.JPG)
Stocking up for Winter can mean different things for different people. If you live in a very cold and snowy area, its serious business for you! If you live in a more moderate weather area, you might not even consider it.
There are two things that have reminded me that I need to get more serious about stocking up for our winter. First of all, Coleen left a comment on a previous post asking if I was planning to stock up for winter. Here and here are some posts from last year showing my winter stock up.
Secondly, this past weekend our time returned to standard time and I realized that when I get off work in the afternoon, its nearly dark, especially if its a cloudy, rainy or snowy day! I definitely don't want to have to worry about running to a grocery store in those conditions. I need to go straight home.
I already have a good start as you can see from this picture. My little "pie safe" is full. It definitely needs to be organized and some of these cans were purchased for my Church's food pantry. I'm sorry to say I forgot to take them for the past two Sundays.
I have already stocked up on lots of canned items, such as beans, corn, green beans, tomato products, spaghetti sauce, soups, rice, pasta and peanut butter. There have been unbeatable deals on canned items recently and we bought lots. This is the most economical way to stock your pantry. Only buy what's on sale and when its on sale, buy several.
My plan for this week is to organize the pie safe and figure out how many more of the items I've already bought that I need more of.
Also, what would I want to have on hand if we were snowed in or just had some bad weather, such as a Nor'easter? Snow is not too common here, but when it comes, trust me, you do not want to be in a North Carolina grocery store when its supposed to snow or if we are having a hurricane!
So with that being said, I would want to have a couple of gallons of milk and a couple of loaves of bread in the freezer. We would like to have some of our favorite canned foods and some snacks. I would want to make sure we aren't ever close to running out of something we really need or want, such as coffee, creamer, medications, gas in the car, etc. There are also those emergency items, such as bottled water, batteries, candles, matches and a hand held can opener.
Putting this post on paper (well on the computer screen) has helped me to start thinking about these things and to get them done. I hope you have been motivated a little too! Stocking up for winter, or any season, is a great way to save money, stress and time in the kitchen!
For more kitchen tips, please visit Tammy's Recipes!
13 comments:
Good ideas.
In the case of inclement weather, you don't want to be in a South Carolina store either...:-) It is crazy!
We haven't lost power in the 4 years we've lived here, so this is a good reminder to be prepared just in case. I often forget it could happen.
I was to Sam's Club this weekend and was able to stock up on some canned goods. For us, having some food that doesn't need to be cooked or heated would be wise to have on hand.
Great tips, Debbie.
With living in the upper midwest, stocking up is essential for me! Once the snow starts to fall around here I am going to either clean milk jugs or get a couple of jugs of water to have on hand for the just in case a water pipe breaks and the water gets shut off for several hours!
My pantry is stocked year around but the winter months I make sure that I have a few more things where I can do meals out of cans if necessary.
Good planning, Debbie. Your pie safe looks good. Thank you for reminding me (from your earlier post) to freeze my flour for a few days when I get it home. Those little critters are no fun.
Marjorie
There is something about the weather turning cold and the days getting darker that makes me want to stock up too.
After hurrican Floyd, I told my husband I never wanted to NOT have a surplass on hand. I'm like you. I buy the sales and as many as the limit is. That way you can stay ahead.
Leave it to you, Debbie, to put good ideas into my head! I totally agree I do NOT want to have to go to the grocery in the snow and ice...let alone in the dark! I think I'll make it a point to do an inventory of what I have on hand, what recipes we really like, and stock up accordingly. Smart lady, you are.
Full disclosure, though--3 of my kids work at the grocery store. Worse comes to worse, I can make a phone call and say, "bring home milk," LOL!
I saw your post via Tammy's Tuesday tips and couldn't pass it up. We live in Alaska so stocking up for Winter is imperative. We had our first snow of the season back in September (28th to be exact) and have had snow on the ground every since. Our days haven't gotten too cold yet, we have been staying around 10 so far. We heat with a wood stove during the winter so we can still cook if the electricity goes out. Right now I think we have about 20 cases of canned fruit (8 cans per case), powdered milk, 150#wheat berries (hard and soft), 15# white sugar, 50# raw sugar, 1 gallon honey, 10 # white flour,8 cases-corn & 12-cases green beans (12 per case), 80# spaghetti, 24# macaroni, 5# dried apples, 5# dried bananas, and 5# dried cranberries. We also have numerous 1 gallon bags of wild blueberries. Our winters are long (7 to 8) months so as you can see we have to really stock up in order to avoid driving to town which is an hour away! We have three boys between the ages of 9 and 14 so you can also see how our food disappears so quickly!!
Peggy in Alaska
Here in MN the winters can be harsh but w/a full pantry it is comforting to know that things are at hand.
I just ran into your blog and I love it, I am also from eastern North Carolina Goldsboro to be excat, that is 1 hour away from Raleigh I love the good old carolinas, stop by and visit with me sometime at my blog organizedhomemakingforchrist.blogspot.com.
Hi Debbie,
My winner and I finally connected... I have her tote bag ready to go to the post office this morning...
I know she is going to love her bag!
It's definitely time to stock up, Debbie. I love your pie safe. You are right when you say it's not fun to be going out in the bad weather for necessary staples. Better to be a little prepared!
I love the looks of that full pantry! I hope to get busy and restock ours this month.
Post a Comment