hollyisstoppingshopping

Yesterday I spoke about decluttering your bathroom to save time and money and today I want to talk about the kitchen.

The kitchen is probably the easiest room in the house to start saving money in and, as always, it starts with a declutter. I love cooking, so my kitchen is packed full of utensils and gadgets. Some are useful and used regularly (the handheld blender, the griddle pan, the smoothie maker) some are still useful but less regularly used (the wok, the breadmaker). If you have any gizmos and gadgets that you definitely don’t need or use, see if you can make some money buy popping them in your local classifieds (or try Gumtree or eBay) or if you don’t want to sell them, pop them on Freecycle so someone else can get good use out of them.

I aim to have a cupboards clearout twice a year. I go through the cupboards and throw out anything that is out of date or unused. For example, I once bought a jar of jerk chicken seasoning that was way too hot for my palate and despite knowing I didn’t like it, I let the jar sit in my fridge for another 6 months. It happens.

While my big clearout might only happen every six months, I try to monitor my cupboards on a weekly basis. I always know what I have and I’ve found that this is the key to successful food shopping. Before embarking on a food shop, I try to check to see what I have in the fridge, freezer and cupboards to see what needs used up. I then plan meals around these products and add anything extra that I don’t have to my shopping list.

Whilst in the supermarket, I try not to deviate too much from my list. It’s easy to find yourself adding lots of random items to the trolley but this stuff really pushes up your bill. However, I do allow myself to be flexible when it comes to deals. There may be items on special offer which I don't need at that exact time, but I always try to stock up on these when they're on sale. This is particularly good for tinned foods, we use a lot of tuna and tinned tomatoes, as well as jars of Ragu sauce. If these are on offer then I will usually pick them up, that way, I rarely have to buy these items when they are full price. The same goes for cereal, filled pastas, garlic bread, yogurts, washing up liquid etc. If it's something we eat a lot of, I think it's worth deviating from the shopping list to save money in the long run.

I am also a big fan of buying supermarket own brand products, particularly for cupboard staples like tinned vegetables, kidney beans, pasta, cereals, rice etc. I honestly don't think you can notice a big difference in taste, but you certainly can in price. By "dropping a brand" on everyday items, this frees up extra money in my food budget to spend on fresh fruit and vegetables which are sometimes quite pricey.

Another great way that I save, is by making enough food so that there are leftovers for lunch the next day. It's easy to double up while making meals and then freeze a couple of portions, saving both time and money. All I do is take something out of the freezer in the morning and it's ready for dinner that night. Foods like bolognaise, chilli, lasagne, curries, soups, stews and casseroles all freeze well.

Taking a packed lunch to work has saved me a small fortune over the past year. Whilst it's not something I do every single day, on the days that I take food from home I usually have a No Spend Day and a little bit of preparation goes a long way.

To avoid temptation, get rid of any takeaway menus lying around the kitchen. If you're home after a long day, it's easy to give in and order food when the menu is stuck to the front of your fridge saying "EAT ME!!!" so by chucking them in the bin (recycling of course!) you'll find it easier to stop spending. I'm always motivated to cook and try new recipes whenever I read a cookbook. Invest in a couple of good ones, get some from the library or print some from the internet (bbc food has thousands) and get your creative juices flowing!

Three Easy Steps:

Know what you have in your cupboards
Only buy what you need
Shop around for deals