I have this thing about my pantry. And you know, some may say it's nothing at all, really, until they hear me fuss at my husband or brother-in-law or someone else messing about in the cabinets. You know what I mean. Everything is where you put it. In your mind, you know it's there. You can go into the kitchen in the pitch black, blind folded, and still make your way around the kitchen and cook a meal without hurting yourself or anyone else, and you know exactly where everything is! That's the kind of pantry I have.

"Don't touch that cinnamon unless you put it right back where it belongs!"

"On the shelf."

"Not just on the shelf."

"Um...."

"Alphabetical!"

"Yes, dear."

If I ran out of things in my frige or freezer due to whatever the problem may be, I have enough goods in the cabinets to live on for over two weeks or more. We have bought goods, we have home canned goods, and we have a lot of staples that I use to make sure we are set for awhile.

I don't like going out much into public around here. In these parts it's like trying to wrestle down that state pig in the greased pig contest. You're avoiding people in carts, you're avoiding squealing noisy people in the aisles, too many people are complaining, and sometimes that person complaining is you! I have to pray sometimes at my local shopping center to get patience to come into me because my goodness shopping near the big city can make you lose 2 years off of your life!

So, we shop to stock up our pantry every other month or so. Due to that, I have a nice stocked pantry. Jars full of things, containers full of things, and oh my goodness does it feel good to see that!

I learned from my Mom to store in clear containers. Nice air tight jars are good to use, and I found some at Big Lots awhile back. Big old pickle jar like canisters that were meant to be those sun tea jars. They were messed up though. The nozzle that allowed the tea to come out was sealed over with the glass. They had messed up in the molds I guess. I bought 10 of those things one day, and went back the next to get another 10. They were cheap, and they are worth every cent we spent.

In those jars we can see what we have, how much of it is left, and the food is protected in a sealable container for freshness. They're perfect for the pantry!

What you put in your pantry will depend on what your family enjoys eating. My husband is a meat and potatoes man. That's all well and good, but I have kids who eat a more wide variety of things. I also have special care to consider with my daughter. She can only have certain foods certain ways. I consider myself a great short order cook. Not only do I have my husband's foods to consider, I have my daughters, and then my own. My diet changed after my youngest son. I stick to the diet. So now there are three different diets there.

My sons, well, they both eat anything. I have a feeling that Daegan will be just like Ethan in that aspect. Eat whatever is put in front of them!

Anyway, back to the pantry. Items we buy every two months or so:

• various pasta shapes and noodles, egg, spaghetti, macaroni, bow tie, and so on
• whole wheat flour
• sugar (sucanant is expensive in our area at the moment or I'd get that)
• brown sugar
• yeast
• bread flour
• unbleached flour
• corn meal
• a bunch of spice. I buy a new spice every other shoping trip to get it, and for those we enjoy I make sure to buy it again to restock. I do not keep the spices in the same containers. I move them to a zip lock bag that is then placed in a small sealable container. Again, glass, and with a screw on lid. Also found at Big Lots. Lucky me! I got 25 of them for various things. They fit spices, candies, nuts, snacks...it's a great little jar to hold things in.
• various flavorings and extracts for baking
• baking items like baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, cocoa, and so on.
• Bread Crumbs (regular and flavored)
• Confectioner's Sugar
• Corn Syrup
• Evaporated Milk
• Honey
• Oil ($9.99 per gallon at the discount grocer) 
• Rolled oats
• bran
• flaxseed
• wheat germ
• lentils
• white beans
• pinto beans
• kidney beans
• raisins
• peanuts and nuts of various kinds
• peanuts for making peanut butter (yes, we grind it up on our own! it's too good to ignore this process and it's much better for us!)
• rye flour
• tea
• canned vegetables of all kinds
• canned fruits of all kinds
• dried fruits
• canned sauces, homemade or store bought

I'm sure I missed other things, but that's a close list to what is around here and kept constantly in the pantry. The only time we've run out was due to over paying on credit cards to get rid of debt, and I'm not going to feel bad about that, but it was a scary time. We've planned better since that moment and we're never letting that happen to us again with this.

So, that's another tip. Have a good, organized, useable pantry!