How a pantry audit will save you money

Shoestring Jane explains how a pantry audit can help you feel more in control and save time, stress, and money.

Have you ever looked in your packed fridge or pantry and discovered you can’t see how to put a sensible meal together? Or do you go shopping for certain items, only to find more of the same hiding at the back of the cupboards? If this is you, then a pantry audit is what you need.

Not only will auditing your food stores make you feel more in control, but it can also save you time, stress and money. Here’s where to begin and how a pantry audit will save you money. 

Start here

Start by clearing out your fridge; this will contain perishable items that need to be used first. Create an ‘Eat Me Now’ shelf, so that when the family start looking for snacks they can see that the yoghurts, cheese strings and half a pot of hummus need eating quickly. Make a note of other ingredients that can be incorporated into your meal plan (more on that below).

Go through everything in your freezer. Although food will last a long time frozen, it will start to deteriorate after a few months and won’t last forever. So, if you have been ignoring the reduced-price smoked haddock or the cheese left over from Christmas, now is the time to defrost and eat them!

Finally, pull out everything from the food cupboards, group similar items together and check the best before dates on dry goods like pasta and flour. Make sure they are stored sensibly in jars and containers, and not left open. 

At this point, you can start a shopping list. It may be that you have a ton of tinned tomatoes, but have run out of rice, for example.

Meal planning

Part of your pantry audit process will be to write down possible meals as they occur to you. For example, if you have curry sauce and some canned chickpeas, these could be the basis of a veggie curry. If you have loads of eggs, a frittata or quiche would be a good meal.

If you have random ingredients that have been lurking for a while and don’t know how to use them, try an internet search. For example, search for canned tuna recipes, hot dog recipes, etc.

Soup is a great way to use bendy veg, whilst fruit can be stewed and eaten on your breakfast cereal.

Set yourself a challenge to eat from the pantry as much as you can for the following few weeks. Create your meal plan, using up as many of your food stores as possible. You can then complete a minimal shopping list of just the extra items that will be required.

The benefits of a pantry audit

Needing to buy less

When you conduct a regular pantry audit, you become very aware of the things you and your family enjoy and will actually eat. The wild rice or pickled beetroot might have seemed like good purchases at the time, but if they have been lurking in your cupboard for years, you don’t need to buy them again. 

It makes financial sense to focus your resources on things that will be consumed and enjoyed. 

Reducing food waste

Food waste is a big issue, both financially and environmentally. When you know the food you have, you can plan to eat it and are less likely to need to bin it. 

Saving time

Meal planning saves a lot of time and stress. You can plan something quick and easy for busy days, or a more elaborate meal for when you have more time available. 

The days of looking into your fridge and scratching your head half an hour before dinner will be over!

Building a food store

Although I am suggesting that a regular pantry audit is a good thing, I am not saying you should leave your cupboards bare. In my view, it is a sensible idea to have good food stores for difficult periods. 

If you are sick and struggling to find the energy to cook, it will be helpful to know you have some pasta and pesto or a couple of microwave meals at the ready. When, like me, your income is variable, having a good store of food is a lifesaver for those lean months.

Certainly, having a decent store cupboard when Covid hit was very helpful and reduced the number of trips we needed to make to the supermarket!

I suggest buying one or two useful non-perishable items for your stores each time you go shopping. However, audit your pantry regularly and bring the older foods to the front of the shelf.

Setting the habit

Going forward, make a pantry audit a regular thing (I suggest at least once a month). You will soon discover that by using what you already have, planning your meals and making a shopping list, you will save money, reduce food waste and save time too.

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