Keeping an Organized Pantry

Keeping a neat and tidy home should be the goal for all Wives.

Something that is essential to me in the keeping of my own home is making sure my kitchen and pantry are organized.  I spend a ton of time cooking and laboring over homemade meals- I need to be able to find shit!  And let's face it- keeping an organized pantry saves you time and money.  Plain and simple.

I'm the first to admit that my pantry isn't fabulous but it works.  I am also battling a super small 1980's kitchen.  Did these people NOT eat?!?  Why so little storage space?  So my solution was to buy a pantry and stick it in my living room.  Ugh....I know...I know...

My Spice Drawer

Even with my extra pantry, which is really just a cabinet with 3 shelves, I still don't have enough room.  So I keep all my baking supplies in one cupboard in my kitchen and my spices go in a drawer near my oven where I can reach them easily while cooking.  As you can tell from the photo the left- it's a bit of a mess.  Is that a cell phone charger in there?!?  Chapstick?  Cash?!?

The goal to keeping an organized pantry is to have your items visible and easily accessible.  I also suggest stocking up when things are on sale and rotating your items so nothing expires.  This ensures you will always get a good price and always have that item available in your home.

My Pantry

Here's a peak at my pantry.  Full disclosure- I did NOT organize it before taking a photo.  It always looks this way- organized chaos I like to call it. Unless of course my son has been "helping" me unload groceries.  In that case, it's a mess.

You can see that my cans are lined up, forward facing by item.  This allows me to know when I'm running low on something.  Which BTW- see that empty space between the Pinto Beans & Black Beans?  That's where my Kidney Beans should go.  I totally ran out and the store I usually buy my organic Kidney Beans at has not had them in stock during my last 2 visits.  Oops!

I keep items that are currently being used towards the front of the pantry and simply place the extras behind them.  For example, the cereal boxes & crackers on the top left are lined up with the name of the item facing forward.  The unopened extra boxes are directly behind it.  So when we finish the item, I toss it and move the one behind up to the front.  Then I put that item on my grocery list so I can by a replacement & restock.  Make sense?

The Box

Sometimes I find a really good sale.  Like on the Cascadian Farms Purely O's cereal.  We don't usually have so many of them but I found them on sale for $.99 per box.  That's a savings of over $3!!!!  So you better believe I bought as many boxes as I could!  The additional extras were then placed at the bottom of my cabinet pantry, usually behind the cardboard box.  This is where I store all my items that I have stocked up on.

Keeping yourself organized does not have to cost you a buttload of money.  There is NO reason for you to

The Snack Basket

run out and buy fancy boxes, baskets and organizers.  I use a large cardboard box to store my extra plastic wraps, foils, ziploc baggies, extra bags of lentils & barley, extra dog treats, hot chocolate mixes, tea bags and yes, even my coffee filters.  I also have an old basket that I pulled the broken handle off of and I keep my snack foods in here.

Potatoes, extra paper napkins, larger sized items and my recipe book all go down on the bottom shelf on the right.

The big green bowl belongs to my son- he puts his candy from Christmas, Easter & Halloween in here.  There's also a package of Oreo's that he got after a soccer game & a can of Pringles in there.  Yuck!  This is his treat bowl.  I bought it on clearance after Halloween many, many years ago and it works great!  When he has earned a reward or treat, he's allowed to pick something out of this bowl.  And if I'm honest- most times after a meal he can grab a small piece of candy.  Don't tell him- but every month or so, I weed through his bowl and throw stuff out.  Shhh....

So there you have it.  A glimpse into my somewhat OCD life.  If you don't already have an organized pantry or some system in place- I highly recommend you work on it.  Get creative and use things you see around the house, improvise!  You can do it!

Canned Chili & Rice - Isn't That Nice!

Is your house like my house? 

We have finally finished up the school year at Edmonds Heights and I must confess, those last 3 weeks- I was limping along.  William had projects to finish, a martial arts belt ceremony to perform in, Fall registration was coming up & he couldn't register until I magically turned in his out of district variance form, I could NOT find that missing library book & I forgot to pre-order his yearbook so now he was screaming at me that he wouldn't get a yearbook.  How oh how would he ever remember the second grade without one?? 

And on top of all William's school stuff- I interviewed for & got a brand new job.  As in a REAL job.  Mommy has a "jobby job" now.  WooHoo!  And of course we've also been battling the dreaded "Man Cold".  Moms- you know the one....

So it should come as no surprise that dinner is low on the priority list.  Seriously....this last couple months I'm struggling to get dinner on the table.  I just don't have the desire to feed people AGAIN.

Which is really not the norm for me.  I love cooking and baking so I just don't understand what is wrong with me!  Well, last night was no exception.  Listen up Busy Mommas! Have I got a gourmet delight sure to please your entire family!  One can of chili & a pot of rice.
We like Amy's brand chili- yum! And if I'm getting fancy, I may even chop up some green onions, grate a little cheddar cheese and open the container of sour cream.  Ha! How have I come up with this culinary concoction?!?  Desperation.  Pure and total desperation.  But at least it was organic....hmm....nice try....

So my canned chili and rice had me thinking...what else do I "cook" on a regular basis that's more like fake cooking.  Let's count the cheese enchiladas that I made tonight for dinner.  Have you ever made cheese enchiladas?  One bag pre-shredded cheese, one 15 oz can enchilada sauce and corn tortillas.  Yep, you counted that right, that's 3 ingredients and none of which actually require any real cooking.  Oh and I serve it with a big can of vegetarian refried beans.  My boys love it!!

I try not to feel guilty for serving a few quick & easy meals.  But rather choose to take comfort in the fact that I've chosen a good quality organic cheese for my enchiladas & vegetarian, organic beans.  Oh who am I kidding??  I don't feel guilty at all!  A can of organic chili w/organic jasmine rice is a WHOLE lot better then hitting up the fast food joint and getting a bad case of TBS.  You know...Taco Bell Syndrome.

So tonight, as I sit here with a belly full of cheesy enchiladas and delicious canned refried beans, I think to myself....I got this.  That dinner was awesome!  It was mostly healthy and well balanced.  It was 80% organic and mostly GMO free.  And most importantly, it was budget friendly.  If I were a math goddess, I would tally up the total cost, subtract by number of servings, divide by 12 and multiply by the total content of whatever and tell you exactly how much that meal cost.  But I don't have time for that nonsense and will instead just point out that the last 2 dinners I've made have been cheap & easy.  Not unlike some folks I went to high school with....

So yes, canned chili and rice- isn't that nice!