GOALS FOR 2022| JANUARY CHALLENGE 2022| JANUARY GOAL| JANUARY SHOPPING THE PANTRY AND REFRIGERATOR GOAL
As you are aware by now, about my chance forey into Minimalism, I have been on a constant, regular, periodic Decluttering mission.
My journey into Minimalism started in the year 2017. Since then it has been an integral part of my life. It began tentatively, and I am still firmly on the path.
I have realized that it is not a race but a life long journey.
There have been times when I have been a bit complacent about Decluttering but overall I have been able to more or less, maintain a steady pace.
This Year I have decided to share my Decluttering journey with you all. I have decided to set a goal for each month of the year. I will be sharing my experience at the end of each month.
The idea behind this exercise is to motivate anyone who wants to set Decluttering goals without getting overwhelmed. Also, this will keep me accountable and prompt me to sincerely stay the course.
My January Goal is:
Shop your pantry and refrigerator.
The basic idea is to use up all food items in the pantry and refrigerator. Using up all ingredients will involve rustling up innovative dishes. All meals have to be prepared at home. The idea is to Declutter the refrigerator and pantry before grocery shopping. Only exception is replenishing produce, fruits and vegetables, flour when all have been used up. To make do with whatever spices and condiments available, finishing all food and completely relying on home cooking is going to be interesting and challenging. But I am up to it.
The idea behind this challenge is to save money and reduce food waste.
FAQs
1. How to start a shopping the pantry and refrigerator challenge?
Though everyone has a different home situation and the challenge will be individual, here are a few easy tips to keep in mind.
● You are not allowed to stock up for the monthly challenge.
As the idea behind the shop your pantry and refrigerator challenge is to use up all the existing food, stocking up is not allowed.
2. What to do if I run out of milk, flour, bread, cereals, fruits and vegetables?
● Fret not, you can replinish what is absolutely essential. Remember, the challenge is going to be different for everyone. The interesting part is the lesson we get out if it .
3. Are we allowed Takeaways?
● Avoid Takeaways for the course of the challenge and put in some effort in home cooking.
My honest pantry and refrigerator situation
Pantry:
● Enough spices, sugar, tea, coffee, pasta, biscuits, vermicelli, refined flour,nuts,baking ingredients.
● Enough beans, lentils, rice.
● Half a sack of wheat flour, will have to get more towards the end of third week.
Refrigerator:
● Fruit can last upto 10 days, same with vegetables.
● Bread and milk upto a week.
● As a vegetarian, I do not keep any eggs and meat products.
This is a sketchy idea about my situation. Let’s see how things pan out. My focus will be to try and use up everything and replinish only the absolutely essential.
Watch out for this space for updates on my progress.
Update on refrigerator and pantry challenge January Goal @2022:
Finally I have successfully completed my January challenge.
Initially I was a bit worried and skeptical, but as days went by, things became smooth.
Emptying my refrigerator was a relief, but pantry still has lots of ration.
In fact, I don’t have to buy any dry goods for another 15 days of February.
Being a vegetarian family of 3 members, I had to purchase some produce like fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, a loaf of bread and some milk towards the end of the 3rd week of January.
Overall, it was a very satisfying experience. I was able to create different meals, thereby eliminating food waste and saving a lot of money.
I encourage you all to definitely try the refrigerator and pantry challenge.
You can read about my experiences regarding this challenge in my new post.