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Skip Grocery Shopping This Week

Good news…here’s a way you can save money at the grocery store – skip grocery shopping this week!

Bad news…you’re going to clean out and organize your pantry, refrigerator and freezer!

Consider this a challenge. As you clean out and organize your pantry, refrigerator and freezer…write down meal ideas using the items you have. Be creative!

Tips for Pantry Cleaning & Organizing:

Tackle one shelf at a time – empty the shelf and make 3 piles (throw away, food pantry, save). Next, wipe down the shelf.
Throw away any items that have expired.
If you find an item, and you’re just not sure what to cook with it…do a google search for recipes using ________. With the click of a mouse you’ll have more recipe ideas than you could possibly use! I just found a jar of baby food peaches that I bought for a recipe, but then decided the recipe was way too much work. When I did a google search for recipes using baby food peaches, 350,000 results popped up!
If you find an item that you have no desire to ever use or you have way too many of…make a food pantry pile, so you’ll be ready for the next canned food drive.
Give each shelf a “theme”. Suggestions: snacks, breakfast, baking, canned goods, starches, spices and flavorings.

the baking shelf and the breakfast shelf
Space saving tip #1: Use inexpensive plastic Lazy Susans to store spices & flavorings. Go an extra step and alphabetize your spices.

organize spices and flavorings with inexpensive lazy susans
Space saving tip #2: Use a bucket to store prepackaged lunch box snacks like granola bars, peanut butter crackers, chips and fruit snacks.

bucket of snacks
Space saving tip #3: Make a basket of cookie and cake decorations like sprinkles, food coloring and birthday candles!

Tips for Refrigerator and Freezer Cleaning and Organizing:

Tackle one shelf at a time.
Throw away expired items.
Wipe down each shelf.
Many refrigerators and freezer already have labeled compartments which make for instant organization!
Consider making a leftover shelf in the refrigerator, so everyone in the family will know where to look for a quick meal.
Group similar items together in the door shelves – salad dressings, condiments, assorted pickles and peppers, etc.