Please Help!

thefamousexcuse

Hi all,

Hope your all ok, haven't posted on here for a while and now I need some of your good advice!!

I am currently in the process of moving into my own flat in London. And of course comes with that the responsibility of shopping for myself! Not that I am a complete idiot but knowing me I will do the first big shop and forget countless things which will cost me more money, as once in the supermarket I will buy a whole host of things that I really don't need!:eek:

So hopefully this is where you guys will come in, what things will I need to buy? Bearing in mind when I move into the flat I will have nothing!! So cupboards, fridge and freezer need to be thought of! Any ideas of things that are just good to have in for those "just in case" situations.

Sorry for the really long post!

Loads of lv

FE
xxxx

Kimitatsu

Can I suggest you go and have a look at the Old Style money saving boards? There are lots of threads on there about stocking up your cupboards

Good luck in your new home :T

lynzpower

Where abouts in London are you moving to- us Londoners can point you in the direction of the best places for food shopping

skintbint_2

remember have a box handy for moving with - loo roll, coffee, kettle, soap, hand towel,
and things i didnt think of were when i moved - small sewing kit, scissors, small screwdriver/tool set,

babs2008

Do a few separate shops so you're not overwhelmed...

One for household essentials... cleaning products, toiletries etc
One for store cupbord and frozen goods
Then whenever you need for fresh stuff - like milk, bread, fruit, veg etc..

Don't panic... you'll work out what you need when you need it. There's no point stressing and buying everything 'just in case'.

Lo-Lo

I'd start small and work up your store cupboards over time (especially if you don't have a car!). We have a spice cupboard and a dry ingredients cupboard, then a space for tins and once you have all of those you can always really make a meal. Just off the top of my head the sort of things we have as basics are (and i'll try to point out where the economy supermarket range is fine or if I get it cheaper somewhere else):

Dry cupboard
Pasta
Rice
Cous cous/bulgar wheat/polenta (also called cornmeal - well cheap in tesco world food aisle at the mo)
Stock cubes
Flour
Dried beans/peas
Lentils
Instant mash flakes (this is our 'emergency food' when all other hope is gone!) (economy/value)
Cornflour
Stuffing mix (economy/value)

Tins
Baked beans (economy/value - although there are quite a lot of offers for packs of 4 at the mo)
Kidney beans (economy/value)
Other tinned beans
Tinned fruit
Chopped tomatoes (or passata may be cheaper, check where you are) (economy/value)

Spice cupboard
(we have all our herbs in the garden, so you may need herbs too)
Salt (economy/value)
Pepper
Paprika (all spices usually cheaper buying in bulk in world food aisle, or better yet local Asian supermarket normally cheaper)
Coriander
Nutmeg
Cumin
(we have TONNES more than this, but it depends on how much you cook!)

Other essentials
oil
soy sauce
table sauces
bread

Fridge
Fresh fruit, salad and veg (local market - potatoes, onions and garlic are also a must, but do not need to be stored in the fridge, same with most fruit obviously)
eggs (local butcher/Iceland)
milk (iceland/poundland)
cheese
juice

Freezer
- we don't really use apart from for 'emergency food' like the odd pizza or burger and for freezing excess veg (our market does £1 a bowl and sometimes you get absolutely loads!) and for freezing any cheapy pick ups from tesco's reduced section - so usually cheap bread (buy it when it gets under 30p!) and perhaps so reduced meat/ready meals if they go really cheap. We also freeze fish if we're not going to eat it that day.

And don't forget
teabags
coffee
sugar
milk!!

And you can get by without most cleaning stuff (initially, or forever!) so long as you have washing up liquid, bog roll, soap, shampoo/conditioner and toothpaste!!

Then it's all up to your taste! This is just an example of how we survive, if you're like me you'll find you end up having enough food to feed an army at any given time, even though it may sometimes take a bit of lateral thinking! Of course if you need to make daily packed lunches for work etc. then you will probably need slightly different things - I have a microwave in the office so make extra for tea and take leftovers to heat up.

Happy to give meal suggestions and stuff if any of these ingredients confuse! Hope that helps a bit.

EDIT - just remembered to put the main point in lol! SUPERMARKET REDUCED SECTION! Figure out when your local's time is and go then. Our tesco is usually about 8.30/9pm on weekdays and about 3.30pm on a Sunday. We stock up with allsorts, bread, meat, fish, cheese, snacky foods like pies, ready meals, muffins, crumpets and loads of fruit and veg. Basically, apart from veg and cheese, we can do without all of these things so we only buy them when they're dirt cheap. I reckon our shopping bill for two (and three cats) is about £50-75 a month - and we've started splashing out on more treats in recent months!

andreavinne

Lo-Lo wrote: »

I'd start small and work up your store cupboards over time (especially if you don't have a car!). We have a spice cupboard and a dry ingredients cupboard, then a space for tins and once you have all of those you can always really make a meal. Just off the top of my head the sort of things we have as basics are (and i'll try to point out where the economy supermarket range is fine or if I get it cheaper somewhere else):

Dry cupboard
Pasta
Rice
Cous cous/bulgar wheat/polenta (also called cornmeal - well cheap in tesco world food aisle at the mo)
Stock cubes
Flour
Dried beans/peas
Lentils
Instant mash flakes (this is our 'emergency food' when all other hope is gone!) (economy/value)
Cornflour
Stuffing mix (economy/value)

Tins
Baked beans (economy/value - although there are quite a lot of offers for packs of 4 at the mo)
Kidney beans (economy/value)
Other tinned beans
Tinned fruit
Chopped tomatoes (or passata may be cheaper, check where you are) (economy/value)

Spice cupboard
(we have all our herbs in the garden, so you may need herbs too)
Salt (economy/value)
Pepper
Paprika (all spices usually cheaper buying in bulk in world food aisle, or better yet local Asian supermarket normally cheaper)
Coriander
Nutmeg
Cumin
(we have TONNES more than this, but it depends on how much you cook!)

Other essentials
oil
soy sauce
table sauces
bread

Fridge
Fresh fruit, salad and veg (local market - potatoes, onions and garlic are also a must, but do not need to be stored in the fridge, same with most fruit obviously)
eggs (local butcher/Iceland)
milk (iceland/poundland)
cheese
juice

Freezer
- we don't really use apart from for 'emergency food' like the odd pizza or burger and for freezing excess veg (our market does £1 a bowl and sometimes you get absolutely loads!) and for freezing any cheapy pick ups from tesco's reduced section - so usually cheap bread (buy it when it gets under 30p!) and perhaps so reduced meat/ready meals if they go really cheap. We also freeze fish if we're not going to eat it that day.

And don't forget
teabags
coffee
sugar
milk!!

And you can get by without most cleaning stuff (initially, or forever!) so long as you have washing up liquid, bog roll, soap, shampoo/conditioner and toothpaste!!

Then it's all up to your taste! This is just an example of how we survive, if you're like me you'll find you end up having enough food to feed an army at any given time, even though it may sometimes take a bit of lateral thinking! Of course if you need to make daily packed lunches for work etc. then you will probably need slightly different things - I have a microwave in the office so make extra for tea and take leftovers to heat up.

Happy to give meal suggestions and stuff if any of these ingredients confuse! Hope that helps a bit.

EDIT - just remembered to put the main point in lol! SUPERMARKET REDUCED SECTION! Figure out when your local's time is and go then. Our tesco is usually about 8.30/9pm on weekdays and about 3.30pm on a Sunday. We stock up with allsorts, bread, meat, fish, cheese, snacky foods like pies, ready meals, muffins, crumpets and loads of fruit and veg. Basically, apart from veg and cheese, we can do without all of these things so we only buy them when they're dirt cheap. I reckon our shopping bill for two (and three cats) is about £50-75 a month - and we've started splashing out on more treats in recent months!

:T:T
abslolutely love your post, it is as if i have written it myself. you are my kind of person

jenniewb

My advice? keep a diary every day for 2 weeks (or as long as you have), see what you actually use and need on a regular basis. Its all well and good thinking "I need pepper" when infact you never use it. Make sure your list is one which suits your tastes rather then the general idea of a kitchen cupboard.

Having said that, things like Cup-A-Soups are handy for the times when you realise you are all out of food!

Lo-Lo

andreavinne wrote: »

:T:T
abslolutely love your post, it is as if i have written it myself. you are my kind of person

Cheers duder! Glad to find I'm not the only person who has the concept of 'emergency food' - most of my mates look at me like I'm nuts when I say that!!! lol

Very kind comments though, very much appreciated.

itsallinthemind

jenniewb wrote: »

My advice? keep a diary every day for 2 weeks (or as long as you have), see what you actually use and need on a regular basis. Its all well and good thinking "I need pepper" when infact you never use it. Make sure your list is one which suits your tastes rather then the general idea of a kitchen cupboard.

Having said that, things like Cup-A-Soups are handy for the times when you realise you are all out of food!

If your not a big cook, I'd go with this too. I did the big list when I first left home, having grand ideas and most went out of date

Maybe write a 2 week meal plan, based on supermarket offers online, pay £3 delivery charge(£10 off £50 new tesco customers) and get it delivered after you move, along with things like bin bags, toilet rolls, washing up liquid etc

Pick a few instant meals for the first couple of nights