Ok, we made it through the first two days, now on to day 3. To recap (and the posts are linked below):

Day 1-cleaned out our binders

Day 2-set our budgets

Day 3-cleaning out my pantry

That’s right, that’s what I’m doing today, cleaning out the pantry. And depending on how much time I have and how much work (my job) I can get done, I may go further than that.

What is expired, stale and needs to be tossed? Toss it or donate it (if unopened). I may reorganized and clean out my stockpile and freezer if I can get to it. Then, going to make some lists of pantry staples that I have, ones that I’m overstocked in, and what I need.

My list of pantry basics:

pasta

beans

sauce

broths

cereal

rice

ketchup

mustard

mayo

snacks

bisquick/flour/baking stuff

oils

vinegars

tomatoes

My freezer basics

First, read this post about how I prepare lots of chicken and ground beef to keep in my freezer.

frozen veggies for side dishes (usually GG boxes)

frozen veggies for cooking with (usually Birds Eye bags)

chicken breasts

a whole chicken or two

ground beef

a few roasts, either pork or beef, purchased when on sale/clearance

pork chops

pork tenderloin

chicken nuggets for kids

waffles

a frozen pizza or two for emergency weeknights

frozen pizza dough

tortillas

And that’s about it. With just those few items in my pantry and freezer at all times, I can construct lots of quick healthy meals. Tomorrow is Day 4–now we have a clean slate, a new budget figure, a cleaned out binder and a cleaned out pantry and freezer. We are ready to clip, shop and save money!