Clean Out the Cupboards Challenge: Join us!

Welcome to the Clean Out the Cupboards Challenge, co-hosted by Laura at Frugal Follies, Denise at Shopper Strategy, Robbie at Going Green Mama, Crystal at Mrs. Happy Homemaker, and Rebecca Jean at Midnight Maniac.

This January, the five of us plan to challenge ourselves to eat from our pantries - to use up all that excess food sitting in the backs of the cupboards, from the refrigerator door, and from the freezer - and limit our shopping to as little as possible.

And we want you to join us, too!

The rules are simple: Make up your own rules, based on what's best for your family.  But a few basic rules:

• Eat!  This is not a eat as little as possible challenge.  Prepare healthy foods for your family, even if it means doing more shopping than you expected.
• Don't load up this week with a month's worth of groceries.  Go ahead and do your regular shopping, though.
• Don't not buy groceries, but then eat at restaurants all month long.  Of course, feel free to eat at restaurants as you would normally do, if you wish.
• If you need to stop the challenge mid-month, based on the needs of your family, do so.

As for the details of the challenge, it's up to you!

• You might want to purchase dairy and produce throughout the month; others might try to stretch what they already have.  
• You might want to limit your challenge to food items, or extend it to personal care items, paper goods, and cleaning supplies.
• You might want to allow yourself to purchase great deals; others won't.  
• You might want to use CVS's Extra Care Bucks or Walgreens's Register Rewards to buy free items, or not.  
• You might want to sign up for food freebies, or leave them until February.

Next week, we'll kick off the challenge by posting our goals.  So figure out what your goals are - is it to save money?  to have more room in your pantry? to stop wasting food and thus help the environment?  Figure out why you want to participate in the challenge - I look forward to hearing what your goals are!

ETA: Check out my goals and those of my fellow bloggers - and link yours up, too!

(Bloggers: if you wish to join us, we'll have a linky each week where you can link to your challenge posts.  The linky will appear at the blogs of all four co-hosts!)

Good luck!

Posts about this challenge:
Take Inventory
Menu Plan 1/3/11
My Pantry Inventory
Clean Out the Cupboards Challenge Goals (link yours up!)
My Fridge and Freezer Inventory
Recipe Idea Resources
A Nice Break
Creativity
Getting Antsy