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HOW do i stock pile?

872 views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  velochic 
#1 ·
I'm a vegetarian mama. We're soon to be a family of 4 (okay, so the baby isn't going to eat much other than breastmilk for awhile...) and I have about an extra $95/mo on foodstamps (If i stick to my no-frills way of shopping).

I'd like to start stocking up on things we use frequently - canned tomato products, beans, rice, pasta, olives, flour, sugar, etc...

but HOW?

How much is too much? Do i want to buy things in smaller packages so when i *do* use them they wont get bugs? (IE: 79 cent 1 lb bag of rice vs. $3.29 10 lb bag of rice).

I just went to the grocery store for my normal shopping and wanted to start buying canned goods to store - but i chickened out. I was just too overwhelmed. I ended up coming home with 4-1oz bottles of pure vanilla extract (only 99cents ea!! and they are good until 11/2011).

HELP? Please? Thanks!
 
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#2 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by beansmama View Post
I'm a vegetarian mama. We're soon to be a family of 4 (okay, so the baby isn't going to eat much other than breastmilk for awhile...) and I have about an extra $95/mo on foodstamps (If i stick to my no-frills way of shopping).

I'd like to start stocking up on things we use frequently - canned tomato products, beans, rice, pasta, olives, flour, sugar, etc...

but HOW?

Little by little. Pick up a couple extras each shopping trip. Say, if you buy a certain pasta on sale, buy a few more than you normally would. Same with canned tomatos. Say you buy 3 cans normally. Get 6 cans instead.

How much is too much? Do i want to buy things in smaller packages so when i *do* use them they wont get bugs? (IE: 79 cent 1 lb bag of rice vs. $3.29 10 lb bag of rice).

Too much is when you know you can't use it all up before it expires. If you guys eat a lot of rice (say, several times a week) that 10lb bag won't last long. However if you eat rice 1-2 times a month, then 10lbs should be more than enough for a LONG time, lol. As for keeping away bugs, stick the bags in the freezer for a few (3-4) days. This kills all the eggs inside, so no bug problem. Also, I store things like that in rubbermaid containers. Something plastic that seals. The only time smaller packaging makes sense is with perishables, imo. Like don't buy a 5lb can of beans if you won't be able to use it up before it goes bad.

I just went to the grocery store for my normal shopping and wanted to start buying canned goods to store - but i chickened out. I was just too overwhelmed. I ended up coming home with 4-1oz bottles of pure vanilla extract (only 99cents ea!! and they are good until 11/2011).

That's a good start! Just buy little extras each trip, like you did. Things you use and like. It will feel weird at first because it's so piecemeal, but after a few months you will start having a nicely full pantry.

HELP? Please? Thanks!

The best thing about 'stockpiling' is that once you have your basics set back, a lot more of your money is freed to go after more 'luxurious items' like extracts or things that you would normally bypass due to budget issues. Also, having a nice stock sets you up to take advantage of sales, stretching your grocery money even further!

Ami
 
#3 ·
You need to find something to store beans/rice in so that you *can* buy 10+ pounds at a time. Most folks store in plastic buckets (check out your local bakery and see if they give them away, or sell them for uber cheap (think 1-2 dollars each). Its best to freeze rice, beans, grains, etc first just to be sure they don't have living bugs in them. I like to freeze for at least a week or two, although alternatively you can freeze for 48+ hours, sit out for a week and then refreeze for 48+ hours again (this kills the live bugs, lets the ones in eggs hatch and then kills them...). Then store them in the buckets.

As for how much to store... don't store more than you can/will eat in, say 6 months or a year. Do it gradually, a little at a time - a bag of rice/beans here, a few cans of tomatos there, etc as they go on sale. Thats been how I've done it (mostly) over the past year or so, and now have a good 3-6 months of food stored, maybe a bit more (though it'd get pretty boring after a while, I'm sure
 
#5 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by beansmama View Post
So i can't just buy rice in 10 lb bags and put it in a cupboard? I'd have to store it in a seperate container as well?
No, you don't need a separate container, it's just easier to store them & use them if they are in a harder 'shell' so to speak. Also, if for some reason buggies got past you, they'd only 'ruin' one bag of rice rather than all of them.

Ami
 
#6 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by beansmama View Post
So i can't just buy rice in 10 lb bags and put it in a cupboard? I'd have to store it in a seperate container as well?
The 3 main enemies of stored food are light, air, and moisture. The thin bags that, for example, rice comes in protect against none of those. Properly stored, white long grain rice keeps indefinitely. The purpose of the sealed container is to keep these 3 elements away from your food and to keep things like bugs and mice away (although mice CAN chew through plastic... we've never had a problem with them, though).

You might check out this blog. It's a Mormon family that is putting together (the site isn't finished) a step-by-step guide to stocking up for a newbie.

The thing to keep in mind is that you should NOT stock up quickly. Really think through what you eat and what you need for a given period of time. Take a month to write down all the ingredients you have used - that will give you an idea of how much is normal consumption for you. Then sit down with pen and paper and write out a menu you can eat from you pantry. Finally, before buying food have your storage system itself in place first. Or at a minimum, make sure that for what you buy, at the same time you can buy the container you will be storing it in.

For grains, the way I do it is that I store my grains in the 5 gallon buckets with oxygen absorbers. Then I have 1 gallon hermetically sealed containers in my kitchen. I actively use from the containers in my kitchen and only occasionally ever open the large buckets.

For canned and jarred items, I keep the oldest in the front and as I replace, I put the newer in the back. I keep everything in a spreadsheet to track what I have. HTH!
 
#7 ·
I don't have a huge stockpile, but I do have a couple of months.

I have done it slowly. Take pasta for instance. We eat roughly a pound of pasta a week. Some weeks more, some less, of course. So, when it goes on sale at my store, I would buy 8 pounds. Next time it goes on sale would be 7 weeks later (just for example), and I'd notice I had one extra. I'd buy 8 more. Then, if it went on sale 7 weeks later, I'd have 2 extra. Just slowly like that, I built up a stockpile of extra foods. Always stuff we used, always slowly as to not break the budget.
 
#8 ·
The problem with the bags that rice/beans/etc come in from the store is that they are *not* bug-proof! I've had pantry moths chew right through them, no problem. Now all my grains/beans/etc are stored in glass mason jars in the kitchen and huge glass jars in my basement - though I'm no longer planning on buying more of them, as the lids seem to be irreplaceable!! :scream:
 
#9 ·
I will buy beans and rice in bulk.. big bags or from the bins.. but I have had mice chew through the big bags of rice in the mesh woven type bags and had mice turds through the rice

alot of the beans i would store in mason jars with wax paper and rings.. the barley the other day was just crawling with god knows what.. i would highly recomend freezing stuff like pp say to kill off what ever is in there!

(at least it was a small jar of barley!)
 
#10 ·
for the rice we have food grade commercial buckets that we got at the cash and carry store.. spendy.. I think we spent 15 or 20 bucks for the bucket and lid, but it's 22qts and it has infinate food purposes.. i use for canning, marinating for big bbq's, storing food in, preparing for home brew, ect... well worth the investment as they don't hold smells and are industrial strength!

http://www.foodstorageworld.com/camb...ontainers.html
their prices are much higher than I pay, but the same thing!
 
#11 ·
Also, I forgot to mention, save up any big plastic & glass jars (like those for pickles). Ask friends & family to do the same. Soon you'll have a bunch of free storage containers! Most of my items are stored in the huge pickle jars and the plastic Nonni (biscotti) jars. Also, deli places & donut/bakery shops usually have huge frosting containers, free for the taking--just ask! I think restaurants might have them too.

Ami
 
#12 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by velochic View Post
Then I have 1 gallon hermetically sealed containers in my kitchen. I actively use from the containers in my kitchen and only occasionally ever open the large buckets.

Could you tell what your 1-gallon hermetically sealed containers are like? Are they glass jars?
 
#15 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by velochic View Post
I did a google search to try to find a picture of what they look like. Here you go.

ETA: I bought all of mine at rummage sales. Triomphe is the brand.
oh, okay! Hermetically sealed sounded like it was some more complicated type of sealing mechanism. I will keep my eye out in thrift stores for those, as I too want to have a weekly-monthly supply of various grains, beans, pastas displayed nicely on my "open" shelf. (besides the longer-term 25-pound container)

thanks, velo. btw you, and what you've posted here, were the main impetus for beginning my stockpile -- slowly building it from things I use on a regular basis!
 
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