Sunday Night is for SHOPPING! or not........

Recycled Post from November 2009:

Twice a year I impose a "no-buy" period to clean out my pantry, fridge and freezer.  Here's how it works and how YOU can do it with me:

We are going to clear out our pantry, fridge and freezer - all without lifting a hand! Starting TODAY, we are not going to go to the grocery store. Not for meat, not for fresh veggies, not for bread. Don't look at me like I am crazy - NOTHING this week. Use what you have for meals. Pull out that frozen roast. Eat up the last of that head of lettuce. Put together meals from canned items in your pantry. Be creative. Next week you can add milk, meats and veggies from the store, but for one whole week, use what you already have (NO, you can't just eat out every night this week!) This process clears out the fifteen cans of green beans and your stock pile of almost-out-dated frozen items. You will be surprised what you can create AND you will be de-cluttering without any effort. Try to do this for two full weeks (or three if your pantry is stuffed full.) Make it a game with the kids. I do this in my own home twice a year. My neighbor knows when I am doing this when she opens the fridge for a drink and all we have is two jars of pickles and a stick of butter!


Before I started:

My pantry after Week One of the "Purge"

At the end of the 2 weeks, without lifting a finger, your fridge, freezer and pantry will be clean AND you will have a jump-start on your New Years Resolutions (the same ones from LAST YEAR) without even realizing it!

- You saved money buy not buying more groceries
- You reduced your waste by eating up what was left in your fridge


- and, if you let your kids create the meals this week, you've lost weight!


Before you head off to the store to restock, go through what is left. Throw out any out-dated items, pull anything you won't ever use (donate it!) and make a list of what you REALLY need to replace. Don't go out and buy three kinds of salad dressing and two kinds of jelly unless they are something you use on a daily basis. Flour, cornmeal and spices cook best when fresh. Wait until you are planning to use a staple good before you buy it. AND USE A COUPON!

$TIP - Coupons used to a real pain to use. First you had to search through the flyers, cut out what you wanted, somehow keep them organized so you didn't drop the on the grocery store floor, hassle with the lady at the register -all for what? To save $2 on something you probably wouldn't have regularly bought? Things have changed! There are websites out there that do it all for you. They tell you where the coupons are, where the best deal can be found and when an item is on sale that you already have a coupon for! Before you head to the grocery store, surf the web and find great websites that do all your coupon research for you. Sites like Southernsavers.com and Couponmom.com are local and pull from your area's grocers and pharmacies. It saves you the time AND money! Some websites offer local workshops that will even bring you all the coupons along with a shopping list to guide you!


While the shelves are empty, clean your fridge, freezer and cabinets really well with soap and water, wipe the bottoms of all the jars going back into the fridge and organize restocked pantry items by type.


TIP: Keep a notepad in the kitchen for when you run out of something. You don't really need a master list (we are trying to keep it simple remember?). When you use the LAST drop of oil or salt (or shampoo), or you are down to 2 eggs, jot it on the list. Use the list when you go shopping so you don't overbuy or forget something you need!

GREEN TIP: To cut down on multiple cleaning products (and reduce your packaging waste) AND help reduce water pollution, I use a product called Basic H2 by Shaklee Corp. (www.ShakleeGetClean.com) . One bottle of concentrate creates three different products, depending on how much you dilute it with. You can make window cleaner, an all-purpose cleaner and a degreaser.


REASON THIS HELPS YOU WITH YOUR CLUTTER:The fridge, freezer and food pantry are places that you and your family look at every day, sometimes several times a day. Anyone who cooks, makes a snack, or gets a drink -unconsciously takes in the cluttered view. Having to move items around to search for a can of peas or not being able to find it when you KNOW it's there, is irritating and a time waster. By keeping your kitchen orderly, it puts you and your family in an "orderly" state. It reduces stress you don't even realize is there. You may even find yourself so at ease, that you apply this mission to other areas, such as your medicine cabinet or cleaning product cabinet (hint, hint!) You also cut down on added food, personal care, office supplies and cleaning product expenses. How many times have you bought peanut butter, paper clips or Glass Plus only to get home and find you already have three of each!?