Backstory: Gack. I kinda don’t want to know what’s hiding in the dark corners of my pantry. But it’s time to pull everything out, wipe down the shelves, and toss out anything that has expired.

This might be lacking the “fun” element I want most Nudges to have, but this task has been on my decluttering to-do list for years.

If your pantry is ship-shape, accept this Nudge to attack your linen closet, china cabinet, CD collection, or anything else that needs attention.

Here’s my before photo, to keep me honest:

Let’s do this.

What Happened: I had such good intentions for this Nudge. I was going to break this down in to doable parts by tackling just one shelf each day.

But then I got busy—with work, with life—and I put it off. Which is exactly why I’m facing this mess today.

Early this morning (Saturday), I finally dove in. With everything out, I wiped off the shelves (yuck), then put on my glasses and started reading the fine print. “Expires 2017.” Dear heavens. “Expires 2016”–seriously?!

After taking out a very full trash bin, I considered what made sense and put items back in categories: refill items, ingredients for savory dishes, ingredients for sweet stuff. Looks good!

The Ah-Hahs: This Nudge was very calming. Does that sound weird? There’s something about being able to see what I have, find what I need when I need it, and see what I don’t have that I need to get. In the mix of expired items, I also discovered items from recipes I haven’t made in a long time—like lentils for soup, one of Thor’s favorites. A fresh bag of beans went on my list for my next shopping trip.

As I admired my display, I also realized how satisfying it was to “reclaim” this space. Which kind of inspires me to tackle the next closet. 😉