I love my pantry. I can’t begin to tell you the drama and headaches it has saved me! Whether it’s a place to hide for a second and eat another mouthful of chocolate, or not stressing out when that late night realization hits that my kids somehow burned through a weeks worth of toilet paper in three days, leaving me just three squares on the current roll. But hey, no sweat, I got another package tucked away just for that type of emergency. 😉 Then there’s all the times my ketchup loving child just happened to empty the last half of the ketchup bottle on their eggs before their siblings managed to get any. 😉 Once again my pantry comes to the rescue, enabling me to stop countless fights before they begin when I can confidently announce “There’s more in the pantry!”

It also gives me peace of mind knowing I don’t have stop everything and run to the store mid-cooking if I happen to find myself scraping out the container of a crucial ingredient in a recipe, only to find myself still 1/3 cup short! Plus in the event an emergency comes up, I can rest assured we at least have a few weeks of food on hand. Then there’s the all-time best bonus of all, where I can just stay put in my PJs and push off the shopping for another day if I just don’t feel like making that scheduled trip into town. 😉

I have found having a pantry can provide both financial savings and time efficiency, lowering my stress load and helping to create peace in my household. Things once loaded with stress like that unexpected company showing up or your kids friends needing a snack raid and finding you have nothing on hand to throw together or pass out, are a thing of the past since your pantry never fails to let your down and thankfully always has your back.

So join me as we explore the workings of a rotating kitchen pantry and why I believe every home should have one. We will also define what a pantry is and is not and how to start a pantry for your own family, even when working within a tight “shoestring” budget.

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The History of the Ever-Evolving Pantry

Kitchen pantries have definitely evolved over the years. The modern U.S. pantry has become a meager cupboard or two in the corner of our kitchens or maybe a very small closet stashed with a few basic baking staples and meal prep items sometimes outfitted with a small handful of can goods and smattering of spices and herbs.

Historically, pantries looked quite different! Often a separate room or collection of rooms where food was stored at the temperature and humidity ranges necessary for optimal storage. Root crops were kept in the root cellar, meat in the smokehouse and canned goods and staples like flour, sugar and salt in the pantry. In places where the store was hours away by horse-drawn wagon or in remote places where items might even be carried in by foot, such trips were few and far between and the quantity needed until the next trip had to be considered and properly stored.

Without that 24-hour grocery store conveniently located a short hop, skip and jump down the road, and the convenience of modern inventions, meal prep for your great-grandmother involved way more than 3 steps to the fridge and a bump of a microwave button. Yes, it involved actual WORK and PLANNING. There was LOTS of love and time put into EVERY meal served! Stocking up was not only a way of life, but crucial to the everyday survival of her family.

This effort also came with benefits; there were a lot fewer manufactured chemicals and added preservatives in the foods she served too. From the shelves of home-canned tomatoes to the jars of home-made apple sauce, great-grandmother knew exactly what was contained in her meals. With so many autoimmune diseases showing up with ever increasing frequency, it makes you wonder about what we have chosen to put into our bodies—all in the name of convenience.

Whether it’s for Tough Times Ahead or Even Just for Simple Common Sense

In light of current events like the Covid-19 pandemic with stay-at-home orders and lock-downs, it makes one wonder if sometimes the old ways are not better from multiple angles. We have come to be reliant on and way too comfortable with the idea of just skipping down to the store mid-cooking for that bottle of Bar-B-Q sauce or to grab another pack of hamburger buns. Without having it even cross our minds to stop and wonder what ingredients are put in either of these items, let alone know how to make them from scratch ourselves! Modern convenience is nice, but like nature we must learn to seek balance and take the best from both the old and the new. Learning, updating, passing on, and sometimes returning to the tried and true. By doing this you not only help yourself and your family, but the natural world as well. Just think of all the gas and fumes you put into the air during all those nonessential trips to grab those single forgotten items, let alone the financial costs in gas and car repairs—both can really add up! With a little prep and planning you can be both better prepared, and less wasteful, able to live a healthier and greener life benefiting both your family and the natural world.

While we all hope life will soon get back to a closer resemblance of “normal,” we also know things like snow storms, natural disasters, electrical outages and pandemics are a part of our world. So planning ahead and learning to be better prepared is something we all should be doing regardless of the current headlines. Think of it like health or house insurance, you don’t plan on getting sick or have your home burning down, but in today’s world most individuals have both of these “just in case” policies. The same logic applies to a pantry, you don’t plan on a pandemic, lock-downs or a natural disaster, but life happens. Why have unneeded stress that could be prevented for way less then your monthly insurance premium and be confident and assured you have a little food on hand should some unexpected emergency arise. You can never go wrong having a few weeks’ supply of food on hand. It is always a good idea, whether for simply preventing unnecessary trips to the store, simple emergencies like seasonal weather or unplanned lock downs from pandemics!

That said an emergency pantry doesn’t have to be  a collection of dust covered items stored “just in case” or high-priced, low nutrition foods guaranteed to have years of shelf-life. It’s not a collection of foods you can’t stand or don’t know how to prepare. It is food or products that you actually use. A good emergency pantry should also double as a working pantry and must work for you! It’s job is to make your life easier, not take up essential space and eat up limited finances.

Hording vs Common-Sense Emergency Planning

Keep in mind having a stocked pantry is way different than hording. Hording is getting and storing items you don’t need or even have a purpose for just for the sake of having them. It is getting way more that you need or can even use before the item goes bad. Just because it was a “great deal” or someone else has or is getting them, doesn’t mean you need it. Hording is also commonly associated with impulse buying, or the get-rich-quick “everyone wants it and I will be the only one that has it” line of thought.

This is not your goal, or even what a working emergency pantry is about. You want to only purchase items for which you have proper storage space, and the items and quantities you and your family truly need and will use within the product’s storage and shelf lifespan. You also want to think rationally about your purchases; not only the importance of what you choose to buy, but when you choose to buy it as well. Without proper storage some items are not improving your life. Having extra toilet paper on hand is a great thing, but not if it’s stored in your living room where you alternately trip over it, or have to daily clean up the castles your three year-old builds from the packages. And if they should happen to open all the packages… (I think you get the picture 😉

A pantry can include items like the ½ price gluten free bagels I threw in the freezer for my daughter’s upcoming birthday breakfast and the clearance gluten free snack bars (also in the freezer) for that trip to the beach this summer. But without freezer space, these close-date reduced-price items would become stale/rancid before they could be enjoyed, making neither a good idea at times when I am running short on freezer space. Which items are a good buy and useful in your pantry will change from person to person and may even change seasonally or yearly as kids grow and needs change.

The Practicality and Stress-Revealing Features of a Rotating Pantry

There are many types of pantries. From the historical butler’s pantry for silver tea service and the like, to the often praised emergency pantry consisting of prepackaged meals frequently sold in over-priced plastic buckets containing lots of unhealthy chemicals and preservatives. Not to mention frequently containing ingredients that rarely meet dietary requirements for food allergies or medical conditions. (And as a side note, in my opinion, many of these products often tend to taste and smell comparable to canned dog food!)

My favorite type of pantry, and the one I feel is the most practical for the majority of people, is called a working or rotating pantry. This style of pantry shines in three areas: limiting potential waste, offering cost effectiveness, and the ability to customize both size and essential items to meet every individual family’s unique situation.

With a working or rotating pantry you don’t have to worry about items collecting dust, or discovering that the box of powdered milk on the shelf is ten years past the expiration date, because you use items on a daily or weekly basis. The products are always rotating in and out of your pantry as sales and seasonal availability change. While some items will be used up way before their best by dates, care should be taken as special or holiday items may get lost in the shuffle and fall behind or under the shelf. It is always good to give your pantry a quick check over every so often just to make sure nothing is getting missed. This helps insure that no product goes to waste and all items are used in a timely manner.

Although this next point is more focused on the longer-term styled working or rotating pantry, it is still worth mentioning. You want to be sure and check periodically that no critters have located your pantry and turned it into their one-stop-shop. One good way to guard against uninvited guests in your pantry (of the two, four or six legged species!) is to invest in tightly sealed food grade containers. These containers can help extent the shelf life of items by limiting oxidation and keeping your goodies such as raisins from falling prey to sneaky snack attacks perpetrated by your cunning 3-year-old genius!

For storing a larger quantity of things such as grains or several smaller items together, I highly recommend the Gamma lids shown below from Amazon. They are a little bit of an investment up front but fit any round bucket and work fantastic! Round food grade buckets can be gotten normally for free or for a couple dollars at most bakeries if you inquire and don’t mind cleaning out the leftover frosting. Wal-mart bakeries normally have square buckets so the Gamma lids won’t work with theirs, The square buckets are great for their space saving abilities, although you are stuck wrestling with a standard style bucket lid that can sometimes not be as tight fitting over time and harder to take on and off. (Side note: If storing grains long term add a few bay leaves to them, this helps prevent any bug issues.)

When judging the quality of older items, remember the suggested and best by dates are not always a sure thing. I have had a few situations where things have gone bad before the given date, as well as things that were completely fine and usable years after the said expiration date! How an item is stored can have a big difference on it’s shelf life (remember the close-date bagels in my freezer), so as always, use common sense.

Having a well stocked pantry also helps to minimize stress in day to day living. Whether it is unexpected guests arriving or something mechanical like your car deciding to brake down at the most inconvenient time, having a pantry gives you both food and options. It might be meals until the car is fixed or even the option to swap the week’s grocery money for the car repairs. Having a pantry can keep your family fed without needing to rely on outside assistance like local food-clubs or community food pantries which can eat up hours of your time waiting in line and then not even having items suitable for those with food allergies or autoimmune needs. You are in charge of your pantry, thus you are always first in line and everything is tailored to meet your special requirements and preferences! Once the crisis is over, just re-stock as circumstances and life allows.

As a busy mom, I have also found my pantry to be a life saver on those unpredictable days where I find myself waking up feeling lousy, sick with a migraine or ending up with a child throwing up on the very morning I planned to go grocery shopping! With my pantry well stocked, its no biggie and no extra stress. I can wait a day or two or even a week, if need be, without having our daily functioning interrupted as far as groceries are concerned.

Deciding What to Get and Stocking Your Rotating Pantry

First, start by making a list of what main staples your family uses in any given week. Do you go through a bottle of ketchup because your 5-year old puts it on everything, five jars of natural peanut butter because your 3-year old- eats it with every snack or do you have a die-hard can’t live without that morning cup of coffee drinker in the family? I find it best to start your pantry by sticking to your family’s staple “must have” items and expand out from there. Keep in mind this list of “must haves” will differ from family to family and person to person.

With some grocery items the prices rarely change and I replace the missing products on the next shopping trip by keeping a list of used-up items on the refrigerator. With other products periodic sales may cut the price by as much as half, in these cases, I wait for the next sale to restock the used items keeping in mind the quantity I will need to purchase in order for it to last  until the next sale.

For those living in areas where power outages are a frequent occurrence, focusing on shelf-stable items, as apposed to freezer items, will be helpful. But try to think of health as well, especially if you have limited space, just because those Doritos or Twinkies will last practically forever, and you happen to enjoy them, doesn’t mean they should fill half your pantry. 😉 Other considerations might be, what season or weather conditions do you typically have with the power outages? What you might want on hand during an spring ice storm, a mid-winter blizzard or when dealing with the aftermath of tropical storm may be quite different. How long is the power typically out? When I was a kid, I added up all the days we were without electricity. It came up to an average of 14 days a year!

If power outages are a main focus for you, remember to consider how you intend to cook or open your items. If all you own is a electric stove and electric can opener you will need to be sure and add a manual can opener to your kitchen gadget draw unless you only purchase cans with pull or pop top lids. Are all your items ready to eat from the can like canned fruit, or sardines, or do they improve with cooking or heating like baked beans or canned soup? For cooking, do you have a trusty camp stove on hand, or a backyard grill? Remember to get a back up can of fuel or extra charcoal depending on the needs of your system. Decide in advance where a safe place to cook with your camp stove/grill would be in each season/weather condition likely to be encountered, and never operate a grill or camp stove indoors as this can be very dangerous!

One area often over looked is comfort foods and the foods that are part of a individual’s daily routine. It is very important to be sure and try to prep and least one comfort food for each individual in your household. Pantries are about limiting stress by preparedness and pre-planning and comfort foods go a long way in this area! So if your family member say happens to like fresh lemon water in the morning try at least to get a bottle of lemon juice for them, its not the same as fresh but better than nothing in most cases. Do keep allergies in mind, as different brands may use different preservatives. I find locating bottled lemon juice for a relative with a sulfur allergy to be rather challenging at times.

Remember to not overlook the little things unique to your situation, like if you have a favorite jello recipe that has to have “x” item in it, a salad/sandwich you make often that uses sprouts or a family member who won’t eat spaghetti unless it is served with lots of green olives! If so, be sure to include those special items like unflavored gelatin, sprouting seeds or olives in your prep. Nothing can be more frustrating than to discover in the end that your missing a crucial “piece of the puzzle”!

Next, remember to look at how much you use, and from a practical standpoint how much you might want to stock up on given your budget and storage capacity. For instance, canned goods from the garden need to last till at least the following harvest season. So if I’m trying for a years worth of garden-grown canned green beans and I use on average three jars a week in casseroles, soups, or as a side dish, I know I’m shooting for at least 156 jars. Or if trying to keep a three week supply of ketchup on hand and we use one bottle a week on average, I should get three in order to have a three week rotating supply.

You will need to factor in your cooking skills, and the time you will likely have for meal prep in your given emergency situation. Do you cook from scratch and therefore need and will use a more “bare bones” style pantry with the basics or do you prefer mixes and pre or partially prepped items? Your pantry should contain only what you actually will and do use. If it is only going to sit there and collect dust, it is not doing anyone any good!

When using your pantry items, always be sure and use the oldest product first not just the one most convenient to grab, which may end up being the last one you purchased! It does pay to actually read the printed dates, and not just assume the last item purchased has the longest expiration date, especially if purchasing items on a really great “manager’s special.” These items are placed on sale because of close dates, in these cases my “newer” purchases are actually the “older” items and need be used up first.

Generally, the easiest way to ensure the older items get used first is to rotate your shelves when restocking the same way grocery stores do by placing the newest item in the back of the shelf and moving the rest forward. This makes it easy to get the right one when in a hurry and on “auto-pilot,” or when sending a little helper to grab an item.

Ways to Get Started Even if You Have a Very Small or Essentially Non-Existent Budget

I recommend starting with a three week rotating pantry and then adjusting from there according to your individual needs and preferences. This tends to be less overwhelming in terms of both budget and space and is typically an adequate size to meet most weather-related events or power outages. The goal here is not to plan for every possible situation, but to be ready for the the ones you are likely to face in the coming year. Keep in mind a 3-week rotating pantry means you have 2-3 weeks of food on hand depending on whether you just went shopping or are heading out soon.

You don’t need a big budget to get started, nor do you need every item on your list at the beginning either. Watch for sales on your main staple items, set aside the needed money and when there is a good sale , grab the three -week amount and start rotating with that one product.

On some items, like the frozen orange juice my kids love, instead of purchasing a 3-week supply, I purchase with the length between sales in mind. They are typically $1.62 each or higher, but before this pandemic canceled weekly sale ads, my local grocery store frequently included them on the “10 for $10 and 11th item free” sale every other month. This makes them 90¢ each in quantities of eleven. Shopping this way can really add up in the savings department, and if you can’t afford to get the amount to the next sale or don’t have the freezer room for an item, don’t despair, just do what you are able to at the time. Sometimes four things on your list might be on sale in the same week and it’s just not in your budget to get them all, try to pick the ones with either the best savings or the ones that are the most important/frequently used in you home. Also plan ahead financially, if you know that the local grocery always has their best sales the last week of the month, then set aside a little extra money for that week—spending $5 less on the other weeks may not sound like much, but that extra $20 during a great sale can help you tremendously!

Make sure and shop around, both locally and online, to check for the best prices. Sometimes a store will have a great price on one item, yet have very high prices on another product. Sometimes buying in bulk is way cheaper and worth saving up and getting a larger quantity as long as you will actually use it in a timely matter. This is not always the case though, as sometimes the price per pound remains unchanged regardless of the quantity purchased, in which case there is no savings to be gained by buying a larger quantity. I have even found times where the smaller packages were actually way cheaper than the larger bulk size when considering price per pound! Other options include asking around or researching if there is a bulk food co-op serving your area, or even finding out if there is a friend that wants to order together with you and spit a larger sized product, ultimately saving you both time and money. Saving up and getting Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers to repackage your purchase into smaller quantities will help extend the shelf life greatly and give you more options as well.

If your budget is super tight, and you live in a state with bottle deposits, think of things like community clean ups. The combination of fresh air, exercise and cleaning up the environment combined with the money from the can refunds may be just what you need to get started. Just remember if you choose to do this walk with a buddy, wear highly visible/reflective clothing and choose a safe area away from busy traffic or other potentially dangerous situations. Often there are organized community clean-ups or scheduled road-pick ups that you can join, just make sure they aren’t already collecting the cans for a designated cause.

Having a yard sale or downsizing some unneeded items on Ebay are also great ways to help give a little extra cash flow to the grocery fund. Remember, where there’s a will; there’s a way! I guarantee somewhere in your ancestry there was a woman who faced similar challenges; she found a way and you will too!

Choosing Whether or Not to Expand to a Larger sized Pantry

Depending on your personal needs and preferences you can choose to expand your pantry to a larger one. Expansion will be great for some families, but not a good move for others. There is no “right” pantry size or even pantry item that works best for everyone. Some people find a six months or even a year’s supply works good for them. I tend to do a mixture of lengths depending on the item, for instance I find that it is most practical to keep a 3 week rotating pantry on most standard items, while planning a years’ worth when canning from the garden. For example, I might have three-weeks worth of sugar or ketchup, a month or two’s supply of toilet paper and six months of oatmeal, rice or lentils purchased in 25 pound bags from an organic bulk foods co-op. My sister’s a bit more of the “I’m NOT paying THAT price!” kind of shopper and she prefers a 3-6 months supply, typically long enough to wait for the next “best price of the season” sale.

Another difference between planning a short or long term pantry can be things like whether to stock up on a couple extra loaves of bread, or purchasing 25 pounds of flour and making your own. Alternately, the option which I find most practical is a combination of both. On days where I have time for homemade bread, the ingredients are all ready on the shelf and on those hectic head-spinning days, there’s always a loaf in the freezer.

The Best Location for Your Pantry

You want to choose a location or locations that are out of direct sunlight and in an area that is not warm or damp. For ideas and inspiration if you find yourself short on space and without a spare room or usable basement, I recommend searching on Pinterest for tiny or small home storage solutions. Just keep in mind temperature, moisture and pests when deciding on an storage area or storage method. This is very important for ensuring your pantry items stay safe to eat and your investment stays in good condition.

Another determining factor is the usability of the space. That bottom corner cabinet may have lots of room, but seeing what products you have and getting access to items stored in the back may be next to impossible! Your pantry is of no benefit to you if you cannot use the items! Also consider your health and mobility issues. If you are planning another child, have bad migraines frequently, or get severe arthritis flares, plan your pantry’s accessibility with this in mind. Would putting a shelving unit in the spare bedroom or basement, or designating an extra cupboard or closet in your hallway or kitchen work best for your needs? Put the pantry where it is out of your way, but still easily accessed. If you have a basement that would be ideal, but you or a family member struggles with stairs always be sure to look at alternatives that work best for all involved.

Do you live in an older home with seasonal mice issues, requiring things to be stored in jars or plastic tubs? Does your home have moisture issues that will affect the quality and storage life of items? These and other areas particular to your specific situation are all important factors to consider and keep in mind as you plan. Some foods will store better in sealed tubs, even without other contributing factors.

Will you be including freezer space as part of your pantry? The texture of some items is destroyed by freezing, while with others freezing extents the shelf life considerably. Space may be at a premium here, making a separate chest freezer something to consider. I recommend doing your own research on the type of products you are buying to find the best storage choices and storage lengths for your climate and region. Also keep in mind, products storage times may vary depending on the form of the product (like ground verses whole spices, and white vs brown rice) as well as storing place and method.

Now think about what you will buy and what you will make. Do you plan on making your own pasta sauce or will you be buying it from the store? On the one hand, you will need enough space to cover your needs until the next harvest, while for the other a simple 3-weeks worth maybe enough. Maybe you want to do a mix of both, slowly becoming more self-sufficient as time, skills, and space allows? For some items, the question might be, do you want to go with plastic bottles or do you prefer glass? Consider things like shelf weigh limits, the likelihood of dropping bottles/jars (including kid or pet access), the ease of safely cleaning up broken glass and the health effects of plastic containers. Weigh the options and pick what is best for you, not what someone else would pick, or what you feel pressured to say is the right one. No item or packaging solution is the best for all situations.

My List of Recommended Staples to Help You Get Started

If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed and need some ideas to get you started, here are some items I try and keep stocked in my pantry. Remember only get what your family likes and will use, otherwise there is no point to the purchase. If you never bake, don’t buy yeast by the pound from a co-op! If on the other hand, you bake frequently, what you save on this item alone could provide the funds for many other pantry items. Moreover, if you or a family member has special dietary requirements, you will want to be sure and work around that need. Consider this list a starting point as there may be items that will suit your needs well that I haven’t listed because of my own family’s health needs and/or health philosophy.

One thing we are learning from this pandemic is what is considered essential by one person maybe not be viewed the same way by another. So as with any other “essentials” list this one is influenced by my “from scratch” style cooking with emphasis on health and medicinal reasons.

• Evaporated cane juice/unbleached sugar, maple syrup or honey
• Rice, popcorn, beans and/or lentils
  Oatmeal, noodles (gluten-free in needed)
• Baking items such as yeast, salt, baking powder, gelatin, and flour(s) (gluten free if needed)
• Condiments such as ketchup, bar-be-Q sauce, salad dressing and relish
• Herbs and spices that you frequently use including salt and pepper.
• Pickles, olives, vinegar and oil(s)
• Coffee, tea, juice and other favorite drinks
• Jerky, raisins/dried fruits and other shelf stable snacks
• Nuts, natural peanut butter
• Canned meats like tuna, sardines, chicken, beef or venison (check out our post on canning meat)
• Canned soups or vegetables (these can be home canned or purchased)

While this list focuses on physical health, don’t forget your emotional health as well. Comfort foods and even morale-boosting treats such as gummy worms (preferably the organic no-artificial colors and flavors ones) and the always-needed mama-sanity hidden chocolate stash can be part of a well-balanced working pantry! 😉 And while you are at it don’t forget to keep a backup of your hubbies favorites as well. This helps keep his sanity, keeps him feeling loved which in turn will help you keep your sanity (as well as keeping your chocolate stash a bit safer.)

Expanding Beyond Edibles

A pantry can be a great way to plan ahead for other household items as well. Things such as batteries, garbage bags, matches, medicine, basic first aid items, a wool blanket, water for brushing teeth/washing, cleaning supplies, dish soap, hand sanitizer, bug spray and toilet paper are all great household items to have on hand in case of those unexpected emergencies. Or simply for reducing stress on those days, when you say, “I really don’t want to go out shopping under these weather conditions for a bottle of dish soap!” Is lighting an concern? Do you want a working flashlight the kids haven’t messed with, a battery-operated or oil lamp, candles or a hand-powered crank lamp? For those with animals, you will also want to keep in mind the family pets and their needs.

Always remember, if including things such as medications, matches, lamp oil or lighter fluid to store them safely and responsibly. Think about the where they will be stored (both in and around), temperature and moisture, accessibility to kids and pets. If in doubt, when it comes to safety, skipping the questionable item is always the best policy.

Hopefully, this discussion of the working pantry has given you some inspiration on how to reduce the stress in your life by planning ahead for the next power outage, weather event or illness. Remember balance is key. Life is too short to spend it worrying about every disaster you could prep for, on the other hand, not planning for the ones you are likely to face can lead to a full scale “the sky is falling” panic attack and mega-anxiety mode. Think, plan ahead, stay calm, stay safe and stay healthy!

Happy Prepping and Pantry Planning, the Homesteading Hen

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