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Inventory to Stay on Budget
It's inventory time!
August is the ideal time to get those inventories updated.
The weather is still keeping us mostly indoors, outdoor work hasn't picked up for spring yet, so it just makes sense to do these jobs now, especially with the constant threat of recession, and high inflation and random shortages occurring.
Keeping your inventories up-to-date will help you keep your pantry stocked, and more importantly, stocked on budget, so take some time to go through your stockpile and pantries and update your inventories.
As you go through each section of your pantry and stockpile, make a note of what you need and add those things to your shopping list. You don't need to get everything all at once, but put them on the list so that as you can afford to add them to your pantry, you can. If they are on sale, you'll know how many you need and be able take advantage of the lower price.
Inventorying all your stockpile pantries will take a little time, especially if you don't update as things are used, or do it regularly, but work at when you can; even five minutes at a time can get things organised and noted.
August is the ideal time to get those inventories updated.
The weather is still keeping us mostly indoors, outdoor work hasn't picked up for spring yet, so it just makes sense to do these jobs now, especially with the constant threat of recession, and high inflation and random shortages occurring.
Keeping your inventories up-to-date will help you keep your pantry stocked, and more importantly, stocked on budget, so take some time to go through your stockpile and pantries and update your inventories.
As you go through each section of your pantry and stockpile, make a note of what you need and add those things to your shopping list. You don't need to get everything all at once, but put them on the list so that as you can afford to add them to your pantry, you can. If they are on sale, you'll know how many you need and be able take advantage of the lower price.
Inventorying all your stockpile pantries will take a little time, especially if you don't update as things are used, or do it regularly, but work at when you can; even five minutes at a time can get things organised and noted.
Remember our motto for this year: do the next thing.
So print the inventory blanks from the Printables page (or create your own); some planners have inventory pages you can use. I use the inventories from the Printables page; they've been laminated and a whiteboard marker attached, and they are stuck to the inside of the relevant cupboard. It may seem like overkill to have a whiteboard marker attached to each one, but trust me when I say it saves a lot of frustration and time, and the inventory can be updated on the fly. That means that it is quick and easy to check and update each inventory and I like quick and easy. It also means that doing a big once a year inventory isn't so difficult or time consuming - they're already up-to-date so the counts just need to be double checked.
So print the inventory blanks from the Printables page (or create your own); some planners have inventory pages you can use. I use the inventories from the Printables page; they've been laminated and a whiteboard marker attached, and they are stuck to the inside of the relevant cupboard. It may seem like overkill to have a whiteboard marker attached to each one, but trust me when I say it saves a lot of frustration and time, and the inventory can be updated on the fly. That means that it is quick and easy to check and update each inventory and I like quick and easy. It also means that doing a big once a year inventory isn't so difficult or time consuming - they're already up-to-date so the counts just need to be double checked.
I like to work on one area at a time, for example the kitchen. In the kitchen I go through the pantry, the spice cupboard, wrap drawer and the fridge/freezer. I empty the pantry one shelf at a time. As you're doing a stocktake, it's the perfect opportunity to spring clean too (another time and energy saver). Each shelf gets wiped over and then cleaned with Miracle Spray, rinsed and dried. While the shelf is drying I look at what came off it. Wipe over the canisters to keep them clean. Refill any that need it. Note what was on the shelf on the inventory. Put everything back. I have five shelves to do and it takes about half an hour to do them all. If you haven't done this for a while it may take a little longer, so if you're pressed for time, break it down and do one shelf at a time.
The same thing happens to the spice cupboard. I take one shelf at a time out. Clean the shelf. Wipe over the spice bottles. Refill any that need it from the bulk spices in the stockpile. Put everything back. Update the inventory. It only takes about 15 minutes, there's only two shelves that need to be done, but I know exactly what will be needed for the coming year. There's nothing more frustrating than being in the middle of a recipe and realising you don't have the herbs or spices to finish it.
The same thing happens to the spice cupboard. I take one shelf at a time out. Clean the shelf. Wipe over the spice bottles. Refill any that need it from the bulk spices in the stockpile. Put everything back. Update the inventory. It only takes about 15 minutes, there's only two shelves that need to be done, but I know exactly what will be needed for the coming year. There's nothing more frustrating than being in the middle of a recipe and realising you don't have the herbs or spices to finish it.
The wrap drawer is the bottom drawer. It holds things like baking paper and clingwrap, foil, freezer bags, Fresh and Crisp bags, ziplock bags and sandwich bags. Everything comes out, the drawer gets cleaned and everything goes back in. I like to make sure the boxes for the foil, baking paper and clingwrap are good. If they are starting to fall apart a little sticky tape works to put them back together. And I make sure the cutters are intact and working. This really only takes about 5 minutes tops. I make a note on the inventory of anything that needs to be replaced.
During August I've been tidying, sorting, organising and updating the inventory for my canning shed. It won't be long and preserving season will be full-on and I'll be looking for jars and lids and rings for preserving and knowing exactly how many are on hand will be a big help on canning day. I'm on the look-out now for replacement lids and jars so they'll be ready when they're needed. The inventory lists the jars and sizes, the number of new lids, and rings. It also has the bags and rolls for vacuum sealing so I never run out (there's nothing more frustrating than having a quarterly meat shop to preserve and no vacuum sealer bags or rolls, freezer bags just don't cut long term freezer storage). Do you inventory your preserving supplies?
I'm busy. I work a more than full time job (yes, between writing for Cheapskates, YouTube, answering questions I put in more than 40 hours a week, and I love it). I have a home to keep and a family to look after. I'm just as busy as you are, perhaps just in different ways. And those inventories may seem like a lot of work and a tad OCD, or just a silly waste of time, but they save us money and me time and energy every single day. The few seconds it takes to update them as things are used ensures we never run out of what we need and that we never pay full price either.
A bit like ingredients give us cooking options, inventories give us shopping and buying options.
During August I've been tidying, sorting, organising and updating the inventory for my canning shed. It won't be long and preserving season will be full-on and I'll be looking for jars and lids and rings for preserving and knowing exactly how many are on hand will be a big help on canning day. I'm on the look-out now for replacement lids and jars so they'll be ready when they're needed. The inventory lists the jars and sizes, the number of new lids, and rings. It also has the bags and rolls for vacuum sealing so I never run out (there's nothing more frustrating than having a quarterly meat shop to preserve and no vacuum sealer bags or rolls, freezer bags just don't cut long term freezer storage). Do you inventory your preserving supplies?
I'm busy. I work a more than full time job (yes, between writing for Cheapskates, YouTube, answering questions I put in more than 40 hours a week, and I love it). I have a home to keep and a family to look after. I'm just as busy as you are, perhaps just in different ways. And those inventories may seem like a lot of work and a tad OCD, or just a silly waste of time, but they save us money and me time and energy every single day. The few seconds it takes to update them as things are used ensures we never run out of what we need and that we never pay full price either.
A bit like ingredients give us cooking options, inventories give us shopping and buying options.
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