Mavis Mail – Barbara From Michigan Shows off Her Downsized Pantry

A big THANK YOU to everyone who sent in their photos for the $20/$20 Challenge in 2015. I hope by sharing those pantry pictures and organization stories, you were able to gain a little useful information. The challenge might be over, but I’d love to still see those pantries! If you’re willing to share, I’m willing to share, so keep ’em coming. If I end up using your submission, you score a $20 Amazon gift card! See details below.

~Mavis

Our latest submission comes from reader, Barbara, who shows us how she’s downsizing her pantry and shopping habits after the kids have flown the coop!

Hi Mavis,

Your $20/$20 challenge is a terrific idea! We can all learn so much from each other : )

After rearing and launching three kids, my husband and I have moved to a smaller home. The way I grocery shop is similar, but we have made some adjustments. When our children were young, I shopped mostly grocery store sales, stocking up on things that were great deals. I would buy HUGE amounts of say, chicken thighs, separate them into family dinner size packages and freeze. I also had a big garden, and shopped at Costco a few times a year . . . for gigantic jars of pickles, cases of tuna, etc… I would generally purchase a carload of stuff on those trips. Now I do some of my shopping at Aldi and find some great prices without having to buy in large quantities.

Lately I’ve been figuring out how to arrange a ‘pantry’ in a smaller kitchen while continuing to save lots of money, efficiently cook for two, and always be ready to serve a crowd!

Here’s what I’ve done so far . . .

There is space in the basement for extra canned goods and we also have a chest freezer down there, so I still load up when the grocery store has good sales. I repackage meat into smaller portions and freeze, and store canned goods on shelves underneath the Christmas decorations and to the left of the small tools ; ) My husband is a hunter, and that provides plenty of meat, most of which he butchers and packages himself, in packages sized to fit our needs.

The actual kitchen pantry sort of does double duty. I store items I need on a regular basis in there, along with baking dishes and my hand mixer. Storing those items together is super handy, and I can easily see what I have on hand. Notice there is a lot of stacking going on. With less space now, this is essential for me. I place some cushioning between the glass dishes to prevent chipping, etc.. My favorite product to use for protecting the glassware and to keep things from sliding around is rubberized shelf-liner. I invert the lids of Pyrex casserole dishes and stack them into a little pyramid. You can see some of the shelf-liner material sticking out from underneath the casserole dish at the top of the pyramid.

Even though there aren’t a ton of cabinets, I did designate one for spices alone. I still had to do a bit more stacking . . . I bought a small tiered shelf-helper for the smaller spice containers, but using up an entire cabinet for spices left me a little short on space for dishes. So, even after paring down the number of dishes that moved to the smaller house with us, I am stacking some more. Stacking the dishes works out fine . . .

I even place the paper plates atop the regular plates!

Lots of things have been repurposed around here, now that our nest is empty. Huge flower planters now grow tomato plants. The china cabinet holds quilts and stationery, and I have included a picture of what I use to corral the items used most frequently in the kitchen. The oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar bowl now sit in what used to be a tray for a candle arrangement.

So that’s how we’ve continued to save money and stay organized even though daily life has changed a lot around here.
We’ve added a couple of luxuries (as you might notice in the photos) now that our budget isn’t stretched so tight from buying carts and carts full of groceries all the time:
Mom and Dad buy more than one bottle of wine when it is on sale, and we brew single cups of coffee whenever we like!

Thanks much for giving to food pantries . . .

Best regards,
Barbara from Michigan

If you would like to have your garden, chicken coop or something you’ve made featured on One Hundred Dollars a Month, here’s what I’m looking for:

• Your Garden Pictures and Tips – I’d especially like to see your garden set ups, growing areas, and know if you are starting seeds indoors this year. If so,  show me some picture of how you are going about it.
• Your Pantry Pics – Submit at least 5 HIGH QUALITY pictures of your pantry/fridge/cabinets, as well as a short blurb {at the very least} about you and your food habits.
• Your Chicken and Chicken Related Stories – Coops, Chicks, Hen’s, Roosters, Eggs, you name it. If it clucks, send us some pictures to share with the world.
• Cool Arts & Crafts – Made from your very own hands with detailed {and well photographed} pictures and instructions.
• Your pictures and stories about your pets. The more pictures and details the better.
• Garage Sale, Thrift Store and Dumpster Diving pictures and the stories behind the treasures you found including how much you paid for them.

If I feature your pictures and the stories behind them on One Hundred Dollars a Month, I will send you a $20.00 gift card to the greatest store in the world: Amazon.com.

Go  HERE for the official rules.