I saw that Jessica from Good Cheap Eats and several other bloggers are hosting a pantry challenge this month. I participated in something similar two years ago in January. This time, though, will be different.
First of all, I think I overdid it last time. I used up EVERYTHING we had, and since my couponing went on the decline soon after, I never felt like my pantry truly recovered.
As I started thinking about participating this year, my focus went to the freezer. I honestly have NO idea what’s in my freezer.
I just know that every time I open it, things fall out.
So my primary goal for the month is to figure out what exactly is in there . . . and eat it.
If humanly possible.
While I knew that my freezer needed work, I was living in denial about my pantry. My stock was low on most things, so it couldn’t really be that bad . . . right?
And then I thought about the cookie mixes I’ve had for, ummmm . . . . a very long time.
That I’m pretty sure were “only recently expired” the last time I cleaned out the pantry.
That I considered using at Christmas time, but didn’t . . . because I knew they were so old.
But I still didn’t throw them away.
Sooooo, I decided that the first step was to throw out what we won’t eat . . . ever.
Those cookie mixes look sooo good, and I’m pretty sure they were almost free. But I can’t pretend they were a good buy while I’m throwing them in a trash after two years of taking up space in the cabinet.
Note to self: Start couponing again.
Second note to self: Donate cookie mixes immediately.
Once I pitched the stuff from the pantry, I tried to look in the freezer to figure out what was in it.
But it was cold. And I’m cold. I did see all the makings for smoothies before I slammed the door though, so we’ll have those for after-school snacks today and I’ll sneak another peek at that point.
My goal for the month is to either use or throw out most of the things in our freezer. That freezer. Because did I mention we also have an upright freezer out in the garage?
Are you trying to eat from your pantry this month?
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Taycia says
I need to do this too in a horrible way. My upright in the basement could use more love, and my drawer freezer is currently PACKED with random stuff like leftovers because i got in the habit of just putting leftovers into the freezer rather than depending on my family to actually eat them. So this is a good challenge for me to see what actually is in there and maybe plan a few meals around the leftovers i hoarded.
kris says
Making my meal plan and grocery list the other day I decided I need to plan around what it already in my freezer (upstairs and downstairs) and pantry to get some of the older stuff out of there. We’ll see how it goes.
Julie says
How funny! I just blogged about this as well, as part of my Big Organizational PurgeFest (getting ready for our big move at the end of the month). It’s definitely time to eat up and get rid of everything in the pantry and freezer! http://modernproverbs31woman.com/2012/01/02/the-big-organizational-packfest-challenge-assignment-2/
Beth Jones says
I spent all last week cleaning my laundry/pantry/freezer/store-room and it was extremely difficult to throw out all the fruit from 1998, but I knew it was for the best.
PS I also have all those cookie mixes that I got for free with couponing. I usually use a few for the superbowl and give the rest away because I like “from scratch” cooking anyway….
Nony says
Beth, I’m pretty sure I’ll be throwing out frozen cookie dough too! I can’t say how glad I was to know that my youngest child’s kindergarten cookie dough fundraiser this fall was our last!
Amanda says
I really need to do this, also. We have *2* chest freezers in the basement, plus the one over the fridge. I have a pantry in the basement for all of my home-canning in the summer, and a closet-sized pantry in the kitchen, and all of them are stuffed. This week, the entire menu was from what I had on hand, and I’m going to try to do this for the rest of the month. It’ll save on the grocery bill, too 🙂
Kate says
I swear we must have been separated at birth. I could have written this pretty much word for word. And, to make matters worse, we have the ‘regular’ fridge and freezer, another one in the laundry room, AND a huge upright freezer in the garage. Did I forget to mention there are only 3 people in our house? oy.
so, trying to reclaim my pantry and all of the freezers.
Alana in Canada says
Next month. I’m going to try a “no spend” month in February so we’ll eat from the pantry and freezer then.
Those side by side freezers are impossibly, by the way. My mom has one and we can NEVER find anything in it. We gave her a chest freezer one year–and admonished her to bring in only what she needed for the week once a week when she made her menus. (Vegetables and fruit and anything else you use daily could stay). Unfortunately she never did try that. I always wondered if it would help.
Maureen says
I tried to implement that system over a year ago, but only got half way there (I never fully purged the kitchen freezer). But, even half way implemented it seemed to work really well. I planned to only keep ice cream, snack components, and items from the weeks’ meal plan. The other thing that really helps me is an inventory of my chest freezer, when I maintain it. And maintaining it is easier to do when I’m only digging in it a couple of times a week because I’ve pulled everything to the other freezer after meal planning. I’m going to try to get back to those systems in the next month or two after we eat up some of the inventory this month and I have room to shuffle things around.
TyKes Mom says
Once or twice a year I shoot for a “Power Savings Month” in which I only buy food when absolutely necessary. Otherwise, we get super creative and use every last morsel in the refrigerator, freezer and pantry. It helps our budget and it also gives me a clean slate in the kitchen. Two birds with one stone!
Suanna says
I plan meals from my pantry freezer at least once a month. It’s not always a weeks worth of meals, but I look to see what we can use. I like to make 2-4 crockpot meals at a time, so I can freeze them and have one ready to thaw and use. They do take a little planning as they usually need 2 days to thaw enough to put in my crockpot. I have 3 freezers (1 upright and 2 attached to fridges) so I have certain things I keep in each freezer. It helps me know what I have and what I might need to restock on. Right now I need to defrost my upright in a big way.
amy says
fyi on the donate. dont’ donate anything that is past expiration date. It creates more work for the donation places because then they ahve to throw it out… just toss it. if the cookie mixes are still good till use by date then super. maybe this is a given but wasn’t sure by your post.
Nony says
Right. That’s why I was so frustrated to throw them away when I could have donated them earlier on.
amy says
ok..got it. i have been there..done that.. makes me sick!!! i have to stop planning and start doing. that is my main thing. I am starting a thing w/ my son. on day one we did the papers in his room. day two we did papers and then clothes. day three papers, clothes, books.. now i have to do the same for my ‘rooms.’ LOL really enjoy your blog
Lindsey J says
It’s truly amazing how much food I have. I’d done a clean-out the freezer in November, and then my husband told me I needed to make it thru the last two weeks of December without buying ANY groceries (except holiday food). I didn’t think it was possible, but it didn’t hurt a bit. And then today I made out a menu AGAIN using only things from the freezer and pantry, and other than buying a few potatoes, milk, eggs, and oj, we are going to again feed our whole family (of 7) with almost no expense ($25 for the week?). But I think at the end of this week I’ll have to really admit that whatever is left needs to be eaten or thrown. (this consists mostly of freezer burned vegetables)
Cherish says
Eating from the pantry…but only b/c I struggle to get back on track after vacation and I brilliantly filled my freezer with yummy things this time beforehand!
Michele says
I am also working on cleaning out the freezers.Ugh. Hoping to clean up our eating habits toward healthier meals, I just hate wasting food. Having pantry/freezer items that we never eat is one of the reasons I had to get away from the coupon binder method of shopping(my fav). Just like with getting clutter out of the house-asap, I find that you have to look at some of the great buys/finds the same way, donate asap, which is one of my 2012 resolutions. So many people can use those great finds with the economy, and sitting here in my stockpile room isn’t helping anyone. Good luck to everyone on their freezer/pantry projects.
Brit says
I don’t even HAVE a pantry. I wish I did. I have three cuboards for food stuff in my kitchen, and two shelves in a hall closet for things like flour and sugar and pasta. They aren’t even deep shelves, which is why they hold food, i can’t fit anything else on them!
And the freezer, well, it is full of fishes and butchers meat, so that is my hubbys job, bwahaha. Sadly it is more organized than the fridge, which is my job, but I did just clean it out, so it is looking pretty good right now, freezer included!
Donna says
Yes, I’m trying to do this and get back on track with my weekly meal planning, which was going beautifully before the crazy holiday season. Now if only I could make all of these things work and also stay on the healthy diet I just started…again…
Shannon says
Definately doing a freezer clean out. Before I went to stay with my father for 6 months, I stocked the pantry and freezers(I do most of the shopping). Well, he didn’t eat very much so I’ve got to hurry and get it cleaned out. It works well because we’re catching up some bills we let slide due to the holidays. The less we spend, the more we have to put toward the bills. Also, its time for a defrost.
Leena says
My freezer isn’t jam packed but it’s a mess anyhow and needs cleaning and defrosting. I usually clean the freezer at winter, ‘cos I can move the stuff outside and defrost the freezer with no rush. But the winter will not come! It’s above freezing point outside and it’s allready january, we should have -10 Celcius now!