Motivating Mum Barbara has been inspiring us all with her weightloss while following the Lose Baby Weight healthy eating plans.  You can read her latest update here.
Today Barbara is sharing her tips with us on how to transform and organise your pantry.

“My pantry has had a makeover. After a long time of having a messy pantry with 3 of 4 opened packets of the same thing and wasting foods that were tucked in the back I knew it wasn’t working well. I had little enough time to cook without spending five valuable minutes looking for ingredients in my pantry.
I was in my local $2 shop looking for something else and I saw glass jars like large old fashioned jam jars – I loved them and they were 2 for $5. I grabbed a few jars to fit in the end of my stroller and so it began! So here are my tips for organising your pantry as a busy mum – you won’t regret it and it will save you time and money and patience once it’s done.

Work In Bursts

We like the idea of doing a makeover all at once but for most of us the days of having 2 hours free to do something like this are probably over! When you have 10 minutes get stuck in and organise a little bit of it. I did all of mine still within my pantry because I knew if I tried to take everything out and put it on the counter it would be in the way and it wouldn’t get finished. I don’t have a big kitchen!!

A Bin & A Box

Keep your bin nearby you’ll be chucking out anything that is out of date or is open and you know you won’t be using it. The box is for things you want to get rid of but someone else might want. For me they were processed foods like those fruit roll ups and bags of caster sugar etc. that I don’t use any more.

Cans

This is easy to do because you can just grab all the cans and put them in the one spot. Cans of the same foods can stack easily on top of each other. When doing Lose Baby Weight Recipes you will be using cans of diced tomatoes, chickpeas, kidney beans, corn, tuna etc. It’s great to be able to glance in and see what you have and what you need. Herbs and spices are another clear group. I wrote in marker on their lid what is inside and put them in an open container to keep them together.

 Baking Section

My grandmother used to have a baking tin and this is the same idea you can use a tin or a box or just a section of shelf. The healthy baker range of flours comes in a 1kg refill jar that is handy ( you can buy this once and then refill with a cheaper flour). Flours and grains are especially good to keep sealed to ward off little critters who love getting through paper bags. I had a problem with pantry moths last year and almost lost my mind but after spreading a few bay leaves around I haven’t had a problem since, I am sure my jars are helping too.

Airtight Containers

Be on the lookout for saleable containers. None of the jars were expensive at all, the most expensive tall ones were $4, but most were $2.50 each. A hot soapy wash and air dry and they are ready for use. Those with rubber seals last a long time if you lubricate the rubber every so often, I use a little bit of coconut oil rubbed around the rubber seal. If there was a little moisture absorbing pack in the pack it came in like with LSA I put that in the jar too.

Labelling

I find it easiest to label the jars even though you might think its obvious what they hold as they are see- through but sometimes it isn’t that obvious telling LSA from Almond meal and when it’s gone you can refill the correctly labelled jars without washing them. I used washi tape which is a Japanese masking tape that people use for craft to do my labelling but you could just stick on paper or card or write on the glass with a suitable marker.

Refill Box

Only so much fits in a jar so I just have a cardboard box at the bottom of my pantry with extras to top up the jars. I bought dates on special so I know I have a few bags in there. I don’t worry about mixing brands and buy up on specials. I try to buy organic when I can but not always. So when you are getting to the end of a jar just check your refill box and if there isn’t any left write it on your list. In terms of dry goods brown rice, quinoa, oats, sultanas, dates and nuts will be staples for clean eating.

Accessible Shopping List

If you have a list near your pantry you can write down what you need when you run out. I keep a magnet shopping list on my fridge.
My pantry is still evolving but I am really enjoying the process and every time I open it it makes me happy! I wouldn’t call myself an organised person by any stretch of the imagination so if I can do this so can you – bit by bit.”
You can read Barbara’s latest update here.

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