DIY Pantry Inventory Chart

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      I try to keep my pantry stocked with a years supply of basic foods and canned items that I use frequently.  I try to rotate it so that things get used before they expire.  Rotating like this is something I have to stay on top of to avoid waste and to save money and to keep my family healthy.  This past week, we had family with us and a bunch of get-togethers throughout the week. It was a lot of fun and I was grateful to have a good supply of staples on hand! 
       Trying to keep my pantry stocked can be tricky.  I hate going into the pantry to get a can of tomato sauce or tuna or peanut butter and finding I don't have any.  So, I have devised an inventory system that works for me and maybe it will work for you as well. I touched on my method on a recent Friday Faves, and you can read about that here.  People have asked me to expound a bit, so here goes! 

Make a List

        In order to get started, you have to make a list of staples that you use regularly.  It helps to make a list of a base of about 20-30 items and added to it as I continued to use my system. Here is my initial list: 

Pasta          Peanut Butter          Tomato Sauce          Diced Tomatoes          Granulated Sugar
Powdered Sugar          Brown Sugar          Canned Vegetables          Canned Fruits          Jams
Diced Green Chilies          Canned Chili          Ready to Eat Soups          Condensed Soups
Flour          Corn Meal          Vegetable Oil           Ketchup           Mustard          Mayonnaise   
Canned Meats          Pancake Syrup          Corn Syrup          Canned Milk                    

       As time has gone on, I have broken some of these into sub-categories.  For example, under canned meats, I have Tuna, Salmon, Beef Chunks, Pork Chunks, Chicken Chunks, Spam, etc. So, depending on what you use and what works for you, this list is totally customize-able. 
         Next, decide how many of each item you will use in the amount of time that you are doing your inventory for.  I figured mine for roughly a year, but some of the items have more or less that that depending on my budget and their shelf life compared to how quickly we will use them.  The inventory is always in flux.  

Sentence Strip Charts

       For my inventory chart, I used sentence strips similar to these.  I actually found mine in the Target One Spot a few years ago.  I have seen them there periodically from time to time.  The ones I used are 16" wide and 25" long.  They have 8 plastic pockets going down the length of the chart. You can use any size you can find at a good price and just alter the dimensions that I used to fit them.

I measured across and divided my chart into 4 sections across. I used a glue gun to stick the pockets at each 4 inch interval and then glued a piece of ribbon or trim to give it more visual divisions.

At the top of the sections I wrote the words "Have" and "Have Not". Then, on the first section on the right of the 2 sections, I used a sticker label to name an item. For example, this section says, "Canned Fruit". I just wrote mine, or you can print them. So, each 16" x 25" chart can keep track of 16 food items.

Next, I typed and printed and copied onto card stock the item names. The pink ones are single items, the yellow ones are multiples of 10. When I first started this system, I put everything in the "Have Not" section. Then I did an inventory of what I had and moved that amount of tabs into the "Have" section. That showed me how much I wanted to add to my food supply. As I use items out of my pantry, I move the tabs from the "Have" to the "Have Not" section. Then, when I make my grocery list, I can look at the "Have Nots" and add to my inventory.

Hang the Chart

        I now have 3 of these charts that I hang in my pantry from peg boards that are on one side of my pantry. They hang from hooks. 

As you can see, I still have a lot of Have Nots, but I also have a lot of haves. It varies during the year when sales come and go and because of what we are eating a lot of.

      The most difficult part about this system is getting everyone on board to remember to move items over when they use them! You do have to be diligent to keep track of what you are using so you don't look and see that you have 14 bags of spaghetti and then when you go to get some, you only have 2.  
        I guess that you could keep a way of tracking your inventory on your phone or something, but to me this is much easier than getting onto my phone to do it all of the time and when I want to go shopping or make a recipe I can see what I have and what I need very quickly. 

       This weekend, we celebrated two of my grandsons' birthdays together since they are only a week apart.  My daughter was making a dinosaur cake for them and she asked me if I had everything that she needed.  It was so nice to know that I did.  It saved us another trip to the store and the cake was easy to whip up! (It came out super cute and the boys loved it! Not only that, it was delicious!)
           So, this is my method of keeping track of my pantry inventory. I hope it helps you.  Let us know ways that you like to use!