Though I am not bound to it, I think a budget of 10 bucks a week on average should do fairly well, but understand I am not counting anything I use from the pantry or freezer as a part of the budget amount.
I will post what we ate along with the total $$$ spent each week. My goal is to spend about 40 bucks total between now and the middle of November, and to clear out at least 1 shelf in the freezer. (the big shelf that will hold 3 turkeys!)
I am kind of low on fresh produce and coffee (drats!) but other than that I have a pretty good starting point.
Now I am off to inventory what I have and get as creative as I can so we will not have too many repeating meals.
Fingers crossed that Aldi will have some 99 cent onions this week. Just looked and I have only 2 left!
THIS IS NOT MY PANTRY!!! I WOULD NEVER BE THAT ORGANIZED OR NEAT!!!
I wish my pantry was that deep, but then I would just clutter it all up. I am due for an inventory and plan as well. I'll leanring fomr you and see what you come up with.
ReplyDeleteMine is a mess and it is really just a small closet. I inventoried the pantry tonight and I am kind of shocked at the amount of small jars of "stuff" I have. Tomorrow morning I will inventory the freezer. Ugh!
DeleteMine is just a small closet too and way too many small kitchen appliances in it! My sis has a giant pantry/laundry roomy with a ton of shelves. She has never cooked a lot (lived alone until her late 30s) so it's usually pretty empty.
DeleteI think I am almost glad I don't have that large of a pantry. I would fill it to the brim.
DeleteAs I read a post I am thinking about how I will comment. Reading this one, I was looking at the pantry and thinking it was the obvious pick.
ReplyDeleteI'm both devastated and relieved that it's not yours!
Aren't those shelves in the door just perfect?
I would never hae anything in my life that organized. Super organization is just not in my wheelhouse.
DeleteI hope Aldi does have onions on special. They are just about a staple aren't they? Or they are here. I am having a mushroom, potato and onion frittata tonight and it wouldn't be the same without the onion.
ReplyDeleteOnions are mandatory here too. I use them in just about everything savory I make
DeleteLooking closely at that photo, I'm guessing that I maybe have the same amount of stuff, just in different places in my kitchen. Spices are on two turntables in a cabinet next to the stove. Pasta, canned goods, flour and sugar are in a turnaround corner cabinet under the counter. Serving bowls in another cabinet and paper bags in another. It's handy having it in all one place I suppose, but I'm just as organized the way I do it. Work with what you have, I always say.
ReplyDeleteI think I wish I were very organized but I don't seem to have an organized brain!
DeleteLast time we had a big move across country, I tried to eat down everything in my pantry and freezer so we didn't have to deal with it during the move. It was amazing to me what we could eat when previously I would think we had nothing and needed to stock up. That was some of my most creative cooking. As far as pantries go, the one in the picture has about three times as much stuff as I currently have.
ReplyDeleteI have a lot but nowhere near as much, and also no where near as organized!
DeleteCome holiday shopping and I will miss having my large freezer since I buy several turkeys on sale.
ReplyDeletepparsimony
I usually buy a couple during the season. That is why I need to hit my freezer usage particularly hard.
DeleteSince my freezer tore up, I only have one above my small refrigerator! I have avalanches from there.
DeleteLord have mercy my pantry is is dire need of organization. Very interesting challenge. I don't think my hubby would do that though.
ReplyDeleteLord have mercy my pantry is is dire need of organization. Very interesting challenge. I don't think my hubby would do that though.
ReplyDeleteAs long as we eat well TheHub really doesn't mind these silly self imposed challenges
DeleteI just recently inventoried my dry and canned goods pantries. However, I haven't inventoried the freezer. We won't be buying turkeys, but I do want to stock up on cranberries and a few things like that.
ReplyDeleteMy pantry is done, including tossing a few things that are way beyond the use by date.
DeleteI hate it when that happens. I've gotten much better about rotating stock than I was when I first started keeping a stocked pantry. I use the old grocery store trick of newest in back and oldest in front to help me combat waste.
DeleteI used to have a pantry that was similar to that, but it was actually nicer. It was neater, too.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Well I am impressed with your neatness then. As of today mine is well organized, but tomorrow always comes1
DeleteI'm embarrassed to say but I probably have more than that - and I have 2 freezers in my basement! In my defence a lot goes back to when my youngest and his girlfriend lived with me but I really do need to eat it down. Hey, if you live on around $10 a week just think how much money you will have by Christmas. And the silly thing is, you will probably still eat really well anyway judging by the lovely recipes you post. I have realized that I don't need to shop every week to - it was just habit. I like the market but honestly I don't need anything else most weeks. I just have to get out of the habit of thinking I have to have EVERYTHING in in case I want to cook something - sometimes that "something" can wait till next week! Anna
DeleteI have OCD. Everything must be organized.
DeleteAnna, I think I shop on Wednesdays out of habit also, and I buy enough for a week even though I have an insane amount of food here already. Now that I am actively trying to use things up I am kind of shocked at how little disappears daily!
DeleteYour pantry is great Anne!
ReplyDeleteI try to shop once after the ads come out on Wednesday and then again the next Tuesday. That way, I can get grapes, for instance when they go on sale and then just before they go off sale, I can get grapes for the next week.
ReplyDeleteNow, Anne, we need to see your pantry.
I cut down on things going out of date by labeling with a china marker or indelible marker, once on the top and once on the front of the can in large letters and numbers. It really helps.
My pantry is a small closet with no light. I will see if I can get a picture of it where you can see anything
ReplyDelete