I made a big mistake this month in the grocery shopping arena. I completely missed my April Azure Standard Food Co-op ordering date, which means that I was unable to order groceries for my family and I can’t order again until May so in the meantime my family will have nothing at all to eat for four entire weeks!!!!
Okay, not really. Not even close. I did have to talk myself down from a panic once I realized I’d missed ordering, though. I have ordered from Azure Standard every single month for the past four or five years. My menus revolve around what I’m able to order and I very much rely on them for fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables.
But as you may recall, I always order in bulk, keeping a nice supply of food on hand at any given time. Plus, we still have quite a bit of preserved garden produce we canned or froze last summer/fall. Our freezers still have plenty of meat. So, just because I made a big goof-up this month, are we gonna starve? No. I would imagine that even if I forgot to order from Azure for several months in a row, we’d still have plenty to eat (although we might have to get very creative with our tomato sauce and flax seeds after a while).
I also still have a lot of fruit leather.
So we’d have tomato sauce, flax seeds and fruit leather. :)
As I began to look around at all the food I have stored to get us through until our next Azure Standard order, I realized two things:
- We really have a lot of food.
- My storage room is a complete and total scary mess.
And so…this week I have decided to clean and reorganize our storage room and my pantry and all my food storage places, because enough is enough already with all the disorganized messes, and because without my normal Azure Standard grocery order this month, I’m going to have to be a little more creative.
I take this as a challenge to myself. I don’t get to rely on having absolutely everything in stock like I usually have. I didn’t get to order the yeast I needed or the frozen broccoli I like to get or the white cheddar cheese I am almost out of.
And yes, I could go get some of this stuff at the store (because wow, we do have grocery stores around here), but how about I just work on using the abundance of food that we have been blessed with and what I have in storage?
Therefore, I hereby declare that I am going to get a shovel and dig out my storage room. Then I will reorganize it and make it nice and workable again.
What you need to know is that I hardly let ANYBODY into my storage room. It’s completely embarassing and a total disaster, and I’m not one bit proud of that room.
But if you scream loud enough, and say some really nice things about how you’ll still like me even after you see that my storage room looks 200 times worse that a boy’s dorm room…I may get over myself and take a picture to show you.
And then I’ll update you with my progress throughout the week and show you before and after pictures, as well as share with you some of the tasty things we’re eating with our stored food.
So, whatdoyasay? You wanna see the room? (Please say no.)
Hi Laurq-
Please show us your storage room. It will make me feel better about my messes! I would love to see your before and after pictures and your ideas about using up the food you already have.
And no, I won’t think any less of you if it’s a complete mess. I love your blog!
I was going to say exactly what Lori said!
Oh,you definately have to show it- we’re already picturing the worst in our minds anyway :)
I’d love to see your storage room. By the way, I was paranoid that I was going to forget to order this week. Luckily I didn’t. Although I don’t get as much as you do. They have to drive through a corner of California to get here so they can’t bring most fruit- lame! We get our eggs through them because Las Vegas doesn’t really have farm fresh anything.
You should do a before and after picture!
Opleaseopleaseoplease show us pictures of your storage room!! My walk-in pantry/utility room is very high on my “next room to spring clean” list and I’m dreading it. Pictures of your mess might make me feel not as alone with mine! ;)
Yes!! Show us the mess!!
Your storage room can’t be nearly as bad as mine … and I want to be inspired by the improvement!
Sure – I’d love to see it all. The mess, all the stuff you have, the after. All of it. :)
I’d love to see it as well. We don’t have one (or the room to make one) so just feel blessed to have it! :) I’m sure you’ll get it fixed up in time and it would be awesome to see the changes you make in it.
I would love to see your storage room! Maybe seeing your progress in reorganizing will motivate me.
I’d be interested in seeing what’s in your storage room. It would be fascinating to see your stockpile even if it’s messy. Plus if you take a picture, you get a visual image of the before and after of how you organized the storage room.
Would love to see before and after pictures. It will be motivating! :)
I am about to do the same thing. And I have THREE full size freezers to clean out. I am afraid, very, very afraid, LOL! PLEASE show us all the photos, tell us all the details, and share your pantry and other food storage areas with us!
I will be following along all week, I promise! ;)
Your storage room probably looks like my house at the moment! I have 3 boys and my 2 year old loves to pull out every toy he has. Lol!
show us:)
Would love to see it – just the motivation I need to go through ours and get it done this week too!! And I’m in southern NJ – does anyone know of an Azure Standard-like company out this way? I’ve recently found out about a couple of groups that do co-op deliveries, but theirs are more like convenience foods, not raw goods! And any “health food stores” are either expensive or fairly far to go to from here.
I would love to know if you find any too! We are in TN and don’t get Azure here either. Laura, could you do a list of coops for different areas of the country? I’m sure there are readers with ideas and it would be a great reference for those of us who are (sadly) without Azure!
I would love to see it. I would even help you clean it up. I am on my way back home (Lincoln) on Wednesday. We will be waiving to you from interstate. God Bless.
We should just make an album and ALL post before and after pics of our messy storage rooms. Kinda like a support group. ;)
I have 2 boys in college right now and I cannot imagine that it could be as bad as a boy’s dorm! It definately could not smell as bad!
I think everyone has an “area” like that! Our issue is the “junk drawers” in our kitchen. Whoever came up with that idea anyways!
Yes, please show us some pictures!!! Really, it would be an encouragement to the rest of us for you to show us your mess. Thanks for all you do on your blog, looking forward to see how you organize
Please, please, perty please with sugar (dehydrated cane juice, that is) on top!!!!
One question, how do you manage to “store” stuff? My food gets eaten before the month is up. I mean I have the wheat I’ve ordered from our coop and the meat we ordered and I plan on canning more tomatoes this year, but I find that our monthly grocery budget is just enough to feed us for that month.
I’ve read your post about how some months you don’t have to buy much and other months you buy a lot, but how long has it taken you to get to this point? A year, 2 years???
I’m very anxious to see your store room…..and I don’t think anything can stop me from visiting your blog every day :) I’ve even told all my friends about it and we’re thinking of starting a fan club ;)
Now you Know Laura, that we are just dying to see that storage room! And remember mess or not a storage room is such a blessing, because I am always looking for a place in my home to stash things! Thanks for always being so genuine with us, now show us the mess! Haha!
Mine was a horrendous mess just until recently. It was horribly embarrassing, and took precious time every time I entered just to find something. I decided ENOUGH!
So now, after about 2-3 days of pretty much ONLY working in there, it is quite lovely in there! I even LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN sometimes!
I suggest putting at least one pretty decoration in there, to remind yourself to try to keep in nice. Although, all the organized shelves of home canned goods just look beautifully decorative, IMO!
I bet mine was worse than yours! I should have taken a picture to prove it!
I missed the April Azure order too! Really annoying since I had a pretty big list this time. But I am working my way through the freezer and yes, it feels good to use up all the produce and meats that we’ve preserved for times just like this anyway!
Show us.
I would really like to see it, but that is entirely up to you. I will not judge you. ;-)
I’ll chime in too. I wanna see before & after pics. I need some motivational inspiration to get into my pantry and totally reorganize it! Not to mention getting rid of things I no longer need/want!
Are you kidding? It’s ALWAYS encouraging to see the humanity of your homemaking idols:). Bring it!
also…what a BUMMER that Azure doesn’t deliver to us out in the sticks of Indiana.
Oh you have to show us the room now!!!!
Yes, please reveal the mess!
I’m so sorry, Laura – I was waiting for your usual “Here’s what is on sale at Azure this month” post… But I eventually made my own order without it. Next time I’ll remind you! =)
I know that you will show us your pictures – and that the “after” pictures will be amazing! (I’m thinking Bob the Builder here… Can she do it? Yes, she can!)
Please show us!
you are WONDERFUL, ENTERTAINING, and HELPFUL, be HUMBLE too and show us your mess, it will help us to organize after we see your finished product picture!
You know you have to show the people what they want to see! :-)
Show it! Show it! :-)
We have been “cleaning out the freezer” for the last two months, and I was just telling my husband last night that even though we can see a lot of progress someone who never saw the before picture would have no idea we’d been doing this because there’s still so much food in our freezer! I am starting to get low on meat though, so I might have to buy some this month, but I’m trying to make room to order a 1/4 of a grass-fed cow. And I’m also terribly bad at labeling things with dates- or sometimes even contents- so I need to clean up and then get better at labeling!
BRING ON THE CHAOS!!!!!!!! I love a good mess, esp. when it’s not mine LOL!!!
You knew we weren’t gonna let you get away with that. I love before and after chaos pics! It gives me hope for my own chaos!
C’mon Laura! You know us blog readers better than that! hehe. Bring on the mess! ;)
I totally want to see your storage room! I am starting down the road to have a storage area and would love to see what yours looks like regardless of state. (Plus you know what you consider a mess I may find neat and tidy!) Please show us your room!
I really, really want to see before and after pics. I am fascinated by how other families make their house function and everyone has different organization techniques.
I have a large tool box, a VERY large air compressor and board games in my pantry!!
My family and I have been house hunting–we have seen some pretty incredible messes!! Amazing what people will allow total strangers in to see –but we (your blog family) are not strangers and you aren’t selling your house. And any mess that isn’t my own is perfectly fine to show to the world–I’d love to see yours. Have fun working on this new project.
I would totally enjoy seeing the chaos that is your storage/pantry area :). I myself have been in the process of moving, which meant cleaning and organizing. Ug….even when you think it’s under control, you find out its not…
YES YES YES! Please show us a before and after so I can get motivated and also get some ideas. : )
After pictures aren’t nearly as impacting without before pictures. You have to take a “before.” Have to. Esp so I can feel better about my garage, MY complete source of embarrassment. It is all about me.
I agree completely! I would love to see before and after pictures and would also love to see what meals you’ve come up with for your month without buying food at the store! We had those horrible little flour worms/moths in our pantry and just painted, cleaned out and organized over the winter and I smile every time I walk in there! You’ll LOVE it when you clean it out and get it organized!
Pics! Pics! Pics!
You have to show us now. :)
Please show the room!!!!!!!!! :0)
i badly want to see your storage room!
and also- i think you should get a label maker. My husband has been asking me for years to “get more organized”- so I bought a label maker and it is so much fun that now everything in my house is labeled- and that simple step makes everything look more organized… plus the labels gave me the motivation to organize our office- which was our super scary room!
Yes please!! Trust me, your whole grocery series is a huge help and blessing to this momma. I desperately need the guidance on how to switch to healthier cooking for my family and can always use more help in organizing!! Think of it as one of your Titus 2 avenues of teaching! :)
Oh wise professor, teach on……. ;p
Yes, please show pictures!!! I’ve just started following your blog and LOVE it! I made the Cheeseburger Macaroni for lunch (I already had leftover taco meat in the fridge). I loved it, but my kids… not so much. Thanks for posting such great info!
Um the average grocery store won’t kill you if you really need something. :) Sounds like it would be a good idea to organize and figure out exactly what you do have though. One month I kept thinking I was running out of tomato paste only to discover that I had at least four cans that had rolled under the stand for the bird cage. Between little boys playing with cans and not sweeping under there I had quite the little stash. My kids have also played store and shopped in my cupboards. We have found stuff that had rolled under the girl’s bed before too. So you never know just what you have some days.
O.K. Bring it on. Maybe it will make people like me feel more comforted to know they are not alone.HA HA!!!
Do you even have to ask? Of course we want to see it!
I want to see. I bet your definition of a disaster is different than mine. You seem so organized.
OK. That is like telling your children not to go in a room because you still need to wrap their Christmas gifts! You MUST show the room. Besides, I can assure we could all show you a room (or two or three) from our houses and you would feel lots better!! AND maybe a neat freak out there could offer you some advice. Do I need to go on with reasons to show the room?!
Always good to be prepared with stored food in case there is a hiccup in the grocery store deliveries (ie. hurricane Katrina!) This will give you a chance to pretend you have a shopping “emergency” and will show you how to better stock up in the future. It’s good practice to have to get creative once in a while and rely only on what we have at hand. By the way, do you have a hand-powered grain mill to use in case of a power outage? This seems like a good idea since we rely SO MUCH on our mill and baked goods using the flour from that mill!
Yes, please. I need to get my pantry organized so seeing someone else get theirs organized would be a great motivator for me! Besides, I can’t imagine anything being unorganized with all the jars you use to make everything look all pretty and nice. :)
Please show it? It would make me feel better about my storage room (which is my basement) and might give me tips to help organize it :)
It’s a coincidence that you are posting about cleaning up your storage… I doubt (with only the two of us and a four year old) that I have as much space as your family ;) but ours is also disorganized. I’m 23 weeks along and JUST getting back to menu planning and actually COOKING (and even eating – imagine THAT!). Since we were totally flying by the seats of our pants since I couldn’t even tackle the grocery ads, sale items haven’t been stocked up on and I honestly have NO clue anymore WHAT is in our basement pantry (or our kitchen cabinets for that matter!). So, gonna tackle that this week. I’m getting clipboards to keep better track of what goes in and out – here’s to hoping we remember to MARK on them LOL Good luck w/your project – love your blog!!
Show it to us already!!
Sorry…. I say ‘yes’…. so, don’t wait too long. And no tidying up before the “before” picture. We all need to be reassured that we’re all in the same boat! (or, storage room!)
I wise friend once told me, “if you have to clean your house up for me, then I’m not a very good friend. Real friends take the good with the bad and have an understanding for one another to know that some thigs are just really not important” So, Laura, in this particular case I believe that you are a hard working wife and mom, the look of your storage room does not identify who you are. I read your blog consistently and in some strange manner consider you a friend, because I come to your blog for advice. Thanks for guiding me to many wonderful recipes and ideas. You’ve made my transition from Working Mom to Stay At Home Mom much smoother.
Lets see that storage room :)
Cmon girl! You know we want (and need) to see that room. We all have an area, tangible or not, that is a total mess. Let’s get real! And then clean them up. :)
Yes! Let us see the room and the progress. It will give you an appreciative audience for your efforts and also take your mind off having forgotten to order from Azure Standard this month.
Along those lines, two months ago we were unable to buy the grated Romano cheese that we usually use. We only go out grocery shopping once a month, except for orange juice and ice cream which we buy from a local store, so not being able to get the cheese was an issue. My husband is the one in charge of the grated cheese because he does the pasta days, and he was agitated about this. I suggested that we buy some shredded mozzarella to use instead, because I could also use that on pizzas. For two months now I have been using the mozzarella on whole wheat pizzas, which are much, much better than the commercial frozen pizza with genuine meat-like substances that we were eating. Finally, it showed up on our pasta. My husband was panicking with a two month supply of grated Romano in the freezer. :D
Back on your issue, you do need to use up some of the produce that you canned to make room for this year’s produce. As for the yeast, consider it your opportunity to rely on the natural leavening that you have taught us all how to produce. It’s not that difficult to do. Just remember that it may take longer to rise. :)
Show the room! It will be fun:) (I have to tease)
We call using up what we have “Shopping in the pantry”. It’s always a good idea to use up what you have once in a while! Start the new season fresh and clean.
I think you are so lucky to have storage ROOM! Please do show it, in all its messiness. I live in a very small house (2 bed, 1 bath) — in CA, so no basement. I would LOVE to have a whole room dedicated to food storage. So please show me yours?!?
If you show us your storage room, I’ll be prompted to clean a walk-in closet that we store “stuff” in. And I, like you, think we have way too much stuff.
YES! I would love mre suggestions on staying organized since i have very little cabinet space in my kitchen and no room for some sort of hutch or shelves (or staorage room!)
I am particularly interested in what you MISSED OUT ON from this month’s Azure order and what you’ll do to make up for it. if you go to the regular store, what do you settle for? And what stuff do you get ONLY at Azure or ONLY at the store?
I have not been able to get corn from Azure and i stocked up on a bunch of wheat berries (this is the beginning of my food journey). Do youhave other suggestions for basics to keep around in situations like htis? THat would be a HUGE help! THANKS!
Yes, show your storage room. I have the same problem with my storage closet. I tend to just keep putting the supplies for baking bread in and when I need them sometimes I can’t find them. Come on we a have the same problem the cooking and the baking are the most important not the neatness of the storage area, right?
Of *course* I will still love you (even if your storage room rivals that of a boys dorm room — or my son’s bedroom). You having a messy storage room and telling us about it (and dangling a picture about it in front of our drooling faces) is why we love you so much!! *chanting* Pic-tures! Pic-tures! Pic-tures!! :)
Yes! Let’s see the room! I’m really looking forward to some recipes as you cook from your pantry1
Yes please, show us the room!
Back in the day my husband and I used to watch ‘Friends’ and I’ll never forget the episode where we got a glimpse of perfect Monica’s secret closet where she stuffed everything so everywhere else looked perfect. It was her dark secret. So I’m picturing something kinda like that!
Yes, please show us. I am just starting to switch to ordering in bulk from a similar source and need all the inspiration I can get.
I really really need to see that room!! Even as it is I know I would be inspired
thanks
would love to see what you do to the room.
This is my absolute favorite kind of post! Please please pleaseee take a picture!
I just did my pantry last week and it made SUCH a difference to my mentality! Good luck to you!! I also found it a great excuse to figure out what we had and get rid of some things that aren’t so good for us. ;)
How about an “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours?” kind of deal? I have one entire 9’x10′ pantry room with floor to ceiling shelves (and the water heater) and two floor-to-ceiling 4′ wide shelving units outside the pantry in our main basement room with a stockpile that came in handy while laid off a ways back. That doesn’t even include what else I have out in the garage (water, some soda, more water, some apples from November, that kind of thing). :)