Saturday, February 4, 2012

Taking Inventory

How to Tip of the Week: Take Inventory

It's time take inventory. This week spend an hour or two (depending on the size of your fridge, freezer, and pantry) taking inventory of what you have. Throw away anything that is outdated. Throw away anything in the freezer or fridge that is unidentifiable. Once that is done, take inventory of your staples. In our house the following are considered staples:

FRIDGE:
milk (non-fat and 2%)
eggs
cheese (please, please, please if you learn nothing else from me, remember this: don't waste money on shredded cheese, buy a brick and shred it. You save SOOOOO much this way)
cottage cheese
yogurt
butter/margarine

PANTRY:
white sugar
brown sugar
powdered sugar
flour
baking powder
baking soda
cornmeal
syrup
powdered coffee creamer
coffee
pancake mix (the just add water kind)
canned fruit (pears, peaches, fruit cocktail; in juice or water ONLY, no syrup) (we keep about 3-4 cans of each on hand)
canned veggies (corn and green beans) (we keep about 5 cans of each on hand)
canned tuna (5 cans)
canned chicken (5 cans)
canned stewed tomatoes (5 cans)
canned diced tomatoes (we like the kind with diced chilies) (5 cans)
canned diced chilies (3 cans)
canned kidney beans (5 cans)
canned garbanzo beans (5 cans)
canned black beans (5 cans)
brown rice
pasta (5 boxes/bags)
pasta sauce (5 jars) (we make our own in the summer, but we always keep canned/jars on hand)
a variety of cereal (I'm pregnant; I live off cereal some days)
oatmeal
raisins

FREEZER:
Ground turkey
Boneless skinless chicken breast
Shrimp
 
CONDIMENTS and SPICES:
ketchup (1 open and 1 on hand)
mayonnaise (1 open and 1 on hand)
mustard (1 open and 1 on hand)
Tapatio (1 open and 1 on hand)
Tabasco sauce (1 open and 1 on hand)
BBQ sauce (1 open and 2 on hand)
Buffalo sauce (1 open and 1 on hand)
salsa (in the summer, I make my own from the garden.)
taco seasoning (we buy the small packets when they're on sale, we usually have 4 in the house)
black pepper
salt
garlic powder (not salt)
parsley
oregano
minced onions
cinnamon
nutmeg
ginger

After you take inventory,
it's time to start stocking your kitchen. DON'T, I repeat DON'T go out and buy everything at once. It will cost you a fortune. Spend the next 4-6 weeks using coupons and shopping sales to stock your pantry. How much you need and what you need will depend on your "go to meals" and your family size. We will talk about "go to meals" later.

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