52 week challenge: Week 1 - Pantry

So as part of my goal to actually organize my house I'm starting the 52 week challenge. For the first few weeks I am going to work around the kitchen area since that is what my husband complains about the most. I don't blame him. I have a VERY bad habit of putting things just about any where and claim to have 'put it away.' I think this is how the disorganized thing starts with me. Poor hubby, he is the organized one. So between the kids and me not putting things back where the should, he didn't stand a chance.

So this week I'm starting with organizing pantry. As of now I'm almost finished. I've even mapped out a plan on where everything should go. My kitchen pantry has six levels. As of now I'm basing where things go considering on what my kids like to grab and destroy.

The top-level will be cereals and large boxed items. Second juice, powdered drinks, and sweets. Third small boxed items. Forth canned goods. Fifth non-food items like ziplock bags, ect. Sixth fruits, veggies, and anything else healthy. I recycle so I'm reusing some shipping boxes from my online christmas shopping to place on the floor of the pantry. I like to keep a well stocked pantry, so hopefully it will stay nice and tidy.


Just some tips ...

My two-year old son  and my five-year old daughter like to grab food when they want. They have developed a habit of snacking all day. They get it from their Mommy. So in a very easy no effort way to get them to eat a little healthier, only healthy food will be with in reaching distance from now on.

I got this idea from one of my favorite people ever. Her name was Jennie, she was a foster parent to many children. They would often praise her for getting kids to lose weight and become healthier. She never put them on a diet and really let them eat whatever they wanted when they wanted. The catch? Only healthy foods in the house. She would always buy unhealthy snacks, but very limited. So once it was gone, it was gone. She only shopped once a week so usually all the sweet processed foods were gone with in the first couple of days.

I would really recommend this tip to anyone who wants to lose weight. I'm not saying don't buy unhealthy foods, just buy less. Then replace the rest of the amount you would have bought with stuff from the fruit & veggie section of the grocery store. This tip, however, only really works if you do most of your own cooking and eat out only two times a week or less. There is a lot of recipes online that include videos. Don't forget YouTube, I've been able to find great recipes on there too!


Wishing you all a very happy new year,

Vanessa