[princesslorie]

Originally Posted by justfluffyme

veggie tip- this isn't really stockpile, but it'll stretch your budget:

Get a gallon ziplock bag, after every meal, put left over veggies in the bag, even if it's 3 green beans, just do it! When the bag in the freezer is full, make a stew! You already have all the veggies you need, and depending on what's in your fridge, could be a beef, pork, or chicken stew. Those veggies your kids don't won't eat will not be wasted in the trash!

What a great idea! I had never even thought of that before...thanks for the tip! I love to eat homemade soup on cold winter days!

[mmgrrl]

Great tips! Lynda1811, I was a trucker's wife too--whew! You gotta be tough.

[Jenn'sCup]

We have no grocery store around here that doubles or anything like that. I haven't been able to stock pile any food items for free or super cheap like you all, although that would be awsome. I was just telling my sister that if I could get groceries as cheap as I get shampoo, razors, etc that I would be doing great!

[ilovecouponstoo]

Originally Posted by justfluffyme

veggie tip- this isn't really stockpile, but it'll stretch your budget:

Get a gallon ziplock bag, after every meal, put left over veggies in the bag, even if it's 3 green beans, just do it! When the bag in the freezer is full, make a stew! You already have all the veggies you need, and depending on what's in your fridge, could be a beef, pork, or chicken stew. Those veggies your kids don't/won't eat will not be wasted in the trash! Especially good to freeze for stew.

My grandma used to tell me to save a little bit of everything so that you could make a salad with it. LOL Of course she was around in the great depression so I guess she had a lot of tricks to stretch things!!!

I guess the way that I see stockpiling is to take advantage of what is free or nearly free and stock up on that item at that time. I have only been doing this for about 3 months but I have bunches of frozen veggies and side dishes. Hopefully I won't need to buy them again until I can get them free again. I guess the old timers could help me on this one but I am guessing that this all goes in cycles.

I love coupons!!!! It is amazing how much I save every day and the best part is that I get to go shopping!!! I love shopping and now I love it even more when I only pay like $2 every time!!!!

[ilovecouponstoo]

Oh and does anyone have a vacuum sealer. I bet it would be worth it if you want to stockpile things like oats, rice, etc. that go bad easier. I have one but I haven't used it in a while. I used to love it!!! I think I will get it out!!!

[justfluffyme]

Originally Posted by ilovecouponstoo

Oh and does anyone have a vacuum sealer. I bet it would be worth it if you want to stockpile things like oats, rice, etc. that go bad easier. I have one but I haven't used it in a while. I used to love it!!! I think I will get it out!!!

I've had one for years! I LOVE IT! I'm single , and like to cook. This makes life easier, I can cook something that cooks for 4-6 and seal up the left overs in single serving packages. When I'm ready to have that again, I just toss the bag in a boiling pot of water, tastes like seconds and not like leftovers. If you're taking a frozen sealed bag to work, you just snip off a corner to vent, and heat.

[justfluffyme]

If you're going to buy a vacuum sealer, make sure to get one with a canning attatchment. I have put my oats, rice, and other stuff in jars and sealed them. Keeps them as fresh as canning. It looks nice in the cabinets, too!

[tifdblpn]

If you're going to be buying up foods bags of beans (all kinds) and rice are great. Also cans of salmon, tuna and sardines are great and last for a long time. Canned veggies are good and last for a long time except canned potatoes.....They crumble up and are not good. Sauerkraut lasts for a long time too. Also canned fruits last for a while. Also I like to make sure we have salt, pepper and some spices up too. Canned olives have a long shelf life, but really lots of rice and beans and whatever you have canned or are canning.
You might want to have toilet paper, soap, shampoo, toothpaste and toothbrushes, too. Also have some tylenol on hand for fevers and peroxide, alcohol and neosporin. Always going to have cuts that need to be taken care of.
Also sunscreen, chapstick/vaseline, aloe, pads/tampons....all good things to have on hand. Oh....make sure you have a manual can opener and matches.
Hope this helps!!

[momkjchs]

I LOVE the gallon ziplock idea. I am definitely using that!

[monkeymom]

Originally Posted by lifeworthliving

Honestly there isn't anything I don't stockpile for one reason or another. But, what I have been working on for awhile now is food that will not expire soon. Can goods, pasta, rice, sugar, coffee and dog food. If something was to happen to my job at least Jake and I could eat for some time to come. Unemployment does not go far. I have the good smelling stuff, shaving stuff, hair stuff.

I might end up unemployed but I will have smooth legs, nice hair, well fed dog and sweet smelling home!

omg you made me laugh so hard with your smooth legs..i almost pee'd

i stockpile cereals and other foods with long shelf life and of course paper goods, school supplies ( which i need more of) soaps, laundry stuff, smelly goods, toilet paper,the normal health and beauty stuff we usually need. i have razors to last me and my dd at least a year plus.. enough shampoo after the pert and garnier deal to last the 3 of us at least a year ( i think) just what ever i can get FREE or cheap i get. hehe

[foggy]

Originally Posted by ilovecouponstoo

Oh and does anyone have a vacuum sealer. I bet it would be worth it if you want to stockpile things like oats, rice, etc. that go bad easier. I have one but I haven't used it in a while. I used to love it!!! I think I will get it out!!!

I love my FoodSaver! I have the two different canning jar attachments for it as well as some of the storage bowls and love that thing!!

Originally Posted by homefortheirhearts

We are a family of 8 and I stock pile anything that we might consume that has a long shelf life. I pack things in the free icing buckets I get from my grocery deli and canning jars to help keep the critters out and extend the shelf life. Also, don't forget to stock up on feminine products! I have enough for 2 years if we are conservative. Kotex is running a lot of coupons lately so that has helped.
I also can things. I even did butter this fall which has turned out great. I'm just waiting on a good deal to can a few more pounds.
Rotation is the key, use the oldest dates first. This requires shelves, space and organization. ">

We use the buckets to store things in as well as canning jars too. I also can, have made butter, etc. Like you said.... rotation is the key and also making sure you write the date on the items. I write the date I buy it on the cereal boxes, etc.

[CHERYLOHIO]

i also stockpile anything i get my hands on...plus i can anything i can in the summer months...really we could go all winter only buying perishables...but NAWWW!! I would be bored too death hehhhheeee.

[elena_398]

I was so excited last night- my stockpiling has turned into a business... I guess..

2 couples came over to my house last night. The wives were hearing all about my stockpiling from their husbands (my husband was telling them about my deals at work ).

Anyway, they asked if they could check it out.

Well, both wanted to buy stuff off of me (I sold it to them pretty cheap as I didn't want to tell them I got most of everything free or next to nothing.)

One couple bought $45 worth.
The other bought $18 worth.

This is great as my husband's hours were cut at work so off to pay a bill. . They even asked if they run out could they come back to me for stuff.

[acroporalover]

As for the Foodsaver-a complete lifesaver. I highly recommend it. In my stores, the larger family size packs of meat are cheaper then the smaller packs. I buy the big packs and split them apart. I also make multiple meals and food save them. I have the wide one and I can actually fit some of my pyrex right in the bag, like baked ziti and such. When I am ready, I just cut the bag off and cook it like I regularly do. Liquids have to be frozen first-just a reminder.

I have been stock piling since I started with afc. My husband was laid off for three months at the beginning of last year when we had my daughter. He was laid off again in November and still is not back to work. Istockpile whatever I can. That is the major part of our budget shopping. I also will not buy anything unless it is onsale and 95% of the time I have to have a coupon also. If I know there is a coupon out there-I will find it.

My super market just had pasta .54 a box this week. No coupon but the lowest it will go. Next week, the ragu we use will be on sale for $1.14. I just ordered 40 $75/2 coupons which will double. I will cost me $31.80 for 80 jars of Ragu sauce, and the final cost of the meal will be soemwhere around $.93 and feed my kids for two days. I know extreme but so worth it for us.

We stock up on cereal and tons of canned goods. My store also has what is called a can-can sale, where alot of cans are on sale cheap. I just bought 80 cans of chicken broth but they don't expire until 11/10. I am contemplating buying more. They are on sale 5/$2. I use these in vegetable soup. I just put the broth and a bag of frozen veggies. Some onion to taste and you have a yummy vegetable soup. Cereal is also a must. I get the fruity cheerios as snacks for the kids, they love them, and I use the other kinds for there morning cereal.

Soaps, shampoo, and paper products are a must. I refuse to pay full price for any of them. It actually makes me sick thinking how much I spent all those years.

Basically, once you have a good stash, you should only have to buy perishables. Anything else could be stockpiled to what your family uses in that time. I always check the exp dates in the stor and pick out the farthest ones. Dates can be as differant as a few months from case to case.

Good luck!!!

[kberide]

It sounds like everyones on the same page. I've had the same idea of stockpiling for hard times. When I'm able, I buy cases of canned veggies from Save-A-Lot. Make sure you have your basics, which is different for each family. You DEFINITELY want lots of TP! Soaps and cleaners-keep forever. There's free toothpaste right now, also. Have lots of Protein on hand-PB, all kinds of beans, even re-fried beans, tuna. Have a list of your favorite veggies(canned not frozen). Pasta and rice mixes can make a meal with addition of meat. They can be stored in large tin cans or rubbermaid containers if you don't have a freezer. I'm trying to avoid the freezer in case there's no electricity. Have lots of canned fruit also, to cover the Vitamin C. I'm buying up bottled juice, instead of frozen or fresh for long term storage. We've even invested in some iron cookware, thinking maybe we may need to cook with our wood stove. It's terrible that we even have to think like this. We've always been blessed, but DH pay is half now, time to live like G'parents again.
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without"

[snoopywoman]

As far as getting a freezer goes - I would highly recommend it. We've had an upright freezer for about 8 years now and it has been a life-saver. I have about 20 loaves of bread in it and lots of meat that I bought BOGO. Tons of other things as well.

My dad worked for an electric company and for a long while he would do "energy audits" on people's homes. He said that most people think that a chest freezer is more energy-efficient because that is usually what those tags say. HOWEVER, because of how most people USE chest freezers - they aren't. Since you have to have them open often for long periods of time in order to find what you are looking for - it wastes a lot of energy that way. The uprights are designed so you can usually find what you are looking for in a relatively short period of time.

We love our upright freezer! I'm not saying that I haven't stood there trying to find something I was sure was in it (it is PACKED full) - but it is a lot easier to locate stuff.

I use cereal past the expiration as well. Chips too. They may not be as crisp - but I haven't noticed a HUGE difference for the most part.

I'm donating several small containers of peanut butter to our school next week - they have a program to send food home with kids for the weekend. It is for kids who otherwise might not eat during the weekend - I'm not sure how they know which kids to help, but they have about 30 kids that get "backpacks" full of food each Friday. I have about 20 containers of peanut butter that are set to expire in June - and I figured we probably won't go through that many. I have about 15 more that expire in August and I'm planning on getting some this week at Walgreen's as well - since they are a very good deal. I got most of the peanut butter for 50 cents a jar or less - so I figure donating 8 or 9 would help and not cost me a tremendous amount in the long run.

That's another great thing about couponing - sometimes you can share the wealth!

[NCmom]

Originally Posted by grace.maddie

maybe i am an odd one, but instead of stocking up on what we eat, we stock up and anything and everything thats free or dirt cheap and build our meals around that. we have been turned on to a lot of diffrent foods b/c we got paid to take them. i mean we are STILL eating enchiladas from the great target "market pantry mexican" q and that was like 2006

That is what we do also!! I do draw the line at things that are just bad for us like sugar cereal, totinos pizza rolls, poptarts, etc. But everything else I will get and figure out a way to use.

[elena_398]

My deep freezer is a god send. I have over 50 Green Giant Steamer vegs in there besides meat, etc. My husband couldn't believe I got them for free.

[whoojaflikit]

I have really just started stockpiling. Hubby and I just a few weeks ago finished constructing our back "storage" room. (We bought the house about a year and a half ago and re dry walled it and redid the flooring.) When we moved in there was left from the previous owners a LARGE shelving unit. It is about half full right now. We also bought a medium sized deep freeze.

My plan is to go on a huge shopping trip at the beginning of the month and buy canned/boxed/frozen items. Every single item I have on my shopping list I have a coupon for. My store doubles up to 99 cents. We just started getting food stamps and a part of my plan is to use them on that first shopping trip. With the coupons and store deals we should do really well and then during the rest of the month we will just have to get things like milk, bread and eggs.

[joshmamabear]

if you're stockpiling cold cereals, make sure to take note of expiration dates and arrange them so that the ones nearly expiring are used first. I put the ones to be used first at eye level since that is the one they most likely grab at the time of need.

if I don't do that, DH and the kids just grab w/o checking the dates. my basic rule for perishables is FIFO (first in, first out)

[snoopywoman]

joshmamabear - that is what I do too! Although usually I put out the ones that are going to expire soonest - and then put the rest away in totes so that no one even has the opportunity to choose those!

[justfluffyme]

stockpiling stock? pour it out into ice cube trays, freeze, and put into freezer bags. Still easy to toss into soups. You could always measure out Tablespoons per cube, for exact measurement.

[Alexdur85]

My mom gave me her foodsaver thing!!

I can't wait to start using it!

[justfluffyme]

Originally Posted by Alexdur85

My mom gave me her foodsaver thing!!

I can't wait to start using it!

You'll so love it! Just remember, NO liquids in the bags, and if it's squishy freeze it first. (lasagna is squishy, in example). Freeze liquids in ice cube tays, and then seal.

[mmgrrl]

When my husband lost his job a couple of years ago, I would buy up all the cheap milk (sometimes marked as low as 40 cents a half gallon!) and freeze it. Fat free works the best, then just thaw it completely and mix in a little half and half or even cream and its great to cook with and if you mix it THOUOUGHLY its even good to drink! I found that if it's in the deep freeze longer than a year though-it gets yucky. But, my local king soopers often has marked down milk and its a great trick!