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Printable Food Inventory Template— The Best Way to Keep Track of your Food

ByThesmartkitchenblog Staff
Updated: Apr 26, 2024

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Ever look at your scattered kitchen and think, "If only there was a genie that could organize everything with one wave!" As far-fetched as that imagery seems, we know how to make that genie appear in the form of a customized printable food inventory template!

The knowledge of knowing where every ingredient hides in your kitchen cabinet already seems like a burden. You probably already shoulder the task of cooking them all after that. An inventory at this very moment is the saviour you will never know you needed before.

To create an actual food inventory template, you need to sort out the basics first. Flocks of food inventory list in websites you might have visited earlier. We are going to be slightly more detailed on how you create a food inventory.

The Basics of a Printable Food Inventory Template

Firstly, have a look around your kitchen to spot the three primary kitchen belongings- your fridge, your freezer, and your pantry. The most dread you feel while looking at one of them is what needs an inventory the most.

Like you are reading about formulating a food inventory template on an online article, making an inventory itself is preferred to be digitalized nowadays. Here's how you can make your blank food inventory sheet printable:

Use a tablet or a phone, and install any e-spreadsheet software. The following are the most preferred kinds:

  1. Google Sheets - (online and free).
  2. iWork Numbers - Apple Office Suite.
  3. LibreOffice -> Calc (free).
  4. Lotus Symphony - Spreadsheets.
  5. Microsoft Excel.
  6. OpenOffice -> Calc (free).

Update the list as you add more ingredients and staple foods to your shelves and trays. The online printable template makes the whole thing a lot easier.

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Types of Food Inventory Template
  • Hand-made food inventory list - If you are one for pen and paper, you can write down your necessary food requirement in the form of a food journal and follow it diligently.

  • Printable food inventory template - If you're up for a more color-coded, better-oriented version of an inventory, get a printable food inventory sheet.

You can check one of these out and choose as you like. Print them out and list your necessary food requirements and belongings.

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Creating A Printable Food Inventory List for Fridge

We all face the overflowing of veggies and fruits from the tray every time we try to open our fridge. Imagining the dirt storing under all the piled-up food items on your shelves, we suggest the first step: taking out all the food you have stored in the fridge. Clean the empty shelves and trays. After you clean them up spick and span, now you inventory every ingredient and meal you have prepared as you carefully put your food back.

Fridges are home to preserving your most perishable ingredients. So, scheduling to clean up and inventory is a good way to handle the hassle of fridge overflow. Some additions to know about may also include -

  • Date of buying/preserving the food
  • Quality of the food

Accordingly, manage your preferences for all the food you store, and we personally recommend purchasing a simple set of organizing bins. They help in the way you want to trace back to every food item you own.

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Managing the Pantry Inventory

Grab a snack because managing your cutlery and beverage bottles will be a big ride. The ones you need the most should be at the top of your list on organizing. Slowly, descend to the less important ones until you find a set of items you haven't used for two years of a party you threw! Omit those away. You will be surprised to see what your priorities are in your pantry. Next time you might think twice before buying anything beyond the basics.

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A Printable food inventory template for your Freezer

Chocolates, nuts, cookie dough, and poultry meat, is there a better place on earth than the kitchen in our freezer, with the best food we can imagine? While we can't think of one, we can absolutely tell you how to make yours more ordered and categorized.

Freezers are more in need of inventory because we tend to buy the food stored in them more frequently. Next time, your inventory will notify you that you already have a bucket of ice cream left before you go on to buy another one, unable to find it in your freezer. Regular Rotation is of top priority.

Now, creating an inventory altogether is a mammoth task if you have a lot of members in your family or frequently have guests come in.

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3 Most Useful Kitchen Inventory Tips

We have some general inventory tips for you to follow every time your stockpile in the kitchen:

1. Empty Those shelves

This translates to taking all the food out of your fridge and placing them near you. A cooler will come in handy if there is something that needs unended freezing time. A polythene bag or a trash can to throw the perished items away is also helpful. This will let you get rid of what you do not need and what should remain in the pantry.

2. Organize by Category When you are trying to keep track of the kitchen pantry, it would be easier if you organized the pantry well. What we mean is, dedicate a shelf, rack, or section for each type of food item. Keeping things in a haphazard manner can make hinder the process of keeping a proper inventory template.

3. Note Down on Your Way Back

With all things discarded, done, and dusted, you are finally ready to keep all you've taken out back to their places. Here is when your food inventory template comes to guide you.

We recommend noting down the items as you put them back, not missing out on a single one. After all, it does not hurt to have a comprehensive food inventory list of every item you own. You will thank yourself later on, when the next big grocery sale lures you into buying something, you already have.

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Tips for Utilizing a Food Inventory Template

Your kitchen will only look personalized if you harp over the much productive use of inventory. Your basic components need a makeover, let's be real, and a sizable portion of that process requires you to get hold of that printable food inventory template right away. We have already discussed the need for an inventory for every primary part of your kitchen. Now let's look at the specific needs you must employ you organize any pantry inventory:

  1. Careful organization of a system for tracking, recording and observing your food.
  2. Development of a detailed featurette for specifying your orders and purchase .
  3. Proper standard maintenance in the handling of any food transportation and ensuring delivery to be received in good packages.
  4. Keeping an alarmed schedule for frequenting the need for a regular cycle of cleaning and rearranging your inventory.
  5. Observation and analysis of purchase of every food and consecutively updating inventory data.
  6. Improvisation and modification of inventory when needed.

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Final Thoughts

So, we brooded quite a bit on the most common household cook question- How do you create a food inventory? We hope the article so far has given you a general idea of the basics of a food inventory.

Making a blank food inventory sheet printable is the first and foremost step you should keep your eyes on. Or else the entire idea of a printable pantry inventory template would go in vain. So many innovative templates are available that you can check out. Pick your favorite, and it's important you do. It is you and you only who gets to see the customized list every day you wake up to plan your meals.

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