Just organized our fridge and food cabinet...

I love having things nice & neat. I just don't like to put in the effort to keep them that way. 
(Oven mitts went from inconvenient in the drawer to convenient on the wall across from the stove.)

We threw out a lot of stuff that had expired - a LOT. It really made me think about all the groceries we buy and all the money we waste. I've been cooking a lot more lately but I'm still a beginner and the grocery/kitchen management part of it is one of the hardest things. I'm just learning the basics of frying and baking meats properly and using Dumdum 101 recipes - I'm nowhere near the level I could look in the fridge, spy a few things about to turn, and whip up something yummy. Wish I had had a Home Economics class to take in high school! 

We're also a little disadvantaged as a family of two. (Two who eat human food, that is.) It's hard to buy items, especially produce, in small enough quantities for us. A "bunch" of fresh parsley is like 50+ stems! Same for spinach leaves, head of lettuce, bagged potatoes, etc. etc. Anyway, the point is we threw away a lot of spoiled food tonight and it was irritating.

This week I'm going to try and make food only using stuff we've got in the house excepting meat. I've got tons of rice, several cans of beans, tortillas, eggs, frozen veggies, etc. so there's really no need to go out. Maybe I'll look for a website where I can put in the food I have and it gives me a recipe out of it, haha. (Otherwise known as thingsmygrandmothercando.com!)

The betty crocker website has a tool like that.  I can't remember if the All recipes site does or not.

I make my grocery list after I make a menu for the week.  I do buy extra of some pantry things.  But that helps me not waste as much.  I don't have a problem eating leftovers; so that goes into my planning as well.  I also try to plan things out.  For example; I'll plan 2 recipes that call for rolls.  Or come up with 2 ways to use sweet potatoes.  I don't often buy a bag of potatoes or anything like that except for apples.  Maybe when my kids are teenagers we can make use of a whole bag at once.  I hate throwing things away too.

I have organized my pantry several times.  It looks great after; but it's just hard to keep it that way for some reason.  The same goes for the medicine cabinet.  

One thing that can help, with things that come in large bunches, is to plan for 2-3 meals in a week that contain that item. This way you're less likely to suffer waste based on the size of the bag/bunch that the product comes in. 

I deal with this more in packaged foods, and leftovers than with fresh foods, having a large family, but some things, such as carrots are either sold in a 3lb bag(not enough) or a tenlb bag(too much) and we struggle to strike a balance. Frozen Lasagnas are also either too small or too big, but we only eat them every couple of months, so now I buy the smaller size and add salad and garlic bread to round out the meal. 

Nice! Looks good! Don't feel bad about not taking Home Ec in school. I took it....and I got a D in cooking. 

Allrecipes.com does have a "Search by Ingredient" function, but I've never used it.

Make a "What's in the Fridge?" and "What's in the Pantry?" list. Put every single thing on those lists that are in your fridge and pantry, along with every single thing you buy from the grocery store, even staples like milk and eggs. Do it in Excel, if you have it. If not, do it by hand. Keep those lists on your fridge or in a very visible place in your kitchen, where you can check off things as you use them, and add things that you need. Every single item. You'd be very surprised at how easy it is to review your lists, once you get used to having them. 

My lists are called "What's in the Freezer?" and "What's in Mom's Freezer?". Every item that is in the freezers is noted on the list, down to leftover soups and stews. And the quantity. By quantity, I mean how many servings or quarts or whatever. So if you have four boneless, skinless chicken breasts in your freezer, that would be four servings. So next to "B/S Breasts" I have "IIII", for four servings. As I get two breasts out of the freezer, I simply cross off two lines in red pen. As I use a quart of Split Pea Soup, I cross off a line in red pen. Breads, pies, soups and strews, you name it, I got it covered.

Why do I do this? Because I got so tired of rooting around in the freezer for a pound of ground beef, only to realize that I used it. I got tired of finding a whole chicken that's over a year old in the freezer. It's a terrible waste and nowadays? Food is expensive. It just is. The idea of throwing it out is frustrating. And now, I can tell you exactly how many quarts of Split Pea Soup are in the freezer (2). I know that we have 9 b/s chicken breasts in the freezer. And so on. Yeah, it's a pain, I agree. But what's the alternative? Wasting food? No.

Let me know if you have Excel....I can PM or email you a copy of my lists to get you started, if you're interested. 

I usually work on menus, coupons, and grocery lists on the weekend. Rick is out watching football on Saturday night, so I take everything back to the bedroom, go through cookbooks for recipes I want to use, make my list of what I need, check my "What's in the......?" lists, and go from there. Then on Sunday morning when I get my Giant circular in my email, I sit and go through that. It's rare that I forget something, although it does happen. (I forgot plastic wrap last week at the grocery store.) I buy things on sale and when I have coupons. Even if I have four bags of flour in the pantry, if it's on sale, I grab a couple bags, especially at this time of year. Butter is ridiculous; I'm waiting for a sale, but it doesn't look good.

Grab a couple Betty Crocker cookbooks at the store (or even eBay). I swear by Betty Crocker; when I first started cooking, the old, red Betty Crocker was my bible. Great for beginning cooks, IMO.

Is it anal? Sure! But it's the only way I can keep track of where I'm at. I simply hate the thought of throwing food away.

I can't see the picture but yay! It's always nice to get something done. I need to organize my food shelves :/.

I think it's on the Fly Lady website. . .my mom subscribed to some meal preparation thing; they give you the shopping list and supplies list and you make a couple weeks' worth of meals at a time and freeze it. It's customizable according to food preferences and size of family. I keep meaning to do it but I'm just not organized enough :tongue2:. It's pretty inexpensive if I remember correctly; it's meant for busy stay-at-home moms so they kept the price down.

My mom took Home Ec and she's the worst homemaker on the planet, or second worst compared to my grandma :lol3:. But she can sew from a pattern so I guess she learned a little bit. Apparently I come from a long line of terrible homemakers on both sides! Neither of my grandmothers ever cooked or cleaned, or at least not well (they hired help when they could afford it, just muddled through when they couldn't). Whenever I see something like "things my grandmother can do", well, not my grandmothers!

Thanks for the encouragement and the tips! @Winchester  that sounds like a good solution, Pam! It wouldn't be too hard for me - you can see almost all my "pantry" food in that picture up there, lol. There's not much to keep track of, in other words. I know a lot of these things are just going to come with experience. Pam, I will PM you my email if you don't mind sending me your lists!

Got it! Check your email! I hope you find it useful....