My family's meals were all planned ahead for the week and I was feeling quite organized. I made out the menu, put together the grocery list, and got my shopping all done in one trip. This week we were not going to waste any money on fast food or delivery meals. I was on a roll.
My bubble was burst, however, when I got home and started putting my groceries away. Lo and behold, I had purchased several items that I already had in my pantry. Now that wouldn't be a big problem except that I bought those items earlier at a great sale price and now have paid full price simply because I didn't remember I had them. Unnecessary pantry items purchased at full price. Ugh! Talk about wasting money.
So, starting today, I'm implementing a plan to organize and itemize my pantry so I never buy duplicates again at full price. To make it work for me, I'm going to set up 4 steps to follow. Here we go.
Step 1: Remove Everything From The Pantry. This will take a little time, so pick a day when you can dig in. Have a strong cup of tea or coffee, and begin. Pull all the food items, canned and dry, and check each one to see if they are damaged or expired. Throw out anything questionable. Now's your chance to wipe out the pantry and shelves.
Step 2: Categorizing Your Pantry items. Here's where your organizational skills come in. Group your pantry items by similarities, like canned vegetables, broth, snacks, dressings, soup, pasta, and so on. Lay your spices out alphabetically so you can easily check for duplications. You'll be surprised how many times you buy the same spices. Check all the items for expiration dates or damage and throw out anything that seems questionable.
Step 3: List The Contents Of Your Pantry. This is somewhat involved work, but it pays off. Make a "basics" list; a list of all the items that you use routinely, and tack it to the inside of your pantry or cupboard door. If you use an accounting type columnar pad, you can make tick marks in the columns to indicate how many of each item you have in the cupboard and draw a line through one when you use it. That way you can keep a running tally of how much of any one item you have. This seems more labor intense than it really is. Your ongoing list of items will get easier as time goes on.
Step 4: Use Your List On Shopping Day. If you're sitting down with your recipes for the week, you can now grab your pantry list and easily eliminate any unnecessary purchases. You won't pay full price again for staples in your pantry if you know ahead of time that you already bought those items the other week on sale. Now you will stock up on the basics, like canned tomatoes, rice, or broth, when you find a sale, and not buy at full price when you need it for tonight's dinner.
Wouldn't it be great if we always knew what food items we had in our pantry and never bought duplicates at anything other than a sale price? Once you dig out your pantry and discover all those hidden items tucked away in the dark corners, you'll see why a system and a list is important in saving money and time. You'll never go grocery shopping again without referring to your newly categorized and inventoried list of the basics. - 14915
My bubble was burst, however, when I got home and started putting my groceries away. Lo and behold, I had purchased several items that I already had in my pantry. Now that wouldn't be a big problem except that I bought those items earlier at a great sale price and now have paid full price simply because I didn't remember I had them. Unnecessary pantry items purchased at full price. Ugh! Talk about wasting money.
So, starting today, I'm implementing a plan to organize and itemize my pantry so I never buy duplicates again at full price. To make it work for me, I'm going to set up 4 steps to follow. Here we go.
Step 1: Remove Everything From The Pantry. This will take a little time, so pick a day when you can dig in. Have a strong cup of tea or coffee, and begin. Pull all the food items, canned and dry, and check each one to see if they are damaged or expired. Throw out anything questionable. Now's your chance to wipe out the pantry and shelves.
Step 2: Categorizing Your Pantry items. Here's where your organizational skills come in. Group your pantry items by similarities, like canned vegetables, broth, snacks, dressings, soup, pasta, and so on. Lay your spices out alphabetically so you can easily check for duplications. You'll be surprised how many times you buy the same spices. Check all the items for expiration dates or damage and throw out anything that seems questionable.
Step 3: List The Contents Of Your Pantry. This is somewhat involved work, but it pays off. Make a "basics" list; a list of all the items that you use routinely, and tack it to the inside of your pantry or cupboard door. If you use an accounting type columnar pad, you can make tick marks in the columns to indicate how many of each item you have in the cupboard and draw a line through one when you use it. That way you can keep a running tally of how much of any one item you have. This seems more labor intense than it really is. Your ongoing list of items will get easier as time goes on.
Step 4: Use Your List On Shopping Day. If you're sitting down with your recipes for the week, you can now grab your pantry list and easily eliminate any unnecessary purchases. You won't pay full price again for staples in your pantry if you know ahead of time that you already bought those items the other week on sale. Now you will stock up on the basics, like canned tomatoes, rice, or broth, when you find a sale, and not buy at full price when you need it for tonight's dinner.
Wouldn't it be great if we always knew what food items we had in our pantry and never bought duplicates at anything other than a sale price? Once you dig out your pantry and discover all those hidden items tucked away in the dark corners, you'll see why a system and a list is important in saving money and time. You'll never go grocery shopping again without referring to your newly categorized and inventoried list of the basics. - 14915
About the Author:
Nicole Dean is the mostly-sane mom behind ShowMomtheMoney.com - a fun and informative site to help moms achieve success working from home. She welcomes you to learn more ways to save money in her Kitchen Organization section. Be sure to sign up for her free tutorial for work at home moms.
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