Keep Track of Pantry Inventory and Reduce Food Costs

Keeping track of what food you have on hand and what you need to buy can help reduce both food waste and grocery bills and save you time.

by Miranda Jackson

Have you ever torn apart your kitchen cupboards mid-recipe, searching for an ingredient you thought you had, but that was gone? Or were you putting away the canned diced tomatoes you picked up during your latest shopping trip only to discover you already had eight cans in the pantry? Perhaps you need a pantry inventory system.

Keeping track of your pantry inventory might sound like a tedious task, but it’s a simple yet powerful strategy for keeping food costs in check. As frugal folks, we’re always on the lookout for ways to stretch our dollars further, and maintaining a pantry inventory is a practical step in that direction. Let’s explore the benefits of this habit and how it can help you save money.

Benefits of Keeping a Pantry Inventory

1. Reduces Food Waste

One culprit of high food costs is food waste. How many times have you discovered expired items at the back of your pantry? Keeping an inventory helps you avoid this by ensuring you use what you have before it goes bad. By tracking your pantry inventory, you can easily plan meals around what needs to be used up, reducing waste and saving money.

2. Prevents Overbuying

It’s easy to forget what’s in your pantry at home when you’re at the grocery store. This often leads to buying duplicates and spending money on items you don’t need. Having an updated pantry inventory in hand when you shop can help you avoid these unnecessary purchases. This not only saves you money but also helps keep your pantry organized and clutter-free.

3. Simplifies Meal Planning

When you know what’s in your pantry, meal planning becomes much easier. You can plan meals around the ingredients you already have, minimizing the need for additional purchases. This can lead to more creative and varied meals, making the most of what you have and saving you from the temptation of takeout or last-minute grocery runs.

You can also create meal plans faster since you don’t have to dig through your pantry to see if you have all of the ingredients required to make the meals you’ve chosen.

4. Helps with Budgeting

Tracking your pantry inventory can also aid in budgeting. By knowing what you need to buy and what you don’t, you can allocate your grocery budget more effectively. This can lead to significant savings over time, as you’re only buying what you truly need and avoiding unnecessary expenses.

5. Aids in Stockpiling Efficiency

When you have a clear idea of what’s in your pantry, you can better take advantage of sales and bulk buying opportunities. For example, if you see a great deal on canned tomatoes and you know you use them frequently but have none left, you can stock up confidently. Conversely, if you already have a good supply, you can avoid overbuying, even if the deal is tempting.

Pantry Inventory Methods

A Simple Spreadsheet

An easy pantry inventory tool is a simple spreadsheet that you can access on your phone and/or computer and print out. List all of the items you have in your pantry and how many. If you’re also tracking your fridge and freezer items, you may also want a “location” column. Think about everything from spices and sauces to canned items and baking must-haves.

After you make your spreadsheet, print it out and stick it to the inside of your pantry door with a pen or pencil or keep a copy handy inside the pantry. When someone uses something, they can remove or deduct the item from the sheet. Then you can use the printed sheet to update your online copy. After each shopping trip, add your new items to your online sheet, and then print a new copy for your pantry.

Use your spreadsheet to see which items are running low so you can quickly add them to your grocery list. Also, pull it out when you’re meal planning to pick recipes that use items you already have on hand, allowing you to keep grocery costs in check.

A Tracking App

Today, there’s an app for almost everything, including tracking your pantry inventory. You can find many free or paid options. The one big downside to using some apps over a spreadsheet is that you can’t always print a copy of your inventory from an app to keep in your pantry. However, some pantry tracking apps do allow multiple family members to access the pantry list from their own phones.

If you prefer using an app rather than a spreadsheet, here are some to consider:

• My Pantry Tracker (iOS and Android)
• Kitchen Pal
• MealBoard (iOS and Android)

Tips for Maintaining Your Pantry Inventory

Start Simple

To keep track of your pantry inventory, you don’t need to create a spreadsheet or set up an app. A simple spreadsheet or even a notebook can do the trick. List out all the items you have, noting quantities and expiration dates where possible.

Update Regularly

Set aside a few minutes each week to update your inventory. This can be done before you go grocery shopping or as part of your meal planning routine. Regular updates ensure your inventory is always accurate.

Get the Family Involved

Make it a family affair! Encourage everyone in your household to help keep the inventory up to date. This not only lightens the load for you but also helps everyone become more aware of what’s available and reduces the chance of someone unknowingly using up a critical ingredient without alerting the cook who will miss it.

Tips From Other Dollar Stretchers for Keeping Track of Pantry Inventory

We Use a Spreadsheet

We made a spreadsheet of all the pantry staples we use regularly, listing the number we have of each and where they’re stored (the regular pantry or our overflow pantry downstairs). We printed out a copy and taped it to the inside of the pantry door, and whenever we use an item, we cross out the number and write in the new amount we have left.

This also helps us know when it’s time to buy more of something and how many we need. Whenever we restock the pantry, we update the spreadsheet and print out a fresh copy. If you only need to keep track of a few items, an erasable whiteboard and marker might work just as well.
Amy

We Went High-Tech With Our Pantry Inventory

If you and your spouse have smartphones, try one of the free pantry tracking apps. They’re designed to keep a running list of what’s in your pantry. Many also allow you to create a grocery list. In our house, when my spouse or I use the last of something in the pantry, he/she adds it to the grocery list. Both lists can be seen and edited by both of us.
Andi

Last Bottle? It’s Your Responsibility

In our house, the person who takes the last bottle, box, jar, etc. off the pantry shelf or out of the refrigerator immediately writes that item on a shopping list that hangs in our kitchen at all times.
Barbara in Florida

Give Yourself Wiggle Room With a Stockpile

For us, the solution was to organize and increase our “pantry” area by finding room for shelving in an area close to the kitchen. Then, we began doubling our normal amount of food staples kept on hand. This took about a month, so the cost didn’t hurt quite as much. Also, when either of us uses up more than half of a spice, package of cheese, etc., we immediately add the item to our grocery list! This has saved frustration in the kitchen and also gives us some wiggle room if we have bad weather, unexpected dinner guests, or a short paycheck.
Barbara

Keep Your Pantry Inventory at Your Fingertips

Out of Milk is a fantastic app that can do just this. It’s available for iPhone and Android, but there’s also website access as well for free. For each item, you can set the type of measurement (i.e., jars, cans, ounces, etc.), and as you use items, you simply adjust the amount of inventory left. The key feature is the ability to share access to your pantry list with another user and keep the lists synced.

The app also features an item scanner, shopping lists (multiple lists plus categories to organize by aisle), and to-do list capability. Plus, it has the ability to shift items from one list to another. For example, when something is bought, move it from the shopping cart to the pantry. I love this app to death.
Chris

A Photo System Works for Our Pantry Inventory

My solution to the “missing from the pantry” problem is the camera on my cell phone. Before I grocery shop, or in the early morning of a day I plan to cook, I photograph the pantry shelves (and the refrigerator). That way, when I have time at the store or during the day, I can review whether everything I need is in stock or whether I need to get more to make a wonderful meal. I often review the photos in my car before going into the grocery store. Although I would like to take credit for this time saver, I am happy to acknowledge that it was my husband’s idea.
Cynthia

Good Pantry Organization Makes Tracking Inventory Easier

To keep track of pantry inventory, divide your pantry and freezer into three sections. One section is a general section, which includes things you have stocked up on or bought for another meal and did not use. Then, have a separate section with items that have been included in a meal plan and should not be eaten by anyone.

As you make your menus each week and want to use something from the “general” section of your pantry or freezer, put that item in the “off limits” section of your pantry. By doing it this way, the other people in your home know your plan to use whichever items that week. If plans change and you don’t use it at the end of the week, put the item back into the general section.
Myra

“R” Means Reserved

If I will be using an item from my pantry for the week’s meals, I write on the package with a permanent marker an “R” with a circle around it, which means “reserved.” This also works for plastic-wrapped packages of cheese or foil-wrapped bags of chips. My family respected this notation well, even when the children were in grade school.
Nancy

Keep Meal Ingredients Together

Because of multiple “cooks” in our home, sometimes we reach for things that someone else has used. To help avoid this, whenever we buy ingredients for a particular recipe, we place them in a bag together and label the bag so others know what not to use. Colored stickers on individual items might also work.
Norma

• How a Full Pantry Saves You Money
• Stocking Your Pantry for Fall
• 5 Ways To Reduce Food Waste by 20%
• 9 Ways To Plan for a Lower Grocery Bill
• The Benefits of a Household Stockpile

Reviewed June 2024