The $20/$20 Challenge: Karen From SW Idaho Shares Her No-Pantry Pantry Pictures

Today’s $20/$20 Challenge submission is from a reader who gardens, cans and shares her bounty! Here’s Karen’s story:

Hi Mavis! I’ve been following your blog for several years now and glean so many great tips/advice from it! My name is Karen and I live in SW Idaho. I’ve been married for 27 years to my high school sweetie and have two grown children ages 23 and 20. My youngest still lives at home while attending college. I grew up on an acreage where my mom gardened and canned, in addition to our family raising our own beef and pork. I married a hunter so we also harvest deer and elk to add to our freezer as well.

I have several raised beds for vegetables as well as an area for pumpkins and squash. Can’t forget pots of herbs to dry as well as fresh cat nip for the kitties. I have about 25 chickens that free range on bug patrol during the day that give us lots of tasty eggs and the excess go to friends and family. The girls have names to match their personalities!

I purchase many bulk items at WinCo and store in labeled canisters. I love to make my own energy bars as well as lots of breads and baked goods so bulk is the way to go for me. We don’t have a huge pantry in our kitchen so I store extra in other spots.

This pic is the closet in my daughters’ old room where I store canned salsa, spaghetti sauce, pickles, relish, beans and jams. I also keep large appliances that take up too much counter space like my bread maker, rice cooker, juicer and crock pots there as well.

These are shelves in the basement where I keep overflow essential items like food and sundries.

We have two freezers in our garage where in one we keep all of the soups, pureed squash and chopped tomatoes and zucchini that I vacuum seal, as well as Costco items that need to be kept frozen. I purchase hams and turkeys around the holidays when they are on sale to cook and freeze in smaller portions for the rest of the year.

The rest of the space as well as the other freezer contain the beef we raise as well as any venison and elk we harvest.

Last fall I made homemade tomato basil soup from my garden and froze it in freezer bags as well as treating myself to an inexpensive dehydrator to make my own dried fruits which I purchased from the local orchards when they were in season.

I have to say that there is no better feeling than feeding your family nourishing and delicious foods that you grow and process yourself!

It doesn’t take long before your friends and family get hooked on them as well! I just have one condition… please return the jars and you will always get a refill! Thanks for checking out my little slice of heaven!

Are you getting your pantries camera ready? You can participate in the $20/$20 Challenge by simply sending in pictures of your pantry. Find out more about the $20/$20 Challenge: Show Your Pantry – Fill a Pantry!