Food storage list/inventory

[Oakheart]

Hi All, just wondering what people think is the good way to track the food preps you have?

Also if anyone has a good spreadsheet or tracking system they would be happy to share, no point reinventing the wheel.

[pseudonym]

I started with spreadsheets and lists but nowadays I'm a FIFO kind of guy.

I seem to keep on top of it that way.

I treat my preps as My Supermarket. I go shopping there first before leaving the house.

[jansman]

I started with spreadsheets and lists but nowadays I'm a FIFO kind of guy.

I seem to keep on top of it that way.

I treat my preps as My Supermarket. I go shopping there first before leaving the house.

Nice,simple way P.

[Frnc]

I use spreadsheets for batteries and some food (food that's on my bedroom shelves, under the bed or on my prep room shelves), but 90% of my food is not on them. It's in a corner kitchen base unit, so is actually double the width of the door, so it holds a lot. Most of the stuff on the bottom shelf has a life of a year or two. Most of the stuff on the top shelf is stuff I aim to use in the next few months or stuff I use regularly. I say most, because a few things at the front of the bottom shelf are things I use regularly. And I might have stuff at the back of the top shelf that has a long life or I don't eat regularly. I sort through the lot, or at least one shelf, every six months or so. It doesn't take long. It sounds a bit disorganised but it works pretty well. I could fit more in my bedroom and prep room, but I don't want to end up binning stuff. I tend to buy things like pasta for prep, but I can get out of the habit of eating it and go months without using it, and I don't want to end up having loads near their expiry.

I get a few things now on Amazon subscription, which is quite good for preppers, as they are automatically topping up your stocks for you. You can cancel or skip, but if you don't, you are stocking up every few months. I get coffee, batteries, Stevia drops, washing up gloves, Imodium Instants, etc.

[GillyBee]

I also use Amazon subscription to top up my prepes - but have to watch out as it is easy to get too much if you dont check before the net sub arrives.
I am not organised enough for spreadsheets & neither is my family. I use FIFO and mark anything in need of using up soon with a red dot label for the benefit of the rest of the family. I also inventory everything at least once a year to catch anything not being used regularly that needs to be used up & replaced.

[Frnc]

I also use Amazon subscription to top up my prepes - but have to watch out as it is easy to get too much if you dont check before the net sub arrives.
I am not organised enough for spreadsheets & neither is my family. I use FIFO and mark anything in need of using up soon with a red dot label for the benefit of the rest of the family. I also inventory everything at least once a year to catch anything not being used regularly that needs to be used up & replaced.

I dunno if you have any apple devices, but the Numbers spreadsheet I use is very simple. For example you can open a new one, add items eg food, batteries, add dates, and then click on sort to arrange them in date order. Or, with spending, I enter the price of a supermarket shop or an Amazon item, in different columns. The you select a column and click on 'insert formula - sum' and it adds it all up to give this month's total. I have this month's groceries, gas, electric, everything. And a finances one to keep track of the big picture eg how much I saved or overspent each month, how much I have in savings etc.

I could explain how to do it, but I mainly use desktop. I do have them on my phone, but I rarely do any editing on it.

[Omega]

Thought making the list, but gave up as it requires maintenance
Therefore, I use Japanese manufacturing Kanban approach: I split my stock into two parts - one to use and the other to refill. For example, pickled cucumber cans last 1.5-2 years. I try buying stock for 1.5 years (8 cans minimum for me, I use minimum because this guarantees I will use it before it expires), split into two parts, so I have 4 cans in easy to access area. Once these 4 cans finish, I buy 4 more cans, place them to store and move stored into the usage area

[jennyjj01]

I used to use a super detailed Excel list, but it went to seed. The list serves as a reminder of what i need.
Now, use marker pen to clearly write on BBE, then treat your extended pantry as your supermarket and treat your actual supermarket run as a wholesaler trip. Helps to identify the things you are forgetting to stock. and helps with rotation.

[Frnc]

I have a double (corner) cupboard. Anything I buy with more than a year life, that I don't need to use soon, goes to the back, preferably on the bottom shelf. I don't bother with a list or marking dates. I just go through it every few months. Anything with a date less than 3 months comes right to the front, 6 months just behind.

I also keep some on shelves in my bedroom and the prep room.

[Frnc]

Just did a small shop. I only wanted a couple of things, and they didn't have one, so I got a few preps: 2 x dehdrated falafel powder kits, 1 tube tom puree, tinned toms, tinned butter beans, 1 x Spice Taylor chickpea masala, these are fantastic and store quite a long time, 2 x long life plain naans; they only have 3 months but that's ok. Prep food doesn't have to store years. I've not had shop curry for a couple of years 'cos oxalates. Got Flora on offer, shelf life to December.
Finally got an appointment for kidney stones by the way, to see them for opinion, not for treatment. Been waiting over a year. In fact more like two.