January 24, 2012

~My Little Grocery Store- It's not Primitive, but it's Provident~

It's not unusual for me to go to the store once a week and drop $130-$160 dollars for groceries ~Eeek. And that's the bare necessities (except for the Dr. Pepper and donut~ Shhh).  I cook dinner every night with the exception of .....well......there is none.  We usually eat lunch out on the weekends.  That leaves me with 7 dinners to plan and prepare.  Let's face it.....it is a lot of food.  
With as expensive as groceries are getting, we have been really trying to be more vigilant about getting some storage built up for a rainy day.  For years I have been trying to figure out how to do this and it is way easier said than done.  But finally, I think I have found something that works for us.  
Once in a while we will go to the store and just "stock up".  By that I mean, buy food that is not on a list or that's needed.  It's just extra.  It all gets put in my pantry (AKA -the grocery store) under the stairs.  I have a white board on the wall in there and every time I take something out of the pantry (almost all my indredients for dinner comes out of there), I put it on the board.  That list becomes my shopping list for the next week.  It is immediately replaced the next shopping trip. Thus my stock pile never dwindles.  It builds up and builds up over the weeks of shopping and replacing.  
I have a section on the white board for things that need extra attention in stocking up.  I buy that item for three weeks in a row whether I need it or not.  Hopefully in a year or so we will have enough for 4-5 months if needed.

~Welcome to my Store~

~Most everything is two or three deep~

~Canned goods and boxes of sealed cans of wheat and beans~

~The white board shopping list~

~My flour and sugar stock needs attention~

~It's not primitive.......but it's provident~
~Thanks for letting me share~

18 comments:

Merry Wind Farm said...

Steph, I am in awe of your pantry and organizational skills! Wow! You sure put all of us to shame! You are such an inspiration, maybe I;ll try and do better!
Melinda

PrimHearted said...

Hi Steph, your pantry looks great and well stocked. This is something I am planning on doing soon. You never know when you might need to have a supply on hand.
Nadine

Green Creek Primitives said...

Hi Steph, Boy love your pantry, what a great idea. Something I need to work on myself. Groceries are getting expensive, it is at least 150.00 a week, and you don't get alot for that amount. Thanks for sharing your idea, really got me to thinking. Vicky

Carmen and the Primcats said...

Your stockpile is great Steph! I'm a couponer and have an extensive stockpile. And all of it was free or close. :) It's always good to have a nice stock pile to go to just incase. :)

Carmen and the Primcats

Sheila said...

I'm impressed Steph! This day and age this is what we all should practice doing, stocking up and having it organized. Never thought of putting a dry erase board in my storage room. Hmm, will have to do that! We have a rather nice sized storage room in the basement but I must confess, 3/4 of it is filled with seasonal decor and a few boxes of things from my kids childhood. The other area is filled with necessities-on my list of things to get done this year though is to move out the other and fill up on the "Provident" items.
TFS,
Sheila

Sandi @ The Primitive Skate said...

Love your stockpile. I have one that needs to be restocked soon. But mine don't look as good and organized as yours. I like the idea with the little white board with the shopping list.

Angela said...

Steph, such a good idea. I have NO storage where I can buy ahead and it really bothers me. I do stock pile cleaning supplies as I can store them in the utility room outside. Things like paper towels, laundry detg. etc. But there is no heat and no cooling there in summer and winter so I have to be limited to what I can store there. Love your pantry. Always good to be prepared for a rainy day.
Angela

Susan At Glen Oaks Primitives said...

Steph, you've got a fantastic pantry stash. And yes,
very organized.
Hugs,
Susan

Deppen homestead 1862 said...

Hi, Steph
Awesome stocking up & so organized~ things that help me saving a little$$ I have the garden & I freeze( don't can much anymore easier to freeze, less time) and of course we have our own beef & my sis raises pigs for her & I~ so that really helps out~ but I would love to have more time to can I love the taste of canned peaches and plums~ and time to coupon( okay I dread couponing I used to do it every Sunday spent hours on it~ ugh gave me headache, giggles)
have a wonderful day
smiles
Teresa

Linda ★ Parker's General said...

I used to coupon but discovered I was buying things we didn't normally eat just to get a bargain. Now we just use the weekly ads--you can get them on-line for most stores. With gas what it is, we have a schedule and a route---don't want to waste money in one place to save it in another. My hubby turned our unused closet (after the kids left home)into a pantry, using an old picnic table and 2 sheets of plywood. It is great, shelves are 4' deep and very sturdy--perfect for our home-canned goods. We can everything we grow. I have my own canned chicken (when breasts were 99 cents a #), roast beef ( the butcher actually cubed up a whole chuck for me!) , sloppy joes( these are awesome!). I make relishes and jams out of anything available---soups out of our vegetables. I freeze packets of peppers and onions for winter use in fajitas or tacos or potatoes O'Brien or even omelets. I stock up on sale items--cream of mushroom soup, sugar, flour, oats, etc. I store my sugar in a big wood sugar bucket, in the bags. I store flour in the freezer, oats in glass jars. I actually enjoy organizing, canning, cooking....... I love what you have done. It takes a lot of planning and work every day. Kudos to you, GF, for your hard work. You should be proud!

Firecracker Kid said...

We do this too Steph. We stock up on non perishable items mostly, just in case. The cost of food is sad these days. I think everyone should do this. Love your pantry :o)
Hugs~Carol

Liz said...

This is a great system! I think about this from time to time, but our tiny apartment doesn't really allow for any stockpiling at the moment...Once we're in a bigger place though, I may just have to adopt this system. Thanks for sharing!

A Primitive Homestead said...

You have a great pantry. I like to keep 2 or 3 of the same items. I like your board to keep inventory. Blessings!
Lara

Angie Berry ~ Berry Homespun Primitives said...

Oh yes, I'm right there with you sister! With 3 kids at home and 2 of them being boys, we spend $500-600 a month on groceries and I am EXTREMELY thrifty, saving us a couple hundred a month on groceries! The one thing that drew me to this house is the large pantry so I take advantage of it! I shop Sam's to buy some things in bulk, they always have the cheapest gallon of milk I've ever came across. But I do coupons and I also shop our near by grocery store with their weekly ad. When I add coupons to their ad prices, I can get things pretty darn cheap and that really does excite me, lol!

You have an awesome system going for you and a separate place to store all your pantry items makes it that much more easier. Love how organized it all is!

Christine said...

How very very organized of you Steph! That's is some grocery store and I have to tell you how much I admire your thriftiness!
Blessings - oh and enjoy the fruits of your labor - you definitely deserve the donut & Dr pepper's!!!lol!
Christine

Tolentreasures said...

Your pantry is very organized. Ours used to be full, not always organized though, now with all the kids gone, we don't have or need as much. Love the look of a full pantry though and you have a great system there!
Cathy

The Barn Hollow said...

Kinda looks like our pantry Steph, guess I am not the only one waiting on the end of the world as my husband suggests, LOL
Hey if it's on sale and better yet, if I have a coupon for it too, ITS MINE!!
Warm Wishes,
Kim

TheCrankyCrow said...

OHHHH....Loving your grocery store Steph!! I so wish we had a pantry. I like having things "on hand" as my mom would say - she could feed an army on little or no notice. Here, I do the battle of the sexes....seems like "they" are missing that gene that says "if you use the last of something, put it on the list so it can be replaced...." Hence why we had eggs & toast rather than grilled cheese sammies and soup (someone forgot to mention they used up all the cheese....) I have pantry envy.... ;o) Smiles & Hugs ~ Robin