Menu Planning: Taking Inventory

While I myself probably need a lot of tips in this area, today’s focus is going to be on organizing and taking inventory of your FOOD. It is important to know what you have on hand, and also to know what food needs to be eaten. While I don’t necessarily eat “exactly” in order of expiration, I do highlight the items that need to get eaten first, and form meal plans from those items. This one day of organization saves me so much time, energy and…you guessed it- Money!! Imagine all the food that won’t go to waste or forever be forgotten in the back of that one shelf in the freezer, doomed to freezer burn and the ultimate sacrifice to the trash mound.

Clearly everyone will have a different method or idea of how this needs to be done, but the point here is it NEEDs to be done! I will just explain what I do, and you can take it and alter it for your own situation. I break my inventory into the general areas of where I keep food: Fridge, main freezer, secondary freezer, main pantry, secondary pantry (for many of us, these may be ” pantry under bed #1, under bed #2″ LOL). I just write everything down on some note paper and divide it into categories like fruit/veg, bread, dairy, meat, baking, misc. I try to keep it simple, so if I have something like a veggie burger, I list that in with the meat, since its meant to be eaten as a burger, not a veggie side dish.

Fridge: I do an inventory of the fridge every week to make my meal plans. This is where things go bad the fastest, so it is the place you have to keep up with the most. Veggies about to go bad? Cook them and make something, or chop and freeze. Sour cream been open close to too long? Make a cream soup or Mexican that night for dinner. I think most of us probably keep track in our heads of what we have,  but then again, how often do you say “Aww, darn! I forgot to use that” and in the trash it goes? Thus the value of writing it down and planning your meals. Of course, that requires follow through as well.

Freezer #1: This is your in kitchen freezer- and you may very well choose to take a weekly inventory of it as well. I don’t- I think I officially dig through it every 3 months. I have a chest freezer too, so I may organize it a little differently than you. I keep the things I use most often here (flours, baby food, dry buttermilk), food I have made and frozen that need to be eaten soon (breads, muffins, waffles), and things that need to be eaten soon. Everything else goes out in the chest freezer. I keep meats on the bottom shelf (heat rises), veggies/baby food/dairy in the middle, and premade/bread on top, a long with things we are eating this week. They won’t be so rock hard solid, and don’t stay there long.

Freezer #2: This is our chest freezer. I keep heavy things, large things, items I have a ton of, and meat on the bottom. The baskets have small things, and things that need to be transferred to the inside freezer soon. One  basket is for veggies/sides, one for small meats (hot dogs, bacon), and one for misc/premade. I take inventory once every 3 months, and organize while I’m doing it.

Main pantry: I organize in sections, like breakfast items, canned goods, pasta/rice, beverages, baking supplies, etc. Nothing goes on the floor that can be gotten into by bugs- So its a good place to keep cookbooks, large canned goods, boxes. I don’t recommend keeping potatoes here. Don’t make me remember why, please!! UCK. I take inventory every 3 months, and I *try* to label what is open, as well as organize on the shelf in order of expiration. Generally I just know how long I’ve had something, and put that out first.

Secondary Pantry: Same as first. Organize in sections, take inventory every 3 months. Rotate things out to main pantry once a month, so you aren’t constantly running back and forth all day getting this and that. I keep extra food in the secondary pantry, my “stockpile” you could say.

WHEW. Ok. When you are done, and have your lists of each section, look through it. I try to circle all the things I see that need to be eaten soon, and make my next few weeks’ meal plans accordingly. This may be too much for some of you, but it may also be too much FUN for some of you- But I then enter all the food into an excel file (except the fridge). For some of you, every time you go shopping or get through a week’s meals, you will update your excel file. Let’s just say I’m not quite that organized! So while things generally don’t get too crazy, I just do an updated list every3 months. When you sit down to plan your meals each week, just look in your excel file, see what you have, what needs to be eaten, and plan around that. Running to the grocery store is then just filling in, or taking advantage of great sales. Also, while you are on this step, make a list of things you are running low of or out of. Then keep an eye out for coupons and good sales on those items.

Ta-da! You’re done

That didn’t take all that long did it? Maybe it did…but it’s worth it in time. As for me, I’m going to have some Chai Tea to celebrate my productive, money saving day. How about you?

Here’s to living: Happier, Healthier, more FRUGAL lives!

~FrugalMegan~