Cleaned out my pantry and the total was way more than I thought

I finally went through my kitchen cupboards yesterday, pulling out all the half-used bags of rice, lentils, and canned stuff. When I laid it all out on the table, I realized I had enough dry goods to make meals for at least two weeks without buying anything new. It hit me that I'd spent maybe $40 over a few months to stock this, but the value sitting there right now was easily over $100 in avoided takeout. Has anyone else done a pantry check and been surprised by what you already have?

4 comments

4 Comments

jordan_hill2mo ago

Read an article that called this a "prepper pantry" for regular people. It's just buying a little extra of shelf stable stuff each trip. Makes you feel less panicked when you can't get to the store.

the_nancy2mo ago

Oh the "food graveyard for good intentions" is too real. My pantry has a whole shelf dedicated to quinoa I bought during a health kick, which now just sits there silently shaming my current diet of frozen taquitos. It's like a museum of my past ambitions.

fisher.thomas2mo ago

Just did this last week and found three different half bags of brown rice hiding behind a box of crackers. My pantry is basically a food graveyard for good intentions, where every "I should eat healthier" thought goes to die. It felt like winning a weird, dusty lottery when I lined it all up and realized I could probably make some kind of bean and rice situation for a solid month. Kind of embarrassing how much money I've spent on pizza while all that was just sitting there judging me.

lucast8112d ago

Honest question though, did you find anything that was actually expired or too old to use? I dug out a bag of split peas once that had been in there since 2019 and had to toss the whole thing because bugs got in it. That kind of discovery always makes me wonder if buying in bulk is really saving money or just making a pricier garbage bill later.