Project Simplify Week #4--Pantry and Refrigerator

This Week's Hot Spot over at Simple Mom was the pantry and the refrigerator :)  I spent about two hours total over two days taking care of this chore and though it was not too tough, I am glad it is off the Spring Cleaning List :)  I took inventory while I was in there and I am feeling once again in control of our food.  

 

Tsh also asked us to consider while we cleaned, the types of food that is in our homes.  I have to say that over the last two years we have done a lot of work in that area.  We eat very few processed foods (and the snacks that we do eat have only a few ingredients that we can pronounce), we eat a lot of whole grains (switched to brown rice), try to buy produce that is local and in season (and organic if it is on the dirty dozen list) and order our meats from US Wellness or local farms (and really only eat meat 2-3 times per week).  By simplifying our diets we have also simplified and reduced the grocery budget and still eat really good and healthy foods.  Real Food on a Real Budget, Animal Vegetable Miracle and Food Rules are three books that really helped me with this simplification :)

pantry before, pantry after and pantry close up
I threw out a few things and tidied up but since my MIL and her best friend organized it before Lil' C was born, I have done a good job of keeping it neat :)
(can you tell we are at the end of a two week grocery shop??)

 

Bakers Cabinet Before, Bakers Cabinet After

I did  ALOT of work in here, threw out ALOT and moved the spices back to this space.  

This spice move freed up a drawer :)  I threw out sooo many old spices.  

The garbage still smells DELICIOUS!!!

Stuff I pulled out of Bakers Cabinet to keep and then I put my ingredients in Canning Jars :)
Looks so much better than the plastic bags that they were in!

Fridge Before, Fridge After
After the last power outage I cleaned this out so there wasn't too much to do
We are so frugal now that we really don't waste food very often. 
I think I had to get rid of a half of a lemon and two old pickles.  In the old days I would be throwing out half of the refrigerator every two weeks!

 Freezer Before, Freezer After
Much cleaner, much more organized :)
 All I had to get rid of was an old melted popsicle that was hidden :)


Thanks again Tsh over at Simple Mom for Week 4's Hotspot.  It was something that has been on my list for awhile (especially the bakers cabinet) and I am glad it is now checked off :)

Happy Cleaning!