Home > Relish Austin > Archives > 2010 > February > 17 > Entry
Like life, pantries need overhauling now and then
Sometimes, my life is a lot like my pantry.
Right now, it’s cluttered with cans of coconut milk and tuna and buried under bags of nuts, trail mix and beans. It’s organized just enough to find what I need to put dinner on the table. (P.S., that cloth-covered jar is my latest batch of homemade kombucha. If you want a SCOBY, let me know.)
Just like making a budget, every six months or so, I vow to get tough and show my pantry who’s boss. I do a purge, separate all the pastas from the canned goods and throw away cereal boxes that only have crumbs in the bottom. But without fail, we unload groceries hastily and cook dinner in a hurry and before long, we’re back to a disheveled mess that only adds to the craziness of family life.
I have a few areas under control. During one of my organizing kicks, I transferred grains into jars that reside on a shelf in the garage, next to all the extra cooking equipment that won’t fit in my tiny kitchen.
That giant jar of brown lentils? One cup at a time, like a monthly credit card payment, I’m chipping away at using them all up. But I bought them and, by God, I’m going to use them.
But a jar of brown rice, no matter how well-labeled, will not make my husband prefer it over basmati, and there aren’t enough jars in the world for all the random bulk items — especially chocolates, coconut, sugars and other baking ingredients — that pile up like unmatched socks in the pantry.
Just like my long-term to-do list, many items in my pantry are there to remind me of what I want to do, but not at all a reflection of how I actually cook; the dried peppers represent the hope that one day I will actually make enchilada sauce from scratch. Spring roll papers left over from a fun project a few years ago await another day that I just so happen to have the right ingredients and the right company to help me eat them.
So what’s the solution?
I clearly haven’t found one, but I’m on a mission this week to get my pantry in shape. Starting Monday, Feb. 22, I’ll be eating only food that I prepare for a week straight, which is nothing compared to my blogger friend Cathy Erway’s two-year project of not eating out in New York City. She blogged her adventures in cooking and turned it into a book that comes out tomorrow.
Erway has teamed up with the Huffington Post for a week of eating in challenge next week, which allows anyone to sign on: Eat in for a week to rediscover the pleasures of cooking (and realize how much we depend on prepared food). I’m one of a few bloggers she suckered asked nicely to participate, so next week, you’ll get to read about what it takes to feed my family for breakfast, lunch and dinner without relying on food that someone else has cooked.
So, there’s no better time than now to get my pantry in order. Here are some steps I’ll be taking, but I’d love to hear how you keep your pantry in order and well-stocked:
- A big help, just like with establishing a chore chart or family calendar, is getting everyone on board. If I’m the only one invested in using up (read: eating) those popcorn kernels or bags of beans, then they’ll never get used.
On a weekend day when you’re feeling creative or in the cleaning spirit, pull out the ingredients that have been collecting dust, and ask family members what dishes they like that incorporate these ingredients. Give them the task of finding a recipe online or in a cookbook that includes them.
- In a pantry rut? Using a Web site like Super Cook, Recipe Matcher or Recipe Zaar, enter in the hard-to-use ingredients and see what comes up. You could be eating the most delicious Thai curry coconut milk lentil stew later that night.
- Purge more frequently. There’s no reason sprouted potatoes or cereal boxes with less than half a serving are taking up space.
- Before putting away groceries, take a few minutes to tidy up. Like cleaning house, a few minutes here and there mean you don’t spend an entire day doing it later.
- Reuse jars to hold grains, flour, sugar, nuts, etc. They are easy to label and stack.
- Don’t forget about the spice cabinet. Buy spices in small amounts from the bulk section and fill up old spice containers. Ground spices don’t last as long as fresh anyway.
What are your tricks to keeping what you need for dinner on hand and easy to find? I’ll revisit this subject during the eating in challenge next week and for a story next month, and I’d like to include some of your suggestions.
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By Stacy Doss
February 17, 2010 10:48 AM | Link to this
Hey Addie, I did something like this a little week or two ago. Not quite the same, I ate the entire work week on $25.00. I tidy up the pantry frequently and occasionally write articles on how to stock a kitchen. I’m working on an article now about long lasting staples that should always be on hand, broths and stocks, flour, corn meal, corn starch, sugar (granulated, light and dark brown), well you get the idea. You can see my $25 challenge here hungry-4-more.com/2010/01/24/the-one-week-25-challenge/ (note I had a lot of these ingredients in my pantry, but for the sake of the challenge re-bought at current prices)
By Christina Potter
February 17, 2010 11:47 AM | Link to this
One thing that helps me is to have containers to group smaller items. Open bins or plastic shoe boxes work great for holding baking items, pasta, snacks, etc. Fewer items get lost with bins. Transferring cereal to jars or plastic containers makes it easier to see when cereal is getting low like you did with your grains.
I am a huge fan of turntables especially for spices. They make it easy to see all your spices and easy to take out and return each one.
The coated wire racks give you an extra shelf for canned goods.
Looking forward to your eating in challenge.
Christina Potter
By Chance Patrick
February 18, 2010 3:25 PM | Link to this
I think the best thing for me is for everything to have a place. Whether that be in jars, bins, or boxes. As long as there is a place for all the bulk goods then that makes a huge difference. In fact my company just did a pantry overhaul for some clients. Feel free to check out what we did at www.WholeNineLifestyle.com
We inspired ourselves so much we ended up organizing our own pantry the next week. It really just makes a huge difference when cooking.
By Jaye @ Food Porn
February 23, 2010 8:13 PM | Link to this
This is great! I actually do this in January where I try to go the whole month just eating from the pantry (and also the freezer) until it’s all gone. I allow myself to buy a few fresh veggies and milk at the store every week, but that’s it.
By Margit Lanese
June 22, 2011 8:49 AM | Link to this
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