Pantry Purge Tip 4: Pantry Triage

Week 4 (Mar.12 -19): Pantry Pare-Down, Pot luck, and Food Drive.

The Pantry Purge Challenge   I'm a bit off schedule with my own pantry purge, but I've planned my pot luck and I've decanted my flour so expect a few more tips , and then we'll be wrapping up with a pot-luck and food drive. Don't forget to Enter the Challenge by March 23rd! See prizes and entry here! All you have to do is follow this blog to enter, you won't miss any tips and you'll be eligible for one of the drawing prizes.

If you're like me you're shelves are getting bare and you'd really like to be done with this already. Hopefully you've gotten into the habit of making meal plans to help with using the food you have already and generating a good shopping list. As you start clearing and organizing your shelves you will likely encounter cans jars and boxes with mysterious codes and dates. I'm going to help you with what to do with all of them with the next tip.

Pantry Purge Tip #4:

Pantry Triage.  Things will fall into three categories: toss, keep (and plan to use), and donate. It seems simple toss out of date or spoiled food, and below are some links that can help with that. Don't feel too bad, with your new less cluttered pantry and meal plan food won't be going bad as often. Next keep the food that you plan on using. If you have been pantry purging with us for a couple of weeks you will have an idea of what your family actually eats. Which leaves you with, in my case 3 cans of perfectly good re-fried beans. I've stopped trying to give them to my son, and my husband not really a fan. So I will donate them, and I'll tell you how to do this too.

 

 

Food to TOSS:

the USDA has food dating and safety guidelines online, but I found it a bit dense. I was genuinely surprised to learn that only baby formula is required to have a "use by" date. Which leaves you to wonder how long you really can hang on to those dry lentils before you decide its best to just use them for bean bag filling. This is the most strait forward guide to pantry storage times that I've been able to find on the web and was prepared Kansas State University and adapted from materials prepared by USDA and by the University of Missouri Extension Service. So you know its researched but it is written in plain English. Dow load the PDF and hang in on the back of the pantry door. If you can or preserve your own foods check out Cornell's Evidenced Based Living site for the latest and best research.

custom jar tags from DillyBags

Food to KEEP:

I found this to be the hard part. I like having a full pantry. I like having choices right at hand, but I decided to purge my pantry so that I actually have a good idea of what there is to eat in the house, and to make sure it was the kinds of things I want my family to eat. I took the time to decant my flour (I like to bake so there were 4 varieties) and line up my cans. You will soon realize that a little organization and labeling will go a long way. In fact, I am smack dab in the middle of this process right now. Even after weeks of being in purge mode,  I still have a lot of food!  I'm fortunate, even blessed. This very blessing, however, had become a cluttered, impenetrable mess that caused me to waste money on duplicate purchases and time looking for staples. Ultimately, more will have to go.

Food to Donate:

There is a point when I had to realize that that double club pack of mustard will not be used by its expiration date. So I started a donate box. I will be donating my food to a my local food pantry: Food Bank of WNY and you can locate your local food bank via Feeding America.  I was going to include a list of what they need but if it is non-perishable, they probably need it.  If not a food bank consider your place of worship, neighbor, or friend.  Why not ask around before wasting that 95% full jar of peanut butter, just because you discovered your kid is allergic. I'm sure someone will use it.

My Pantry Purge Progress

I'm getting to the fun part around here. I'll be posting pictures of my newly organized pantry very very soon. My Pot-luck won't be until next week but I did get some prized lined up for you guys. Enter the Challenge by March 23rd! See prizes and entry here.

 

 Join the Pantry Purge!

Its Easy!
First Subscribe Here:  Subscribe in a reader or Subscribe by Email

Next, leave a comment (or two)!
We want to hear all about your purge trials, tips, triumphs and furry Asian fruit. :)

Don't forget to Enter the Challenge by March 23rd! See prizes and entry here

Last, take a look all of the past Pantry Purge Post!

Don't for get to grab a Pantry Purge Button for your blog. ============>>

<===Last Tip #3: Conquer the Clean Out

Pantry Purge Tip #3: Conquer the Clean-out

The Pantry Purge Challenge Week 2 (Feb. 27- Mar. 4): When to toss, Dinner (now!); the convince of cooking from scratch.

As many of you know I was sick this week, and in reality I still am sick.  But life goes on. Off course I am behind my on my own pantry purge and my post!  All I can so is accept the fact that we will have to take our schedule as more of a suggestion.

This week is all about getting in there and doing the work of clearing out you pantry.  You’ve already stopped buying with out thinking, and you should have a plan for your meals, this week.  Its been at least 2 but probably 3 weeks since I’ve done much shopping and I finally decided it was time to start restocking the pantry very soon.  Veronica is going to give us some grate tips on using technology to create and manage your shopping list.  Before I do that, I’m going to spend a little time tidying the items I have left. 

We have a lot of food storage space, and it tends to spread itself out over several areas.  In the actual pantry, next to the stove, the fridge, the freezer in the basement, spices and teas in yet another area.  Cleaning it out, I mean down to the contact paper, is something that I look at with a little dread. 

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One shelf at a time!

Pantry Purge Tip #3:

Divide & conquer the clean out..  At this beginning of this week, I started to see some of the actual boards under the endless partial eaten boxes of cereal.  Time to organize what’s left. Two shelves a day, then one day for the fridge and freezer.  It’s a 10-20 min. task each day for a week.  I’m saving the refrigerator and freezer for garbage day.  This week we will be throwing things away.

Each day I think of what I want to be on that shelf, and then look at what is actually there.  Storing like items together gives you the best idea of how much of one thing you have.  I just figured out that the kids can now reach the lowest pantry shelf, so I think I’m going to put items that I wouldn’t mind if they snack on whenever.  Maybe the candy and chips will go somewhere else.

Source: fairlightday.tumblr.com via Kisha on Pinterest

My Pantry Purge Progress

Because I've been a bit sofa bound, I was thinking about keeping motivated on this project. There was too much actual purging I could take care of, so I spend a little time on Pintrest, I've started a Pantry Purge Challenge Inspiration to share with you all. As a bit of a carrot for myself I put together a For the Pantry Treasury on Etsy items. I might treat myself to one (or more of) when my pantry is all sparkling at the end.

I've also started planning my Pantry Purge Pot-luck and Food Drive! Of  course finding friends is easy, and setting a date can be done, but also be sure to locate your local food bank via Feeding America, to find out what's needed in your area.

Join the Pantry Purge!

Its Easy!
First Subscribe Here:  Subscribe in a reader or Subscribe by Email

Next, leave a comment (or two)!
We want to hear all about your purge trials, tips, triumphs and furry Asian fruit. :)

Last, take a look all of the past Pantry Purge Post!

Don't for get to grab a Pantry Purge Button for your blog. ============>>

<=====LAST TIP #2: Make A Plan

=====> Next TIP #4: Pantry Triage

Pantry Purge: Tip #2: Make A Plan.

Week 1 (Feb. 19-26): Start by stopping (buying things at the store blindly)

We're going to continue our theme this week with our next tip!

Pantry Purge Tip #2

Make a Weekly Meal Plan. It seems like common sense but I often try to skip making a plan.  When I do I find my self flustered in the grocery store, and flummoxed at 4:30. A plan saves time, a plan saves energy, a plan will help you used the things you already have in the pantry!  It doesn't have to be elaborate (mine is hand drawn on graph paper and photocopied 5 or 6 at a time. The most important line is the activities line. Your not going to spend 4 hours roasting and basting on an evening when you've got swim lessons and book club. Stand in the kitchen or pantry while you're making this list. Try to start with things that you already have.

First scribble in a Meatless Monday, and perhaps fish on Friday, of course some thing from the Dinner (now!) series for those completely over scheduled days. Then your only left with four days to plan. I like to get the kids and the husband involved. They each have a favorite and even if my Princess-A always suggest pasta, its only once in the week and its easy to accommodate her. Before you know it you've got a plan. I keep the sheets from week to week.  heck sometimes I just reuse a previous week's plan in a pinch  Here is a great example of a vegan meal plan for a healthy week of very interesting and tasty food from The Simple Boxcar. She's even linked to recipes!

My Pantry Purge Progress

Get a one here

I completely didn't make a plan this week! yikes! I wasn't planning on a big shopping trip, so I though I could skip it. It was a bit of a mistake. Especially as we're going through this purge, there was a little bit of dinner panic over here. We survived but I won't be doing that experiment again for a long, long time! What's on your meal plan for this week!

Here's a link to my meal plan sheet: please print & share!
Weekly Meal Plan

 

Join the Pantry Purge!

Its Easy!
First Subscribe Here:
 Subscribe in a reader or Subscribe by Email

Next, leave a comment (or two)!
We want to hear all about your purge trials, tips, triumphs and furry Asian fruit. :)

Last, take a look all of the past Pantry Purge Post!

Don't for get to grab a Pantry Purge Button for your blog.

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<=== Last Tip #1: Stop Buying
===> Next Tip #3: Conquer the Clean Out

Pantry Purge First Step: Stop Buying!

Week 1 (Feb. 19-26): Start by stopping (buying things at the store blindly)

This post is your first step to a lean, clutter-free and sustaining food pantry. I've included the first Pantry Purge Tip, I bit on my own progress, and an introduction to some of the other blogs and bloggers who will be helping me with this series.

Pantry Purge Tip #1

Stop buying, especially different varieties of the same item. If there is cereal in the pantry, don't buy another variety of the essentially the same thing. If there are honey O's or crispy rice on the shelf that's what my kids will eat. If we run out, they will eat what we have. Of course, I started my Purge two weeks ago, with this one tip. So, I stopped buying cereal. Guess what, we still have 9 boxes, NINE! You know what, you can mix the last of several boxes, no one will know.

This easily applies to pasta, cans of beans, chips, cookies or cheese. Take a look in your fridge and pantry and if there is more than one "kind" of something, chances you just haven't given the Maple Crunch Fiber Twinks enough of a chance.  Make a note, and stop buying more of that kind of thing until you've completely used up what you have.  You will also get a sense of what you really like. if  it ain't Maple Crunch Fiber Twinks, because it was the last lonely box, then just never buy it again.Your pantry will thank you!

My Pantry Purge Progress

Tonight, I made whole wheat penne, spinach, with a little red sauce that had been lurking in the freezer. Of course, there are at least a dozen styles of pasta in the pantry and I was happy to use one we often snub, not to mention the freezer sauce score. Then I went in the (over stuffed) dairy drawer for a bit of "sprinkle cheese" only to find this. Two half used blocks of Parmesan. Fortunately, we eat a lot of the stuff, and neither was even close to its expiration date. Still, the perfect example of why I need a Pantry Purge as much as everyone else. Cleaning up the clutter could have prevented this, and ultimately saved me some $$$!

My Pantry Purge Partners

I've asked a few bloggers, who I admire, for a hand with this series! So I will have a team of inspiring writers and pantry purgers with me on this journey. Let me introduce you to my talented team. I'm looking forward to a guest post from Sandra who writes Vegan Mother Hubbard and host a weekly Meatless Monday Blog Hop, all while baking beautiful treats and keeping up with twin toddler girls, and Veronica over at Crunchy VT Mommy who is a phenomenal photographer and tech-savvy mom of two just under two. Tips, tricks, photos and a meal plan or two should be comming from Ani who keeps it simple while homeschooling, knitting and cooking on The Simple Boxcar and of course my fellow Rust-Belt Belle and blogging buddy Jeanie who writes Life in Cleavland. Take a moment to check out their blogs, they're always full of great post. These ladies are getting me excited about this project, and I can't wait to hear from my partners.

Join the Pantry Purge!

Its Easy!
First Subscribe Here:
 Subscribe in a reader or Subscribe by Email

Next, leave a comment (or two)!
We want to hear all about your purge trials, tips, triumphs and furry Asian fruit. :)

Last, take a look all of the past Pantry Purge Post!

Don't for get to grab a Pantry Purge Button for your blog.

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