One Hundred Dollars a Month

This $20/$20 Challenge is bringing out some big-time canners. I’m loving it! Also, my OCD is loving everything about how Melissa arranges her built-in canning pantry. And how organized her kitchen is! Here’s her story:

Hey Mavis,
Our house was built in the 1920s back when most people preserved their food. Somewhere along the way our house had a canning pantry put in right off the kitchen. We cant decide if it was part of the original design or not, but either way we fell in love with the house and soon as we saw that pantry. Is that crazy, buying a house just for the pantry?

Oh well, I’ve included a picture of our little kitchen to give you a reference for where the pantry is located. All the shelves are space exactly to fit one half gallon size canning jars, two jars deep. There are old nails placed in the wood slats below the shelves to hang onion, garlic, or potato bags on. At one time we kept a small chest freezer in the pantry but then were able to upgrade to a small upright freezer we keep stored in a spare bedroom.

I try to can or freeze any and all produce I can get my hands on during the spring, summer, and early fall. I of course keep track of everything in my kitchen journal. We have just a small garden so I mostly get my produce direct from the farms in our area or at local farmers markets. I always find a bargain.

My husband likes to tell about the time he drug me along to a flea market with him (I hate flea markets) and I managed to find a farmer selling tomatoes. It was almost closing time and he still had tons of tomatoes left over. I asked how much for all the tomatoes left in the truck and scored the whole load for $30.00. Our best estimate is that we ended up with around 175lbs of tomatoes that day! It took me a whole week but I got them all canned and put away.

Another time I drove to a farm about 25 minutes outside our town to buy a couple of cases of squash. They had to send some workers out to pick the squash for me and while I was waiting around I wandered into their walk in cooler at the farm stand and there were cases and cases of day old blackberries. The girl working came in and casually mentioned I could have all I wanted at $4 a flat. Holy Cow, I brought home a lot of blackberries that day!

I hope you enjoy my pics!

-Melissa

The Little Grey House

Are you getting your pantries camera ready? You can participate in the $20/$20 Challenge by simply sending in pictures of your pantry. Find out more about the $20/$20 Challenge: Show Your Pantry – Fill a Pantry!