Simple Refrigerator, Freezer & Pantry Inventory Printables

Food inventories haven’t been especially effective for me in the past. I was good at making the lists…but honestly? I rarely ever referenced them again! And IMO, a list you write, but never look at again = a big waste of time.

What I did differently this time:

First, I listed out the majority of the food in the space (pantry/fridge/freezer).

Then, for each food I listed as many meal ideas as possible. I tried sticking to meals with relatively simple ingredients so that I wouldn’t have to do a ton of extra shopping (if any) to make them!

Note that I did NOT list every. single. item. because that doesn’t serve the purpose of my list, which is to generate meal ideas and use up food. I stuck to foods that I knew I could use as an important part of a recipe, or foods that needed to be used up!

I end up with, not only a complete inventory, but more importantly a HUGE list of meals that we can eat over the course of the next month (which IMO is a lot more useful than just a list of food that we have)

Click here or on the image below to download your free simple refrigerator, freezer and pantry inventory printables. They’re perfect if you’re doing #shelftember, but also just good anytime you’re looking to lower your food budget or reduce food waste. You could even laminate them and use wet erase markers to make them reusable!