My Pantry List

I can’t imagine not having my pantry list.  It is the most valuable tool in my meal planning arsenal.  As long as I have everything on this list in my home I can make just about anything.  I developed it years ago and have fine tuned it over time to make it what it is today.  I am so protective of it that I keep a hard copy and a copy on my flash drive, just in case.  Last year when my laptop died I was so grateful to have it backed up. 

I simply print off the list (I like to use colored paper just for fun) and circle the items to buy at the store.  Actually, I work on three month’s worth of grocery lists at one time projecting ahead what I’ll need to buy.  The idea is to do a planned replacement of the items I use each month. 

By working on three monthly lists at one time I can juggle how I replace items based on need, sales at the store, seasons of the year, etc.  For instance if I know in the next three months I’ll need bacon I have that long to wait for a good sale and buy it at that time for future use or if I really need it now I’ll buy it now.  I prefer to wait for a sale.

At least half, if not more, of the groceries I purchase every month are for future use.  Immediate use items are usually things like fresh produce, milk, eggs, cheese and yogurt. 

If you would like a working copy of this spreadsheet contact me with your email address and I will send it to you in Excel format. 

My meal planning/grocery tool kit consists of my pantry lists, meal planners, coupons and an envelope to keep them in, a mechanical pencil and eraser, as well as a binder to store everything and keep it portable.  I also keep the new recipes I want to try in my binder.  Once I try them and they make the cut they’ll go into my recipe book while those that don’t get trashed. 

You can make one of these very simply and I challenge you to do so with things you already have around the house.  My original one started out as a slightly used spiral notebook, a #10 envelope, a calendar and a pencil.