what's in your pantry - week four - keeping the home fires burning

Welcome back for the fourth installment of Keeping the Home Fires Burning.  We talked about the importance of home cooked meals last week and based on your comments, that time together is crucial to keeping the family together.  In order to be able to put a healthy, tasty meal on the table obviously you need to have food in the house. I know when I'm faced with hungry mouths to feed and empty cupboards the choice to grab fast food versus a run to the grocery store can be overwhelming.

That brings us to today's topic - the kitchen pantry.

"Since I never like to get in my car and go anywhere, ever (don’t be like me; I have issues, man) I try my best to structure things so that I have a stockpile of basic essentials that I buy in bulk once or twice a year…then I just fill in the fresh things (milk, bread, eggs, fresh produce, meat, etc) at the grocery store as needed."  Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman

I told you when we started this series that I would keep it real so as tempting as it was to straighten mine up before taking pictures, what you see here is what my family sees on most any given day.  As you can see, I don't have a true pantry so I have designated three different cupboards throughout the kitchen to hold our staples.

The largest holds cans, cereals, bread and pasta. I try to keep items separated but it is hit or miss.

In another cupboard, I have two shelves designated for snacks and cooking essentials...spices, oils, cooking wine vinegars, etc.  And one small cupboard for baking needs.

Because my space is limited, I need to come up with a system that will allow me to store as many staples as possible in minimal space.

To get started and take stock of what I already have on hand, I removed everything from the shelves and wiped them down.  Before re-stocking I checked for expiration dates and tossed and tossed and tossed.  (Insert guilty heart here for wasting so much food.)

I always look for bulk items that come in reusable storage containers so that when the contents run out I can use the container for something else that needs to be stored in the pantry. It would be nice to have matching containers but that's something that is just not in our budget right now.

Now that everything is in it's proper place I can start my shopping list.  It's amazing how easy it is to see what I need on market day when things are organized.



I am hoping that seeing my spices and oils will inspire me to try new dishes.

Even my little baking station looks better all spiffed up.

I went on line and found some great sources for stocking a pantry from some of my favorite cooks and organization experts.  I have provided their links for your reference.

Martha Stewart's pantry must haves
Martha Stewart's pantry checklist
Martha Stewart's setting up a pantry
Paula Deen's pantry basics
The Pioneer Woman - Ree Drummond pantry basics
Real Simple pantry staples checklist

Now it's your turn...What are your top pantry basics?   Would I find order if I opened up your pantry today?  What pantry organizational tools were worth the money?

As always, thanks for sharing.

xo, Patty