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The Working Pantry Part 6: What to Do With Slow Moving Stock
Every stockpiler eventually finds something lurking at the back of the pantry and thinks "why did I buy so many of those?"
Perhaps tastes changed.
Perhaps you tried a new product and nobody liked it very much.
Perhaps it was an irresistible clearance bargain.
Or perhaps you simply stocked far more than your household could reasonably use.
It happens.
The important thing is what you do next.
First, Stop Buying It
This sounds obvious, but it's easy to keep buying something simply because it's on your usual list.
If you already have too much, stop replenishing it.
Let the stock level gradually come down.
Your pantry doesn't need equal quantities of everything.
It needs the right quantities for your actual usage.
Put It Where You Can See It
Slow-moving food tends to become invisible.
Bring it forward.
Put it on the Use-It-First shelf or basket.
If it's approaching its best-before date, make sure it can be seen easily when you're planning meals.
Out of sight really can become out of mind.
Add It to the Menu
Rather than thinking "I must use six tins of chickpeas this week" —which may be enough to make the whole family revolt— work them naturally into your normal meals.
Add one to a curry.
Make hummus.
Add some to a salad.
Use them in a soup.
Spread the use over several weeks.
The goal isn't to punish yourself for having too much.
It's simply to bring the quantity back to a sensible level.
Find Another Use
Sometimes an ingredient has more uses than we realise.
A jar of relish might become a glaze for meat.
Extra powdered milk can go into bread, baking and sauces.
Canned fruit can become desserts, muffins or breakfast toppings. Rolled oats can become biscuits, crumble topping or meatball filler as well as porridge.
Before deciding something isn't useful, see whether there's another way you can use it.
Know When to Let It Go
There is also no virtue in forcing your family to eat food everyone hates simply because you bought it.
If it's still safe, unopened and within an appropriate date, consider whether someone else can use it.
A family member, friend, community pantry or food-relief organisation may be very happy to have it.
Then make a note to yourself don't stock that again.
That's not failure.
That's learning what belongs in your pantry.
Adjust Your Stock Level
Slow-moving stock is useful information.
If you kept 12 tins but only used four during the year, perhaps your new stock level should be four or six rather than twelve.
Your stockpile should constantly become better matched to the household using it.
That's the difference between simply collecting food and managing a working pantry.
Keep what you use.
Use what you keep.
And let the pantry teach you how much is enough.
Perhaps tastes changed.
Perhaps you tried a new product and nobody liked it very much.
Perhaps it was an irresistible clearance bargain.
Or perhaps you simply stocked far more than your household could reasonably use.
It happens.
The important thing is what you do next.
First, Stop Buying It
This sounds obvious, but it's easy to keep buying something simply because it's on your usual list.
If you already have too much, stop replenishing it.
Let the stock level gradually come down.
Your pantry doesn't need equal quantities of everything.
It needs the right quantities for your actual usage.
Put It Where You Can See It
Slow-moving food tends to become invisible.
Bring it forward.
Put it on the Use-It-First shelf or basket.
If it's approaching its best-before date, make sure it can be seen easily when you're planning meals.
Out of sight really can become out of mind.
Add It to the Menu
Rather than thinking "I must use six tins of chickpeas this week" —which may be enough to make the whole family revolt— work them naturally into your normal meals.
Add one to a curry.
Make hummus.
Add some to a salad.
Use them in a soup.
Spread the use over several weeks.
The goal isn't to punish yourself for having too much.
It's simply to bring the quantity back to a sensible level.
Find Another Use
Sometimes an ingredient has more uses than we realise.
A jar of relish might become a glaze for meat.
Extra powdered milk can go into bread, baking and sauces.
Canned fruit can become desserts, muffins or breakfast toppings. Rolled oats can become biscuits, crumble topping or meatball filler as well as porridge.
Before deciding something isn't useful, see whether there's another way you can use it.
Know When to Let It Go
There is also no virtue in forcing your family to eat food everyone hates simply because you bought it.
If it's still safe, unopened and within an appropriate date, consider whether someone else can use it.
A family member, friend, community pantry or food-relief organisation may be very happy to have it.
Then make a note to yourself don't stock that again.
That's not failure.
That's learning what belongs in your pantry.
Adjust Your Stock Level
Slow-moving stock is useful information.
If you kept 12 tins but only used four during the year, perhaps your new stock level should be four or six rather than twelve.
Your stockpile should constantly become better matched to the household using it.
That's the difference between simply collecting food and managing a working pantry.
Keep what you use.
Use what you keep.
And let the pantry teach you how much is enough.