The Canny Lass

I don’t know about you, but I live a pretty busy life. Between working part-time, running the house and doing the garden, as well as doing this blog, my author blog and writing for Medium, I’m full on hectic.

So, it will come as no surprise to learn that I have no clue what food I have in the house. I know I have some, but I don’t know exactly what it is.

This weekend, I’m going to carry out the task of doing a stocktake of my food cupboards and my freezer. I had planned to do it a couple of weeks ago, but I didn’t get the time. Well, that’s not strictly true, I could have made the time, but I got distracted by tv and social media.

So, why is it important to know what you’ve got? If you know what food you have at home it makes it so much easier to plan meals. If you plan meals and stick to the plan, you can budget better and you’ll avoid splashing out on carry-outs because you already know what you’re eating that day.

Plus, you will reduce food waste. Food items are less likely to go off before you can eat them or get freezer burned (I hate when this happens) because you are eating older items first. And by regularly checking expiry dates, you’ll not be keeping spoiled or unsafe food around.

You’ll also save money by not duplicating purchases and making better use of what you already have. You’ll also have to make fewer visits to the supermarket and are less likely to impulse buy.

Finally, having a well-stocked, well-organised and up-to-date freezer and pantry gives you peace of mind in case you find yourself in an emergency situation such as a storm, illness or out-of-work.

Top Tip

To reduce the risk freezer burn, take your meat out of the supermarket packaging and place in a freezer bag. Make sure as much air is out of the bag and roll it tight before you put it in the freezer.