I don’t know about you guys but buying groceries in the last few months has been a challenge for us. The cost of food has dramatically increased and the availability of a lot of items has gone way down. I used to order weekly from Walmart pick up but they have been out of so many items that I stopped using this resource for now.
Enter the pantry and freezer challenge.
My grocery budget has always been out of control even before we were in a pandemic. For years it’s been our second biggest budget expense and in the last 3 months it has moved up into first place thanks to our recent house refinance.
The current state of quarantine also hasn’t helped much in the budget area since we all have been home much more and one of my kiddos is homeschooling.
Not only has the cost of food risen considerably but the ability to find the foods we normally eat has also been a struggle. I remain extremely grateful that my husbands’ job has been essential during these times and we are fortunate enough to afford both the food we need and the food we want.
The problem?
Food waste and poor planning.
Let’s start with the food waste. Each week we throw out food from our fridge, some that has either expired before we can eat it and some that is leftovers that we just never finished. Sure, we have those nights we call “make your own” and everyone eat’s whatever they find in the fridge but I still find myself dumping excessive amount of foods into our garbage disposal or trash every few days.
It’s both wasteful for our grocery budget and it’s wasteful to the environment.
Stop for a second and consider the impact wasting food has on our world. We all move through our lives so quickly and it’s easy to forget the environmental factors that go into the foods we eat on a daily basis.
The amount of energy and resources consumed to bring us fresh fruits and vegetables and packaged goods, has a lasting impact on our environment.
And what about the meat?
As I was thinking about all the waste I realized a really impactful thought. If we are throwing out meat we are essentially throwing away a life. An animal has given it’s life for us to eat and when we let it spoil we are throwing out a life in the trash. I know that may be a little woo woo but at the end of the day that is what we are doing. It’s something we as a family have been considering more and more and working on showing our kids how to be respectful of both life and the world we live in.
The other side of the coin is the money we are throwing away.
The foods we waste were bought with our hard earned money. Would you pull a $5 bill out of your pocket and put in your garbage disposal? How about a $20 straight into the trash can?
If you throw out a container of strawberries that have gone moldy that is exactly what you are doing. Leftover potroast with potatoes and carrots? That can easily be $5-10 down the drain. Money you could put in savings, towards debt, a vacation or paying off your house.
What can you do to reduce the amount of waste?
Why not use what you already have? I know it seems like a boring and novel idea but let’s look at it a little closer.
First, what is a pantry/freezer challenge?
It’s pretty simple. You make a meal plan using only the ingredients in your pantry and freezer and with little or no grocery shopping. Some people will pick a specific amount of time – a week, two weeks or a month- while others go until the food is used up. My family is currently doing this without a set time period, with the goal being to use up what we have and then make meal planning more of a priority again.
How do you get started?
If you are new to meal planning and have a busy schedule you can do a quick check of what you have and jot down 2-3 dinners you could make with what you already have in your house.
If you can carve out a bit more time, I highly recommend starting with a full inventory of what you already have at home.
For instance, today I am going through and taking inventory of everything in my cabinets, pantry, fridge and freezer. This includes spices and baking supplies and our extra fridge/freezer in our garage.
You can use these planning sheets to do the same.
Once you have a list of all your ingredients, make a list of meals you can throw together easily and that your family enjoys. You need some quick wins. Pulling out cookbooks and making lists of complicated dinners will be the quickest way to sabotage this challenge. The goal is to use what you already have before going back to the grocery store.
For some people it’s like a dream to not have to go to the grocery store. I am not those people.
I LOVE the grocery store. I would go every single day if I could so for me that is the difficult part. I love having an overflowing fridge and all kinds of options in my cupboards but like I said before, we also end up wasting a lot because of lack of planning.
And that’s it. You not only have a meal plan, you are also saving money and using up what you already bought.
Other thoughts about this.
If you struggle with clutter in your kitchen this is a good way to declutter it.
While you are doing your inventory, check the expiration dates on your items and throw out any expired items.
Donate anything you won’t use that is still within the sell by date.
Take it a step further and wipe your cabinets/fridge/pantry down. It doesn’t have to be a deep clean unless you really want to, just a quick wipe of any spills or stains can make all the difference in how your kitchen smells and feels.
A side note- if you have to go to the grocery store for staples like milk, eggs, and bread make sure to stick to only the items you need. Don’t browse the aisles or pick up items for the following week, you will be to tempted to stray from the challenge.
Yay you did it!
Remember to add up the amount of money you saved by doing this challenge. It can be shocking to see how staying out of the grocery store for even a few days can make a big difference in your budget. Money that can be used to payoff debt, take your kids some place fun, or buy yourself a specialty coffee. Looking at you Pumpkin Spice Latte.
Congratulate yourself on making a difference in our world. Every little bit we do to not be wasteful and use our resources makes an impact for future generations.
Have you found other ways to save money when it comes to your grocery budget? Let me know in the comments below so I can add them to the list!