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Don’t Let It Go to Waste! What to Do With All of Your Food Before Moving
Your rooms are packed but the kitchen cupboards are still full! With a move fast approaching, it can be difficult to figure out what to do with all of that food piled high in your pantry and fridge. Throwing it away feels wasteful; packing it up seems impossible, and giving it to your neighbors is a tad desperate. Thankfully, there’s a solution. By better assessing what you have, you’ll be able to better determine where it should all go. Here are eight easy steps to getting rid of all that food before moving.
Step one: assess what you have
First thing’s first: figure out what you have. Grab a notepad and pen, and write down your inventory (i.e. what you have left in your fridge, freezer and pantry). Place your items into several different categories, including: Perishables (anything in the refrigerator or freezer); Canned goods (fruit, veggies, soups, legumes, etc); Non-perishables (boxes of cereal, snacks, chips, bottled water, etc); Baking and cooking supplies (flour, sugar, dry pasta, etc); and anything in glass bottles (oils and dressings, alcohol etc). Next to every item, write down the expiration date and/or how much longer the food will still be edible.
Step two: create a plan
After figuring out what you have and how long each item is going to stay fresh, you’ll need to decide what to do with all of it. From your list, highlight high priority items (i.e. perishables that need to be eaten asap) and low priority items (i.e. cereals, snacks, non-perishables). From there, decide what items you should try to eat before moving and what items you’ll need to donate and toss. If you’re embarking on a long-distance move, it might not make sense to ship or load up the car with all of your canned corn. Remember: you can always grocery shop once you arrive in your new home.
Step three: eat the perishables
If you and your family plan to eat the contents of your fridge and freezer before moving, I suggest getting creative with recipes. Not only will you save money by not going out to eat, but you’ll also save yourself the trouble of having to throw away tons of food. Let the rest of your family know the game-plan before the move. Make it a goal for everyone to come up with fun ways to cook the leftover food in your fridge. Some ideas for what to do with your food include making a pot of chili, sandwiches, pasta dishes, frittatas, stir fry, rice and veggies, breakfast meals for dinner, soups and more.
Step four: pack what you’re bringing with you
Chances are, you’re going to want to bring at least a few unopened, non-perishable items with you on the move. Several things to remember when packing your food:
- As you begin packing your food, remember to use small to medium-sized moving boxes. When overstuffed with items, such as canned goods and glass bottles, a large moving box may become too heavy to handle and/or could potentially cause damage to what’s inside. So stick to having more small boxes instead of trying to pack everything into one giant box.
- Use durable, resealable ziplock bags to prevent leaks and spills in your boxes. This is especially important when packing items like flour, sugar, opened spices and soups. You can also find plastic containers at your local hardware store.
- When packing glass containers, such as unopened mayonnaise, dijon mustard, jams, etc, make sure you secure them in waterproof ziplock bags and properly protect them with bubble wrap before placing them in a box.
- If you’re embarking on a local move and plan to drive yourself, I suggest bringing a cooler with ice to store any perishables you wish to keep, such as fruits, veggies, milk and more.
- Finally, make sure you properly label each box, so that you know where your food is once you move in.
Step five: donate non-perishables
Any non-expired, non-perishable items, such as canned goods, rice and pasta, that you don’t wish to bring with you should be donated to a local food bank. You can either box them up and deliver them yourself, or you can have your moving company do it for you. By hiring one of Move for Hunger’s relocation company partners, you can rest assured that those canned peas and cereal boxes will no longer go to waste! Move for Hunger is an organization that works with moving professionals nationwide to pick up unwanted food items from those who are moving and delivers them to local food banks. The non-profit works with 650 relocation companies across 50 states and Canada.
Have perfectly good fruit and veggies left in the fridge? Share the love with friends and neighbors. Whether you simply can’t eat another leftover or you just don’t have the time to finish everything off, we can promise you that there are plenty of people out there who can and will. The same goes for your bar. If you’re not planning to bring your open handle of whiskey or your six-pack of beer with you, we suggest “donating” it to neighbors. Better yet, throw a last-minute “clean out the fridge” or “unstock the bar” party with friends. Afterwards, you’ll have very little to toss out.
Step seven: toss it
Anything that you don’t plan on eating, donating, giving to friends, or bringing with you, should be either thrown away or recycled before the move. This includes all expired foods, which you won’t be able to donate or give away anyway. Recycle all glass bottles, milk containers, and cardboard containers. I recommend locating a recycling drop-off point close to you and tossing all of your recyclable items in one trip.
Step eight: prepare food for moving day
Finally, don’t forget about the actual moving day, itself! In the midst of packing and coordinating a move, there’s a good chance that you’ll get hungry at some point. It’s a good idea to keep bottled water, a few snacks and some pre-made sandwiches on standby for the big day. You (and your family) will be glad you did. Good luck!