to keep in mind while designing your perfect pantry is how much light your pantry gets.

Natural sunlight and even artificial lighting can reduce the quality of many of your pantry staples.

Many home cooks make the mistake of storing nonperishable goods in the containers they came in.

For canned and jarred foods, this is an excellent idea.

It’s best to purchase airtight containers for flour, sugar, grains and similar nonperishable items.

Many of the most organized home cooks repurpose mayonnaise jars and iced tea bottles to store their nonperishables.