Sunday, March 30, 2014

Managing my pantry

If there's anything that I still find frustrating about moving every two to three years, it's the pantry.  Most of the time, we can't bring non-perishables with us.  Even spices are banned when heading to some places (up side? you know your spices are never more than two to three years old).

Today, I was looking through our corner cupboard, where we keep things like granola bars, pasta, and munchies.  It's overflowing, because I keep finding things we can only buy in America, and I purchase them, not because I will eat them in the near term, but just because I can.  Or maybe the ever-picky Patrick will decide one of the new fangled American foods will suit is discerning palate.

As I was putting away the groceries yesterday and trying to find space in this cabinet, it hit me.  I'm bidding this summer.  And bidding means a move is possibly on the horizon.  And if a move is on the horizon, I need to start paring down the pantry, to avoid waste.  And I need to start now, because it can take a really long time.  We failed miserably when leaving India, giving so much food to a friend that she ended up writing us a check because she felt so guilty.  We did better leaving Manila, probably because I was in the US for 9 - 6 months before departure (and Greg is much better at avoiding temptations at the store).

Thus, my new found mission in grocery shopping: only buy perishable food, unless I know we'll eat something this week.  Once again, I realize buying a house one block from a grocery store was a great idea -- not only will it help keep future teenage boys fed without having to purchase a second fridge, but I can use it as my back-up pantry if I miscalculate.

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