![]() ![]() ![]() We now have a good supply of everything from olive oil and beans to sealed sugar and baking ingredients containers. Since the pandemic started, we have created a greater long term food storage pantry in our basement. We don’t have a proper pantry upstairs, but generally store our dry goods in kitchen cupboards and then have quick access canned goods in the stairwell pantry we made a few years back. I usually find them at our dollar store for about $3-5 but you can find similar ones on Amazon ( Canada / US). To corral similar items together, try using a freezer-friendly plastic bins. I generally organize ours to have breads, fruit, veggies, spreads and quick ingredients (like frozen herbs) in the kitchen freezer and then store meat and prepared meals in the mudroom freezer. If you have more than one freezer, like I do, then you maybe want to consider what you need access to quickly in your kitchen freezer and what could be kept for long term storage in a mudroom or basement freezer. Now you’ll need to figure out where all these categories will go in your freezer and pantry. Now that you have everything laid out and easy to see, it’s time to start grouping it into categories. When emptying the freezer or pantry, I lay clean dish towels or a bath towel on the kitchen floor and empty everything onto it. Just like I do every time I tackle decluttering a different space, I take everything out and give the space a good cleaning. Ready to get started?ġ) Empty Out the Freezer/Pantry & Clean It Keeping our Pantry & Freezer Inventory Lists up to date has really helped with making the most of our food supply and keeping me organized in the kitchen. How to Use the Pantry & Freezer Inventory Lists I keep everyday pantry items in our kitchen cupboards and then we have a larger pantry in our basement for long term canned food storage. We have a freezer in our kitchen (below our fridge) and a larger upright freezer in our mudroom for long term food storage. Track Different Pantry & Freezer Areas – We have two freezer spaces and two pantry spaces and this has worked well for us while we’re trying to maintain a greater food supply.I keep two separate lists for our kitchen freezer and our long term storage mudroom freezer, so there is no more running back and forth between the two looking for what I need. ![]() Save Time – No more rummaging through the freezer and cupboards looking for things that you need.You may also find you’re more likely to stock up on goods while they’re on sale to keep your pantry and freezer well stocked. Save Money – When you have less food waste you save money.Less Food Waste – Using items before they expire and not having too much of any one thing stocked means you’re far less likely to have food go to waste.More Efficient Shopping Trips – Before I head to the store, I snap a picture of my updated Inventory Lists, then when I’m at the store and see a good sale on a pantry or freezer staple, I can check if we already have enough on hand or should grab some more.Try New Recipes – Find a new recipe and not sure if you have everything that you need? Check your inventory and you might be pleasantly surprised.Easier Meal Planning – When you can look at your food at a glance, it’s easier to see what you have on hand and plan out meal ideas.Not sure if doing an inventory is worth the time? Pantry & Freezer Inventory Lists have helped us so much, especially this year and I think it will help you too! Why You Need a Pantry & Freezer Inventory Sign up form at the bottom of this post). ( Join my mailing list for FULL access, if you haven’t already. You can get a FREE PDF Download of the lists in my Printables Vault. Right now I’m doing my January Declutter Detox and I’m using these lists while I tackle both spaces this month. It’s easy to stock up and then lose track of what you have, so that’s where I’ve found Pantry & Freezer Inventory Lists to come in handy. That being said, having a good food storage supply only works if you’re regularly using the food and rotating it out. Since then, we’ve been constantly working towards having a greater food storage supply and now only do a grocery shopping trip twice a month, compared to the twice weekly trips I used to do. It gave us the cushion we needed until we were able to come out of quarantine and head out to the store. When we came back from vacation last March and then went right into lockdown here in Ontario, I was SO GLAD that we had been prepared for an emergency situation. Living out in the country where we get bad winter storms, we’ve always made sure to have a stockpile of food “just in case”. Tired of rummaging through the freezer for something for dinner? Or running out of pantry staples because you forgot what you had on hand? Try my Pantry & Freezer Inventory Lists to get your food management under control, saving you time and money. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |