The Great Pantry Raid

This is the story of how I've cut my grocery bill in half the past two weeks. Something spurred me to take a deeper look at what was lurking in the recesses of my pantry. It was really a three-step process.

Step 1: I threw out all things that were no longer good or expired.

Step 2: I gathered up a few non-perishables to take to my church's food pantry. Not much, but every little bit helps, right?

Step 3: Then, I took several things that I've just never used and made my weekly menus from them. They were things like a can of pumpkin, a Shake and Bake packet, a meatloaf and meatball spice mix, a chili seasoning packet, some yukon gold potatoes and a couple of other random items.

Despite the fact that I shop strictly from a list I make at home from my weekly menus, these things have accumulated for one reason or another in my pantry. By cleaning out, which I love to do, and using these items over the last two weeks, I was able to save a lot of money at the store. That's killing two birds with one stone in my book.