[qtkitty]

:nerv2: The dreaded question for me .. and if i was to make a bet quite a few of us. We have a stock pile but if you asked us what all is in it .... uhhhhm ... well.

This is something important to know so we can all keep track and be sure to rotate out older stock. ( BTW i was thinking about this.. why not mark on the can ect with perminate marker either the date bought or if there is a date on the can that date so we know whats the oldest quickly and easily!!)

I know i need to go through my stockpile and write down what all i have so i have a list... because at the moment since i can't see everything because of the way i need to store it i need the list so i can see what i have.


So what is in your stock pile?

 

[Frugal Nurse]

I cleaned my cabinets out a couple of months ago and wrote down EVERYTHING that was in it. Food and non food.

It actually helped me in prepping some meals...I looked at the list and said..."now what can I do with the basmati rice..... "


It is SUPER helpful to have a list. You know what there, what needs replenishing.

When it's used... it's crossed off.

The only problem I have is when the children use something- they tend NOT to cross off. Grrrrr. "pick your battles FN... pick your battles"


Also, in the organization task.... I found non food itesms that I forgot I had... cookie presses, cookie cutters.. things like that.

 

[TheRootedNomad]

Generally I have a pretty good idea in my head of what I have. This is especially true of things I use consistantly. It may not be exact but I can generally say "I've got about a case of ketchup but veg. oil was only a couple of bottles"

I do go through it all and write it down about every 8 months or so though to see how I'm doing and before I go to the grocery I generally do a quick scan through the cabinets.

 

[IntlMom]

I also know generally what;s in it and how much. Although I never have written it down, and while others might do that, I think it's safe to say that I will never will.

 

[Didi]

Excellent question!

I've been struggling with this as well. While I like the idea of writing everything down, I would like to keep constantly track of what's in my pantry so that I also know when I should purchase what & how much. So basically I want an inventory combined with a shopping list system.

I'm looking forward to reading your solutions.

 

[emily_hope]

I don't have a really large stockpile so right now I can see at a glance what I have. I also have a pretty big area in my basement where I keep most of my stockpile so it's not just stacked all on top of each other to where I can't see what's what. I had read about marking things with a permanent marker and have done that on the new items I have purchased. I have canned beans, canned fruit, crackers, grits, oatmeal, condiments, cleaning products, snacks, meats in the freezer. There are probably a few other items if I went and took a peek. That is all I can think of right now off the top of my head.l

 

[lwlynch]

thats why i made that post.. whats in the pantry.. sure cleaned out alot of my sitting stuff...

 

[cissylu]

I can pretty much see mine when I look at the cabinet.
I have written mine down before. but haven`t lately.

 

[Marie78]

Generally I have a pretty good idea in my head of what I have. This is especially true of things I use consistantly. It may not be exact but I can generally say "I've got about a case of ketchup but veg. oil was only a couple of bottles"

I do go through it all and write it down about every 8 months or so though to see how I'm doing and before I go to the grocery I generally do a quick scan through the cabinets.

I have a general idea too and I do a quick scan before I go grocery shopping. I might make a master list this month and then I'll have a list to check off things as we use them. I am pretty good about knowing what I need, but my fiance doesn't think this way:skept:. This is where the list would be helpful, that way I can track what he's running low on or has for toiletries and I can take advantage during sales and when I have coupons (before they expire). He's frustrating to say the least when it comes to telling me he has enough of something so I don't use a coupon and stock up on a sale item, then find out he really meant he only had enough to last him another few weeks...grrrrr

 

[zakity]

I did a huge major inventory a few months back. I inventoried the pantry and the freezer. I even put it in a spreadsheet.

Of course, I had planned on keeping it updated. That didn't happen though.

I did it before summer hit. It worked out great because I used the odds and ends things in soup.

I now have it totally organized. I have the pantry labeled where things go since the boys help me put groceries away. I even have the freezer organized. I think I might even have them trained to put the new stuff in back.

 

[ironmaiden]

I have made a Microsoft Word table. Lists the food, where is it, how many, and category. I cross of things as used and every few months reinventory and update the list. I'll also look at the list and write a list of dinners to make.

Example:
rice pantry 10 lbs side dish
chicken tenders freezer 5 packages meat

I now also keep lists for pool supplies, health, paper goods etc.,

I have also started making lists for Thanksgiving dinner menu (let's face it, it doesn't really change from year to year), coffee hour for church, Christmas dinner, Easter dinner. Basically all the "events" that we routinely hold that I need to prepare and organize for. Thus the list has what the dish is and the list of ingredients. I highlight what I'd need to buy at the grocery store. I know what needs to be done and what the timeline is for it all.

 

[POOTERSMOMMY]

I keep a running list on the frig. side as to what's in the freezers. i.e.; FREEZER GARAGE, DOWNSTAIRS FREEZER, FRIG FREEZER. It's on the computer, so I can update printout whenever. Just a couple days ago, I cleaned out pantry, and catorgorized really well. I can see everything. Extra's downstairs in basement, was cleaned and straightened up too.
So I always can look at the freezer list to see what I need for dinner, or just glance in the pantry.

 

[FarmerSue]

Hmmmm, good post. That's what I love about coming here. I have a good idea but I have to admit I get surprised all the time. ie I was SURE I had more ranch dressing.....turns out I was wrong. I really do need to get down there and sort.

 

[qtkitty]

Frugal Nurse~ my grandmother had a Huge tin Tub the OLD OLD popcorn ones that were HUGE .. and she put all the cookie cutters ect in there together ... everything that had to do with "christmas" cookie baking .. convieniently the tin was christmasy

 

[qtkitty]

FarmerSue~ i know .. im always going now i know i had another one of these .. since i always have an extra on hand... atleast one opened and one on side waiting to play

 

[Didi]

thats why i made that post.. whats in the pantry.. sure cleaned out alot of my sitting stuff...

I must have overlooked your post. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Jskell911]

I do know what's in mine, and we rotate stock. As a matter of fact, I was doing this this weekend as we have added alot this past week. I do not have it in writing per se, but I do keep a "Stockpile Wish List" running. This just tells me the deals that I am currently looking for. When I stock up, I cross it off. If I am running low, I add that item to the list.

 

[Persimmon Lace]

I know now! My dniece came this weekend and we completely cleaned and organized the pantry. She put the new stuff up and we rotated some things out. The only things that were expired were some Progresso soups that I bought on sale and we didn't like at all. I got them 3 for a 1.00 and had 2 of them left. We did find that I had overstashed dry black beans but I'm going to cook them on Wednesday, since it will cool that day and freeze them.

 

[geckoace]

my stockpile is small and i just moved it from our inconvenient deep pantry (we are getting rid of it) to shallow shelves so i can see at a glance what is there. but the freezer is packed with who knows what and i need to inventory some nonfood items in my house like HBAs and home improvement stuff

 

[Neeley]

We live in an area where basements are unheard of and no real attic to speak of. So, I am fortunate in that I have a large laundry room with two sets 7 foot high/five foot wide/two foot deep industrial shelves(one set has five shelves the other has four) that hold all of my dry goods/H&B/canned goods/paper products/cleaning supplies. I have it organized so I can see everything at a glance without moving things around.

Now my deep freezer.......that is a different story. I have a really good idea of what all is in there, but not 100%. It is a total unorganized mess. I am considering a dry erase board attached to it with a list of the contents written on it.