The Freezer and Fridge is full and yet you have nothing to eat? Let’s roll up our sleeves and clean out the freezer, pantry and fridge and see what we can come up for with meals for 2 weeks only using our bits and pieces. Money is tight, some foods are hard to find and we want to be as frugal and budget friendly as we can to help us stay on track. Also….did you know that you can get some foods sent to you via UPS with free shipping from Walmart. I have a small Walmart Haul with a few fillers.
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
I love watching You-Tube channels on home and organization. How about you? I sat one day and watched two of my favorite channels….Jamerrill Stewart and Parsnips and Parsimony. They are two large families, but the overall idea is the same. One family will fill their pantry once a month for the next month’s menu, with a few extras. The other family will fill their pantry with extras for when the budget is tight. They then have food in the pantry to pull from.
After watching the two of them, I took one look at my freezers and realized….what a mess!!! Not only was it a mess, but I would buy doubles of things I did not need, and not enough of what I needed because I was not organized. Another You-Tube channel that I love is Coupons to Provide. She goes on to say how she is a visual person…and oh how I could relate to that. If she puts it away in a closet, etc…and she does not see it….she forgets she has it.
Bingo…that gave me an idea. What I need is a place for a pantry that would be organized, simple (with my busy schedule I need this), efficient for the family to use, and visual for me. I need to know quickly what I have in order to work for meals.
So, I emptied my pantry….what a job. I sorted what I wanted to keep and what I wanted to give away. I was able to bless someone else with the things I will not use, and I created a great little nook.
Now every time I enter and exit my kitchen….I get to see my pantry stash of stuff, and I love it. If you are not a visual person, and/or a practical, functional homemaker….this would probably drive you nuts. But for me it is perfect.
So now it is time to clean up, and clean out my two freezers. Creative cooking will be happening in our home from now until Easter. Come and join in the fun; clean out your bits and pieces in both your pantry and freezer.
Lynn A.C. Wilson – Resume of a Mother
Life is definitely a journey and an adventure if you know anything about me. Every day brings new and exciting things and also some overwhelming moments. For the past two weeks my husband has had two major falls from having seizures which led him to be in the chiropractor’s office 2 to 3 times a week plus having to have physical therapy and wear a back brace.
Because of this we decided to take a quick weekend away that we called a Saturday vacation. While on this vacation he had a seizure, his scooter that he uses to get around in large places died in the middle of the museum. This led to us having to push it out of the museum, to loading it in the car manually, and causing me to be completely overwhelmed and having to have a good cry.
If you asked me is it all worth it I’d say 100%. If you asked me what I marry this man again I would tell you absolutely 100%. He is the man of my dreams and if he comes with an extra package called epilepsy …I wouldn’t change a thing. Now having said all that… I have stated over and over it many times that I have found “my new normal and it’s a moving target”. so what does all of this mean, for me there is no normal, normal is only for a moment and that changes again. And I am OK with that. I’ve had to learn to be OK with that… Otherwise I would not have survived life and all that has been part of it.
This is made me in the long run realize how precious life is, it is giving me the desire to encourage other women and their walk and their journey, it is also encouraged me to invest in peoples lives whenever I can.
But having said all that… I have a new journey in life and an adventure and that is my YouTube channel. Come and join me and come and visit me and see what this crazy life entails. I hope you will find encouragement along the way, maybe some new ideas that you’ve never thought of before, maybe a few laughs, but most of all I hope that you leave feeling a little bit better about yourself, a little bit more encouraged than when you first started to visit with me.
Lynn A. C. Wilson – Resume of a Mother
YouTube Channel name: “At Home with Lynn Wilson”

Over thirty years ago I learned how to can tomatoes. I did that for a few years but never really ventured out from there. Recently, after watching so many YouTubers who are now getting into canning, I decided that it was time to try this again.
I reached out on Facebook to find someone who would be willing to teach me and get me going. I was blessed with a friend, and the first thing she started me with was Cranberry Chutney. I had never had chutney and really didn’t think I would even like it or use it. To my surprise I am in love with it.
We have used this for roast pork and turkey, but the best is with cream cheese and crackers. This recipe is simple and a keeper for me.
At this point I have made over thirty jars and have given most of them away as Christmas presents. Homemade is always a great way to go for gifts, and my friends and family were so pleased. I will start canning jams and jellies soon, so stay tuned for some more yummy recipes.
Do you can? What have you made? Share some of your favorite recipes with me and let me know what works best for you as a beginner canner.
Lynn A.C. Wilson – Resume of a Mother
Cranberry – Apple Chutney Recipe
Total Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
16 servings
Ingredients:
1 – 1 ¼ cups of sugar
½ cup water
1 package (12 ounces) of fresh or frozen cranberries
2 large tart apples, peeled and finely chopped
1 medium onion or I like to use 1 teaspoon of dried onion instead
½ cup of raisins and I prefer to use homemade raisins
½ brown sugar
½ cider vinegar or white vinegar will also work well
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon (I like to add a pinch more)
½ teaspoon of salt
1/8 teaspoon of ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon of ground cloves
1 teaspoon of fresh ginger (I used powder)
Directions:
Resume Of A Mother 