Pantry Inventory: App, Spreadsheet, or Paper Note? An Honest Comparison

What you are really tracking

Before choosing a tool, be clear about the goal. Most households do not need an exact count of every jar. They want to answer three questions:

1. What do we have that we can cook with today?
2. What is running low?
3. What should go on the next shopping list?

Any tool that answers these three questions with little effort is good enough. A tool that demands daily bookkeeping will be abandoned within a few weeks.

Option 1: A paper list on the fridge

How it works. A notepad or whiteboard where you write items as they run out, and cross them off after shopping.

Strengths.

• Costs nothing and needs no setup.
• Everyone in the house can see and use it, including grandparents and children.
• No battery, no sign-in.

Weaknesses.

• It records what you need, not what you have, so it cannot suggest what to cook.
• Easy to leave at home when you shop.
• Handwriting and lost pages.

Best for. Small households with simple routines, or families where not everyone uses a smartphone.

Option 2: A spreadsheet

How it works. A shared sheet with columns such as item, category, quantity, unit, location, and a "low" flag. Some people add expiry dates.

Strengths.

• Fully customisable and free.
• Easy to share with a partner and edit from a phone.
• Filtering and sorting make a "low stock" view simple.

Weaknesses.

• You must update quantities by hand, which is tedious. After a few weeks, the numbers drift from reality.
• It does not know which recipes use which ingredients, so you still decide what to cook yourself.
• Typing on a phone in the kitchen is clumsy with messy hands.

Best for. People who enjoy organising and like to set up their own system, or households that already live in spreadsheets for budgeting.

Tip if you try it. Do not track exact grams. Use three states: have, low, out. That is far easier to maintain than counting.

Option 3: A pantry app

How it works. An app stores your pantry items with simple status markers, can match them to recipes, and may build a shopping list from what is low or out.

Strengths.

• Connects the pantry to cooking decisions. If the app knows you have lentils, rice, and onions, it can show dishes you can make, such as Lentils with Rice or Rice and Lentil Porridge.
• Shopping lists can be generated from low and out items rather than typed.
• Easy to share with the household, so the person who finishes the milk can mark it.

Weaknesses.

• Setup takes time at the start, because you must enter your staples once.
• You need a phone, and you need to build the habit of updating it.
• Apps vary. Some are cluttered or push ads and subscriptions, so check what you are signing up for.

Best for. Families who often ask "what can we cook?" and want recipe matching and shared lists.

A side-by-side summary

Whatever you pick, keep it simple

These habits make any system last.

• Track states, not exact amounts. Have, low, out is enough for most staples.
• Track staples only. Rice, lentils, flour, oil, spices, tinned tomatoes, and canned chickpeas (the base of Spiced Chickpeas). Do not log every sauce bottle.
• Update at natural moments. When you finish something, mark it. When you unpack groceries, mark it as restocked.
• Do a two-minute Sunday check. Look in the pantry and fridge, fix the list, and plan the week.
• Put perishables first. Fresh produce, dairy, and leftovers matter more than dry goods because they expire sooner.

Don't forget food safety and storage

Whichever tool you use, it should help you rotate stock. Put newer items behind older ones. Check "use by" dates on packaged foods, and remember that "best before" is about quality, not safety. Refrigerate cooked food within two hours, eat refrigerated leftovers within three to four days, and keep your freezer at 0°F (-18°C). A tracker that includes a "leftovers" note can reduce waste.

A hybrid often works best

You do not have to pick one. Many households keep a paper list near the fridge for quick scribbles and an app or sheet for the full picture. Anyone can jot "ghee" on the paper, and whoever shops moves it to the digital list. The goal is that nothing falls between the cracks.

Where Degchi can help

Degchi is an app built for this specific use. You mark pantry items as have, low, or out, it shows dishes you can cook from what you have, and your shopping list is drawn from low and out items plus anything custom you add. It also lets family members vote on dinner. If you prefer a spreadsheet or paper, that is a perfectly good choice, and the habits above apply to all of them.

How to decide in one minute

• Want zero setup and everyone can use it? Choose paper.
• Love customising and already use sheets? Choose a spreadsheet.
• Want recipe suggestions and a shared list? Try an app.
• Not sure? Start with paper for two weeks and see which questions it cannot answer.