Autumn Countdown: 3 Weeks to Go – Organising the Autumn Pantry

Autumn Countdown: 3 Weeks to Go – Organising the Autumn Pantry

A third of August has gone and despite some pretty hot days, the change in the air is unmistakable. Evenings are now coming earlier and mornings bring a cool breeze with mist hovering over the Somerset levels. But the change isn't just about the natural world... it's about us, people too. Andrei and I have been running our shop for close to 7 years and every August it's the same. The candles start flying off the shelves more than in the previous months and this year, the home decor sales only confirms what my heart knows: people instinctively start preparing for the colder months.

You could argue it's marketing, that it's the shops putting the Autumn decor out early, but trust me, as a shopkeeper - no one will stock things if there is no interest. The demand is here and I understand it because I feel it too...

📅 Sunday, August 10th, 2025
Today marks 3 weeks until Autumn!

As I have only 4 posts left in this series and have recently finally organised my pantry, which I filmed for my YouTube channel, I thought it would be a good occasion to share with you my must-have ingredients for baking that I’m going to keep in my pantry. I touch on this subject in this week's video, but here, I want to go into more detail for those of you who might be interested in what my must-have ingredients are as a person who bakes a lot for a family of four.

A little note: there is a rather big difference between pantries and shopping habits between the UK & US. First of all, people in the US more often actually have pantries and additional storage to keep larger amounts of food in their homes, which is why Americans shop on average 1.5 times per week. British people, with fewer square meters per head, tend to shop for smaller amounts but more frequently - sometimes more than 4 times a week.

Explore more of our 12-week journey toward Autumn
Click here to view all the weekly posts

Andrei and I are somewhere in between - we try to make as fewer trips to the supermarket as possible, planning meals ahead and cooking for 2-3 days whenever possible. In the new house, we now have a bigger fridge and a large pantry cabinet that can hold a lot of bags of rice, flour, cans and so on, so we hope that once we settle in, we will be able to go a maximum of twice a week.

My Autumn Baking Pantry Essentials

- Plain Flour
- Bread Flour
- Cornstarch
- Baking Powder
- Yeast
- Bicarbonate of Soda
- Cocoa Powder
- Chocolate Chips
- White Sugar
- Light Brown Sugar
- Icing Sugar
- Honey
- Spices like Cinnamon and Nutmeg
- Vanilla Essence
- Mixed Nuts
- Chia Seeds
- Porridge Oats
- Vegetable Oil
- Eggs

For the fridge
 - Large block of butter
- Soft cheese
- Heavy cream

I hope I didn't miss anything important! Most of these ingredients (except for the fridge ones and eggs) can be stored for long periods of time and you can whip up so many different recipes with them! Got spare carrots? Make carrot cake. A cup of fruits like blueberries or strawberries? Make muffins. A ripe banana? Perfect for banana bread. A handful of courgettes? Make courgette bread. The possibilities are literally endless.

Another thing that differs drastically between the UK & US is how little of Autumnal products are available in the shops and if they are, it's often not until October. My American readers are incredibly lucky to be able to just walk into the shop and buy things like pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice or even the controversial candy corn. My local Sainsbury's used to stock pumpkin puree on American shelves, but there’s none for months, so I will have to resort to ordering online.

Here are things I will be ordering online for Autumn

- Cans of pumpkin puree
- Pumpkin Spice
- Pumpkin Spice Syrup (for coffee and bakes)

I'm actually going to order at least 12 cans of pumpkin puree as it's so useful - it can be easily used for baking but also curries, soups and stews all the way through Autumn and Winter.

Currently obsessed with the "Wild Bramble" candle, which matches perfectly with the branches I now have all around the house. I had to cut back the growth around the back gate and unfortunately, remove some of the branches that bear fruit. It felt like a waste to put them in the bin, so I placed them in vases instead :)

Gentle Task for This Week

We’ve already talked about decluttering your home for the new season, but today I encourage you to pay extra attention to your food cupboards. Discard anything that might be out of date or has been sitting there too long - the things you just know you’re not going to cook with. Then, plan what essentials you’ll want to stock in your pantry or cupboards for Autumn.

If you’re in the UK like me, you might need to order some items online. If you’re in the US, with three weeks until September, you still have time to browse your supermarket and plan what you want to get, rather than buying on impulse in the moment.

A few closing words

I'm finishing writing this post in my usual writing spot at the table by the double door. From here, I can see the second flush of roses beginning to die and the blackberries on the brambles are turning red and black, really standing out against the background of dark green leaves.

Like every year, there is always someone in the comments telling me "...but it's Summer" and it always makes me think of how detached we've become from the old ways. For so many people, Summer means the beach, barbecues, cold drinks on hot afternoons. Dare not mention Autumn and dampen the mood. And that's perfectly fine - I also enjoy a cold drink on a hot Summer evening in my garden and I cannot wait for Andrei to get the barbecue going. But I feel like the modern world has allowed people to become the grasshoppers of our times, forgetting that Summer is really a time for work and preparation for the much harder part of the year.

Can you imagine your great-grandparents stopping all work in the fields and garden "because it's Summer"? I feel like those of us who instinctively feel the call to begin preparations for Autumn are more in tune with the old ways and closer to nature. Because anyone who spends literally 5 minutes looking around the natural world cannot disagree that the seasons are shifting. The wheel of the year never stands still and change is already happening.

Thank you for reading
Adriana x