The Social Media Organizing Trend That Does More Harm Than Good

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Spring is definitely the season for deep cleans and decluttering, and with so many clever organizing hacks around, tidying up and keeping your space neat should be a breeze. However, for every good decluttering hack, there is an idea or two that may be better off skipped. Decanting, for example, has become very popular to turn your pantry and food storage into a minimalistic, aesthetic design, but some items just don't work with this trend. While keeping dried foods like rice or pasta can create a very stylish shelf layout, other foods like greasy chips and even bread don't need to be decanted, as it can just give a messy vibe that doesn't elevate your kitchen. If you're planning to give your cooking areas a big declutter, make sure to pass on transferring some edibles, or you may end up with a chaotic and messy display that detracts from all your hard work!

If you've wondered what decanting is and why you should use it, this is the trend of removing items from their original and often times loud or tacky packaging and putting them into aesthetic jars, vessels, and other matching units. People do this with everything from laundry detergent to dried foods and powders, and even toiletries. While it is one of the easiest ways to make your home more organized and a great option for building a more uniform layout, it's definitely not the answer for every item in your pantry.

For example, one common food item that some agree is best left in its original packaging would be potato chips. Between the crumbly texture and the greasy residue that these chips can leave in a decanted vessel, they would just produce a messy appearance. However, it isn't just greasy or crumbly foods that don't work well in decanted jars or tubs. Sliced bread or even loaves are better left in their bags to help with freshness, and also because they just wouldn't look good in a clear or opaque container.

For items like cookies, crackers, chips, bread, and other crumbly snacks, you could try the hack that lets you reseal plastic bags with aluminum foil and a hot iron, which will keep them fresh and let you skip on the bulky clips, too. If you don't want to reseal edibles, try clever folding tricks like the viral chip bag fold, which also allows you to stack snacks to save space in your pantry. You could also invest in larger baskets that have a solid exterior and place foods in these for a more uniform aesthetic, like these Best Choice Product pantry baskets from Amazon. These allow you to hide loud logos a little more, giving your pantry and kitchen overall a tidier finish. If you really don't want to keep items in their original packaging, try solid decanters rather than clear ones, as this will keep the grease and crumbs from showing through.