Pantry Organization to Save Money | Pantry Inventory How To

Go beyond pretty storage containers and use pantry organization to save money! Taking a pantry inventory helps you use what you’ve already purchased and get creative in the kitchen.

One of the best ways to save money is to start with what you already have.

In order to do that, you have to know what is lurking in each cupboard.

That means you need to do a kitchen pantry inventory.

What is a pantry inventory?

Simply put, a pantry inventory is a list of all of the food items you have in the kitchen. It’s the first step toward using up what you have to avoid food waste and save money!

PANTRY ORGANIZATION AND INVENTORY

When you think of pantry storage, you might imagine matching bins and clear containers all lined up on a shelf and labeled. And don’t get me wrong – an organized pantry can be a beautiful thing!

But our reasons for pantry organization go beyond aesthetics.

Save money. Using what you have means not buying additional ingredients.
Avoid food waste. You already spent the money, so don’t waste what you have! Use it up instead.
Stop buying doubles (or triples!) of things. Have you ever bought a bottle of ketchup, only to come home and discover 2 more pushed to the back of the pantry? Doing an inventory helps you keep track of food items like sauces, so you don’t purchase something that’s already in your kitchen.
Understand your purchases. A pantry inventory can help you reassess what you actually need vs what was just an impulse buy, leading to smarter shopping in the future.

Once you know what you actually use, you can make it your goal to stock your real food pantry with your most-used items at the best prices.

Various canned goods stacked on top of each other for pantry organization

HOW TO DO A FOOD INVENTORY

Before we get started with the food inventory, remember one key thing: You don’t have to do this all at once! But you DO have to do it all.

Note: There are many pantry inventory apps and trackers out there. But I recommend good old pencil and paper – it’s easy to start without trying to learn something new. You can always test out tech tools later on!

Begin with the fridge.

Start at the top shelf, and as you see an item, write it down.
Repeat this process for the whole shelf.
Continue to work through the main part of the refrigerator, as well as the door.

Repeat the process for the freezer. If you have a separate chest freezer, pull everything out to inventory that too.

Repeat the process for the pantry. Top to bottom, left to right, one shelf, drawer, or cupboard at a time. And don’t forget the pantry door!

And repeat the process for the spice cabinet, as well as any additional spaces you store food – fresh, frozen, and dry goods.

Once you have a list of all of the food items in your house, you can use that list to plan meals based on what you have.

A notebook with two pens, next to an egg carton, a berry basket, and half of a lemon.

KITCHEN INVENTORY TIPS

Be as specific as you can. Instead of “chicken”, write “4 chicken breasts”.
Write down the amount in each package if possible. (Estimates are fine, like ‘half a box of pasta’, but knowing about how much is left will help you in your meal planning.)
Don’t be afraid to throw things away, but learn from them and don’t purchase them again.
- Anything that’s expired or rotten
- Leftovers you’ve been avoiding
- Items you know for a fact you won’t eat (those sauce packets you’ve been holding onto??)

Pantry Organization Tips

As you’re putting items back into the freezer or pantry, make sure to put the oldest items or items with the closest expiration dates near the front/top so they get used up first.
Jot down any meal ideas that come to mind as you’re making your pantry inventory list, and note which pantry items you’ll use for those meals.
If your pantry organization method is “shove everything in and hope it fits”, start by giving each shelf a broad category or zone and putting like items together. Reducing clutter helps tremendously.
- One shelf could be canned goods, another could be snacks, another could be baking supplies like sugar and chocolate chips, and so on.
- Label the shelves with tape or sticky notes to help you (and your family members) remember where things go.
- Remember, you can use original packaging and jars and still create storage systems!

An overhead view of 3 jars of dry goods: red lentils, oats, and wheat berries

PANTRY LIST TO USE NOW

As you make a pantry inventory list, chances are you’ll find some items that keep getting pushed to the back of the pantry or freezer because you don’t know what to do with them.

Maybe you bought an ingredient for one specific recipe, but haven’t used it since.

If you liked the recipe, add it to your meal plan again!
If you didn’t like the recipe, see if you can find another one to try that uses that ingredient.

Or maybe you found a good deal on a snack to stock up on, but no one has been eating it.

Pull it out of the pantry and make it visible! Sometimes all it takes is a bowl on the counter for the family to realize it’s there.
Find a new way to use it. If you bought crackers, but no one is eating them, or you found a partial bag of chips that have gone a bit stale, use them as a bread crumbs substitute. Crumble cookies for the crust of a dessert or use them as an ice cream topping.

Whether you pull ingredients out onto the counter to make them visible, or you make yourself a pantry list of items to use now, turn those random ingredients into a cooking challenge for yourself. Pretend you’re on Chopped and see what you can come up with!

If you want to stretch yourself even more, do a pantry challenge! See how long you can go without heading to the grocery store.

Several grocery items: an apple, an orange, a carton of vegetable broth, 2 cans of chiles, a can of black olives, and a can of crushed tomatoes

MAINTAINING PANTRY ORGANIZATION

A full kitchen inventory is a lot of work, but as you’ll soon see, the rewards for knowing what you already have are enormous.

Plus, the more often you take inventory and use it as you plan, the more you save!

However, I know it’s not realistic to spend up to several hours doing a full inventory every week.

For the long term, consider spending a couple of minutes moving things around or organizing them as you pull out the ingredients to cook dinner. Or do an inventory of one area at the start of each month.

At the very least, shop your kitchen before you head to the store to see what you can cross off the list.

Being aware of what you already have is a shift in the mindset from always adding more to using what you already have, and it’s a habit you can build with practice.