M. Suzanne Terry

I confess an unholy obsession with jarred roasted peppers.

My pantry stays pretty well organized. Before you prepare to pat me on the back and ring out a hearty, “Great job!” you should know that this accomplishment is due more to the necessity of small space rather than to my organizational diligence. I have six shelves that are approximately a square foot apiece, and those few shelves house all shelf-stable food – from dry beans and jars of sauce to baking basics.

I was raised on a farm under the wide West Texas sky, so I like a lot of space. For everything. I have a few friends who love the tiny house movement, and when they post pictures of their favorite layouts, I think, “Oh, what a cute closet that is.”

But being short of space in the pantry has been a gift. It means that unless I want my stockpile to leak out onto my table and cabinet tops (which I do not, for the record), I have to keep it organized. It forces me to use the space wisely. I have to keep in mind what items are staples (which we will discuss later this week) and what items are extraneous.

Today, you have two tasks:

Task 1 – Take inventory of your pantry space by answering these questions:
1. How much space do you have? Is it enough? Is it too much?
2. Which of the items currently in your pantry are staples (i.e., things you use frequently)? Which of the items currently in your pantry are extras (e.g., junk food, leftover jars from a former recipe that you no longer plan to use, etc.)?

Task 2 – Reorganize your pantry, prioritizing things you will actually use. To do this, follow these steps:

• Take everything out of the pantry and set it on a table or some other open space.
• Divide items into these categories: keepers (things you know you will use within the next month or two), give-aways (things you will not use but can still be used by someone), and throw-aways (things you will not use and should not be ingested by anyone ever).
• Cut your pantry space in half. Yes – half. Don’t worry – this will not last, and you’ll have your space back by next week. We’re just carving out a little space to work with when we talk about staples.
• In your new, smaller space, put your keeper items back in. They may not all fit right now, and that’s okay. Just leave them out in the organizing space, and alert family, housemates, etc., that they are a temporary work in progress.
• Find friends or a local food bank where you can donate your give-aways. Toss your throw-aways in the garbage.

Once you have completed this, you will be ready to make your first meal plan tomorrow!

I’m sharing my Epic Meal Planning strategies for Write 31 Days – click to see the master list.