How can I be frugal today? Day One:Don't panic, Organize

Since I have decided to be more frugal this year, I thought I would let you know what I am trying and if it actually works.   It is important to remember that being frugal doesn't always mean with your money but also your other resources.

Know what you have

To help me not buy what I don't need, I spent about half an hour cleaning my spice cabinet and the storage above my stove.  And to admit how bad I am, I found duplicate containers of cinnamon sticks, cocoa, and whole cloves.  These were consolidated and organized.

Get out of date items, out of the house

 I also threw out several containers that were out of date and most likely tasteless.
Yes , you are right I did use half an hour to do this but I figure it will save me time finding things, money I won't duplicate things and because I threw the out of date items away , I won't have any ruined recipes.

Making a list and checking it twice

The holidays may be over and so now is a great time to make that list.   What exactly do I have to cook with and what do I need to look for.  This list will be very useful when I am making my menu for the next week or so.  I can pantry cook more often if I know what is in the pantry.

Make that menu 

http://organizedhome.com/sites/default/files/printable/notebook_food_menu_planner_weekly_list.pdf



This is the weekly menu list that is free to print from Organizedhome.com .  I like this one because once you have the meals in the list you can put your shopping list on the side.
I try to cook once and eat twice.  An easy example is chicken.    Roast a whole chicken, serve it with what ever your family likes.  Reserve the broth and the chicken meat that is not eaten.   Make a chicken pot pie, or chicken stouder (see recipes).  You now made 2 meals with one set of purchased ingredients.