How do you keep track of your pantry?

[lrjohnson]

Originally Posted by scfr

2. Have a well-organized pantry - this is more important, IMHO... a 10-second scan of the pantry before heading to the store gives me a good sense of what we already have in case I come across a real bargain on something that's not on the list.

For my canned goods, they are in rows by type, kind of like on the shelves at the store. A row of refried beans, a row of veggies, a row of canned fruit, etc. When I look at my rows, I can see how short they are, and know which rows are "long" (I have enough).

I keep all like items together: pastas and rices on one shelf, condiments on one, etc. There's only a limited spot where ketchup would be, I don't have to search the whole shelves.

When I use an item all the way or even close, it goes on the list.

Periodically I "eat out of the pantry" to catch any items that seem to have gone out of rotation.

Maintaining this hasn't been hard; setting it up was not too time consuming either.

[frugalmomof1]

It's all in my head. I do all of the shopping and about 99% of the cooking, so I always know what I have in the house.

[DC?]

I don't really have a problem of keeping an inventory of my pantry. I have the problem of keeping it stocked! I live downtown with no car and I have to visit the grocery store every other day for two or three bags of groceries (family of three). We eat our meals at home and I usually just buy the ingredients I need for the next few days.

Advantages: fresh bread and produce. Disadvantage: walking four blocks each way to the store.

[LuxLiving]

Advantages of walking four blocks to the store? You're excercising off last night's supper. The disadvantages? You're hungry again from all that exercise!

DC, it sounds like a vicious cycle, but a body's got to eat, right?

[Aleta]

I use a legal sheet and tape it to my pantry door. On the top, I list possible menu' for about 2 weeks that are subject to change.

On the lower half of the paper, I list all items in my freezer by category. 4 lbs ground chuck in 1 lb packages, under Beef. On the righ side I have a list, and I put anythng on it that I'm running out of and anyone can write what they need as well. My husband likes that idea, because he can put bandaids there or shaving cream or whatever.

As for the canned foods, I use a sharpie pen and write a date on the front can, so I know how old a can is. I also rotate my cans by date I keep all of my fruit cans together and items that I don't use too often in another area.

Recently, I cleaned out the pantry and realized that there were items that had been there that we had forgotten about. After straightening the pantry, I put all of those items in the front so we could use them up.

About the freezer thing, by grouping your meats by category such as fish, beef, chicken, or whatever, you'll always know if you need to buy more of any product there. I also rotate the meat as well.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by DC?

I don't really have a problem of keeping an inventory of my pantry. I have the problem of keeping it stocked! I live downtown with no car and I have to visit the grocery store every other day for two or three bags of groceries

This is pretty standard practice in major downtown areas like Philly, NYC, etc. Housing is small, traffic is a mess and there aren't any major supermarkets around. Most food shopping is done at little neighborhood stores. We visited friends in Brooklyn once, folks who were doing very well financially, and were surprised that they had very little food in their apartment. But on the street where they lived, there were numerous stores selling groceries, produce, fresh fish, gourmet items, etc., along with half a dozen restaurants.

[DC?]

Originally Posted by LuxLiving

Advantages of walking four blocks to the store? You're excercising off last night's supper. The disadvantages? You're hungry again from all that exercise!

DC, it sounds like a vicious cycle, but a body's got to eat, right?

It is! But I'd rather use the money on cooking a roast chicken with potatoes and salad (a bottle of wine is nice, too) than filling up a car with gas. I still envy those of you who can make a weekly trip to the store.