(Original publication, 2010!!)

I gave my kitchen some attention this past week.   I cleaned out and assessed one cabinet a night every night, after dinner.  I spent less than 20 minutes on each cabinet, and now I am done.

Cabinet by cabinet, I made sure that what I have in each place is what I need there.  For example, all baking supplies are together, as are the serving dishes for parties. I put my soup pot in a more user-friendly spot for winter.  I purged anything un-used and un-necessary.

One of my favorite kitchen organizing strategies this time of year is Pantry Shopping. Here’s the definition: “figure out what you have and use it”. Pretty low tech, I know, but it is oh-so-useful this time of year!  Pantry shopping benefits you and your kitchen in a number of ways:

• Take this opportunity to assess what you have on hand, and put it in a useful spot.
• Open up some space and clear some clutter before holiday cooking and baking takes over.
• Save money at the grocery by using up what you have instead of buying more.
• Share with people less fortunate that you, if you can, and be a responsible steward of what you have.
• Use items before their expiration date.

So, take some time this week to go through your cabinets, refrigerator, freezer and pantry.  Determine what you have on hand and if there is an excess in any area.  For example, I know my freezer space is always at a premium once I start my holiday baking, so I will use up the big bulky and boxed items this month, making room for other things.  I also keep a stock pile of canned and non-perishable goods during the winter months, but I can still see that 12 cans of green beans is excessive (though I do love Costco!), so we’ll add green beans to a couple of meals this week.

We will enjoy the cheaper grocery bills that come with pantry shopping, knowing that the expensive holiday cooking is just around the corner. We will limit the shopping to produce, dairy and bread as long as we can.  There may be some odd food combinations as we use things up, but that is literally a small price to pay!

We will also take this opportunity for a teachable moment and have the kids help me bag up extra food we have on hand and drop them off at our local Food Pantry.  We also talk about what is necessary to make a healthy meal (protein, veggie, complex carb), so a double teaching bonus!

I usually attribute this concept to Mary Hunt, in either Cheapskate in the Kitchen or Debt-Proof Your Holidays, but checking those books yesterday, awesome reads by the way, did not yield proof.  It could be from her newsletters over the year.  Mostly, I just want to give the idea person his or her props, so I hope I did.

Spend a little time this week in your kitchen, and reap the benefits for months to come!