Who doesn't have a stock cupboard

System

I havent got much of a stock cupboard but then again, i dont want one either. If i run out of something urgently i can always pop into my local shop which is really handy because its so close but i'm pretty good at writing lists and sticking to them.

marleyboy

My Brother lives on his own, I visit every weekend and he has no stock cupboard.

Just last weekend his fridge had a 4 pint of Milk in it, his cupboard has half a bag of sugar a small jar of coffee and some tea bags. THAT'S IT!

This is not a one off scenario, its the same every week I visit, except for the very rare occasion he has a mars\snickers 4 pack in the cupboard.

Were I not to pop round with the occasional frozen leftover meals I take, I am convinced he would starve to death. It is not that he cannot afford to top up his cupboards, he just cannot be bothered to go to the shops unless he has ran out of milk.

Rainy-Days

I cannot understand people who live almost from one day to the next and running to the local shop when they run out of stuff.

I shop once per week and make a list, which is kept on the side dresser as I go along, then by the time I am reday to go shopping the list is done for me. So if I use something up or notice I am running low of something it goes on the list and if I see it on offer then I bulk buy it. I have a chest freezer out in the garage which is fairly full (I say that because at the moment I am running it down of meat and fish etc so that I can do a massive stock up and make sure that everything in there is recent). I also have a stash area in the garage for tins and jars. There are also two double cupboards which have cleaning products in them as well as the car cleaing/maintenance stuff and the tins of dog meat - again bulk bought.

I have a cupboard area above the cloakroom for things that cannot be kept in the garage (just for coats etc not WC based) where I put things such as pasta, dried packets of sauces, tissues, jars of coffee and packs of tea, which are rotated regularly

My kitchen cupboards are fairly full as well as I tend to go through them checking quite often and I am due to empty out all the cupboards, clean them/wash them out and then go through checking the dates and seeing what I have haven't got.

I just cannot live from one day to the next and this is not a security blanket thing for food; I do it because we live in a village and for two winters in a row it was pretty much unpassable. It also means that I am not using extra fuel having to go back and forth to the town. I try and get everything done in one go. Another reason as well is that I am not keen on shopping so I like to get it done and out of the way.

marleyboy

We stock up once a week and should we need anything mid week, we add additional extras just to stock up more. The cupboards are crammed beyond capacity and the fridge and freezer are full to capacity, so there is never a chance we have nothing to eat, I would say a good Fortnights worth of supplies exist, on top of the weekly shop.

Fruball

According to the thames valley risk register, the chances due to contamination, of

"Loss of or non-availability for drinking,

of the piped water supply, for up to

50,000 people, for more than 24

hours and up to 3 days."

... are MEDIUM/HIGH

All area's have this risk register available for you to look at - makes interesting reading!


http://www.thamesvalleylrf.org.uk/getasset.aspx?id=bba8195c-e830-4469-8859-d22fd210efd9&mode=asset

wants.to.be.debt.free

OOh this is a great thread .... Up to recently i was living hand to mouth and no back up, but things are changing....my store is looking very healthy and this in turn has made me feel secure that if something happened then i could feed myself and DS for at least 2 weeks without spending a penny.

I bargain hunt now and spend far less just topping up the store and buying fresh meat/veg weekly

shebrett

I used to keep a store cupboard but combination of tiny flat and no processed food diet killed the concept for me. Strangely enough it did take me a while to get used to not having it.

Not particularly worried about alien invasions and killer viruses, but then again, I'm in London I'll either die right at the beginning or just check here on old style by which point someone will have a recipe for slow cooked neighbours ... the landlord's getting a bit tubby these days, he'd last me a week no problem.

Isis_Black

Maybe we should create a thread or something that has a list of what should be in these cupboards for anyone who hasn't got a clue, and I'm quite certain there are many who don't

Popperwell

I guess most stores of food will always mainly have to be dried goods like pasta, spaghetti, cereal and anything in a tin or jar(Soup, Baked Beans, Tomatoes, Tuna, Meat, Custard, Fruit, Jams, condiments, Marmalade)in boxes so items like Cereals. It's pretty basic but combining with other things you can surprise yourself. Then again, you wouldn't starve.

Then again unless you are looking through a cook book and doing something unusual most of our meals are quick and simple and even if you have variety they tend to go around in a rota or it's what you fancy on the day.

I often say I'll have a particular meal and when I get around to it, I switch to something else.

Really the basics will get you through like milk, bread, sliced meat, potatoes, fish and vegetables, fresh fruit, eggs, salad stuff.

Really just think of what you normally eat or would like to and also when you shop think what you would be most likely to use in your meals. Look for bargains but they are not bargains if you know in reality you would not use them.

And don't forget to look at the range of value goods that are often as good as more expensive items but as this site says, if they do reduce the well known brands enough and you can afford them, get them.

The same is true on items to clean the house and yes, even baby shampoo and baby lotion...Tesco's have both and I think they are only 9p -18p a bottle. Now, if they are for baby's they must be ok for anyone.

If single(well even if there are two of you)you can cheat, I could not probably get through a joint of meat(plus the cost of cooking it)but if you portion out some potatoes, veg and some of the sliced meat you can have quite a good traditional meal(with a portion of gravy granuals)avoid cooking except for boiling the poatoes and veg on a hob. And have it all finished in 15-20 minutes and little or no preperation. Even quicker if the potatoes are tinned.

And there should be still enough left over for other meals. And again it depends on what size the portion is...I find I am quite full whilst eating less than I used to but of course if you are burning off calories and need energy you may need to eat more.

I don't mind being careful and frugal with money, I have no choice in the situation I am in or might be when the changes in benefit kick in(or if they make me work, even though I am not well)my income will be low so I have to be. But...I do feel as though I have gone back decades and am living as though it's the 1950's.

Popperwell

Whilst on offer and because I cannot afford it if they add a levy or the budget gets tighter I bought some booze(mainly larger, cider)it has to be as you get more for your money but I only drink occasionally)years ago I made my own wine...perhaps I could again...It was ok.

I started to make my own cocktails a few years ago so if I could store some things like vodka and make it last, I could still enjoy an odd drink here and there.

I'm not big on chocolate mainly because of the price but sometimes it's on offer, The other day I got 4 Wispa gold bars for £1 and 4 Double Deckers for £1.

I forgot that I also have cake and biscuits, UHT milk, milk powder, mashed potato, tinned potatoes, porridge, crisps, biscuits and cake too...I think I have covered just about all types of food categories.