You’ve set up your pantry and it is now well stocked. How do you keep track of what food you have on hand? It’s important to know what you have in your pantry so you don’t end up with food that is not going to be eaten. There are many different forms available online for taking a pantry inventory. Here are several links: FaithProvisions.com, HiddenHermit’s blog, and OrganizedHome.com . Frugal-Families.com offers a download for your pantry that is divided up into sections such as dry goods, canned goods, etc. This should help you get started and help you to realize that taking an inventory for your pantry is not difficult, it just takes some time.
The first step in taking an inventory is to set aside some time to do a complete job. Print out or create an inventory sheet. It can be as simple as taking a blank sheet of paper and separating it into categories for the types of food you find in your pantry; such as canned goods, grains, baking supplies, pasta etc.
Working a section at a time, empty a shelf, and pull out everything single thing.
Take your list and start filling it out. As you go along check the expiration dates and remove expired items. Also remove those items which you will never eat, perhaps you purchased the item for a specific recipe, which you never made, or it’s something you don’t really like.
Once everything is removed and you’ve tossed the expired items and have a pile of items to donate, clean off the shelves. When you put everything back in the pantry you want to put things way on clean shelves.
Put everything back as neatly as possible, keeping like items with like. For example, all your oils in one spot and your spices in another. If you keep your inventory in a handy place you can use it as a reference when you are going grocery shopping and for planning your future meals. Knowing what you have on hand makes it easier to plan meals and helps you to make the best possible use of what you do have in the pantry.
I try to make the time to do an inventory several times a year. It gives me the opportunity to stay on tip of what I have and make the best use of my purchases. In the spring I do an inventory so I’ll know what I need to can during the summer harvest from the garden. As we head into the fall I will complete another inventory to give me an idea of what I have managed to store for the winter.
Nancy on the Home Front 