after getting what you need. Leave a door open, and you’re likely to hit your head. If you like the convenience of open doors, consider frameless cabinets with sliding doors, or dispense with doors altogether and go with open shelves.
Special hardware like this can do the heavy lifting for you, which is especially nice if your back is suspect.
■ Avoid storing heavy items on high shelves from which they may accidentally fall while you’re reaching for them. Avoid storing heavy items on low shelves as well, especially if you’re prone to back problems.
■ Do not overstuff cabinets, especially with heavy, fragile items that may fall to the floor and send shards flying.
■ Never store items in ways that would encourage young children to climb on counters.
■ For the elderly or physically challenged, consider countertop storage that’s wheelchair accessible. Use base-cabinet drawers instead of shelving behind doors to store items they may need.
■ Keep a basic first-aid kit within easy reach. Fill it with bandages, adhesive tape, and a disinfecting ointment. Keep a first-aid manual with emergency instructions on hand, too.
■ Post the number of the Poison Control Center near your phone. Speak to them before administering ipecac syrup or activated charcoal.
■ Keep a fire extinguisher on hand. The best kind for kitchens is labeled “ABC,” meaning it can handle all types of fires, including grease fires. Baking soda (never water!) can also be used for grease fires.
Improved Child-Proof Door Lock
A magnetic knob must be used to disengage this lock. Store the knob where a child cannot get to it.
This photo shows how the latch engages as the magnetic knob is removed.
When the lock is engaged, even the most determined toddler will be unable to open the cabinet door.
Here, the lock is disengaged and the door opens normally.
SMARTtip
Keep Up to Date
To ensure top quality of the foods you eat, use the oldest products first and the newer ones later. It helps to store the newer items behind the older ones. For products without printed open dates (sell-by, use-by, expiration, and pack dates), you may want to apply labels and write in your own purchase date. Use airtight containers when appropriate. Store breads and cakes at room temperature and use within three to seven days or freeze. Storing them in the refrigerator will cause them to become stale faster. (See “How Long to Store It,” pages 48–49.)
| How Long to Store It | ||
| Type of Food | Time | Handling |
| STAPLES | ||
| Barley | 2 years | Cool, dry place; airtight container |
| Bread crumbs | 4 months | Cool, dry place; airtight container |
| Brown rice | 6 months | Cool, dry place; airtight container |
| Brown sugar | 18 months | Cool, dry place; airtight container |
| Bulgur | 5–6 months | Cool, dry place; airtight container |
| Cornmeal and hominy grits | 1 year | Cool, dry place; airtight container |
| Dry milk (nonfat) | 1 year | Cool, dry place; airtight container |
| Honey and syrups | 1 year | Refrigerate after opening |
| Olive oil | 6 months | Cool, dry place |
| Pasta | 1–2 years | Cool, dry place; airtight container |
| Rice | 1 year | Cool, dry place; airtight container |
| Sugar, granulated | Indefinitely | Cool, dry place; airtight container |
| Sugar, powdered | 18 months | Cool, dry place; airtight container |
| Vegetable oil | 1 year | Cool, dry place |
| Wheat germ (unopened) | 8–12 months | After opening, refrigerate or freeze in |
| airtight container for 5–6 months | ||
| White flour | 10–15 months | Cool, dry place; airtight container |
| Whole wheat flour | 3 months | Cool, dry place or refrigerator or freezer; |
| airtight container | ||
| Wild rice | 6 months | Cool, dry place; airtight container |
| VEGETABLES | ||
| Onions | 1–3 months | Cool (room temperature or below), dry place |
| Potatoes | 1–3 months | Cool (45°–50°F [7°–10°C]), dry, dark place |
| Squash, hard-rind | 1–3 months | Cool (60°F [15°C]), dry place; one week only |
| at room temperature | ||
| Sweet potatoes | 1–3 months | Cool (60°F [15°C]), dry place; one week only |
| at room temperature | ||
| CANNED FOODS (metal cans or glass jars) | ||
| Cheese spread and foods (unopened) | 2–5 years | Cool, dry place |
| High-acid canned foods: juices (apple, orange, tomato, etc.), tomatoes, grapefruit, apple products, mixed fruit, berries, pickles, sauerkraut, and vinegar-based products | 12–18 months | Cool, dry place |
| Home-canned products: all types | 1 year | Cool, dry place |
| Low-acid canned foods: meat and poultry products, vegetable soups (except tomato), spaghetti products, potatoes, corn, carrots, beans, beets, peas, pumpkin, etc. | 2–5 years | Cool, dry place |
| Shortening | 2 years | Cool, dry place |
| DRY PACKAGED FOODS | ||
| Biscuit/baking mix | 6 months | Cool, dry place |
| Cake mix | 6 months | Cool, dry place |
| Cereals | 1 year | Cool, dry place; tightly sealed or airtight container |
| Soup mix | 1 year | Cool, dry place |
| DRIED FOODS | ||
| Dried apricots | 3 months | Cool,
|