Here's a great tip - label and organize your pantry shelves. This will make cooking and grocery shopping so much easier because you'll be able to see exactly what you have on hand and what you need. Also, this is a great time to wipe down those shelves and make them all sparkly! It doesn't take much time and will give you a nice lift.

This is a task that can easily become overwhelming, so set your timer and start with just ONE shelf. I take everything off of one shelf and either crowd the stuff onto the other shelves, or put it on the counter. Toss anything that is outdated or nearly empty. Then I take a damp cloth (I typed damn cloth!) and give the shelf a quick wipe. Now it's time to decide what item groups I'm going to use for that shelf - usually two or more groups per shelf. Here is how I group my items:

Soups
Canned fruit & veggies
Cereals - dry cereal, oatmeal, granola, etc.
Drinks of any kind - Kool aid, hot chocolate, iced tea
Pasta and beans
Boxed staples - pancake mix, au gratin potatoes, Minute rice, etc.
Baking items - flour, sugar, baking powder, etc.
Spices (in a separate cabinet)
Snack items - chips, cookies, Twinkies, crackers

The items we use the most are the ones I want on the most accessible shelves. So I would start with cereals and snack items because we use those pretty much every day. Group similar items together and organize by size as best you can. Don't forget to leave a little extra space for your next shopping trip. Consider using a basket or a small box for oddly shaped items like bags of pasta or taco seasoning packets.

Now label your shelves so when your family is putting away groceries, they will put them in the correct place. You can use one of those fancy label printers, or just some plain Avery labels and a Sharpie. Don't get hung up on having all the labels look a certain way or having all the boxes line up just so - that's perfectionism and it's not helpful!

Once you finish that one shelf, you can call it a day, or if you have time, start on another shelf. You should have some room since you will have moved some items down onto the first shelf. This time you might be able to just shove everything to one side and wipe it down a side at a time rather than take everything out. You'll be surprised at how much extra room you will find when everything is organized properly. It's so nice to have a neat, well-organized pantry.

Then when you are getting ready to shop, you can see at a glance how many cans of soup you have or how many boxes of cereal. Do you have an pre-printed grocery list? I have one and it's fabulous! I have it in an Excel spreadsheet and I have it in 3 columns all organized by meal or by type of item. Then I can go down and just check off what I want to serve that week for each meal.

Example: Breakfast - I check eggs, cereal, waffles, and bagels. Lunch - lunchmeat, chips, Capri suns, and apples. Paper goods - toilet paper, paper towels & garbage bags. I have other categories for toiletries, cleaning supplies, pet goodies, plus a little space to write special items that are a one-time purchase.

It takes me five minutes to throw together my grocery list for the week and with this list, I'm not very likely to forget anything and have to make another trip the next day. I know most of you do your own grocery shopping, but I tend to be a compulsive shopper, so I usually send my oldest son or husband. Hey, you gotta know your weaknesses and find a way to deal with them.

They've gotten pretty good at it and it's turned my teenaged son into a very smart shopper. He finds all the great deals and even uses coupons. I'll bet he's the only boy his age who knows the price of a box of cereal or a loaf of bread! But I reward him by letting him spend most of the money he saves on all the pizza, soda, and other goodies he loves for his lunches. I'd probably buy it anyway, but this way he feels like he's getting a reward - shhhhh!

Come back every Monday for a fresh dose of Clutterbugs. If you'd like to read past posts, just click on the Clutterbugs link at the bottom of this post for a complete list.

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