Now that your inventory and master list are made, time for a plan of action.

Like Things Together

As with everything else in my kitchen, things belonging to the same “family” are stored together. All cast iron pans in one place, all pots in a large drawer by the stove, all flours or sauces are in one place. On one shelf, all my flavored vinegar’s, and all oils on another. This allows me to see and find at a glance the item that I want.

Canned goods are together, with tomato products in a separate place from fruits or vegetables. Sweeteners are shelved together. You’re starting to get the idea. You might want to evaluate your whole kitchen to see what can be rearranged and re-grouped to add to functionality. Are all small appliances in one place? All the attachments for your KitchenAid, for example?

Organizing Aides

Label shelves and containers. This will aide in keeping like=things together, and will remind you what’s in the container. this is especially true in the freezer where things can look much different once frozen. Mystery meat anyone?

Canned goods I keep on can racks in my laundry room. I might have 2 or 3 cans of creamed soup in the kitchen cupboard, but I probably by half a dozen at a time. Extras all go here.

Flours and other bulks dry goods like beans go into plastic containers. I particularly like Oxo Poptops and other Airtight containers that are easy to open with one hand. I generally buy containers in set, to not only get a variety of sizes, but usually sets are less costly that buying individual pieces. Some containers can be pricey, so I also use lots of Mason glass canning jars. Feel free to up-cycle other used containers as well.

Spices I have hung on cabinet doors, where they are much easier to see and find than in a drawer or en masse on a shelf. Sweet baking spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice are together. Warm southwestern-like spices (cumin, smoked paprika, New Mexico Chile) are also grouped together. and so it goes. Herbs are kept in another spice rack. All in all, the spices and herbs I use the most are all handy and within easy reach of my stove and counters. Other things like whole seeds (mustard, cumin, anise, caraway) are also in a spice rack, but across the kitchen on a pantry door. Not to be too anal, I also often file each rack alphabetically, so individual spices are even easier to find among the group I created.

Arrange your spices in a way that works for you, but do try to either keep them together, or, if you have a lot like me, organize them into set that make sense to you. I tend to leave spices in their original packaging, or save and individual bottle and just refill it if I buy that spice in bulk.

Keep small like items – gravy mixes, small packets – in clear plastic bins on a shelf or in the refrigerator. This prevents small items from being lost or overlooked.

Don’t forget the Refrigerator

The refrigerator is an ancillary part of the pantry in your kitchen. Keep like items together on the doors and shelves. I use plastics bins or a fridge lazy Susan for cooking items. Vegetable and fruit bins are there for a reason. I also use a lot of Green Bags to keep produce fresh.

Using Your Master List

Going back to your Master List. I like to use a spread sheet I created so I can mark off items as I remove them form the pantry and make a shopping list from what is low. Especially with a large freezer, and most chest freezers, it’s easy to forget what’s in the bottom. Bins or bags can keep like items together (all hamburger in one place, steaks in one, chicken legs, pork chops, etc). Send me a note to sally@foxpineshomestead.com if you’d like my freezer inventory guide.

Organize your master list by categories. I recommend by food type: fresh produce, canned goods, baking goods, proteins by the kind of meat, frozen foods, dairy, condiments, bakery items. IF you want, you can then put the categories in the order of your local store, as you go up and down aisles.

In my upright freezer I designate the top for boxed goods and seafood, one shelf for beef, one shelf for chicken and one for pork. Stock that I make and freeze goes on the door, along with small item like purchased individual pot pies, butter and small bags of whole grains. Bins make it easy to keep frozen meat from falling out on my foot, and also lets me know at a glance which protein we might be low on.

Ready, Set, Shop!

On paper, or in your mind, know when you want to re-stock items. Is it when there is one left? Three? When the flour bin is half empty? A restocking point. especially on a spread sheet where it’s easily seen, is a good reminder that says “Add me to your Grocery List Now!”.

Once your master list is written off and items checked off, circled, or written into a new shopping list, you are ready to go. If you are used to shipping weekly, plan to wait 2 weeks. If you shop every other week, wait 3 or 4 weeks. Try ordering items on line and go pick up your order without walking into the store. I add to my cart as I need things, or want things, rather than all at once when I want to shop. It’s a good way for me to go back and review what I dropped in the cart before actually checking out. Do I really want 6 of one item? Do I need that specialty thing at all?

Lastly write out a meal plan.

Nothing fancy – a list by the weekday, or on a calendar. I tend to use my paper calendar, and plan something like this: poultry 2 days a week, beef 2 days a week, one day for leftover re-imagined,and one day for dish or seafood, one day for a meatless meal or casserole. Then I open my recipe box, cookbooks or magazine recipes I have saved and start adding them onto the calendar. It never works perfectly – some days are just too hectic for whatever I planned – but it’s a guideline so that not only do I stand in front of the freezer going “What’s for dinner” but also what I will be removing and will need to replace and add to my shopping list. I can take out meat or the casserole a day head to defrost and then be ready to cook.

I hope this series has helped you in your kitchen for organization and planning. What worked best for you? What else did you find that worked?