The Last Thing To Do Before Throwing Away An Old Loaf Pan

Even with the highest quality, longest-lasting bakeware, there will come a day when it is time to retire it. Warping, rust, or non-stick surfaces becoming sticky are all signs that your loaf pan has seen its last banana bread. But that doesn't mean you have to throw it away.

A retired loaf pan is actually a perfect organizational tool for the home cook who loves to bake. Have you ever looked in a kitchen cabinet and seen a loose conglomeration of muffin tin liners, sprinkles, baking nuts, and more scattered across the shelf? Many baking items are small and liable to get lost, like piping equipment. This is your chance to organize the chaos and keep all of your small baking supplies and ingredients in one place. 

If you, like many bakers, get sentimentally attached to your bakeware, this is a great second life for it. Your favorite pan will now help keep you organized.

To use your retired bakeware for cupboard organization, begin by thoroughly washing and drying your pan. Once it is completely dry, you can fill it with baking supplies that would otherwise be sitting loose in your cupboard, like food dyes for cookies or poppyseeds for lemon poppyseed cake. This will ultimately help you keep track of items you have purchased, as well as keep your cupboard looking nice.

Make a label for the baking pan denoting that it holds baking supplies — this is especially useful if you use different types of organizational containers in your cupboards. Finally, make sure to mark anything that is not in its original packaging with an expiration date. That way, you don't end up accidentally baking with things that have already gone bad. Over the years as you retire more pans, you can build up more storage vessels, making your cupboard spaces uniformly organized.