Keeping an Inventory of Your Food & Equipment Prep Items - Solutions?

[Tigger]

I’ve looked through various threads in “Living Off The Grid” but cannot find anything that deals with keeping track of inventory of important prep items. Moderators, If I’ve missed it, please delete / move this thread as appropriate:

As my food and prep pantry grows ever bigger and more diverse, I’m rapidly reaching the limit of physically checking (and rotating!) my inventory of stock in my basement. My food and prep stocks fit the following item categories:

1/. Store-bought food items in their original packaging with their own individual barcodes (e.g. canned goods, honey, sauces, dried herbs, etc. Such foods typically have a “best before” date.
2/. Non-perishable store-bought items. These include items such as medical items, razor blades, soaps, cleaning items, hardware, ammunition and other items that do not typically have a “use-by” date. Each item usually has a barcode.
3/. Freeze-dried food preparations that I make on-premises and freeze-dry into Mylar bags. These obviously do not have a barcode or unique scannable identifier.

I’m looking for a software solution (one which does NOT exclusively rely on an online subscription to operate) that can keep control of stock levels and warn of stock items that have been in storage longer than an arbitrary “use-by” date. I’m thinking that using a barcode-scanning device would be the easiest option. Ideally, I want to:

1/. Scan items (using the existing barcode) to identify and enter new items into inventory.
2/. Track stock levels as I add and remove items from inventory
3/. Print barcode labels that I can stick on my Mylar bags to uniquely identify and inventory my freeze-dried items. That way, I can print ‘sticky-labels’ and attach them to the Mylar bags and keep track of stock levels
4/. Know the date when an item has been entered into inventory

Can anyone suggest a reliable system that they use to keep track of stock in this manner? Remember, I’d prefer a ‘stand-alone’ system that can operate offline if necessary.

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Tigger (here)
I’ve looked through various threads in “Living Off The Grid” but cannot find anything that deals with keeping track of inventory of important prep items. Moderators, If I’ve missed it, please delete / move this thread as appropriate:

As my food and prep pantry grows ever bigger and more diverse, I’m rapidly reaching the limit of physically checking (and rotating!) my inventory of stock in my basement.

Me too. It's an interesting question.

Rotation is quite important, and it's easy to forget just how long some items have been there on the shelf. What I do is simply add new items to the bottom (or the back) of that little pile, so that the older items are always the first to be used. (Supermarkets do the same thing, btw.)

And some things last much longer than others, regardless of the expiry date. Tins of tuna, or bags of tea, coffee, brown rice, lentils or pasta, will last a very long time. And chia seeds, I've discovered, will be good for 10 years or maybe longer. But (e.g.) bags of oats really do expire and can go moldy, as can flour, dried fruit, dried potato, or milk powder.

Interestingly, I experimented the other day by sampling a couple of chocolate bars that I'd bought back in 2021 and had 'expired' in 2022. They were just 100% fine and delicious, as if I'd bought them yesterday.

~~~

But here's a story. Many years ago, I saw I had a can of sardines that was slightly swollen and inflated. I realized that something was wrong, of course, but my curiosity overcame me and I went to open the can anyway.

The whole thing exploded like a hand grenade, and rotten sardines were spattered all over the kitchen. I had to get a step ladder to scrub the rotten fish off the ceiling. It took me a LONG time to clean it all off, and I'll NEVER do that again.

[Tigger]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)

The whole thing exploded like a hand grenade, and rotten sardines were spattered all over the kitchen. I had to get a step ladder to scrub the rotten fish off the ceiling. It took me a LONG time to clean it all off, and I'll NEVER do that again.

Oh, Bill, that made me laugh giddily until my sides split! Do you have a picture??

[Tigger]

Seriously though, I should say that I routinely rotate my stocks on a FIFO basis. The trouble begins when I can’t manually inventory stock levels due to the growing volume. I need to see at-a-glance what items and the quantity I have (spreadsheet?), without the need to physically check every shelf in the basement each time I go shopping.

For my situation, I’m preparing for a range of scenarios that are mainly seasonal, including complete loss of power and road access during, say, a cyclone. I manage a homestead with 3 hungry mouths to feed. Last year, most supply-chains were cut to our local area and the supermarket shelves were empty due to Cyclone Jasper. The food shortage lasted for weeks.

In that case, I had stocks, and I bartered with adjoining farms for fresh staples (milk, eggs, etc.) because I had specific value-added items to trade which they wanted. But in doing so, I depleted some stocks I’d rather have saved for my own use. If I had an easy way to see my inventory of surplus stock versus critical supplies, I would have bartered differently.

That incident served as a very good case-study for just how long my internal supplies could hold out under normal operations. As it turned out, I realised that I grossly miscalculated minimum stock levels of certain items (bread mix, LPG and frozen goods in particular), and I’ve since expanded my inventory significantly in those categories. But now I’m dealing with the increased volume and variety of stores - and a simple rotation method does not always suffice when it comes to being able to inventory and balance my own needs versus surplus stock I can use to barter.

But also, I think that every person who has preparatory inventories should have an easy method of keeping track of their valuable stocks. I know of some ‘applications’ that require on-line licences to operate, but as we all know, that’s not going to be of much use if the internet is restricted or unavailable.

So, I’m putting it out there. Can anyone suggest a reliable solution for keeping track of inventory? Surely I can’t be the only one facing this issue and asking this question?

[ian33]

preparing to die, its easier

[Tigger]

Posted by ian33 (here)
preparing to die, its easier

That’s not helpful.

[ian33]

Posted by Tigger (here)

Posted by ian33 (here)
preparing to die, its easier

That’s not helpful.

sorry, i forget my dour yorkshire humour, can be not appreciated too well online
..also i doubt i can survive anything serious given my condition/circumstances. so preparing for the inevitable departure from this disabled shell is kind of essential for me ...learning to let go is my challenge..but im finding having material things tiresome...not the least this body/shell

[happyuk]

Would keeping your data in a VERY simple csv (comma separated variable) format suffice for what you need, paired with the use of the barcode scanner to generate your unique identifier for each entry?

And after scanning, fill in the rest of your fields, such as item name, category, quantity, and expiration date and so on? Maybe the data in your CSV file would look something like this:

Item Name,Category,Quantity,Barcode,Best Before Date,Date Added,Last Used/Checked,Notes
Canned Tomatoes,Food,12,012345678912,2025-12-31,2025-01-01,,Pantry Shelf 1
Razor Blades,Medical,6,987654321098,,2024-12-15,,Bathroom Shelf

My suggestion is a bit rough and ready, with not much in the way of advanced automation and reporting, but it should be straightforward to add/remove/modify entries. And back the thing up of course...

You wouldn't be beholden to licensing fees and the need to be online (both possibly irrelevant in certain off-grid scenarios), and should work on any computer, operating system etc. You could use programs like Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or LibreOffice Calc. to create a searchable/sortable table with the columns to track and filter details.

The main drawback would be the amount of time and effort required and potential for human error.

[happyuk]

And in addition to your system, as described by Bill, always look for signs of spoilage: in particular check canned goods for dents, rust, or bulging.

I once had similar experiences with canned tomatoes (mercifully only twice in my lifetime), whereby the contents were a black, revolting mess. If the can was damaged or improperly coated it contents exposed to air or bacteria this could lead to the foul-smelling content indicating microbial activity.

Update: I see you're from Atherton, Queensland. What a beautiful part of the world! I wasn’t too far from there when I took my family on a drive from Cairns to Sydney last November. Alas due to onerous drive I just didn't get enough time to visit the stunning waterfalls nearby.

[Bill Ryan]

And don't forget a mousetrap.

(There's a reason for this post! I do get stuff that's spoiled by mice and which then needs to be thrown out.)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=dw_OQqZuwzQ

(But mine works better )





Apologies!

[Mike Gorman]

With canned food temperature is critical, they tell me, we are to store these items in a cool location, plus of course the canning process varies among the suppliers - tiny breaks in seals and so forth! I believe some people have located 'bully beef' cans from the WWI rations, and these have remained edible, but everything has a limit, Beginning-Middle-End applies to all.

[Bill Ryan]

I have a related question about frozen food. How long does frozen produce last?? I actually don't really know for sure.

(And @Tigger, my apologies again if my mousetrap post was frivolous and off-topic. But mice really are a problem for me here, and I have to seriously factor that into my own inventory management.)

[Michi]

Posted by Tigger (here)
I’ve looked through various threads in “Living Off The Grid” but cannot find anything that deals with keeping track of inventory of important prep items. Moderators, If I’ve missed it, please delete / move this thread as appropriate:

As my food and prep pantry grows ever bigger and more diverse, I’m rapidly reaching the limit of physically checking (and rotating!) my inventory of stock in my basement. My food and prep stocks fit the following item categories:

1/. Store-bought food items in their original packaging with their own individual barcodes (e.g. canned goods, honey, sauces, dried herbs, etc. Such foods typically have a “best before” date.
2/. Non-perishable store-bought items. These include items such as medical items, razor blades, soaps, cleaning items, hardware, ammunition and other items that do not typically have a “use-by” date. Each item usually has a barcode.
3/. Freeze-dried food preparations that I make on-premises and freeze-dry into Mylar bags. These obviously do not have a barcode or unique scannable identifier.

I’m looking for a software solution (one which does NOT exclusively rely on an online subscription to operate) that can keep control of stock levels and warn of stock items that have been in storage longer than an arbitrary “use-by” date. I’m thinking that using a barcode-scanning device would be the easiest option. Ideally, I want to:

1/. Scan items (using the existing barcode) to identify and enter new items into inventory.
2/. Track stock levels as I add and remove items from inventory
3/. Print barcode labels that I can stick on my Mylar bags to uniquely identify and inventory my freeze-dried items. That way, I can print ‘sticky-labels’ and attach them to the Mylar bags and keep track of stock levels
4/. Know the date when an item has been entered into inventory

Can anyone suggest a reliable system that they use to keep track of stock in this manner? Remember, I’d prefer a ‘stand-alone’ system that can operate offline if necessary.

I did a query on ChatGPT.
The following screen shots are taken from ChatGPT!
.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I haven't checked the above apps.
Perhaps further inquiry leads you to the propper app.

[Journeyman]

Posted by Tigger (here)

Can anyone suggest a reliable system that they use to keep track of stock in this manner? Remember, I’d prefer a ‘stand-alone’ system that can operate offline if necessary.

I would approach the problem from the same direction as happyuk and look to use a spreadsheet, either Excel or one of the excellent free alternatives. There's templates that you can use to drastically reduce the setup time such as those listed here: https://www.smartsheet.com/content/f...tory-templates

That said, the apps suggested by Michi could be a better fit, particularly if barcode reading is integrated. My reservation there is precisely the point you make in your last para. A spreadsheet can sit on your own computer and be run completely independently of any network. Whereas some of these apps may require you to be online to function or decide down the line to require a subscription to allow you to continue to access them. I think the spreadsheet way may require more tinkering to get started and may not have as nice an interface, but once up and running, it could be the most secure and cost effective way to manage your affairs?

[Michi]

Posted by Journeyman (here)

Posted by Tigger (here)

Can anyone suggest a reliable system that they use to keep track of stock in this manner? Remember, I’d prefer a ‘stand-alone’ system that can operate offline if necessary.

I would approach the problem from the same direction as happyuk and look to use a spreadsheet, either Excel or one of the excellent free alternatives. There's templates that you can use to drastically reduce the setup time such as those listed here: https://www.smartsheet.com/content/f...tory-templates

That said, the apps suggested by Michi could be a better fit, particularly if barcode reading is integrated. My reservation there is precisely the point you make in your last para. A spreadsheet can sit on your own computer and be run completely independently of any network. Whereas some of these apps may require you to be online to function or decide down the line to require a subscription to allow you to continue to access them. I think the spreadsheet way may require more tinkering to get started and may not have as nice an interface, but once up and running, it could be the most secure and cost effective way to manage your affairs?

My first thought was also about using Excel but would lack some requirements of the OP. A third option, in case there aren't any ready-made programs available (or Excel templates) that match the requirements, would be to hire a programmer from Fiverr or Upwork to write modules that "interface" with Excel and provide barcode code scanning and what-not.

edit: actually in my ChatGPT query I asked erroneously about QR code scanning, while you asked for barcode scanning. Actually barcode scanning just requires a handheld barcode scanner - no coding needed for that part.

Here is the revised query:


Actually - another edit: all suggested programs (except "Sortly" and this is online only) are subscription models which have no free version.
So - you can ditch the rest. But I'll check into it further ...

Sofar found for off-line apps: http://www.almyta.com/abc_inventory_software.asp and http://www.openmiracle.com/
Another one found: https://partkeepr.org/ isn't for Windows but can be run inside a virtual machine like Vitualbox.
Demo available at: https://demo.partkeepr.org/

[Bill Ryan]

I use Excel for a similar (but much simpler) job, which is keeping an inventory of my vitamins and supplements. (And mice aren't a problem with those! )

I need to do this with some care because I have to order supplements from the US and then get them shipped here to Ecuador, which can take an unpredictable amount of time — anything between 2 weeks and 5 or 6.

And at least with one or two things, I really don't want to suddenly run out. (It's not like remembering to pick up a few more tins of tuna from the supermarket!) I do find that Excel is perfect for what I need it to do here.

[Abondance]

For me, the easiest was to group food items by year of expiration. I have big waterproof speakers with the year marked on them. This year, I check it regularly and I bring the dates to less than 3 months in my kitchen cabinets.

Now, this is suitable for a small stock and probably not for larger ones, but it’s always possible to arrange areas on your shelves with the limit years of consumption.

I don’t do a very precise inventory because I rely on the vegetable garden, local producers and my own job for daily life. Stocks are to provide for emergency situations or serious shortages in essential items.

[Michi]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
I use Excel for a similar (but much simpler) job, which is keeping an inventory of my vitamins and supplements. (And mice aren't a problem with those! )

I need to do this with some care because I have to order supplements from the US and then get them shipped here to Ecuador, which can take an unpredictable amount of time — anything between 2 weeks and 5 or 6.

And at least with one or two things, I really don't want to suddenly run out. (It's not like remembering to pick up a few more tins of tuna from the supermarket!) I do find that Excel is perfect for what I need it to do here.

This seems the most straight-forward approach.
ChatGPT says:

1. Home Inventory Software with LibreOffice or Excel

● Approach: Use an open-source spreadsheet tool like LibreOffice Calc with pre-built templates for food and equipment inventory.
● Features:
● Track quantities, expiry dates, and categories.
● Add conditional formatting to highlight items nearing expiration.
● Customize fields based on your specific needs.


● Pros:
● 100% offline and flexible.
● Easy to integrate with barcode scanning tools.


● Cons: No pre-built alerts unless you add scripts or manual tracking.

... and further:

Features of Pre-Built Templates for Food and Equipment Inventory
1. Basic Columns for Tracking Inventory

● Item Name: To identify each food item or piece of equipment.
● Category: Group items into categories (e.g., dairy, meat, electronics, tools).
● Quantity: Record how much of each item is in stock.
● Unit of Measurement: Specify units like kilograms, liters, or pieces.
● Location: Indicate where the item is stored (e.g., pantry, freezer, storage room).

2. Expiry Tracking for Food

● Purchase Date: Record when the item was acquired.
● Expiry Date: Specify when the item expires.
● Days to Expiry (Formula): Calculate how many days remain until the item expires.
● Use conditional formatting to highlight items that are close to expiry (e.g., turn cells red for items expiring within 7 days).

3. Status Tracking for Equipment

● Condition: Record whether equipment is new, used, or needs maintenance.
● Last Maintenance Date: Track when the item was last serviced.
● Next Maintenance Date (Formula): Predict future maintenance schedules based on usage patterns.

4. Automatic Alerts (Optional with Scripts)

● Add basic scripts (e.g., in Excel or LibreOffice Calc) to alert you when items are about to expire or fall below a minimum stock threshold.
● Alerts could include pop-ups, email notifications, or color-coded warnings.

5. Barcode Integration

● Create a column for Barcode Numbers to integrate with a barcode scanner.
● Use the scanner to quickly find or update item details in the spreadsheet.

... and:

Where to Find Pre-Built Templates

● Microsoft Office or LibreOffice Template Libraries
● Search for inventory-related templates in their built-in libraries.


● Free Template Websites
● Examples: Template.net, Vertex42.


● Community Forums and GitHub
● Open-source contributors often share ready-to-use templates.

(above quotes are from ChatGPT)

[palehorse]

Why not use Android phone for this task?
I had seen people doing it, very simple and efficient and you don't need to buy a barcode scanner, since the phone has all the capabilities for the task.

Here is one I found doing a quick search on github:
https://github.com/Arjanpdl/Inventor...nt-Android-app
(I just checked and it requires to compile, there is only the source code available, since I don't have the environment to compile this code and generate the apk, I am passing this one, sorry)

I actually will test it and will post back once I am done with the test, excellent thread. Inventory control is usually part of larger systems, and it involves sales, that is why you can't find a stand alone application doing only that, best bet is to dig deep in software repositories and test a bunch of it until you find something that please you.

I had a food delivery company many years ago, so I wrote a very simple software for my company, my stock/inventory control, structure was like the following:

SQL TABLE

CREATE TABLE `ingredients` (
  `id` int(11) NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
  `name` varchar(255) COLLATE utf8mb3_unicode_ci NOT NULL,
  `short_name` varchar(64) COLLATE utf8mb3_unicode_ci NOT NULL,
  `unit` varchar(3) COLLATE utf8mb3_unicode_ci NOT NULL COMMENT 'unit of measure G or ML',
  `scale_unit` int(11) NOT NULL COMMENT 'default is 1000 used for G or ML',
  `minimum_stock` int(11) NOT NULL,
  `stock_level` int(11) NOT NULL,
  `unit_cost` decimal(6,2) NOT NULL,
  `supplier` int(11) NOT NULL,
  `datetime` timestamp NOT NULL DEFAULT current_timestamp() ON UPDATE current_timestamp() COMMENT 'date of quotation or purchase - THIS DATE MUST BE ALWAYS UPDTED.. CREATE AN INTERFACE TO MANUAL UPDATE',
  PRIMARY KEY (`id`)
)

INTERFACE LOOK LIKE THIS:

Code 	Name 	Abbrev. Name 	Unit of Measure 	Unit Scale 	Minimum Stock 	Current Stock 	Unit Cost 	Supplier 	Date of Registration 	   Action

1002 	Item     ITM01         g                     1000              3000                    4500            $1.90        Name        2012-12-27 01:01:01         Edit

I created just a basic HTML interface because on the occasion I had a person who was checking it for me, but before that it was everything in SQL, including printing reports of items with low stock.

I don't know if that helps, but in my case it was all I ever needed, many commercial systems or even open source systems is a way too much, there is features you will never use, when it comes to software I prefer it simple, in other words bare-bones.

[EDIT]
I never used the barcode, because in my situation didn't make any sense, because I worked directly with farmers and fisherman to get fresh stuffs, everything was always on cash, many times I carried my own boxes to pickup the fresh crabs and fishes, so no barcode for that, also vegetables no barcode.

Found another one for Android, it seems to be fine and on point:
https://barcode-inventory-management...droid/download
I downloaded it in one phone here to test, it reads the barcode of several products I tested, but you will have to enter the product name by hand or edit after scanning it. From the same website I also found this one: https://easy-inventory.en.uptodown.com/android/download (I will test too)

Yet another one for Android, this one is used to electronic parts, it has the same capabilities of the one above, the trick would be to have in mind that when referring to "electronic parts" it would be your food item.
https://codelv.com/projects/electronics-inventory/

and here another one for general inventory use:
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/de.asmw.flindex/

this one allow to export date into a CSV file, which can be useful:
https://inventory-management-simple.en.aptoide.com/app


The idea of controlling pantries is great, I never did that, everything is by manually checking for me, more or less the way Bill suggested above, I will give a try with one of these apps, finally found a good utility for an android phone lol

[Tigger]

Posted by Michi (here)

Posted by Tigger (here)
I’ve looked through various threads in “Living Off The Grid” but cannot find anything that deals with keeping track of inventory of important prep items. Moderators, If I’ve missed it, please delete / move this thread as appropriate:

As my food and prep pantry grows ever bigger and more diverse, I’m rapidly reaching the limit of physically checking (and rotating!) my inventory of stock in my basement. My food and prep stocks fit the following item categories:

1/. Store-bought food items in their original packaging with their own individual barcodes (e.g. canned goods, honey, sauces, dried herbs, etc. Such foods typically have a “best before” date.
2/. Non-perishable store-bought items. These include items such as medical items, razor blades, soaps, cleaning items, hardware, ammunition and other items that do not typically have a “use-by” date. Each item usually has a barcode.
3/. Freeze-dried food preparations that I make on-premises and freeze-dry into Mylar bags. These obviously do not have a barcode or unique scannable identifier.

I’m looking for a software solution (one which does NOT exclusively rely on an online subscription to operate) that can keep control of stock levels and warn of stock items that have been in storage longer than an arbitrary “use-by” date. I’m thinking that using a barcode-scanning device would be the easiest option. Ideally, I want to:

1/. Scan items (using the existing barcode) to identify and enter new items into inventory.
2/. Track stock levels as I add and remove items from inventory
3/. Print barcode labels that I can stick on my Mylar bags to uniquely identify and inventory my freeze-dried items. That way, I can print ‘sticky-labels’ and attach them to the Mylar bags and keep track of stock levels
4/. Know the date when an item has been entered into inventory

Can anyone suggest a reliable system that they use to keep track of stock in this manner? Remember, I’d prefer a ‘stand-alone’ system that can operate offline if necessary.

I did a query on ChatGPT.
<snip>
I haven't checked the above apps.
Perhaps further inquiry leads you to the propper app.

Thanks Michi. This is very helpful. I will look into some of these options and let you know how it goes.