Store cupboard challenge

Soworried

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4798135

This challenge could help you.

abby1234519

jennyo wrote: »

I think you are right, it is a comfort/security thing, when we were short o money I always felt more satisfied and settled when there was loads of food in. It took a long time of not having money issues before it went away.
I take soup in a flask in winter for lunch as I work outside, I use a Stanley food flask bought from Aldi.
Food stays piping hot for 4 hrs if I do the following, and I would say eatable hot for 6. Fill the flask with boiling water, put the lid on. Heat the soup in a pan until it's bubbling, it doesn't get hot enough in the micro. Working quickly tip the water out, pour in the soup, the slower you are more heat lost, always fill to the top. I also find they stay hotter if kept upright.

I feel better knowing it isn't just me! I really do need to start eating it all, there will be stuff in the freezer that either will need eating or throwing away when I get to it. I'll check everything for freezer burn but I don't know what is in the chest freezer beyond the top layers of recent stuff!!!!

I have a stanley flask thats it. The portly one! I did fill it with boiling water think I may have microwaved the soup. I don't know how long to leave the water in for and also never really know how long to eat the soup up for. It can be bubbling but then maybe not hot enough. Its okay when heating it to eat it at home because you don't want it scalding anyway. I'm thinking of making a vegetable broth again that isn't as thick as the carrot and lentil soup. I'll see whether that stays hotter for longer. Its annoying that I don't have access to a toaster and a microwave at work. It would be really handy.

117pauline wrote: »

- honestly list everything you have and keep it with you as you shop. Update it each time you take something out. If you have the list with you then you will see you already have that in stock

- if you find it too difficult to menu plan for a week or month, start small and plan just a couple of days in advance. This way you gain confidence and see how easy it can be

- sort out your freezers and cupboards so it is easy to see what you have and their best before dates etc (though I pay little attention to them)

- I prepare most meals two days in advance because I am not always well enough to cook each day. Then if I have a bad day, we can still eat without resorting to takeaway

The list thing is a good idea, however last time I did the list it covered 4 a4 pages. So I think I will try to not buy anything apart from the essentials (milk) etc untill I have eaten almost everything.. and THEN make a list. I literally have everything I could ever need, crumble mix/suet/flour/rice/pasta/spaghetti/almond flour/coconut flour/batter mix/custard powder/oats/oat bran/every spice and herb possible. In freezer we have frozen cooked turkey, sausages, chicken, pepperoni/salami for pizzas/frozen cooked chickpeas. Honestly I have everything. EVERYTHING.

I even have 5kg of dates....not only do I make larabars with that I can also make plenty of sticky toffee pudding..I've got 30 cartons of passatta, jars and jars of coriander seeds!!

Costco is my lifesaver and also downfall technically.

I think I will go for the 2 or 3 days preparing ahead. I am too tired at weekends to do a whole week but my other half doesn't mind having the same meal twice in a row. So if I did a mince base I could then do lasagne, bolog,chili over a few days. I just want my freezers to be clear so I can then go back to when I used to make a load of pizza dough and freeze it. or cook a load of mince bases and freeze it

craigywv

abby1234519 wrote: »

I feel better knowing it isn't just me! I really do need to start eating it all, there will be stuff in the freezer that either will need eating or throwing away when I get to it. I'll check everything for freezer burn but I don't know what is in the chest freezer beyond the top layers of recent stuff!!!!

I have a stanley flask thats it. The portly one! I did fill it with boiling water think I may have microwaved the soup. I don't know how long to leave the water in for and also never really know how long to eat the soup up for. It can be bubbling but then maybe not hot enough. Its okay when heating it to eat it at home because you don't want it scalding anyway. I'm thinking of making a vegetable broth again that isn't as thick as the carrot and lentil soup. I'll see whether that stays hotter for longer. Its annoying that I don't have access to a toaster and a microwave at work. It would be really handy.



The list thing is a good idea, however last time I did the list it covered 4 a4 pages. So I think I will try to not buy anything apart from the essentials (milk) etc untill I have eaten almost everything.. and THEN make a list. I literally have everything I could ever need, crumble mix/suet/flour/rice/pasta/spaghetti/almond flour/coconut flour/batter mix/custard powder/oats/oat bran/every spice and herb possible. In freezer we have frozen cooked turkey, sausages, chicken, pepperoni/salami for pizzas/frozen cooked chickpeas. Honestly I have everything. EVERYTHING.

I even have 5kg of dates....not only do I make larabars with that I can also make plenty of sticky toffee pudding..I've got 30 cartons of passatta, jars and jars of coriander seeds!!

Costco is my lifesaver and also downfall technically.

I think I will go for the 2 or 3 days preparing ahead. I am too tired at weekends to do a whole week but my other half doesn't mind having the same meal twice in a row. So if I did a mince base I could then do lasagne, bolog,chili over a few days. I just want my freezers to be clear so I can then go back to when I used to make a load of pizza dough and freeze it. or cook a load of mince bases and freeze it[/QU
hi, a few years ago a place I worked in had a kettle and a small fridge well sorry but that's just not good enough ,on my 2nd day working there I brought in my 5 quid sandwich maker for myself..................drooling co workers, on second day 5 quid toaster from tescos also made an appearance yet more drooling from co workers, after first week my appliances had paid for themselves.this went on for a few weeks till I refused to bring them in. entered workplace on the Monday boss had bought both items and a microwave and they still there. sometimes pushing a point across works mine was I don't have 5-8 quid a day for lunches /coffee . on subject of loads of food come to my place if u think your a food hoarder!!!!I specialise in hoarding EVERYTHING edible, can also do toiletries at a push! lol u will be fine better than having nothing in the cupboards.

Pitlanepiglet

Having full cupboards and freezers isn't a problem per se, it's not having a decent stock rotation system and continuing to buy that is the problem.

I know that I need the comfort of having food in the house, I'm a hoarder by nature and I've got so much better with everything else but there have been times when money has dried up and I've been really grateful for my store cupboard and freezers.

I guess I'm saying that if you feel happier with full cupboards and freezers then it's OK to have them but you need to get in the habit of cooking from what you have rather than going shopping all the time.

I shop about once every six weeks so have pretty big stocks to cover that, I like to keep a shop in hand in case they don't have what I want, but I do use things and I make an effort to eat through the freezer regularly.

I'm also a Costco fan

peachyprice

abby1234519 wrote: »

The list thing is a good idea, however last time I did the list it covered 4 a4 pages. So I think I will try to not buy anything apart from the essentials (milk) etc untill I have eaten almost everything.. and THEN make a list. I literally have everything I could ever need, crumble mix/suet/flour/rice/pasta/spaghetti/almond flour/coconut flour/batter mix/custard powder/oats/oat bran/every spice and herb possible. In freezer we have frozen cooked turkey, sausages, chicken, pepperoni/salami for pizzas/frozen cooked chickpeas. Honestly I have everything. EVERYTHING.

Rather than listing all the ' ingredient' type stuff you have in the cupboards how about just listing the meat and main meal
type stuff in the freezer.

So have a list on the fridge with the amount of chicken/mince/sausages/ etc., you have and start to think of ways to use that up. In doing so all the other stuff should gradually reduce as you use up the main ingredients, and it won't look quite so daunting written down.

This is what I do when I need to empty the freezer before christmas.

Linda32

Yes Peachyprice has the right idea. You need to look at the main items. It will help to break it down into manageable portions.


If you think about it (and I understand that you haven't as its overwhelming but you can't really sit down to a meal of thyme and parsley so you can discount all your herbs/spices/flour/custard etc)


This way you will have a much shorter list (which doesn't mean you have to buy any more btw )


See, from the list quoted in Peachyprice's thread above you only have 5 things to deal with. If you look at it like that it becomes easier to manage.


HTH

abby1234519

peachyprice wrote: »

Rather than listing all the ' ingredient' type stuff you have in the cupboards how about just listing the meat and main meal
type stuff in the freezer.

So have a list on the fridge with the amount of chicken/mince/sausages/ etc., you have and start to think of ways to use that up. In doing so all the other stuff should gradually reduce as you use up the main ingredients, and it won't look quite so daunting written down.

This is what I do when I need to empty the freezer before christmas.

That is a good idea. My other half thinks I should just take out the meat, ie whatever is at the top and then the challenge is to make a meal out of it. Problem for me is learning to be varied. I tried making polenta once and he absolutely hated but then I discovered it makes a good coating for fish. Except it keeps going soggy when I want it crispy!

Pitlanepiglet wrote: »

Having full cupboards and freezers isn't a problem per se, it's not having a decent stock rotation system and continuing to buy that is the problem.

I know that I need the comfort of having food in the house, I'm a hoarder by nature and I've got so much better with everything else but there have been times when money has dried up and I've been really grateful for my store cupboard and freezers.

I guess I'm saying that if you feel happier with full cupboards and freezers then it's OK to have them but you need to get in the habit of cooking from what you have rather than going shopping all the time.

I shop about once every six weeks so have pretty big stocks to cover that, I like to keep a shop in hand in case they don't have what I want, but I do use things and I make an effort to eat through the freezer regularly.

I'm also a Costco fan

I don't rotate stock.....its awful.

I know the top shelf of the larder cupboard has the tinned stuff, there is shredded coconut, erm mushy peas (WHY?!?!? I don't even eat them!!!!) then tinned pineapple (same again) and lots of ketchup, tinned tomatoes, lots and lots of tinned sweetcorn, two tins of raspberries...list goes on.

Then the next shelf down has about 30 packets of crumble mixture, green tea which I don't drink, erm 3 boxes of powdered coconut milk etc

The next shelf has so much rice I could feed a small country

The next shelf has 5 packets of cooked beetroot....we don't like beetroot. Then 4 kg of custard powder,5kg oat bran, 10kg oats and then lots and lots of yorkshire pudding mix.

We went to costco two weeks ago and I was very well behaved. I bought bags of cheese because we do use that, Oh has it in sandwiches and its pretty easy to freeze. Laundry powder (which lasts me about 2 years) but I didn't buy any food apart from the cheese. I just wrote down all the prices!

abby1234519

hi, a few years ago a place I worked in had a kettle and a small fridge well sorry but that's just not good enough ,on my 2nd day working there I brought in my 5 quid sandwich maker for myself..................drooling co workers, on second day 5 quid toaster from tescos also made an appearance yet more drooling from co workers, after first week my appliances had paid for themselves.this went on for a few weeks till I refused to bring them in. entered workplace on the Monday boss had bought both items and a microwave and they still there. sometimes pushing a point across works mine was I don't have 5-8 quid a day for lunches /coffee . on subject of loads of food come to my place if u think your a food hoarder!!!!I specialise in hoarding EVERYTHING edible, can also do toiletries at a push! lol u will be fine better than having nothing in the cupboards.[/QUOTE]

Well I am considering proposing that if I pay for the microwave AND clean it every day can I have one upstairs!! It costs 70pence for soup, I think I can make it for about 20pence or less a portion. Will take a few months but eventually I'd be saving money. I don't think they would allow a toaster. We have boiling water so I can't see why I can't have a microwave.

youngmummy

is this thread still running or is there a new one ? ty

barneydee_2

Good to see this challenge back, I'm making it my mission to use up what I have got , my cupboards are fit to burst so is my fridge & freezer, I agree with what others have said I think it is a comfort & safety net, you no if money is tight you can always through something together well I must do an inventory & a meal plane
Dee x