Stockpiling Is A Way Of Life.

Over the last couple of years there has been a lot of talk on social media about stockpiling.  Just about every frugal / thrifty/ prepper YouTuber has multiple videos out saying " stock these 25 items NOW  !! " Or " Buy this NOW  !! "  If you listen to them all you'd be running to the supermarket to grab just about anything.

My advise is to stockpile slowly ( but not too slowly ),  surely and all year round.  Please don't wait until there is a shortage of something.  Don't wait until you see a news article about weather events or coming shortages.  Don't wait until you are running low on something.  You just never know what's around the corner and you can't predict growing conditions or worldwide sicknesses.

As a stockpiler of over 25 years,  I've been able to ride out the recent shortages with little to no disruptions to my monthly shopping trips.  If something's not on the supermarket shelf for a while,  that's ok.  I have plenty of backups.

Am I rich because I have a stockpile ?  NOPE  !!!  Up until recently our income was what the government considers a VERY low income.  Now we are considered low income. I've just made sure I looked out for the sales,  knew my prices and mostly bought ingredients.

Do we have a big home ?  NOPE  !!!  We live in a 15sq,  3 bedroom home with a carport ( no garage storing facilities ).  Even when our girls were living at home and in 2020 having 6 people and a cat living here,  we still had a very healthy stockpile.

Stockpiling is a way of life that looks after your family.  Nothing is more important.

While I don't post photos of my stockpile now, here are some old photos of items I've stocked up on.

One of my monthly shops from years ago

$1 each on clearance,

1/2 price and I dilute them

1/2 price and I dilute them

Laundry soap to make laundry powder

Knitting cotton 1/2 price to make dish cloths

1/2 price for casseroles only.

1/2 price and an everyday item.

Are you an long time stockpiler or a recent one ?

What's your strategy for keeping your stocks up ?

Links to previous stockpiling articles

Starting A Stockpile

Finding Room To Stockpile

Having A Well Stocked Pantry

10 Cheap Items To Stock Up On.

10 Cheap Pantry Items To Stock Up On

There have been lots of articles and YouTube videos make recently about stockpiling or prepping for uncertain times.  We have seen food shortages across the world for various reasons and it really does pay to have extras in your pantry.  

Some people spend thousands on dollars on building a very impressive stockpile ( or in some cases a hoard ).  This might not be in everyone's budget so I thought I'd compile a list of very cheap pantry items that anyone can afford.

*  Flour - plain,  self raising,  wholemeal or for those who have food intolerances the flours you can use.  Flour prices start at $1 a kilo. When you have flour on hand you can bake bread,  bake sweet or savoury snacks,  use it to thicken stews and so many other uses.

*  Sugar -  I buy white,  raw and icing sugar.  From white sugar I make castor sugar and brown sugar.  Sugar is used in baked goods,  desserts,  relishes,  chutneys,  sauces and jam making. White sugar prices start at $1.10 per kilo

*  Pasta - any shape will do.  We still have about 5 years worth of spaghetti pasta that was given to us about 3 years ago.  We also use spiral pasta in pasta bakes and small shell pasta in soups.  Pasta has a very long shelf life if stored in airtight containers or packets. Pasta prices start at 80 cents for 500 grams.

*  Tinned vegetables. - We stock up on tinned tomatoes in case our garden crop doesn't grow well.  I keep tinned corn kernels and creamed corn for soups and casseroles.  We also have beetroot for Summer salads. Tinned tomatoes prices start at 60 cents for 400 grams

*  Rice - I only keep white rice on hand now for it's long shelf life.  We did eat brown rice years ago but found it went rancid after 6 months.  Rice is a great side dish that can be jazzed up with seasoning or served plain.  Rice also makes a very thrifty fried rice dish or a delicious creamed rice for dessert.  Also used as a filler in casseroles,  rissoles and meatloaf. White rice prices start at $1.40 per kilo

*  Tinned meats - I keep many tins of tinned tuna in brine for casseroles and pasta bakes.  While large tins of tuna cost $3,  the meat can be stretched a long way.  I also keep tinned salmon in the pantry to make salmon patties.  Adding potato mash and grated vegetables to the salmon makes many more patties than you think.  Tinned ham and chicken are also available on the supermarket shelf but i don't buy then nor can I vouch for them being thrifty.

*  Dried bread crumbs - this might seem like an odd item to have on hand but it can cost nothing to make if you use the ends of loaves of bread.  I keep them unseasoned in bulk in the pantry and season a batch when needed.  Bread crumbs are another way to stretch a meal and save you money.

*  Dried beans - I don't stock these simply because I don't like them.  They are a good source of protein and can be used in meatless meals or to stretch meat further.

*  Dried soup mix - I keep this on hand all year round but especially in readiness for Winter soup making.  Add a few sad looking vegetables from the fridge or saved scraps from the freezer and you have a delicious and nutritious meal for just a few cents a serve.  Soup mix starts at $1.70 for 500 grams and this makes many pots of soup.

*  Tinned soups - this might sound like a contradiction considering I make soup from scratch all the time but tinned soups come in handy to make a cheap meal.  They last for years past their best before dates ( if stored well ) and can be used to make tasty casseroles,  pasta bakes or a thrifty lunch.  They always come on sale for $1 a tin before and during Winter.      

What cheap pantry items do you like to have lots of ?

10 Laundry Items To Stockpile

Were you caught out when the panic buying started in March ?  Did you have enough cleaning supplies to complete your usual cleaning tasks ?  I'll admit even though I usually have lots of everything,  I didn't have enough cotton gloves on hand to feel comfortable during these crazy times.  I'm allergic to rubber gloves and use cotton gloves inside the rubber ones when I'm at a cleaning job.  It took many months for them to be available again so I made sure I bought heaps.

Even now,  I've noticed the rubber glove and sponge / cloth section of the supermarket is a little bare at times.  Maybe everyone is still buying up or maybe stocks are low at suppliers.  I'm not sure.

Here are some cheap ( or free ) multi purpose items you should stock  up on to keep your home clean and sparkling -

*  Laundry soap.  Whether you buying Sunlight or the generic bars of pure laundry soap,  they are the key ingredient for making your own laundry powder.  The boxes of soap don't take up much room either.

*  Bi carb of soda.  Buy in bulk from a pool supply shop ( known as ph buffer ), from Costco or a herb and spice shop to make great savings.  I use bi carb in homemade laundry powder,  to clean the dishwasher,  for baking and oven cleaning.  Others like to use it for all cleaning tasks.

*  Lectric soda ( washing soda ).  Found in the laundry aisle in the supermarket,  it's used in Miracle Spray and for making laundry powder. 

*  Disinfectant.  I only buy hospital grade and the pine fragrance for using in the washing machine to freshen up smelly dirty clothes.  Also great for wiping down door handles,  toilets and to disinfect a kitchen bench after handling raw meat.  I've been known to spray a little disinfectant on a piece of paper towel,  placed in a small bag and taken to the supermarket to wipe down trolley handles.  I can't guarantee the supermarket will have wipes on hand. 

*  Rags.  Any shape or form.  I save all old face washers,  hand towels,  bath mats and bath towels and store them under the laundry trough to wipe up spills.

*  White vinegar.  It's a key ingredient used to make Miracle Spray,  I use it in a spray bottle for wiping up cat messes.  Vinegar makes a great deodoriser  for underarm smells on washing,  for cleaning windows and as a fabric softener.  Of course there are more uses.  I've just named a few.

*  Rubber gloves / latex gloves.  I'm not a fan of sticking my bare hand down a toilet to clean all the groves under the water line.  Rubber gloves give a great barrier against germs and sickness. Also handy for using in food preparation.

*  Glen 20 spray.  This became as rare as hen's teeth back in March.  Since then Glen 20 claims to be effective in eliminating Corona virus germs off surfaces.  It's great for sickness smells and kitty litter smells.

*  Spray bottles.  Any shape,  any size even recycled ones from used up cleaning products.  Spray bottles are a wonderful way to save on cleaning sprays.  I decant vinegar,  disinfectant and diluted dishwashing liquid into separate spray bottles for various uses around the home.  Guaranteed,  if you need a spray bottle,  you won't have one on hand.  

*  Epsom salts.  They are great for soaking tired bodies,  for cleaning the washing machine and for making bath bombs. 

What do you stockpile in your laundry ?

10 Pantry Items You Should Stockpile Long Term.

 There has been a fair bit of talk recently about food shortages the urgent need to stockpile.  The world is a bit crazy at the moment with natural disasters wiping out crops and the Corona virus disrupting food supply chains.  Have you noticed there are gaps on the supermarket shelves 6 months after the worldwide panic buying ?  

Now I'm not a doomsday prepper or even an alarmist,  but I do have concerns that access to some  foods might look a little different and might get a little harder.  Perhaps there will be a shift in where our food comes from.  Maybe more will be grown or made in Australia ( or your own country ) but this will take time.

So I've taken it upon myself to stock up on items that store well long term.  I've also made my family aware of what I'm hearing and asking them to add a few extra items to their grocery lists when they shop. 

I've watched lots and lots of YouTube clips from around the world to gather as much information as I can about long term stockpiling ( which is 1 + years ).  The items I've listed below were commonly mentioned by many stockpilers,  are cheap to buy,  have multiple uses and are mostly ingredients.

*  Pasta - long,  spiral,  lasagne sheets. Take your pick although long spaghetti pasta takes up the least amount of room.  Pasta does store well for many many years.  Do not stockpile wholewheat / wholemeal pasta because it goes rancid over a short period of time. 

*  Rice.  White rice can store well for many years.  Make sure you freeze it for at least a few days to kill any bugs  before storing in the pantry.  Once again,  brown rice does go rancid fairly quickly.

*  Sugar.  I prefer to stockpile white only because I can make brown sugar,  castor sugar and icing sugar from the white sugar.  

*  Tinned meats like tuna,  salmon,  Spam and  chicken.  Did you notice that tinned meats were one of the first things to disappear during the March panic buying?  I personally only stockpile tinned tuna and salmon because that's what we eat.

*  Tinned fruit and vegetables.  With country and state borders being closed,  fruit pickers are not always able to get to the harvests in time for picking.  Fruit and veggie prices are predicted to soar.  Having a few tins put away will be a big help to your mealtimes.

*  Tea.  Unopened boxes of tea can last years past its best before date.  I know this for a fact because I've been stockpiling tea for many years when it's on clearance or half price sales.  Once the box is opened ,  store in an airtight  container for freshness. 

*  Stock powder.  Ok,  this is something you probably didn't expect to see on the list.  Unopened tins of stock powder last for at least a couple of years past its best before date.  Stock powder always comes on sale in Winter.  This is when I buy a couple of years worth.  It can be used to make soups,  to boost the flavour of a casseroles and risottos and  to make your own gravy or flavour mixes.

*  Salt.  Salt can be used in food preserving,  to boost flavour in cooking and has health benefits to our bodies in moderation.  

*  Herbs and spices.  Providing they are stored in airtight containers,  herbs and spices can last for a few years.  Used in cooking and baking they give a welcome boost of flavour.

*  Tinned soups.  Although I make my own soup,  tinned soups do have their uses.  Tomato soup is very versatile and can be used for pasta dishes,  casseroles and slow cooking.  Tinned chunky soups can be made into an emergency meal for 2 by adding a handful of small pasta. 

Have you been building your stockpile ?

What items are you buying more of ?

Prepping For Winter Illnesses

Are you  prepared for colds and illness that arrive with Winter each year ?  I quite often hear about people being caught out unprepared when illness strikes.  Spouses and family members are sent out on mercy missions to restock the bathroom cabinets with much needed medical supplies.

Here are some ideas for being prepared -

*  Having a good supply of tissues,  hankies or homemade hanky / rags to wipe a drippy nose is very important.  Perhaps buy a box or two of extra soft tissues just in case you get a bad cold.

*  Stock up on headache tablets,  cold and flu tablets or any other medications you use to ease illness symptoms

*  Vicks vapour rub is great for easing a blocked nose.  Do you have any or do you know where your tub is ?  Does it still have a strong fragrance or is it well past it's best before date ?

*  Eucalyptus oil is a wonderful natural product for clearing sinuses and blocked noses.  Do you have any left in your bottle after making Miracle Spray ? ( hehehe ).

*  Tea Tree oil is a wonderful natural disinfectant that can also be used on cold sores.  If you need to buy some,  it's generally located on the bottom shelf  in the bathroom section ( next to the eucalyptus oil ) at your local supermarket.

*  Lemon and honey are great for relieving sore throats.  I freeze the lemon juice into ice cube trays  each Winter for use all year round.

*  Your choice of cough lollies to help ease a persistent cough.

Much needed supplies

Freezing lemon juice into icecube trays

Are you ready for the Winter sniffles ?

Having A Well Stocked Pantry

As the temperature drops outside, I'm finding lots of comfort in hot casseroles , stews and soups. They warm the body and soul. My slow cooker gets used all year round, but in Winter it almost goes into overdrive.

It's great to have a well stocked pantry, fridge and freezer. It makes it so much easier to feed the family or to change the menu around if things arise. My well stocked pantry came in handy a few years ago as I had a slight disaster in the kitchen. I'd gotten up early one morning to make a chicken curry to put in the slow cooker. I'd already put the cooked chicken in, the vegies were getting a head start in the microwave and all I needed to do was make the liquid up. I opened up a tin of cream of chicken soup to find that it was black and mouldy inside. YUCKY, YUCKY !!!!

I was so shocked at the color that I tilted the tin to make sure I had the right soup ( I thought it must have been mushroom soup ) Soup spilled all over the bench and kitchen floor. After cleaning up the mess I realised it was the right soup, but in the wrong condition. Thankfully I had another few tins of the soup in the pantry. I was able to continue making the curry. Phew !!! Later that day I returned the soup to the supermarket for a replacement.

Having spares of the soup meant that nothing was wasted and the meal was not a disaster. Just a slight hiccup in the making.

I've met many people over the years who love to have the bare minimum in their pantries. They have their tins and packages all lined up along the front of the shelves with nothing behind them. Easy to see everything yet so easy to run out. My pantry is not big by any means , but it is tidy, clean, well organised and WELL STOCKED !!!! Ready for any recipe, occasion or disaster. 

Do you keep your pantry well stocked ?  

Have you had a disaster in the kitchen ?

Stockpiling For Winter

As Winter fast approaches, our minds start to think about those hearty meals  we love to eat.   Have you thought about stockpiling your cooking and baking ingredients ?  Being ready for the change of season eating will make menu planning easy.  Having everything on hand for stews,  casseroles,  roasts and baked desserts saves money ( avoiding takeaway ),  time ( no unnecessary trips to the supermarket )  and your sanity.

Here's a list of the ingredients I stockpile as the weather cools down -


*  Corn Flour
*  Sugar - white and brown
*  Cocoa Powder - unsweetened
*  Rolled oats and quick oats
*  Tinned fruit for cobbler and crumble desserts
*  Flour - Self Raising and Plain
*  Tinned Soups -tomato,  cream of chicken and cream of celery for casseroles and slow cooking
*  Tinned Tomatoes
*  Tinned Corn
*  Creamed Corn
*  French Onion Soup Mix
*  Chicken Noodle Soup Mix
*  Curry Powder
*  Coconut Cream
*  Gravy Powder
*  Stock Powder - vegetable,  chicken and beef
*  Custard Powder

What do you stockpile for Winter cooking and baking ?

My Grocery Shopping List March 2017

Almost every week I have someone ask me what I buy to feed my family.  I've also had lots of requests for my shopping list  / dockets.  Yesterday was my monthly shopping day so I've taken photos of my dockets and the groceries I bought.

At the moment my monthly grocery budget is $180 for the four of us plus our cat.  Hopefully when our financial situation improves I'll be able to bump it back up to $270 a month. Please keep in mind that our girls are not always home for dinner.  Jessica is at Uni and Megan's current job has her working over dinner a couple of times a week.

As you know,  during Sept - Nov I stockpile heavy,  bulky and non perishable items to last all of Summer and the holiday season.   I still have some of these items left to use.

Here are the shopping dockets so far for the month.  I'll keep adding photos of my shopping dockets as the month goes by.  My month runs from 16th March until 15th April keeping it in line with our credit card statements ( not that the groceries go on credit ).

Yesterday I spent  -

Coles $38.50

Aldi $53.30

I've put away $20 into the meat fund for when I see something on sale.  I'm hoping to get reimbursed from the freezer manufacturer for the loss of meat and food from last month.

This leaves me with $68.20 for weekly milk,  fruit and veg top ups for the next four weeks.

Aldi shopping

Aldi docket

Coles shopping

Coles docket

If you are wondering where the rest of the food is,  please keep in mind that I have a food stockpile.  When I grocery shop I'm stocking up on what I used last month so that my stockpile never runs low or runs out.

Here are some other points -

Herbs,  spices and dried fruit etc -  I made a visit to Hindustan Imports last week and stocked up on the usual herbs,  spices and ingredients to add to my bread.  I spent about $70 from the food slush fund and this will last me for about 6 - 8 months ( some things even longer ).

Snacks -   You might be wondering when all the snacks are.  The flour and sugar I bought will make many baking treats. At the moment we have corn thins ( like rice cakes ),  Salada biscuits and pita chips as savoury snacks.  We also still have an assortment of treats and chocolate from Christmas.   If our girls want extra snacks they buy their own.

Fruit and veg -  We are picking strawberries,  tomatoes and raspberries in abundance at the moment.  On Wednesday I bought a big bag of mixed lettuce leaves that will feed us for four meals.  As soon as our lettuce in the garden grows big enough ( about three weeks ) I'll be crossing it off the list.  I already have cucumber,  carrots,  apples and grapes in the fridge leftover from last week.  In the freezer I have lots of broccoli ( bought on a super duper sale ),  corn kernels,  beans,  celery,  strawberries and raspberries.  In the pantry I have enough potatoes for a week..

Dairy - I bought milk and sour cream on Wednesday and cream last week.  I'm making yoghurt from scratch and we still have a few 1 kilo blocks of cheese in the fridge.  We also have a few small tubs of icecream in the freezer to use up.

Meat -  I have a truckload of chicken fillets ( $4.99 kg ) and drumsticks ( $1.99 kg ) bought on sale late last year.  A few weeks ago I bought 3 or 4 trays of chops ( $7.99 kg ).  I have five legs of lamb bought last Spring ( $7.49 kg ).  I bought fish about 1 month ago ( $5.99 kg I think ). I have a few portions of ham, a couple of meals of sausages and about 20 + portions of mince plus  ready made mince meals ( pie meat,  spag bol etc ).

I did loose a freezer full of meat and other food about 5 - 6 weeks ago.  Due to this loss I haven't got as much meat as I usually would have.

Breakfast -  Darren and I eat my homemade bread as toast every morning.  I only have my homemade jam on the toast.  Darren has jam or tomatoes on his toast.  Our girls occasionally cook a breakfast of pancakes or eggs from our chickens.  We always have quick oats in the pantry to make porridge.  There's always yoghurt,  fruit or cheese and dry biscuits to have.

Spreads -  We've cut down on spreads due to our girls finishing school.. I have a stockpile of Vegemite,  peanut butter,  homemade jam and some honey.

Sauces etc -  We don't use a lot of sauces but have all the usual ones on hand.  I still have a few bottles of salad dressings bought on sale last Summer.

Drinks -   We don't drink coffee,  soft drink,  cordial,  juice or alcohol  We drink milk,  tea,  hot chocolate ( homemade ) and lots of water.  I have enough teabags stockpiled for the next two years.

Toiletries -  A have almost a year's worth of toiletries stockpiled.  If there's a half price sale I stock up.  I still have a six month toilet paper stockpile.

Cleaning -  I don't buy much in the way of cleaning products.  I buy ingredients to make soap,  laundry powder and Miracle Spray.  Anything else needed is bought at a half price sale and used sparingly.

I'll try to post my shopping dockets each month so you get a better idea of what I buy.

Top up shopping day Wednesday 22nd March

This was paid for from the food slush fund.

The apples are to be used in jam making.

Here are receipts and photos from my last two tops up -

Finding Room To Stockpile

Quite often people ask me where I find the room to stockpile.  The answer is simple - I make the room.  I'm not a hoarder by any stretch of the imagination.  Infact,  I love order and neatness and this helps me to make the most of the room I have.  My home is 15.23 squares or 141.57m2.  For my American readers that equates to 1523.8 square feet.  With four of us living here that doesn't allow for large amounts of storage.

Our kitchen is quite small and classified as a hostess kitchen which I think is a polite term for a small kitchen that does the job.  Our kitchen builder tells me that my pantry is quite a good size compared to others he sees. My pantry is 88cm wide x 57cm deep x 2.06 metres high. Not large at all but I can fit so much in there.  At the Adelaide workshop Cath and I held last year I showed a photo of my very tidy pantry. There were a few giggles about how neat it is. how many containers I have and how everything is in neat rows with ALL labels facing the front. A bit OCD ? Maybe, but when everything is neat and well stacked I'm making the most of the space.

I mentioned at the workshop that I only use my pantry to store food in. There are no empty containers, no extra rolls of paper towel, no toilet paper, no appliances, no cleaning products, no boxes of tissues, no canning jars and no cat food. These items are either stored in my garden shed or in the appropriate room ( cleaning products in the laundry etc ). 

 I also use everything in my kitchen on a regular basis and all my casserole dishes, chopping boards,  dinner sets etc are stacked neatly and efficiently.  This gives me the extra space to store supermarket specials  Before I had children, I worked in retail ( mostly toy shops ) and my specialty was merchandising shelves to fit more stock in when there was no space. I've just continued this at home and especially in my kitchen. I'm always sorting and rearranging my kitchen cupboards.

For those of you who think they can't find any more space to stockpile, just take a few moments to look at what you are storing.

*  Do you use it all the time ?
*  Are you keeping things you really shouldn't ?
*  Do you have too much of the wrong type of foods in your pantry ? This  question is targeted more towards junk food or food with too much packaging. Think about those packets of chips that are full of air or the individual serves of popcorn, chips etc etc. A jar of corn kernels takes up a fraction of the space compared to a packet of individual serves.
*  Could you store items in your linen cupboard ,  under your bed,  in the top of your wardrobe ?
*  Could you fill up all your containers to get rid of half empty packets taking up space ?

 By doing a little reorganising and decluttering,  you might be suprised at the space you can find.

Does your pantry and kitchen need a tidy up ?
Where do you store your extra stockpiling items ?

What's Taking Up Space In Your Pantry ?

During the Cheapskates workshop in Adelaide last year, I mentioned that I removed a few non food items from my pantry that were taking up space. Since then I've received a few messages and emails from participants who found this to be a light bulb moment.

So this week's topic is " What's taking up space in your pantry ? " My pantry is 88cm wide X 57cm deep X 2.06 metres high. Not large by any stretch of the imagination but I can fit a lot in there. At the workshop I showed a photo of my very neat pantry. There were a few giggles about how neat it is. how many containers I have and how everything is in neat rows with ALL labels facing the front. A bit OCD ? Maybe, but when everything is neat and well stacked I can fit so much in.

I mentioned at the workshop that I only use my pantry to store food in. There are no empty containers, no extra rolls of paper towel, no toilet paper, no appliances, no cleaning products, no boxes of tissues, no canning jars and no cat food. These items are either stored in my garden shed or in the appropriate room ( cleaning products in the laundry etc ).

Once non food items are removed from the pantry, you might be suprised at how much space you have. For me, space means stockpiling and stockpiling means peace of mind.

This week I'd like to challenge you with two questions -

* Do you have non food items taking up valuable space in my pantry ?

* Can you relocate the non food items and start a healthy stockpile ?

Do you think I have enough tea bags ?

I like nice neat rows.

Starting A Stockpile

Anyone who knows me  knows that stockpiling is one of my favourite topics to talk about.   I LOVE stockpiling. It gives me a sense of security knowing that if anything happened and I couldn't get to the shops, OR if all the supermarkets closed down without notice ( I'd better start praying against that one ), then my family would be fed well for many, many weeks, maybe even 4 - 6 months. Ok, if I was feeding them for 4 - 6 months, we'd be on rations but I think I could do it.

I know of people who shop every day for that night's meal. I also know of people who only keep a couple of week's worth of groceries and they always seem to be running out of the basics. This is no way to live your life.  Think of all the stress and extra trips to the supermarket.  Think of all the petrol being used.  Here are some scenarios to think about -

What if you got sick ?
What if the car breaks down ?
What if family drops in unexpectedly for a holiday ?
What if your teenagers bring home a bunch of friends and expect a meal for all ?
What if your spouse invites some friends home for a meal without a prior arrangement ?
What if a natural disaster happens and it wipes out crops ?
What if you are stranded in your home due to floods ?

How would you cope if any of these things happened ? Yes they could easily happen although I really hope they don't. Do you go into a panic and order takeaway ? That would be so easy but then your food budget would blow out.  A better way is to have a good supply of basic ingredients.

Stockpiling is as easy as 1 2 3 .

1. Write out a list of basic ingredients that you would like to stockpile. Toiletries such as toilet paper, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, soap, shower gel, shavers, makeup all keep well for many years. In the pantry - flour, sugar, pasta, rice,  tinned veggies and fruit, herbs and spices, baking ingredients, spreads, powdered milk, sauces etc all keep well.
In the fridge - cheese and butter can be stockpiled as well as frozen. Even eggs keep well in the fridge for a few months.  In the freezer you can stockpile veggies, meat, leftovers, ready made meals ( homemade of course ) berries and other fruits.

2. Work out the quantities of these items you use per month. Then multiply it by the amount of months you want to have as a stockpile.

3 . Add some of these EXTRA items and quantities to your shopping list each week / fortnight / month you go shopping.  Remember,  these are extra quantities on top of what you usually buy.   Once you have finished stockpiling all you need to do is just replace the items you use. Also, do not forget to rotate your stock by putting new items to the back of the pantry,  fridge and freezer and the older items get pushed to the front.

Finding extra grocery money for stockpiling can be a challenge if you are on a tight budget.  Please keep in mind that basic groceries like flour,  sugar and pasta etc don't cost that much.  Here are some ideas for finding extra grocery money -

*  Use leftover holiday spending money.  This is how I started my food slush fund.

*  Make your own takeaway and the money saved could start your stockpile.

*  Revise your shopping list and cross off ready made / processed food.

*  Cook cheaper meals to stretch your $$$

*  Save your spare coins in a tin.  At the end of the month that money can be used to buy a few extra basics.

Do you have a stockpile and if so,  how long would it feed your family ?

If you haven't started a stockpile,  is this something you'll do shortly ?   

My spare tins of food.

An organised pantry

My spares.  I love things stacked neatly

Stockpiling For Summer And The Holidays

As you probably know,  I love having a stockpile.  It comes in handy for many,  many reasons.

Last year,  Cath from The Cheapskates Club shared a wonderful stockpiling idea that I now implement in my home.  The idea is " Stockpiling for Summer "  and here's how it works -

Starting about August or September,  work out what grocery items you would need to buy over the Summer or Christmas holiday period.  Divide that list into the months you have left to buy before Summer / Christmas. 

Every time you go grocery shopping,  add those extra items to your  supermarket trolley. This is where your grocery slush fund comes in handy for the extra costs involved.  In August / September I start buying non perishables like toilet paper,  toiletries,  pasta,  sugar,  rice,  cat food and tinned items

During October and November, I stock up on cheese,  butter,  frozen veg,  flour,  breakfast cereal,  spreads,  sauces and anything else that's heavy. I freeze some of the butter as I don't have the fridge space.

When December hits,  I only need to top up on any items I've forgotten plus any foods needed to celebrate Christmas.

In Australia,  January,  February and part of March are well known for their heatwaves.  During this time,  I'm hoping the only grocery items I'll need to buy are milk,  fruit and veg on a weekly basis.  By stockpiling ahead of time I won't be battling the crowds or sweating it out pushing a heavy trolley through the shopping centre car park.

If you are in the northern hemisphere,  stockpiling ahead of time takes on a whole new meaning.  Floods,  snow storms and extreme weather conditions could make it impossible to leave the home.  By planning ahead and having a good stockpile,  your Winter could be easier to deal with.

At the moment,  all my cupboards,  pantry,  fridge and freezers are chock a block full.  It's such a good feeling to be ready for the holidays.

Do you stockpile for the holiday / Summer / Winter season ?

A monthly grocery shop

A full and organised pantry

Everything in it's place.