Essentials Printable Grocery List by Category

Pantry Essentials Free Printable (or Electronic!) Grocery List to help you create and maintain a clean, organized and well stocked kitchen pantry and keep it that way all year long.

Whether you choose to use the electronic spreadsheet or free printable or both this Pantry Essentials Shopping List is a super useful kitchen organization tool!

New Year New Home Project

There’s just something about the start of a fresh year that motivates me to deep clean and organize. By focusing on one area at a time, the seemingly daunting home-refresh task is much more manageable. Plus, the little sense of accomplishment of completing one area will only motivate you to further refresh your space.

This post has been sponsored by Rubbermaid®. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Somehow it seems every January we’re knee-deep in some sort of diy home project.

Why January? Well, for starters I never ask for Christmas gifts. Or birthday or mother’s day or anniversary gifts either for that matter. Instead my wish-lists look a bit more like honey-do-lists.

Also January because here in the Pacific Northwest, in January we are just starting to come out of a sort of fall-to-winter hibernation. We’ve been cooped up for what seems like an eternity of short days. Days when the sun comes up after you leave for work and goes down before you get home. Less than 8 hours of daylight means that by January something about the inside of the house has to change. Or else. Or else Mom gets bored and starts dreaming up more projects.

A well stocked and organized pantry

Keeping my house, family (and life!) organized is a difficult chore with a family of 5. But in a small 1200 square foot home, it’s a necessity!

My family has lived in the same tiny-ish home for over 10 years and it’s still just a work in progress. I’m always coming up with new home projects, trying to best utilize and organize our space.

Focusing on one area at a time makes the task more manageable. And as for motivation, there’s nothing like the hubs getting started on a project to kick start me into cleaning and organizing. I mean really, if a few hours and some elbow grease is all it takes to help move a house project along, I’m all for it. And the latest kitchen painting project has me in full on pantry organization mode.

I love it!! The kitchen is the hub of my home where I spend time nourishing my family and creating joy for others through food. It’s also the physical hub of my home and the space where we spend 90% of our time in the house.

But what good is a kitchen if there’s no food in it? Over the years, I’ve learned that a well stocked pantry is key to being able to creatively feed my family healthy, nutritious meals. With staples like flour, dried nuts, quinoa, rice and oatmeal all you need is imagination and knowledge of a few basic cooking techniques and you can create anything!

The problem is that not only does my family live in a small home but we also live a 30 minute drive from the nearest grocery store. Creating the dilemma of needing to keep the right amount of the right foods on hand, but being short on space to store it all.

Pantry organization

My pantry is actually just a few large cupboards in the middle of my kitchen and the only way to keep this small space stocked and my family fed through the week is through thoughtful organization.

I love the new Rubbermaid® BRILLIANCE™ products for pantry organization! These very well-engineered storage containers stack in various configurations that seamlessly fit to maximize space while keeping food visible and accessible. It takes the guess work out of the puzzle that is often pantry organization! And their crystal-clear sleek look will be so nice with my freshly painted cabinets.

Plus the BPA-free leak-proof containers are stain-resistant and airtight to keep food fresh and at their best longer. I really hate wasting food and I love that Rubbermaid® BRILLIANCE™ is helping me preserve freshness and minimize food waste. I’m already thinking about all the other ways I can use Rubbermaid® BRILLIANCE to make organizing easier!

Find even more pantry organization tips using Rubbermaid® BRILLIANCE™® food storage containers >here! And find all these products and more at local retailers nationwide!

Pantry essentials shopping list

I list pantry items in categories with the essentials first. Other items I consider staples but are not as important are listed below in italics followed by a few extra spaces for other items in the category.

While organizing and cleaning I decided to create a printable and electronic grocery list. I’m always writing the same things over and over and over again and then going to the store and forgetting my list and everything on it.

I’ve been loving it so far and thought I’d share it with you!!

How to customize

Of course, we all have a different ideas of which items we must have at all times. No worries! Your family does not have to eat all the same foods as mine. The FREE google sheets Pantry Essentials Shopping List is fully editable. Change the categories, move items around, add more and/or take them away.

Use either the printable or electronic version as a guide to stock your kitchen for the first time. Start with the essential items adding in italicized foods when they show up in recipes or whenever you see fit.

If you already know what is essential for your kitchen, simply use the electronic grocery list as a template and customize to fit your unique tastes.

Free printable or electronic versions

Use the Pantry Essentials Shopping List however you like! Use it electronically or physically or both!

Save the Google Sheets version to access while you’re on the go. Use the app to highlight items on the list as you run out and always have an up to date grocery list at your fingertips.

Or, if you prefer a less tech approach print a stack of printed paper copies handy.

Whichever way you choose I hope you find the Pantry Essentials Shopping List a useful tool in your kitchen.

Electronic Version Download | Printable Version Download

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