Home Manager Binder: Keeping Track of What We Eat and Use

During the pandemic I was able to mostly keep on our pantry and household needs, but I was never able to really get a rotating stock our pantry and linen closet. Add in the fact we had baby number six in the spring last year and I just continued to buy what we need, when we needed it. Therefore, my big homemaking goal of 2023 is to keep an inventory of what we use and consume so we can work on stocking the pantry and linen closet (toiletries). Enter: The Home Manager Binder.

Not only do I want to get a good rotation system down I needed a way to track how much we need for a 3 months/6 months/12 month supply for our large family. This will also help me when items go on sale, especially for those items we rotate through quickly.

TIP: write the date you opened a jar in permanent marker, on the lid, to help keep track how long the item lasted so you can buy ahead when the item goes on sale.

Creating a Home Manager Binder

I needed a way to keep track of what I buy, what we use, track our budget, etc — enter an extra $1 notebook I had in our homeschool box.

It’s simple, but effective.

I created a few different sections:
– BUDGET: a list of the month, what I spent, and at what store.
– GOING OUT TO EAT: As a large family of 8, going out to eat can quickly add up. We want to be more intentional about when/where we decided to get takeout. So, I decided to add a list for this.
– WHAT WE ATE: I normally menu plan, but this list is to keep track of what we actually ate. *I scribble down what we eat on my weekly to do list and then transfer it into my Home Manager Binder on Sundays.
– PANTRY LIST: I created a different page for each: pantry, fridge items, cleaners, household items, toiletries, beauty products, etc.
– HOW LONG IT LASTED: Creating a list on how long items last will help me to easily stock up on items when they go on sale, which will help my budget month over month and the bottom line come year’s end.
–TO DO LIST: Things I needed to remember, but to get out of my head and on paper. This list includes miscellaneous items like “make dentist appointments.”
– STOCK UP LIST: I plan to write what I stocked up on each month (see below my 2/2 rule) and the quantity. By doing so I can quickly see how long items lasted.

How I plan to Stock My Pantry and Linen Closet

My Home Manager Binder is starting from zero. I did not go through and write how many of each item I already have, I’m just going into January with a clean slate. I thought that would be too tedious and overwhelming if I tried to inventory every item already in the house.

Monthly Grocery Shopping

I have moved back into more of a twice a month grocery shopping. One major shopping day with a small(er) fill in mid month. Having six children, the youngest being 9 months, staying out of the grocery store not only helps my budget, it also keeps my family healthier by keeping the germs out of the house a little better!

Grocery shopping twice a month also helps me just “make do” instead of running to the store for a couple of things — you get creative! Many times it ends up with a homemade version of what we’re craving ei. peanut butter cookies, bagels, etc!

Monthly shopping goes hand in hand with having some kind of meal plan.

New to Monthly Meal Planning?
— make a 2 week meal plan and simply double it for the month!

2/2 Rule:

I tried to think of an EASY way to stock up on items and came up with the 2/2 rule.

Every month I will stock up on 2 household items and 2 pantry/food items. I will first be focusing on items that we go through fairly quickly so I can then calculate how long those last and be able to stock up when a good sale.

Stocking up on sale ,, especially on the items you use the most, is the best way to save money!

For example, in January I chose to stock up on salt and honey for the pantry. As far as household I stocked up on bars of soap and floss.

Depending on the month and the budget I can get more than two items, buy lower costing items, etc. The base goal is stocking up on two household items and two pantry items.

Easy Tracking

The most time-consuming part of the Home Manager Binder will be tracking items after grocery shopping. Getting all of the items/quanities entered in the binder will be most effective by taking the time after shortly after putting the groceries away either the same day or the next day while the items are fresh in your mind.

This month I did it as I put the groceries away, but I could have easily done it with just the receipt, making putting away groceries that much faster.

Keeping an easy tracking system combined with streamlining systems– like once or twice a month grocery shopping, scribbling the meals we ate on my to do list to jot down in my binder once a week — will make this binder effective and yet not time consuming.

I would honestly love to know what system you use to keep track of your inventory and your stocking up system! Leave a comment below.

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