Irrational fear of empty cupboards

Stephen_Leak

Personally, I have no problem whatsoever with that warm glow of peace & security that comes from a well stocked store cupboard - within reason, of course.

However, I wonder if we may have accidentally stumbled on a use for those "cupboard organiser shelf" thingies, which arrange tins, etc. in tiers?

I reckon that all they do is waste space and you can just stand one tin on top of another to get the same effect.

Therefore, if you used one of these, the cupboard would look full but not actually be full, if you get what I mean.

redmel1621

Yes I had this problem too....abiet a lot worse than I do now....see rest of post and.....

Don't go cold turkey.........

I can't bear to have an empty cupboard, fridge or freezer and I don't see the point of doing so either, I at least keep one/two tins of beans, tomatoes, soup,sweetcorn, and potatoes.. In the Fridge I always have onions, marge milk salad, and in the freezer always chicken drumsticks/breasts and a pie and a fraozen pack of fish in b/crumbs....
At least this way if for example the car breaks down or the kids need some emergency clothes, I can always fall back on these supplies as I am on a very tight budget....
Mel x

redmel1621

Ummm will confess now that I agree with mumoftwo. I stockpile making use of bogoffs. For example when tuna packed in tins of 4 are on bogoff I buy enough for 6 months (for us about 52 tins:eek: ) . I am organized in my storage and hopefully will never therefore pay more than 1/2 price for tuna. I do this with all tinned goods and pasta, tea, flour etc. as well.

I may sound mad but an old friend of mine goes even further! I have some brilliant stories about her extreme saving measures:D

Do share pleeeeaaaaase!!!!

ikkleosu

My brother thinks mum and I are nuts because we always have full cupboards, 2 freezers and the fridge full. He says it would feed him for 2 months, which is true. But mum and I both suffer this thing about making sure there is at least 1 of each thing we MIGHT fancy eating (we don't meal plan). I think we inherited from Gran who always had a bugling store cupboard.

Of course my Oh makes me laugh - he can have 1 tin of soup, 1 tin of beans, a pizza in the freezer and a pack of mine and tells me he has PLENTy in for the week!!! It terrifies me to have that little amount of food, so once i move in I shall certainly be changing that and making sure there is enough to last a month in!

(I am also the same with clothes it has to be said!!)

odds-n-sods

there isnt anything wrong with havign a storecupboard, unless you aren't eating what's in it before things go past theor BBF. I have a small storecupboard and add to it periodically, but I rotate as new stuff goes in the old stuff gets put itn eh front. Maybe its time for those of you who don't know what's in your cupboards to do an inventory so you don't buy something you already have. Get your kids involved - tell them its a treasure hunt, and make them some baking from what you find at the end!

Angel1980_2

I keep mine quite full but then when I want to treat myself me and other half live on contents of it so we dont have to go shopping for a while.

The scariest was when we no longer had even a tin of beans in it and no cash for shopping either.

Very scary but got simpathy from parents when i said i was that poor i couldnt afford beans!!

Winsome_2

I see nothing wrong with a full storecupboard as long as you only ahve what you can actually use in a reasonable time (ie before it goes bad) and you rotate stuff so that you are not throwing out food because it has gone past it's sellbuy date.........

I personally like to have full cupboards in the kitchen - we are not talking 2 dozen tinns of beans here - infact apart from the stuff I buy in bulk from the cash-and carry (multipacks of tins of tomatoes etc) I tend to have between 2-4 of any item, but I have lots and lots of different items in there......... we could probalby eat well for at least a month without buying anything beyond fresh fruit, veg and milk, cheese etc......

it is good forward planning - you never know if the main breadwinner will loose their job or get sick long term, you don't know that prices are not going to rise ridiculously on something for some reason (eg some nasty virus wipes out the entire tomato crop and the price of tinned toms tripples overnight)....... having a good store of food helps safeguard against this!

lynzpower

I see nothing wrong with a full storecupboard as long as you only ahve what you can actually use in a reasonable time (ie before it goes bad) and you rotate stuff so that you are not throwing out food because it has gone past it's sellbuy date.........

but its not really moneysaving to buy things you dont need tho is it?

The money would be earning for you in the bank - or not costing you money on your credit cards. Many many people on this site buy food they dont need on tiher credit cards, Ive seen it time and again.

It makes no sense to me to feel secure in having food in the cupbaords & overflowing freezers, yet making yourself more FINANCIALLY insecure by going into debt to do it :eek:

MRSMCAWBER

Hi there

Bogofs were my weakness too... I have never seen 1 of them in Germany... so that solved that problem for me ..although as Sallyrsm can vouch... you go into the big German supermarkets and it is amazing the huge range of everything they do... that in its self is a temptation.... although i manage to resist their vast range of vegetables in jars :rotfl: ... brussels, carrots..yep you can get everything in jars...and they pickle anything that stands still - apart from "pickled onions"....

Even though im doing the Dbelle challenge, I know that i easliy have enough food to make meals for at least a week ... so guess who isnt shopping this week:rotfl: ....
at least once a week here you get loads of leaflets delivered from just about every supermarket/store in the area.. its great to sit and look at who has the best offers on what.... they came agin this morning and i can now get mince (half beef half pork)-great for meatballs, making sausages etc- for the equivalent of £1.70 a kilo:j .....

SALLYRSM -Im sorry to upset you, but i have a pack of the knorr jager sauces in my cupboard:o ... i got them for emergancies as hubby loves Jager schnitzel .... i can get them for 89c for a 3 pack - each one makes 1/4lt of sauce.... i will PM you in a moment , i will also dig out some "bean/pulse recipes"

wokkies

:rolleyes: I have this strange obsession atm with branston baked beans and tuna (atm it is on offer at Mr T £1.50) for 4 tins, mainly because two of my children would eat tuna everyday so I have about 20 tins of it in the cupboard, and 18 tins of beans keep finding them bog off. Also I live in a small village and I refuse to pay the local shop price of about 59p for a small tin of beans. Slight problem though everyone seems to have gone off tuna:rolleyes: I have been very naughty though aswell buying hompride pasta sauces as they were only 69p i think at Mr T's on special, and I have to buy carbonara sauce becuase I just cannot figure out how to make it. Sorry:o just waffling now and trying to make excuses for things I buy but dont need to:rolleyes: