Since February is kitchen month and you are likely pulling stuff out to declutter the actual stuff you have, why not use the opportunity to take note of the food you are storing as well. If you were running some kind of business, you would need to take an inventory each year to track the inflow and outflow of goods. Think of your house the same way, or at least your food.
Take inventory of your food as you go through everything in the kitchen! The more you know what you have, the better you can use it. As a bonus, keep track of expiry dates so that you can use up food before it expires.
Set yourself a goal of using your inventory. Challenge your meal planning efforts. Make sure to use one item from the pantry for every dinner. Or if you need to start lighter, use at least 2 pantry items per week. It will force you to use what you already have in the house. AND, it will save you some money on your next grocery bill!
If you want to step up your game even further, include the freezer! If your freezer is exploding with who knows what, from who knows when, then you may want to consider using an item from your freezer as well as a pantry item.
So, if you meal plan with your own stock in mind, you may have a meat from the freezer and a side from the pantry, and all you need to buy are some fresh veggies!
How easy is that for meal planning!?
If you really want to rotate your inventory, you’ll need to plan out what you will be using up. As long as your plan uses items from both the pantry and the freezer, you will be able to use up your items before they go bad. That way, as you stock up for your pantry or freezer, you are also using up stuff to ensure it doesn’t expire before you use it!
Now, go and get creative in your kitchen!
Have fun with your meal plan! Step it up and get others in the house involved. Everyone will think of using ingredients slightly differently, so it’s fun to see what interesting concoctions you can create!
Have fun with it!!
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