Organizing your kitchen

Organize your Kitchen and spend a little for  A LOT

The key to not spending a lot on groceries is being able to PLAN AHEAD! Easier said than done though, right?

Over this last year I have been playing with ideas to make a functional pantry and keep tabs on almost everything that we have and use. 

Here is our process for organizing our kitchen! READY....SET.....GO!

Step 1: Make a Menu 

1. Make a list of all the things that you REALLY enjoy eating when you go out. Burger and fries, chips and salsa, chef salad, caesar salad,etc. 
2. Check various websites for recipes. My personal favorites are allrecipes.com and Pinterest. 
3. Think about how many people are in your family and multiply that by 3 meals a day. 

Example: There are 3 people in my family and we eat 3 meals a day=3 X 3= 9 portions a day that we will have to make. Then multiply that by 7 days as week. 9 portions day X 7 days a week= 63 portions a week!! WOAH! 

Cheat sheet: 

1 person=21 Meals per week

2 People=42 Meals per week

3 people=63 Meals per week

4 people=84 Meals per week

5 people=105 Meals per week 

BUT....If you plan right and portion right you will be golden! This also DOES NOT include LEFTOVERS!!! 

Step 2: Pick your Recipes

1. On Google Docs or Word, make a list of all the recipes that you would like to make this week. I like to keep a sheet with all the recipes I have found that I REALLY like and then I can pick and choose what I want for which week. Here is an example: Meal Planning List. 
2. When picking your recipes you ALWAYS want to take into consideration what you have in your pantry FIRST. That way you won't have to go out and buy more of what you already have and in turn you will save lots of MULA! 
3. I have created a fast and simple way to keep track of pantry items. You make a list of all the foods you and your family like or the things that you use, print them out, put them in sheet protectors and use a dry erase pen to keep track of what you have. Less food waste. Less paper waste and it's reusable! Here is an example: Kitchen Inventory List
4. Keep this on your fridge or somewhere everyone will be able to see it. 
5. Anything you take out of the cupboard or use, mark it off the list. If there is 24 on your list erase it and put 23,etc. 

Step 3: Make a Shopping List 

1. Make yourself a shopping list of all the things that you will need for your recipes and WRITE THEM DOWN. I like to categorize them so that I can get in and out of the store. 
2. Here is an example: Categorized Shopping List
3. Keep your list next to your inventory list so that you will be able to write something down if you are out of it. 

That's all for today!! Please feel free to leave a comment or email if you have any questions regarding the process! 

HAPPY SHOPPIN'! 

CHEERS!!