Skip to main content

Stock Ups

It's been a year since I started my emergency pantry project, which has provided all kinds of benefits I never expected it would. I think these are the top three:

Convenience: When I run out of a staple I don't have to drive to a store; I now always have plenty on hand.

Lower Food Bills: I can buy nonperishables we frequently use when they're on sale and keep the extra in the emergency pantry.

Less Waste: Thanks to the first-in first-out strategy and the labeling of expiration dates on the face of food products, we've also been able to cycle foods into our working pantry as they grow close to expiring, so nothing is wasted (in a year the only thing I've not used before it expired was a dollar store package of ramen.)

I'm also able to see what we constantly use (soups, rice, pasta, canned veggies, small containers) versus what we don't (dehydrated foods, mixes, canned meats, huge containers) so I have a better idea of what to stock up on for hurricane season. I've also put together an extra first aid kit and some instructions on how to make water safe for drinking, but I need to think more on what survival tactic info we might need.

Unlike last year, when prepper reports had me very concerned, I am not as alarmed by the prospect of food shortages due to tariffs. I have enough shelf-stable food in the house to keep us going for about a year now without ever buying anything more. If shortages happen and I have to rely on my emergency pantry more heavily we might not be able to eat the dishes we most like (all of which have perishable ingredients) but I can make a decent variety of meals we'll enjoy and want to eat, which is 90% of the battle.

I can't do anything about what is happening to our country (and I am not discussing that, so no comments on it, please); I can just take care of me and my guy no matter what happens. So that's my focus.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Better than Fried

I cut some chives from the kitchen garden to make garlic-chive baked fries for dinner. This is a great side dish for veggie burgers. Click here for the recipe from Taste of Home.com.
Post a Comment
Read more

Stuff

After finding this Caron one pound skein of lovely peach yarn in my thrifted lot I raided my stash for two cakes of Mandala in Pegasus, which matches it perfectly. For practice and hand therapy I'm going to make another Worth Street Afghan with this free pattern , but this time I'll use the yarn that was recommended for it plus the one pound skein. I'm not quite ready to do the vintage/recycled linen quilt I had planned (still a bit too nervous about the idea), so I'm going to use some color therapy and make a quilt from these thrifted green fat quarters. I considered doing another Yellow Brick road patchwork pattern, but I might go with a split rail fence like this one.
Post a Comment
Read more

Make It Yourself

As we head into December, here are ten ideas for easy handmade gifts: Cookie Exchange: If you live close to your friends invite them over for a cookie exchange. Basically everyone bakes a set amount of their favorite cookies, and these are exchanged at the gathering by lottery, sharing a little from each batch with everyone, or however you want to do it. You can also exchange recipes, too. My neighbor did this once and it was wonderful. Favorite Recipe Cookbook : For my favorite person I found a copy of my favorite cookbook from a vintage bookseller (yes, I am that old) and went through it making notes on all the recipes I used, how I tweaked them, etc. Ornament: There are probably a million free tutorials on how to make your own holiday ornaments, so do some research online. I like to make hanging pomanders , which smell heavenly and are biodegradable after the holidays. Mug Rugs: If you sew, making up a set of mug rugs is simple and easy; I add these every year to my ...
Post a Comment
Read more