Happy new year to everyone
We’ve had a fairly typical January 1st. We eat black eyed peas and cabbage, always, as it’s a Southern tradition we just like.
The little statue is a thrift store find, maybe 10 years ago. I liked him when I bought him and I especially like him now as he looks so much like one of our grandsons.
In December, I realized I have just been buying more groceries than we really need. So, I bought a lot fewer groceries last month and we still have so much on hand.
So, my plan is to buy nothing in January except fresh things like eggs and produce. And if we run out of a staple that’s essential, I may buy it if needed. My hope is to spend less than $100 this pay period.
(Our pay periods don’t run exactly by a calendar month but start around the 25th or so of each month.
Bottom of pantry
Bottom of pantry
Top of pantry
The freezer section of our refrigerator
2 photos inside the Upright freezer
And I think there is a turkey in the freezer in the little fridge in my husband’s workshop.
We have more than enough meat on hand, plenty of baking supplies, frozen vegetables, juice, nuts.
We have more than enough meat on hand, plenty of baking supplies, frozen vegetables, juice, nuts.
The pantry is full of canned goods, condiments, more baking supplies and dry goods.
I’m not trying to go minimalist but many of our foodstuffs are going unused and I’m not wanting to buy new things and let current food go bad.
As January goes on, I’ll share some the dishes I’m cooking.
I’ve seen several other pantry type challenges online. I’m not linking up to them but may I peek in on a few of them for inspiration.
Are any of you doing pantry challenges right now?
I am not really doing one of those hard and fast pantry challenges, but like you I am overstocked. I spent today organizing the freezer and recording the contents to help me better plan our meals. I only want to buy fresh produce and eggs this month. We really don't use much milk at all so I should be good there, though I might buy one carton of coconut milk.
ReplyDeleteHi Anne, if we have grandchildren here for an overnight stay, I usually get a gallon of milk.
DeleteI use milk in my hot tea and for cooking and the occasional bowl of cereal. I have 10 quarts of boxed ready to drink milk in the pantry that should be more than sufficient for me and husband.
I hope we are both successful in this low spend, use it up month
Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteI am with you.
I also have more than we need.
I tend to make meal plans and then buy things, rather than use what I already have to plan!
Thank you for the inspiration!
Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteI am with you also. I just don't know yet how far I can go down. Your $100 sounds like a good number.
Have a great week!
Happy New Year to you Rhonda. May you have a fabulous 2019. You really do have a lot of food. I have far less on hand but I don't feed nearly as many people as you do. I know you prepare big meals for many family members. I also don't have the space to put what I do have and I haven't been buying a lot for months now. I sure wish I had a nice closed pantry like you do so I wouldn't have to look at it, lol.
ReplyDeleteHi Rhonda,
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you and your family. We have been eating from our stockpile and we continue to do so except for meat. The freezer is going down also. I too am looking at our storage and using up what will be expiring soon. I hate waste. I have shared our storage over the last couple of months with family and a friend. I am hoping to get down to a manageable amount in the next couple of months. So most of our grocery money will be spent on meat and fish, vegetables and fruits, and dairy.
Pantry and freezers look great. Same here - going to go for a no spend month. Using what we have gives us an incentive to get creative.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week.
Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteI'm overstocked as well and am planning on eating down the pantry and freezer. I'll buy fresh things (milk, cheese, produce, etc), but I'm going to try to keep my grocery bill as low as possible this month in order to use up things we have and clear out some space. It's going to take getting creative in a few places, I think, but that's okay, I'm looking forward to the challenge. The only thing I make stock up on might be green peppers- if I see a good sale, I'm buying a bunch and chopping and freezing them; I think my freezer stock is getting low and I use those frequently. Other than that, bring on the pantry challenge!!!
Happy New Year! I have missed seeing your posts. I am working on restocking my pantry this month, yet I also want to use up several items to make room for others that we need more. I look forward to your recipes!
ReplyDeleteYour storage seems like it's well organized so that should be helpful as you work towards your goal of using things up.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year
Debra
Looks like you're pretty well stocked up. I'm not doing any kind of pantry challenge, but I did discover today that we have soup in the freezer (a tomato split pea and one called October soup) from November. So we need to eat that before it goes bad. Funny thing is, I'm making a pot of soup today because I have turkey Italian sausage and fennel in the fridge that need to be used up!
ReplyDeleteI think we all have the same goals. No more food until what we have is eaten up. We really have just so much food we don't need to buy more!
ReplyDeleteMe! Me!! *waving my hand* Lots of food in the pantry and freezerS. Not going to look at the grocery ads for a month and only get produce and whatever dairy we need (eggs, milk, halfnhalf). If dh wants bread, I might get that for him. I don't eat it much. Or I'll make him a loaf. I'm hoping to rarely use my credit cards for the next 2 months either. Just feeling the need to cut back and be more mindful.
ReplyDeleteYou know I am. I look forward to this challenge each January.
ReplyDeleteWe are overstocked in some areas, too. My plan is to cut it back to perishables at Aldi and one more store which will be the one with the best deals. This week I got 5 free pkg of sliced Colby cheese, 50 cent boxes of Special K and boxes of Kind bars for $1. All of those items get eaten regularly and I would not want to come to the end of January and have to pay full price for them. We did stop at Lidl too for pork loins for .89 a pound. We were about out of pork chops and we like to roast these and run them through the slicer for sandwiches.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't planned on doing a pantry challenge but got a $388 vet bill yesterday because the dog hurt her leg. I have to bring her back next week so even more to come. I have plenty in the house and I received $100 grocery gift card for Christmas. I should be good.
ReplyDeleteLove the kiddie beds! I also like the pantry shelves. My paint is coming up on my kitchen shelves and I was just thinking the other day that I wanted to line them and put a fake lace trim. Seeing your shelves I have a better idea on how to do it.
ReplyDelete