This has always been something that I have wanted to do.  I think overall I have had small sections of my kitchen and/or a closet or two with some pantry items.  But over all I have never had a full and complete set up for a pantry.

Well, now fast forward.  After 30+ years of marriage and raising a family, I decided in January of 2020 to create one.  First of all, I did not have the time to create a pantry and the space for one, or at least I didn’t think I did. Now we find ourselves with more time then we realized we would have, and a situation that makes us realize that a pantry is so needed.

I have to admit that I had a rude awakening, along with a bit of panic shopping.  I did not think that I had certain things on hand, so I went right out and spent funds from our budget to accommodate what I thought we needed.  After we had all these goodies piled on our dining room table, it was time to now set up our pantry.  So, we gathered all our items from every little spot that we stored things in, and brought them to one place in our home.  Then we cleaned out our one and only closet to make a pantry where we could store everything.  After setting it up and putting things away, we realized that we had spent money on things we already had, and had items in large amounts (like extra cans of tomatoes that we did not need).

This taught me a BIG lesson in life, and one that I will hold onto for a very long time.  I wasted money on things I don’t need, I am using up space that I could use for something else, and I probably wasted time in buying these items too.  Now it is time to make a change!  I have a pantry set up with an inventory list of my staples, how many I want on hand, and then how many I need to buy for the next time.

Have you found yourself without a pantry?  Or are you well organized in this area?  Either way leave a comment below with pictures of what you have set up or what you would like to do.

These are trying times in our country; it is a good time to reevaluate what we do and why and how to make things better for ourselves.

I would love to hear from you.

Lynn A. C. Wilson – Resume of a Mother