MY OWN PERSONAL MINI MART!

So...my food storage is actually starting to bust at the seams so I realized that I needed to take some time to organize it and take an inventory so I know what I need to buy and definitely don't need.  I wish my basement was done (see goal #1) so that my cold storage was ready to go, but in the meantime, I have completely filled what will soon (hopefully) be my scrapbooking room.  We went from NOTHING to TONS in just about one year...and all while spending LESS on groceries than I used to spend.  (Can you hear that low thumping noise?  That would be me, patting myself on the back...)

Most of my "storage organization" consists of shelves that I got at Home Depot.  When the food storage goes into the cold storage area I am hoping to build some permanent shelves that are custom fit and sturdy.  On the top shelves, I put cardboard box tops with cereal lined up in it--I can easily slide the box top out to get what I need without a ladder. 

I also tried to keep all the paper products and boxes close to the top if possible (not always possible). I got some crates to hold things like dish soap and shampoo.  Since I don't really have to get into these things all that often, they can be stacked.

I got clear totes to hold things I want to protect from varmints (powdered sugar, brown sugar, pasta, and packaged cookies--A couple of years ago Patrick bought me some candy that he hid in the basement...we saw firsthand the not-so-cute little gnaw marks of mice as they enjoyed my candy).

The only thing that's hard to organize is the freezer.  It is so full I keep dropping things out every time I open the door, which is really a pain (literally, when a roast lands on your feet, it's a PAIN).  I got some dishpans to put my ground beef, chicken, cheese, and bagged veggies in (since they are the sliding culprits most of the time) and everything else has just had to stack in around it.  I'm hoping my ship will come in (or maybe just a nice tax return...yeah, right) and I will be able to get a second freezer. I know a lot of people don't like chest style freezers, but I'm thinking that's the kind I want!
I am very happy with this progress.... There are still things I need (long term storage stuff like wheat and dry milk, and I could use a lot more water...) but I am making good headway.  It's nice to know that if something happened, I would be able to take care of my family better than I could have just one year ago!