Did you put on a few holiday pounds? Who didn't? My grandmother use to say, "A moment on the lips; a lifetime on the hips." There is a lot of wisdom in that. But it hasn't kept me from packing down the holidays pies--at least, not yet.
And A One, And A Two!
With all of the holiday binge eating, this is the time of year when most of us are making a New Year's resolution to start a workout program. As you're thinking about getting your body into shape, you may also want to start thinking about getting that pantry back into shape. It won't require a ton of charts and graphs or a stack of index cards with low calorie recipes. And it won't require weeks of dedicated effort on your part. All you need to do is run down through this simple list of pantry tips.
- Go through your pantry items and throw out any expired items. Decaying foods lure pests into your food storage areas.
- Put older items in the front of your shelves, and new items in the back.
- Clean shelves. Pests like dusty, dirty shelves with particles of food matter on them. Keeping your shelves clean will make your pantry less appealing to passing insects.
- Put food into hard plastic containers. Though it can cost you a little, plastic containers will keep your food fresh longer and protect your pantry items from roaches, ants, rodents, and other pests that chew through paper and cardboard packaging.
- Consider replacing wooden shelves with wire shelving. Wire shelving makes it easier to keep your pantry dry and ventilated. They are uninviting to pests. And they make it easier to see areas in your walls that have been chewed away by rodents and wood chewing insects.
- If your pantry is warm or moist, consider installing a fan or dehumidifier. A dry, cool pantry is not a place pests want to forage. If your food is hard to get into and your pantry is dry, pests will move on to a softer target.
Once you have that pantry in shape, it may be time to get your house in shape as well. Roaches, rodents, and other foraging pests can bring disease and illness into your food cabinets and onto your plates and silverware. Get plugged into a year-round service plan with a pest management company. It's like getting a workout program for your house--and you don't have to do any ab crunches! They do all the work while you sit back and reap all the benefits of a pest-free home. Make 2015 the year you got rid of the bugs and rodents. Enjoy!