When my partner and I moved in together, we combined kitchens that were in disarray. I lived alone and was used to cooking for one, if I cooked at all. She had been in recovery from some medical issues, and relied on pre-packaged and frozen meals to hold over her tribe.
When I moved in, things changed. Not only was I another mouth to feed, but we decided that it was time to break the unhealthy habits of dining out and eating pre-packaged and frozen items. We also decided to make and stick to a budget with a goal of paying down debts that we both brought to the table.
So how do you combine eating healthier with a budget? Well, that’s what this site is all about! And for us, it started with stocking up on the essentials.
What are Pantry Essentials?
At first, we found ourselves running to the grocery store…a lot. We’d try to make something for ourselves and a hungry teenager and pre-teenager. But we often found we lacked something essential, such as flour, sugar, a vinegar, a spice. Eventually, we built up a collection.
After building a collection, we wanted to start planning meals around what we already had in order to save on grocery bills. But what were we still missing?
As we learned, a well-stocked pantry is a project with some up-front cost against your grocery budget, but with long-term benefits. Once your pantry is stocked with staples, your grocery budget goes down.
We used a list created by the folks over at Budget Bytes. Obviously, tailor this for your own needs. For example, we don’t bake, so we left off things like baking and cocoa powder, as well as any item that hit our allergy list.
Once stocked, the grocery bill went down because we were now buying mostly perishable and one-time use items. In addition, we could build our meal plans around the staples we already have, and plan to pick up staples when they are on sale.
Related: How to Build an Emergency Savings Account
How to Organize Your Pantry
- Pull everything out, and group any duplicates together
- Toss anything long-expired
- Donate anything not expired that you aren’t going to consume
- Where possible, combine any duplicates into either one original container or into larger containers.
- If possible, group your spice cabinet into categories so you can better find and take stock of what you need. We grouped together: dried herbs, ground savory spices (turmeric, cumin, etc.), ground sweet spices (nutmeg, cinnamon), salt-based seasonings (seasoned salt, Old Bay, etc.), salts, peppers, etc.
Speaking of turmeric and cumin, have you tried this Instant Pot Moroccan Chicken dish?
A good cabinet audit, update and organization will help prevent purchasing things you already have, and help you build meal plans around what you already have, thus saving in your grocery budget!
