Entering a different phase of our family life, I am adjusting to my children’s growing independence. They are becoming more dependable and taking on more responsibilities. With their new ventures, I am adjusting to the growing pains.

One such pain is my pantry. Feeling like I just organized my pantry, I was a bit disheartened when I found empty boxes, items on shelf 3 that should be on shelf 4, and 2 opened boxes of the same cereal.

Though I really want to fuss as I spend my time organizing the pantry and I saw my efforts fleeting, I was glad I was alone in the kitchen.

Yes, alone in the kitchen without someone at my feet. Actually, I was alone in the house as Miss 3 was spending the day with her Grandparents while the older two were at school.

Realizing that the reason for the added inconvenience was a good thing, I calmed down. Wanting to have responsible children does not come without side effects.

If I need to organize my pantry more often because my children forget or just put an item where they think it goes, then that is a small price to pay for the amount of responsible practice they are getting.

In working through my pantry, I found that this organizing session needed consolidating to save space.

Consolidating Multiple Opened Packages

As I emptied and organized my pantry shelf by shelf, I found the following items having multiple opened packages:

• 2 boxes of oatmeal packages
• 2 boxes of pop tarts
• 2 boxes cracker snacks
• 2 bags of sour cream and onion chips
• 2 bags of chocolate chips
• 2 boxes of Rice Krispies

In addition to the multiples, I found two empty boxes that held granola bars and cracker packs which I removed. Then I consolidated the multiple opened items into one package each. Adding those empty packages to the trash, I freed up quite a bit of space.

Consolidating Snacks

With my children eating 2 to 3 snacks a day, I keep an assortment of fruits, vegetables, yogurt, crackers, and granola bars available.

As the boxes are opened and the items begin to disappear, I find stray packages of snacks throughout the pantry.

To save space and keep all the items together, I consolidate the miscellaneous snacks into one large Ziploc bag. This is the bag I take on field trips, outings, and errand runs.

Since I never know how long we might end up waiting or if someone forgets a snack, we have sustenance and extras to share.

As I adjust to this new and exciting phase of our family, I am learning more patience as processes I have practiced for years are getting invaded. I am happy to share this space to help my children learn, but I will need to watch it more carefully.

With little reminders and upkeep, I can use the contents of our pantry to teach my children how to develop their growing independence. Working with them will take time, but the investment will be worth the time and energy. Happy teaching through organizing!

Question: How are you teaching when your system gets disrupted?