Managing the Emergency Pantry

I've just finished inventorying, labeling and organizing our emergency pantry supplies. The first thing I did was clear the non-food hurricane supplies from the cabinet (they're going to live on some shelves across from it) and rearrange the foods as I was labeling them with their expiration date. I was able to move almost all the food from under the sink to the top cabinet. Now anything I add to the emergency pantry will need to be labelled and placed in first-in-first-out order.

I also created an inventory list on word that will be easy to check before I go shopping, and update as I add new supplies. I have one version in alphabetical order by item, and another sorted by expiration date. At the beginning of each month my guy and I will check the expiration list, and rotate foods that need to be used before they expire into our regular pantry.

Here's how much space I created by reorganizing. This should be enough room to hold our larger items, and maybe even another month's worth of food.

Comments

Maria Zannini said…

I've only ever made my list on the computer, but I like your paper idea better. The next time I re-inventory I'm going to print out the list.

Thanks!

May 18, 2024 at 10:31 AM

Holiday Prep

For Thanksgiving this year we've invited some guests from Oliver's mom's side of the family, so I have to start prepping now to get the house in shape for the big day. The first major thing is having the carpets cleaned, which we've scheduled for next week. This weekend I'll be cleaning out four rooms to get them ready for that. I started with my front dining room, which I use as my sewing room. It was kind of a mess already, so it felt good to get everything cleared out. We'll be having ten people at dinner plus two babies, so this will give me a chance to figure out how to arrange two tables in this space. I think this will be my last time hosting a big Thanksgiving gathering. Mike has started his family with a lovely girl who has a huge, close-knit family of her own, while Katherine will likely be off at grad school out of state for the next several years. I'm also not getting any younger. My guy and I will always celebrate Thanksgiving, but ...

T-minus Day

This was our little Thanksgiving dinner last year, when it was just the three of us. Time keeps whittling down my favorite holiday; this year it will be just me and my guy, and we likely won't even have a turkey.* That will be a first in 35 years. I feel about Thanksgiving the way other people do about Christmas, and while it's a lot of work it's my favorite holiday. Of all the Thanksgivings I've had in the past sixty years, only three were truly terrible: one when I was a kid that I don't talk about (#1 most miserable); the time I roasted two turkeys together and hosted fifteen people whom I cooked for and served with zero help (the largest and #2 most miserable); and the one I spent in basic training (the #3 most miserable.) I have no pictures of any of those, thank heavens. In addition to doing all the cooking I'm the one who takes all the pictures, washes all the dishes and puts away all the leftovers. I suppose no one else cares because to them it...

Fell Off the Wagon

I did cut up that plastic dollar tote to make into something stronger, but got caught up with work and set it aside. Then last night some hand-dyed silk and pretty threads called my name, and, well . . . Felt SO good to do some handwork, except my neck began hurting about an hour into it. I tried changing the way I sit and work, but it's pretty obvious that the doc is right.

Valerean

Search This Blog