• Home
  • Get Started!
  • About
  • Blog
    • Cleaning
    • decluttering
    • organization
    • All posts
  • Podcast
  • Books
    • Organizing for the Rest of Us
      • Claim Your Preorder Bonus
    • Decluttering at the Speed of Life
    • How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind
  • Video
  • Shortcut Solutions
    • Take Your House Back
    • 14 Days to Opening Your Front Door to Guests e-book
    • Make Dinner Happen
    • The 5 Day Clutter Shakedown Video Course
    • Printable Checklists E-Book from A Slob Comes Clean
    • Teaching Kids to Clean e-book
    • Giving God the Worst of Me - free e-book
    • My Book Publishing Journey
  • Decluttering Certification

Dana K. White

A SLOB COMES CLEAN

Reality-Based Cleaning, Decluttering, & Organizing

 

  • Contact
  • TV & Media
  • Speaking

  • Home
  • Get Started!
  • About
  • Blog
    • Cleaning
    • decluttering
    • organization
    • All posts
  • Podcast
  • Books
    • Organizing for the Rest of Us
      • Claim Your Preorder Bonus
    • Decluttering at the Speed of Life
    • How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind
  • Video
  • Shortcut Solutions
    • Take Your House Back
    • 14 Days to Opening Your Front Door to Guests e-book
    • Make Dinner Happen
    • The 5 Day Clutter Shakedown Video Course
    • Printable Checklists E-Book from A Slob Comes Clean
    • Teaching Kids to Clean e-book
    • Giving God the Worst of Me - free e-book
    • My Book Publishing Journey
  • Decluttering Certification
Videos
Blog
Podcast
Products & Courses
Books
About

The Pantry Challenge is OVER!!!!!

January 25, 2010 By Dana White | 2 Comments

  • 2shares
  • 0
  • 0
  • 2

Today is PAYDAY! Can you feel the joy?

I enjoyed the pantry challenge. Really . . . I did.

The first three weeks I was excited, felt a great sense of pride and accomplishment, and thought I could probably go on doing it indefinitely.

Last week, I was mad. I think I actually said at one point to hubby when he was tiptoeing around me, “And I’m so tired of this stupid pantry challenge!”

Yes, I’m very mature.

But I did learn a LOT. It helped me refocus my true frugal nature, reminding me that 5 dollars spent to stock up on an item that we’ll never finish before it goes bad . . . is not 5 dollars saved; it’s 5 dollars wasted.

The biggest eye-opener that I experienced was using cash. I’ll definitely keep doing that. My weekly budget will double, but the cash will keep me from spending the last half of the month’s budget in the first two weeks. It also helps me evaluate how much “real money” I’m spending. It may feel good to pay 8$ at Walgreens and get back a 10$ Register reward, but when that’s 8$ cash gone from the envelope, it is still spending.

I was able to make my goal of saving 100$ from January’s grocery budget to go into the emergency fund. That felt fantastic! I’m making it a goal to do the same this month! As a SAHM, this is my way to “earn” money.

So what now? Run, don’t walk, to the nearest grocery store and buy like crazy? No.

My plan is to keep eating from the pantry, but start stocking up on sale items. This week’s menu is based primarily on what we already have, but with more “have to buy” items to complete the meals.

Monday – Brisket with gravy over mashed potatoes. (The link is to another MPM post where I shared the recipe. You’ll have to scroll down a bit to get to the recipe.)

Tuesday – BBQ chicken sandwiches

Wednesday – Meatballs in mushroom gravy over rice.

Thursday – Salmon croquettes and oven fries.

Friday – OUT to EAT!!!

Saturday – Pizza pockets

Sunday – Taco Soup using precooked ground beef and frozen pre-cooked beans.

I’m linking up to Menu Plan Monday over at orgjunkie.com. Go there for lots of great inspiration. I’m also linking at Moneysavingmom.com’s Pantry Challenge update.

Related Posts:

Read Newer Post Daily Checklist –
Read Older Post My New Non-Negotiable for the Week

Filed Under: Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    January 26, 2010 at 5:33 pm

    When I use cash for groceries I feel more in control. I just can't find any good ads for grocery anymore.

    Reply
  2. Lila B. says

    March 8, 2016 at 2:36 pm

    “But I did learn a LOT. It helped me refocus my true frugal nature, reminding me that 5 dollars spent to stock up on an item that we’ll never finish before it goes bad . . . is not 5 dollars saved; it’s 5 dollars wasted.”

    Amen!!! That’s the lesson I am currently learning. I did a smaller version of the pantry challenge — I tried to only make meals from what we had on hand(fridge, freezer, pantry). If we needed something, I went ahead and got it — but it was quite the eye opener! Seeing how much I was wasting just really floored me!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

A Slob Comes Clean is the completely honest (and never-ending) story of my deslobification process. As I find ways to keep my home under control, I share the truth about cleaning and organization methods that actually work for a real-life slob. And I'm funny.

About Dana Get Started

Solutions to Your Biggest Decluttering Problems:


The Container Concept Explained:

YouTube player

Dana's YouTube Channel

Popular Posts

Why-I-Have-To-Run-My-Dishwasher-Every-Single-Night-at-ASlobComesClean.com sidebar
Five Truths about a Clean Kitchen even without a dishwasher at ASlobComesClean.com sidebar
How to Clean a Messy House at ASlobComesClean.com sidebar

Topics:

blogcast Cleaning daily checklist decluttering failures figuring myself out kitchen laundry Menu Plan Monday organization parenting podcasts progress random stories reader stories recipes sponsored posts Uncategorized

Want solutions to your biggest decluttering problems?

Join the newsletter and I'll start by teaching you how to declutter without making a bigger mess.

  • Home
  • Get Started!
  • About
  • Blog
    • Cleaning
    • decluttering
    • organization
    • All posts
  • Podcast
  • Books
    • Organizing for the Rest of Us
      • Claim Your Preorder Bonus
    • Decluttering at the Speed of Life
    • How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind
  • Video
  • Shortcut Solutions
    • Take Your House Back
    • 14 Days to Opening Your Front Door to Guests e-book
    • Make Dinner Happen
    • The 5 Day Clutter Shakedown Video Course
    • Printable Checklists E-Book from A Slob Comes Clean
    • Teaching Kids to Clean e-book
    • Giving God the Worst of Me – free e-book
    • My Book Publishing Journey
  • Decluttering Certification
Search

  • Contact
  • TV & Media
  • Speaking

© Dana K. White | Site by Little Leaf Design