Happy 2025, everybody! I hope the first few weeks have treated you well so far.

A fun way we decided to kick off the new year is not with Dry January, Whole30, or any other challenges or resolutions. Sure, we could stand to cut more alcohol and sugar out of our diets, but we’ll maybe get to those another time.

We did want to craft a similarly catchy name for this, however, so my husband, Kevin, came up with the name Just Pantry January. Basically, the idea is we wanted to see if we could go an entire month (especially the one right after the expensive and indulgent holiday season) with mostly eating the food we already have at home. We don’t store goods like crazy or anything like that. We just wanted to go through things like meats we’ve stocked in the freezer, just about everything in the fridge, and things such as rice, beans, and soups, among other foods, in the pantry. Perhaps it doesn’t lead to the fanciest cuisine every day, but it mostly feels good knowing that we’re not wasting what we’ve previously shopped for.

If we happen to come across anything that has, unfortunately, expired? We toss it, of course. Turns out Just Pantry January is also a great way to clear out the really old items that might’ve gotten shoved to the back of our various food storage locations. Even if it hasn’t expired yet, those treats and snacks from Christmas of 2023? Well, Christmas 2024 just passed, so either it’s gotta go fast or it’s gotta go, period.

If we do need to go to the grocery store for anything? We’ve only allowed exceptions for items such as milk, eggs, etc. (multiples of foods and drinks that we consume pretty regularly) and ingredients we need for a recipe (with the idea being that we already have most of the stuff we need for the recipe at home). Also, we don’t go to Costco regularly anyway, yet we chose to exclude trips there as well. Usually, we go through a whole month or so before needing anything from there!

And so far, for the most part, Just Pantry January has completely eliminated fast food from our diets! Kevin packs his own lunches for work, and we haven’t gone out to eat once. Although I get the sneaking suspicion that this will actually be the toughest part of the month to stick to, since we do enjoy dining out while we’re running errands or doing activities.

But the goal of this month is twofold: get our expenses in order again to balance our budget better, and clear out our foods and drinks, particularly the very old stuff, so that we can replenish them as we go!

I think I’ll provide an update either toward the end of this month or the beginning of February to share how this goes! It feels like we’ve been good, yet sometimes, spending money still sneaks up on you, if you lose track. Regardless, I’m excited to see how our inaugural Just Pantry month goes!