When I decided to put together my prepper pantry I literally
had no budget. None. But I knew if I was creative I could figure
something out and I did. The very first
thing I did was go through my current pantry as well as all of my cupboards to
determine what I already had. I found a
few items I had extra and that gave me my start.
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| Every time I grocery shop I grab 4 cans of tuna & 2 chicken |
The first couple of weeks I worked on this using any extra
money I had on hand to buy the things I needed.
If I worked any overtime I used that, if I had extra after paying my
bills or buying our regular groceries I used that. I used up the tail ends of some gift cards I
had in my wallet. When I was done with
all of that I decided to use my Christmas gift card I received last year from
my employer. It was a good amount of
money and I knew if I was really thoughtful and careful with it I would be able
to do a lot with it. Which is exactly
what I did.
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| Gallon bags were on sale buy 1 get 1 free! |
With my larger gift card I did a big shop at Winco and
another one at Cash & Carry. I made
a trip to Dollar Tree too. I was able to
pick up quite a few food items as well as a few nonfood items like laundry
detergent and food bags.
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| The new dehydrator is fabulous! |
I sold some items on eBay and used the proceeds to purchase
a vacuum sealer, rolls of vacuum bag material and a food dehydrater. I used spare change in my wallet to pick up
extra canning jars at a thrift store and some extra cash to buy lids at
Wal-Mart. I also bought a case of 20
Mason jars from Grocery Outlet with part of a gift card.
I gleaned a lot of canning jars and rings, storage boxes and
canisters that I'd stashed out in our garage.
I repurposed some others I already had in the house. I used up the Ziploc bags I had in a drawer
and then bought some more on sale with my gift cards.
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| A trip to Dollar Tree proved very helpful |
Since I began my prepper pantry I've had the opportunity to
work more overtime and I've done that too.
As the balance on my Christmas gift card has dwindled I will do be doing
my best to stretch the remainder of it to its fullest. Then when I get paid next time I will use
that extra money on my paycheck to get something else.
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| Thrift stores are a great place to find jars of all sizes |
As time goes on and I shop with our regular grocery budget I
hope to add more items to my cart too.
Finding items on sale, markdown or clearance and using paper or digital
coupons to stretch those dollars will go a long way as well.
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| These banker boxes I had in the garage are perfect to store vacuum sealed items while protecting them from dust and light |
So far I have made a lot of progress and I know I still have
a ways to go. As long as I keep working
at it I know I can get it done. Have any
of you beefed up your pantry supplies lately?
Yes, I have added to my stores. But, not as well as you have. Those plastic lids are cute, but use a flat, the flat part of a canning lid under the plastic. You did great using glass to store things, but the plastic lid does not have the rubber seal. I bought some of those storage lids but used them only for things stored for a short time in the refrigerator or things I was using that I kept out of the refrigerator--think raisins for use not storage.
ReplyDeleteOne question, how are you using the lunch bags for storage or are those just in that picture?
I am glad you pointed out the protection from light that things do need. I wish I had a vacuum sealer!
The plastic lids are intentional. I don't want my dehydrated foods airtight yet in case there is any residual moisture. The lunch bags hold my dry goods in addition to blocking light.
DeleteI keep a pretty decent store of food at all times, but I have been adding additional protein items to the pantry. So far I have found canned salmon seems to have the longest storage life so it is one of my go to purchases now, and I have several cans of it. Though it is not my favorite, we will eat salmon patties occasionally so I will have no problem rotating it.
ReplyDeleteI find myself stocking much more than I usually would and as I'm seeing stock dwindle and shipments not showing up at the stores I am really glad I did. I was speaking to a manager who said their shipments just don't show and their warehouses haven't been receiving goods.
DeletePicked up Lindsay olives - the black and the natural ones. 8 cans total on clearance yesterday - .50 a can. Expiration date of July 2022. Always on the hunt. Take care.
ReplyDeleteGood job! My daughter will be jealous. She loooooves black olives and Lindsay is her favorite brand.
DeleteHow much of the staples are you stockpiling? How many pounds of rice, etc?
ReplyDeleteThat's a tough one to guage. The amount that I need may not be the same as what you need. I am calculating based on serving sizes a one year supply and going from there. I started out with 6 months worth, increased it to 1 year and once I am there will work on a 2 year supply. Hopefully. :o)
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