Food Storage

As you can imagine...as you start to really stock up on stuff from all of these great deals...you will QUICKLY begin to run out of room. I started having this problem after my first three shopping trips...lol. Now, as I keep accumulating more and more, I HAD to do something to make room. We decided to make room in the laundry room, as we have a big counter in there that so far was just used for stashing anything and everything. We cleared off the counter and as I kept buying more things, the heap of groceries and cleaning supplies just kept getting taller and taller...we HAD to get some shelving.

We went to Home Depot and bought some really inexpensive wooden shelving (the kind that is made for closets that you can build the way you want by buying the individual pieces and fitting them together) It was a daunting task putting together all of those darn shelves (there were 8 total) and we still need MORE! Any way, that's what I worked on today...building all of the shelves and organizing all of the groceries. I meant to take a before picture, so you could see how it all was just taking over the whole room, but I TOTALLY spaced it and by the time I remembered I was already almost done organizing it. :( Oh well, here are my after pictures...:)



I tried to organize them in a way that worked for me...separating them into areas by type: canned foods, pasta, snacks, beverages, desserts, etc. As you can see, I still don't really know what to do with all of the cereal. Lol. Eventually, we will probably have to buy another whole set of the same shelves to make it two shelves deep, to utilize all of the counter space. There is also room under the counter where, for now, I have put the 12pks of soda, bottled water, paper towels, etc. That will eventually probably have shelving too.

It was hard work, but I am SOOO glad to have it all organized and be able to easily see what I have on hand, what I need more of (or definitely DON'T need more of, like Hamburger Helper) and just being able to see all of my hard work materialized!

Of course, all that you see in the pictures is not NEARLY all of the stuff I have bought since starting couponing. That's not including our stuffed pantry and cupboards, all of the cleaning supplies I have stocked up on that are under the sink, above the washer/dryer, in the bathrooms, in hall closets and anywhere else I can stuff them. It's also not including all of the toiletries I have bought for myself and my husband that we have stuffed under our bathroom sinks and in our bedroom closet. Nor is it including everything in the fridge or in the freezer in the garage! (we were fortunate enough to have my dad let us use his big freezer at our house.) That thing filled up SOOO fast. Now I just need to figure out a way to organize it, too. It's just amazing how this stuff starts to add up.

For those of you in small spaces where you do not have the ability to devote areas specifically for your food storage, there are many economical solutions for you, too. I posted these ideas on an earlier post, but it's worth revisiting. Under-bed totes are a great way to make the most of unused space. Organizers that hang over doors can be put in your bedroom closet, pantry door, or any other closet door. They are great for putting things such as your bazillion spices/seasonings, kool-aid packets, or any other small items. Another tip I read on a blog a while back was to empty all of your snacks (such as all of those Betty Crocker Gushers, Fruit Roll-ups, etc into one container or basket and get rid of all of those boxes. They take up a lot less room that way. Get creative and I'm sure you can come up with some great ways to make the most of your space. If you come up with or read about any other great ideas, please share!