Organizing the Pantry

I have gotten a few emails from readers curious if I was doing a 30 days of nothing challenge for the month of January.  The answer to that is no.  My husband and I discussed it but honestly time has been the biggest factor.  The holidays snuck up on us this year.  We haven't had a lot of down time.  Blogging took a back seat and I didn't even have time to think about, yet alone plan out a "30 days of nothing" challenge. 

Our goal for January however is to cut way back on our spending.  I am hoping to stay out of the stores for the rest of the month with the exception of  fresh produce and dairy each week. 

We are focusing on eating from the pantry and freezers right now.  I spent the better part of the weekend cleaning, organizing and labeling my pantry.  The first step in eating from the pantry is to know what you have.  I tried to organize all our food into categories and then label the shelves.  Canned goods, condiments, baking items, pasta, etc.  This makes it easier not only for myself but for directing my kids where to get items when they need them.

I also went through and checked expiration dates and made sure the items that were close to expiration were in the front. Most products are good well past their expiration date but it is good to use up these items first. 

I am thinking about hosting an eat from the pantry challenge for February.  With my pantry well stocked, I could definitely save some money in the grocery category by spending a month or so strictly eating and basing our meals from what we have on hand.  Anyone interested in joining in?