Life is hurried for a working woman. We are spending less and less time in cooking or at the kitchen. In a life, which is most often fraught with stress of not finding things at the right place and at the right time, a little bit of planning can help ease our tension at the kitchen.

We are talking about taking a little time off your busy schedule to plan and stock your pantry so that when you get back to the chore of cooking everyday, it becomes a stress buster rather than a stress maker for you.

First rule of setting up a pantry is to organise it. Remove all that you have on the shelves and clean out the storage jars. Restock every item and categories them according to the type of food they are.

Create two storage sections. In one space keep items that need to be bought in bulk like rice and flour. Then store little amount in small attractive jars that can be replenished every week, from your master store.

Try using pretty wicker baskets to store jars. You can label them and then put your jars under each category together. Say you put your cereals together, like rice, wheat flour, corn flakes, bran or oats in one shelve. Labelled jars for each item will help you in finding them without taking everything down.

Create a spice and herb rack and keep it next to your cooking hob. You can attach shelves next to the hob that will hold your spices and Herbs as well as oils.

Create master shopping list of stiff you need to stock up on every month. Then make weekly lists of things, mostly perishable food. It is a good idea to stock up on herb, spice and other food pastes, which can be used when you are in a hurry.

Stock your refrigerator and cupboards with condiments. You can always find uses for mayonnaise, ketchup, mustards, jams and other spreads. Good black olives, pickles, capers and other salty, tangy bites can jazz up your meals as well.

If you like to try recipes and collect them, then it is a good idea to store them in neatly marked folders. Keep it in a shelf in your kitchen where you can reach it easily.

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