I ordinarily shop once every 2 months, but things were a bit tight financially, so I put it off another month and it went fine. The nice thing about this is that I can more easily see the "holes" in my supplies, so when I do go shopping, I can stock up on the right things!
I reorganized my pantry this past week so I can more easily put away the jars I am currently filling from the vegetable garden. So far this year I've done bread and butter pickles, sweet gherkin pickles, sweet corn, green beans and tomatoes. I am hoping to do pears again this year and maybe some peaches and apples too if I find a good source of supply.
I buy things in bulk, and on sale, and simply keep what I need on hand, in the pantry and in the freezer. I have a dry erase board hung up by the freezer where I keep a current list of its contents. I also keep a list on it for the small kitchen freezer. It has been immensely helpful. I can just look at the list and see what needs to be used and don't forget until food gets wasted.
Instead of eating out of the grocery store, I eat out of our supplies. With fresh milk, fresh vegetables, the food co-op orders and keeping the stock up, I could go quite a long time without entering a food store. It's nice. It saves money and time, and when things get tight (which they inevitably do), I am prepared and at least I don't have to be concerned about what to feed us.
I highly recommend a food storage program for those of you who live in areas where it is legal to do so! Please feel free to ask me questions about this. I would be more than happy to try to help!
This post is linked up with Simple Lives Thursday!
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I like the idea of using the dry erase board on the freezer. Just got one a couple of weeks ago for my pantry closet to keep tack of things, never thought about the freezer. Will be getting another one soon.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy following your blog!
Love the dry erase board idea! Do you still sell Kefir? Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteRaynea, yes, I do. I don't have any extra milk kefir grains right now, but would in a couple of weeks. I always have extra water kefir grains. email me at ilovekefir@hotmail.com if you are interested. I'm glad you like the dry erase board idea! It really makes my life easier.
ReplyDeleteYolanda,
ReplyDeleteThis is a good idea. I shop far too often. I think I will try going longer without shopping.
Do you bake your bread in the oven or use a bread machine? I got rid of my bread machine and now I wonder if I should have kept it and baked my bread outside.
debbieo
Debby, I bake mine in the oven, 5 loaves at a time, so that generally lasts us quite a while since it is just me and Jim. Bread machines are very nice too, although when I had one, I don't think it liked me very much. ;)
ReplyDeleteYolanda, I also used to have a bread machine and didn't like the bread baked that way very much. It ended up at the local goodwill. :
ReplyDeleteWhen can we see some more pictures of your garden? You know, city dwellers sometimes can dream just looking at those pictures.
Mely
PS. Sorry, i do not visit your blog often. This has been a very busy summer.
Oh, Mely! This is the embarrassing part of the year in my garden. It has so many weeds, it's terrible! But I was able to keep them at bay long enough to get a good harvest. Maybe I'll be brave one day soon and post a picture. :) Incidentally, I bought a bread machine at Goodwill and then re-donated it some time later. It just didn't like me very much. If I were into making white bread all of the time, maybe that would have worked, but I almost always make whole grain breads and have my own recipes, and they don't work in a machine. Nevertheless, my daughter had one years ago and she made very nice bread in it.
ReplyDeleteKeeping a white board with all the ingredients you have listed is awesome. What a terrific way to keep things from languishing in the back of a cupboard forever!
ReplyDeleteIt really does help - a lot!
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