Pantry Challenge - Week 4 Update & Final Thoughts

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The last week of January was busier than normal for us, but we were still able to work towards the goals we set to help trim our pantry to a more manageable size. We still have a long way to go in getting through some excess items, so I anticipate we will continue on with similar goals for the next few months.

My Pantry Challenge Goals Update

Reduce Dry Pantry Goods 
This week I ended up picking up a few boxes of crisp rice cereal, one on clearance, one at full price, with intention of making some Rice Krispy treats for a neighbor with a family member who eats gluten free. These mostly filled back in the progress I'd made in clearing out the folding bookshelf, but I hope to get those made in the near future.

As for the items residing on top of our kitchen cabinets, we were able to use up a box of granola bars and Trader Joes Shortbread Star Cookies.

We still have a long way to go to clear off those top cabinets completely, but this challenge has forced me to focus more on those items and be much more intentional with how much I really need to keep on hand vs. the amount that we actually eat between the sale cycles. I think overall we did a great job reducing open and miscellaneous items and I am planning to keep working on this for the next few months.
Scratch Made Bagels


This week we used from the pantry:
  • Potatoes that were starting to develop eyes for Shepard's Pie
  • A can of corn for Shepard's Pie
  • A can of cream style corn for Shepard's Pie
  • Brownie Mix
  • A half-bag of egg noodles for Tuna Noodle Casserole
  • A can of cream of mushroom in Tuna Noodle Casserole
  • Can of Tuna
  • English muffins for English Muffin Pizzas
  • Everything but the bagel seasoning on..... bagels
  • A jar of homemade applesauce
  • Half a bag of Goldfish crackers

This week we used from the fridge/freezer:
  • Ground Beef
  • 2 Chicken Breasts
  • Skirt Steak
  • Some past-date sour cream in the Tuna Noodle Casserole
  • The remains of an open container of heavy cream in Mac and Cheese
  • Egg wash left from making bagels, in scrambled eggs to go on said bagels
  • A tube of crescent roll dough
  • Pizza sauce from the freezer
  • Misc cheese slices from New Years Eve on top of the Shepard's Pie and in Mac and Cheese
Repurpose Freezer Space
I am still trying to figure out how I can most efficiently utilize the space in our new above the fridge freezer. I want to be able to have some ice cube trays in there, plus room to put a cookie sheet for freezing items.

Currently I have baskets containing everything, which works well, but does not use the space as efficiently as I hoped. I think I'll be looking at changing out the baskets, and possibly moving the shelf height around.

Overall we've done a good job of using up miscellaneous items in this freezer, so it's much more manageable. So I'd say this goal was mostly met!
Sheet Pan Mac n' Cheese from Damn Delicious

Keep the Top Level of the Chest Freezer Clear
A busier than anticipated week and weekend meant that I did not have the chance to defrost the freezer as I had hoped, but we've made significant progress overall in using items out of the chest freezer, and not adding to it. I think there are only a few items left on that "top layer," a few of which I found on last week's "chicken hunt" - since they were older items I put them on top to work into meals during the next week or two.

Again - a goal mostly met, but still a work in progress.

Spend only $100 on Groceries
Well, this is the one goal I probably did the most poorly at. We ended spending $150 this month on groceries. This is still less than my monthly goal of $200, and less than previous months, but not the $100 spend I had hoped for. 

I think if I had gone into January with this goal (it was a bit of an afterthought, after I'd already spend $60 or so in the first week) it would have been more successful. I did end up having a few unplanned purchases for special ingredients for birthdays. I was also sucked into a few clearance product and dairy deals that I could have purchased less of.

I am going to try again next month, and hopefully will be more successful. The overall premise will be the same - fresh produce/dairy, sale items, and replacing a pantry staple that we are out of only if really needed (as in, no substitutions available).
A Cozy Dinner for a Snowy Saturday

What We Ate This Past Week and a Half...

Breakfasts
Cereal w/ Milk
Granola Bars w/ Peanut butter
Breakfast Sandwiches
Homemade Bagels w/ Cream Cheese

Lunches
Leftover Shepard's Pie & Green Beans
Tuna Noodle Casserole w/ Broccoli
Taco Salad w/ Cucumber Slices
Lunch Out for a Birthday
English Muffin Pizzas

Dinners
Chicken in the Air Fryer w/ Rice and Green Beans - we had this a few times because it was super quick and easy, some night we changed out the veg or had a salad
Shepard's Pie w/ Salad and Crescent Rolls
Skirt Steak w/ Mac n' Cheese & Broccoli
Dinner Out One Night - this provided enough leftovers for four lunches when combined with a few misc side items left in the fridge

Final Thoughts from this Pantry Challenge

I hope you've enjoyed this take on a pantry challenge. I wish I had a major before and after to share with you, but I knew going into this that the goals I discussed were targets to work towards, not ones that would necessarily be achievable over the past four weeks. What has been achieved is a refocus towards keeping our pantry more manageable in size and evaluating what foods we currently enjoy, and which we should buy less of in the future.

My plan is to continue to work towards these four goals, especially reducing our dry goods and keeping our budget at or around $100 for the next few months to bring our pantry down to a more manageable level. This should help me reduce the visual clutter that dry goods create within our apartment and use up items that we overbought or aren't our favorite.

I will continue to document our progress going forward as well, it just may not be in dedicated pantry challenge posts - I haven't quite envisioned what the format will be yet going forward. Stay tuned!

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