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?

Weekly Shopping and Pantry Challenge Wrap Up

I finished up the pantry challenge spending about $170 on groceries for the month. That is $320 less than what I normally budget for and $30 lower than my goal for the challenge. Now I would like to say that all that money is going into our savings account but this month has been brutal with unexpected expenses (more on that to come later) and that extra money had to go to other places.

I feel pretty good about the challenge and plan to do it again in the future. We cleaned alot out of our freezer but still need more room because I am hoping to buy some grass feed beef sometime. My plan is to try and not buy any meat for a little while. We'll see how that goes. I still am not ready to defrost the freezer yet.

I am actually excited to scope out the deals again in February! I just tried to ignore them this past month.

I did score some pretty good deals at Hy-Vee on Friday. And I guess I did a little stocking up too! Hubby was completely out of lunches for work and Hy-Vee had a great sale. Here is what I got.
(13) Old Orchard Juices (not pictured) rock bottom priced of $.88 each!! Ok, I did stock up on these!!

The best deal of the day was...
(10) Weight Watcher Smart Ones Frozen Meals (Hubbys lunches) these were on sale 3/$5.00 they had a peelie on them for $4.00/10. Then I had coupons for buy 5 get a free breakfast sandwich and also buy 3 and get a free flat bread. So, I was able to get 2 free flatbreads and 3 free breakfast sanwiches. So I paid $7 for 15 meals. Woot!
(3) Skippy Peanut Butter
French Loaf
(2)I Can't Believe It's Not Butter
(5) Michelina Frozen Meals
(4) Sara Lee Bread
(3)1/2 Gallon Milks-also a great deal, $1.00 each because they were close to expiration.
2.26 lbs bananas
Carrots
Mushrooms
Sour Cream
(6) Yogurt
Cheese

After coupons I spent $48.75

And...I remembered my reusable bags.

Eat From the Pantry Challenge Update

We are 25 days into the challenge and I have spent roughly $120 dollars on groceries so far for the month. I am kicking myself a little actually because somehow last week flew by and I missed out on some good coupons I wanted to take advantage of at Hy-Vee. Oh well. I guess looking back I really didn't need any of the items I was going to buy.

Right now though I am out of milk and sandwich bread. My kids act like the world is going to crash down on them if we are out of bread. I made a loaf of homemade bread but of course they don't like that for their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It does make great peanut butter toast though!

My freezer is definitely acquiring more room! The pantry is getting pretty slim on canned goods. I am running out of veggies except for frozen broccoli.

I haven't seen any real deals on anything though lately that has made me want to go rushing out to the stores. That has actually made the challenge a little easier. That and the weather has been really lousy this month so I haven't left the house unless I have needed too.

How is it going for you? Head over to Money Saving Mom to see how others are doing with the challenge.

Weekly Shopping and Eat From the Pantry Update

We are doing really well with the Eat from the Pantry Challenge. We ate at home all week last week except one night. I made chili for the first time last week as well. Usually my husband does this so it was fun for me to make it. I must say it was pretty good. Not that you can really mess up chili.

I can see our freezer inventory depleting but not by much. It makes me feel good to know that I have a well stocked freezer and we have been able to eat from it this month and save some money on groceries. I feel good about where we are at. I didn't need much from the store this week.

Here is what I got.

Large Eggs $.99
Bread $.88
Peanut Butter $1.77
Milk $3.09
(2) Block Cheese $1.50 each
4.94 lbs bananas $2.91
5lbs potatoes $.79
(2) Lettuce $.88 each
Tomato $.63

Total Spent $15.72

I also made a second trip on Saturday to hit up a big sale Hy-Vee was having. I spent another $25.12 but got back a $5 catalina. So total spent for the week was $40.84. We are still well under our budget of $200 for the month.

Also, I might be trying for the first time ever placing an order for some locally grown organic flours. These are a little bit on the pricier side but I think I am willing to give them a try. I am starting to run low of flour so I am going to be needing to get some. We will see how it goes.

Are you eating from the pantry this month? How is it going? To see how other's are doing with the challenge visit Life as Mom.

Eat From the Pantry Grocery Shopping Trip

Well today I broke down and went to the store. With the exception of buying a couple pounds of bananas and some dishwashing detergent at the beginning of the month today was the first time I have been grocery shopping this month. I went in with list and stuck to it! I didn't buy anything extra except for a pair of Christmas jammies for Brodie (putting away for next year) that were on clearance for $2.00.

With our Eat from the Pantry Challenge going on my shopping was a little different this week. I didn't stock up on any loss leaders. Usually I try and stock up on the great deals of the week. This week I based my shopping solely on what we needed at the moment (ok, with the exception of the Electrasol. That was on roll back and I wanted to use those coupons before they expire at the end of the month).

Here is what I got.

I bought 2 dozen eggs and yogurt from Hy-Vee spending $5.32

Then I went to Wal-Mart and got...
16 Yogurts at $.25 each (on clearance)
2 loaves of sandwich bread
2 containers of I Can't Believe it's not Butter
Yoplait Yogurt 4 pack
Cream Cheese
Cheese Block
Honey
Ground Sage x 2
Yeast
3 packages of Electrasol
Minced garlic
5 lbs of bananas
Hair Mousse

Total spent after coupons $41.09

Total spent today was $46.41.

I was going to try and not buy any bread this month. But, my kiddos eat PB and J's like its going out of style and I just can't find a good sandwich bread recipe. Anyone have any good recipes they would like to share?

We did eat from the pantry all week and I have no problems coming up with next weeks menu. We are still very well stocked.

Linked to Super Savings Saturday and Pantry Challenge Update at Money Saving Mom.

Eat From the Pantry Challenge Update

I took inventory of my freezers yesterday. I am feeling pretty good about what I have stocked up. I can safely say that we are fully stocked for our main courses for at least the next two months.

Hamburger 22 lbs
Beef Ribs 2
Stew meat 5
Roast 9
Steaks Single 25
Boneless Pork Ribs 1
Bags of Pulled pork meat 3
Bacon 2
Pork chops 2
Chicken legs 7
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Packages 15
Chicken Hindquarters 6 bags of 4 each
Chicken Nuggets 1
Turkey 1 whole
Fish 17 (some whole, some partial some with just 1 large fish in them)

2 containers of Pesto
Broccoli 9
Corn 1
Brussels Sprouts 2
Hot dogs 6
Cheddar Cheese 9
Mozzarella Cheese 4
Pears 2
Apples 2 cup bags 2
Cherries 2
Applesauce 5
Tomatoes 8 bags
Lunchmeat 2
Homemade White Bread 3
1 bagged of cooked turkey
2 Deer sausages
2 frozen bread dough
Many bags of HOT peppers, diced green and red bell peppers and rhubarb

Hubby and I are going to do some organizing in the basement. We are going to be purchasing some shelving units to make things a little bit more manageable. Hopefully we will be doing that in the next couple days. Once that project is finished I can reorganized my pantry and I will take inventory of the dry goods.

The only purchase I have made with the grocery budget so far has been $.82 worth of bananas and dishwasher detergent for $3.97 for a total of $5.08. I have $195 left for the month.

To see how others are doing check out Life as Mom.

Eat From the Pantry Challenge

I have decided to join Money Saving Mom and Life as Mom for a month long challenge of eating from the pantry. My family has done this a couple times before. I actually enjoy doing this every so often. It gives us a reason to use up what we have in the freezer and on our pantry shelves that have been there for while.

My goals for the month are as follows:

1. Take a fresh inventory of what is in our freezer and on our shelves.
2. My grocery budget will be $200 for the month. That is $300 less than usual.
3. Limit my grocery shopping as much as possible.
4. Be able to defrost the deep freezer at the end of the month. (this wasn't done after the last challenge)
5. Come up with some new and creative recipes to try.

Another reason I am excited about this challenge is that hopefully at the end of the month we will have an extra $300 to put into our Savings account. One of my goals for 2010 is to have our 6 month emergency fund established.

Care to join in on the challenge? Head over to Money Saving Mom to link up. You can join for 1, 2, 3 weeks or the entire month. You make your own goals!

Eat From the Pantry Challenge Update~Week 4

Well we made it! It is almost the end of the month. I had a pretty good week this week. I didn't do my weekly shopping this week. We decided on Sunday to treat our friends to dinner since they helped us with a huge project of hauling dirt so I spent $50 buying dinner and other goodies. I did get milk and eggs too so that helped me with not needing to go later in the week.

That brought my budget to $205 for the month leaving me with $45 left to spend. We are going camping this weekend so I will be going to the store tomorrow to pick up a few things. I shouldn't have any problem staying under $45 since most of the food we are taking I already have.

I think this was a successful challenge for me and I look forward to doing it again. How do you think you did for the month? Do you think you would try it again? Mr. Linky is having issues so I will try and put it up. If it doesn't work just put your post site in the comments. Thanks for joining me on this challenge and maybe we'll do it again sometime!

Eat From the Pantry Challenge Update~Week 3

Well, here we are ending the third week of my pantry challenge. My goal is to spend $250 or less on groceries for the month. This includes everything, diapers, cat liter, shampoo etc. So far I am still on track. I did spend a little more this week than I did the last 2 weeks combined. I went Tuesday and did my weekly shopping spending about $70. I made another run to Hy-Vee tonight and got...

6 boxes of cereal = $12
4 packages of hotdogs $3.96
1 lb of cheese $2.99
Toilet Paper $5.99

My total before coupons was $24.94
After coupons was $14.95

So for the week I spent $85. Leaving me with $95 left for the month. I don't think I should have a problem staying under budget. I feel like I haven't used a whole ton out of my pantry. Maybe I will have to carry this challenge over to the next month. I guess this means I have way more than I thought I did.

I have been also thinking about doing another 30 Days of Nothing challenge. Anyone interested in participating? Feel free to read my post here about this challenge that my family did in January. It may be a little more difficult to do it now with Summer staring and all the kids being home but I might give it a try anyway, we'll see. We are getting ready to drain our savings for a car and I am really feeling the urge to cut way back and skimp as much as possible. Let me know your thoughts and if you would be interested in joining in.

How did you do this week on the pantry challenge? Leave a link to your post below. Link back to my page so others can see how your doing!

My Weekly Shopping Trip 5/19

I wasn't real excited about my deals for this week. I was feeling a little down actually because I spent more than I wanted to and I broke some of my "rules" I had for myself regarding my pantry challenge this month. I couldn't pass up 3 packages of meat at Target that were on clearance. I also stocked up on mustard even though I still have one in the pantry (great deal at Fareway, 40 oz for $.99 - $.75 coupon making them $.24). And I bought some ice cream at Wal-Mart. They have Breyers for $2.25. There are $1.00 and $.75 MC out there, making it a cheap little treat! Plus I had to buy some more expensive items like cat litter ($6) and moth balls for my garden($5). I think I am still going to be under my goal of $250 for the month, unless I go nuts next week. I just spent a little more last night than I have the last couple weeks.

Here is the breakdown. I didn't divide my stores up for the picture. I just took one group photo of everything I bought for the night.

Total before coupons...$122.61
Total after coupons...$78.95
Total spent out of "grocery" budget...$70.00
Total spent on groceries for the month...$140.00
Grocery money left to spend...$110.00

As you can see I bought a few extras that were not included in the grocery category. I did get a great deal on a pair of swim trunks for my oldest son at Target for $3.24. I also bought myself a utensil holder on clearance at Wal-Mart for $2 and also some flowers for a planter in my front yard.

Linked to Super Savings Saturday at Money Saving Mom.

Using Up Those Free Samples

This month I am doing an "Eat from the Pantry Challenge". With that I am also trying to use up some of those many samples I have laying around! This is what I have for samples of laundry detergent. Lucky for me, none of my family have any allergies to soap. I can get an entire weeks laundry done with all these samples! I figured I would hold a couple of them back for those "oops" moments when I run out of soap and don't realize it! It works for me!

Have you used any of your free samples this week? Don't forget to enter my coupon giveaway here!

Check out Works for Me Wednesdays at We are That Family.

Eat From the Pantry Challenge Update~Week 2

I feel like I had another good week this week. We got through more of our freezer stock. I know I still have lots of items in there that are probably reaching their freezing peak. We did great sticking to our meal plan and didn't eat out at all this week.

I spent about $20 on groceries for the week. My first trip I spent $15. I did make another run to Fareway on Wednesday and I spent another $5.xx. I bought 2 packages of lunch meat and 2 packages of tortillas. I skipped Target and Wal-Mart altogether this week.

I didn't buy any bread this week cause I stocked up last week. I think I still have about 4 loaves in the freezer. I am almost out of milk, so I may need to make a run this weekend to pick some up. I had a good stock of block cheese in the freezer so I used up one of those. We are doing ok on our fruits and veggies. I had quite a bit of canned peaches left so we ate on those 3 nights this week. I am needing some fresh veggies. I only have carrots left. Next week I will for sure need to get some produce and dairy.

So far I have spent a total of $70 for groceries for the month. My goal is to stay under $250.

How did you do this week? Leave a link to your post below. Link back to my page so others can see how your doing!

Weekly Shopping 5/12

Ok, for those of you who don't know I am doing an Eat from the Pantry Challenge for the month of May. My goal is to stay under $250 for groceries, toilettres, etc. Tonight is my shopping night and I decided to only go to Walgreens. I had $8 in RR to use up and they expired today. Here is what I got.4 packages of diapers 2 for $15.98
4 Diamond Almonds $3.59
1 Peter Pan Peanut Butter clearanced to $.87

Coupons used...
-$7.20 in ad coupon for almonds
-$2.00 (4) MC coupons for almonds
-$14.98 B1G1 free on the diapers
-$8.00 in RR

Total before coupons...$49.81
Total after coupons...$15.01

I didn't hit any other stores tonight. I will proabably need to do a Fareway run later in the week for some produce and dairy. I was pretty proud of myself for staying away from Wal-Mart and Target!

Eat From the Pantry Challenge Update~Week 1

I felt like the first week went pretty good. I didn't really use much out of my freezer except for some steak for dinner one night and a roast. The rest of the week was so crazy we just had PB and J's that we took on the go to ball games and track meets.

I was able to spend about what I wanted to on groceries. My goal is to not spend over $250 for the month. This week I spent about $50. I avoided Target and Walgreens all together this week. I did make another run yesterday since I was driving by Fareway to get some bread. They didn't have any Tuesday night and it is on sale this week for $.71 so I bought 10 loaves. We eat about a loaf a day here. I also picked up some spaghetti on clearance at Hy-Vee. This deal was way to good to pass up and to my defense I only had 1 box of spaghetti in the pantry!

How did you do this week? Did you make a dent in your pantry? Leave a link to your post below. Link back to my page so others can see how your doing!

Menu Plan Monday

Well this week is going to be crazy for us. We have either a ball game or track meet or both each night except for Wednesday. I am hoping to stick to some sort of meal plan. Instead of focusing on each day I am just going to write a list of quick and easy meals for the week.

If you haven't been following me, then I will tell you that I am doing an "Eat from the Pantry Challenge". I am trying to use up all the older items in my freezer and pantry. I am hoping to limit my grocery shopping this month and save a little money doing so! So everything this week will be coming from what I already have on my shelves. Feel free to join in if you wish!

Picnic dinner. PB and J, carrots, apples. (x2 nights)
Beef Roast in the crock pot, red potatoes, onions and carrots.
Wednesday is our family night and no activites!! Steak, grilled bread, salad and pumpkin bars!
1 night we will eat at the fields. It is just a given!

How is your week looking? To see what others are having head over to I'm an organized Junkie.

May Goals ~ Eat From the Pantry Challenge

So I did very bad at staying under grocery budget for the month of April. I found way too many deals to stock up on. I am officially going to state it here...MY GOAL FOR MAY IS TO CUT MY GROCERY BILL IN HALF! I have a very well stocked pantry and freezer so I am going to have an Eat From the Pantry Challenge.

My grocery budget is $500 for my family of 6. This includes everything from food, cleaning supplies, bathroom necessities to diapers and wipes. I am hoping to spend about $250 for the month of May or less is possible. I am going to try and stay OUT of the grocery store unless it is for dairy, bread or produce. What do you say? Care to join in?

It is time to use up all that meat in the back of your freezer. What are you saving all those trial size samples of shampoo, deodorant and laundry soap for? Let's save some money this month and use up what we have. It is almost time for gardening again. This means those jars of pickles and tomatoes have been on the shelf for almost 1 year and need to be used up.

I would love to have you join in the "Eat From the Pantry Challenge". Leave a link to your post below. Make sure your link goes directly to your post about this challenge. Link back to my page so others can see how we are doing! I will be having weekly updates every Friday through May!

This post is linked to Finding Freedom at Cents to Get Debt Free and Frugal Friday at Life as Mom.