The In’s and Outs of FIRST IN,FIRST OUT (FIFO)

Its the weekend, you are finally deciding to tackle cleaning out your refrigerator.

Upon doing so you discover 4 open bottles of the same brand of BBQ sauce and 3 different brands of Ranch dressings.

Everything is slightly sticky…

You try not to lose your mind.

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Despite how quickly a commercial kitchen goes through food the basic safety and sanitation principle, First in, First Out (FIFO), is still heavily utilized and enforced. Health Inspectors hold food establishments to high standards on how they prepare, label, date, and store food… And rightfully so! Food borne illness is no joke.

However, food safety often goes overlooked in the home kitchens: un labelled and undated leftovers get pushed to the back of the refrigerator, meat is defrosted at room temperature on the counter, and black mold grows on the inside of half closed salad dressing container lids.

FIFO is one of the simplest food safety strategies to implement in your kitchen. It will help you waste less, saving you money and giving you the best snacks!

Streamlining your kitchen for the first time this can be a daunting step! I get it!

But in 4 easy steps we will be on our way to a more streamlined stock rotation system!

If you need or want help getting started with whipping your kitchen into shape download our comprehensive guide to an organized, efficient, and less wasteful kitchen: The Kitchen Audit Guide

So, how do you start practicing FIFO in your home?

It truly is as simple as it sounds. Older stock moves to the front of the line and new stock goes to the back!

You likely do this already without even thinking about it. For example, you’ll finish the open gallon of milk before starting the next or you’ll finish off leftovers before cooking something new.

Canned foods are an easy place to start when organizing your pantry. They stack easily and have the same type of date on the top of the can.

We have and love this can organizer. It holds ALOT of cans, was simple to assemble and is very sturdy!

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