A brazen challenge

The challenge from brazen:

take some photo/s of your pantry / food cupboards and share all your deep dark secrets... are you frugal or a hoarder? are you organised or free-spirited?

I try to be organised - I really do - as evidenced by the colour-coordinated Tupperware (some of it even labelled!) - but my natural tendency is towards a vaguely tidied up chaos. Which is probably why I find odd things stashed in the back of the pantry from time-to-time.

The first photo is the top three shelves. The top one has mostly baking stuff - icing sugar, bicarb, bread improver, cake decorating stuff, milk powder, extra flour, sugar etc. And Easiyo packets. And a cocktail shaker of hundreds & thousands.

The second shelf, left to right, has flavourings & colourings (the only one that is used on a regular basis is the vanilla), salt & pepper, sauces/mustards, red lentils, packets of things I need to investigate, and at the front on the right is a Tupperware container with patty pans.

Third shelf - coffees at the front (I drink the Aldi organic coffee that's sitting on the top of the tower in the middle of the shelf :P ), a zillion types of tea at the back (including a delish Aldi organic green tea). The Nescafe jar has been there for a long time, just as a backup - I'm trying not to buy Nestle products any more, but can't see the point in wasting it if I already have it. I'll probably use it up in baking. Blame the husband for the Nescafe Vanilla Latte - vile stuff. There's also a tin of Milo that's been sitting in the middle for ages - the kids prefer the Aktavite that's sitting on top of it. Various oils & vinegars at the back right, plus the vanilla I'm steeping in vodka. Front right is mainly toppings for toast & ice cream (not necessarily together!) - Vegemite, peanut butter, honey, golden syrup, chocolate topping etc. And a jar of LSA. And FOUR tubs of Betty Crocker frosting! My only excuse is birthday season.


Fourth shelf down - breakfast cereals generally belong on the left, although a few other items have worked their way in. Tupperware containers of flours, pasta, rice (there's another 40kg hiding elsewhere), coconut, biscuits, lasagne sheets, and there are usually packs of unopened biscuits (rice crackers more often than anything else) behind the Tupperware. And the rest of the packet of polenta that I used last night to make a delish baked polenta with carrot, spring onions, cabbage, cheese & bacon.

Fifth shelf - various cans & jars - sauces, baked beans, tomatoes, soups, condensed milk, evaporated milk, canned fruit, and potatoes at the back.

Bottom shelf - cordials, more pasta, breadcrumbs, oils, & stashed up the back are various dried beans & other assorted stuff in jars that I need to excavate & use one of these days.

And still the husband & kids can look in the pantry and say "There's nothing to eat".

[Apart from the fridge, there are other food items stashed in various places - UHT milk at the bottom of the crockery cupboard, bread in a bread tin on the kitchen bench, herbs & spices on the bench next to the sink, fruit in the bowl on the top of the breakfast bar, Easter eggs in the bottom of my wardrobe (being gradually doled out to the kids), a stash of oats/dried pulses/rice sugar/flour currently in the bedroom until I find better storage, and today's shopping in green bags on the kitchen floor because I'm posting here instead of putting it away ... And a box of Guide biscuits somewhere that I need to dig out because the money needs to go back soon.]