Storecupboard Essentials

Popperwell

dancingfairy wrote: »

Hi. I hope one of you lovely people can help me. I'm moving into a shared house and need some ideas of what to buy for a store cupboard. I don't have much money for loads of things and I probably won't have a lot of space.
If anyone has any lists / links to previous threads where this has been discussed I'd love to see them.
Many Thanks
df
P.S I'm sure this has probably come up many times but I couldn't find it when I did a search.

You could try this thread Dancing Fairy...

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4031559

Basically think what you like to eat and a few items regarding general every day living.

Many of us have tinned/dried goods stored with decent best before dates(Things like pasta, pulses, fish, meat, soup, vegetables etc...)cereals/porridge, teabags/coffee, bottled water, powdered milk etc... If you have access to a freezer you can obviously store meat, fish and many more items and if you cook your own meals, make a few meals and freeze them for use another day.

But as you are sharing with others as you say space may be restricted. On the other hand if you all decided to join in you may be able to bulk buy some things and share possibly saving some expense.

dancingfairy

Thanks for the suggestions so far.
So far on my list I've got pasta type stuff ie rice, pasta, cous cous, lasgane sheets. Tinned beans, sweetcorn, tomatoes and kidney beans, a bit of baking stuff ie flour, sugar, bicarb, some spices (will prob.buy a few individual ones to start off with) and a few things like soup, tinned steamed pudding(yes hardly a storecupabord essential I know!), cereal, squash, etc, oh and a few bits like cling film, baking paper etc. Am thinking I might have a box under my bed for tins and things.
Am hoping to do batch cooking on a weekend or cook double of things and eat over 2 nights etc.
df

PasturesNew

Be careful that you know how much space you'll have ... I've got one wall cabinet, it's not deep and the top shelf's too high for me. Can't get much in there, certainly not a good basic storecupboard of stuff and cooking utensils.

I keep a plastic tub in the bottom of my wardrobe for my tins - and other kitchen stuff's in two plastic stacking boxes in my bedroom... although I never open/use them as it's too much of a faff to jiggle the boxes round.

Popperwell

Actually your list is pretty good already and the additional items you have mentioned most of us have too:)

A storecupboard does not need to be that large but can be a lifesaver and save money too...it can also depend how much you eat(portion and calorie wise)I have found that I eat well but now alone I eat less. So food goes much further.

You may decide to do full meals or simple fare as you say you have baked beans etc...and simple does not necessarily mean a bad diet. You may also find that you can do some meals that do not require any cooking too...cereals, fruit, salad, sandwiches...

I am sure others will be along with ideas...

Good Luck;)

vanoonoo

not a foody thing but I would make sure you've got good cleaning products as my experience in shared kitchens has always been that I have to scrub everything before I start cooking!

Chris25

perhaps a carton or two of UHT milk or packet of dried milk? Plus some herbs, tomato puree & stock cubes.

**aah, dried milk already mentioned by popperwell**

Popperwell

Chris25 wrote: »

perhaps a carton or two of UHT milk or packet of dried milk? Plus some herbs, tomato puree & stock cubes.

**aah, dried milk already mentioned by popperwell**

Chris, it never harms to have input from others and good ideas mentioned. I did not mention UHT milk:pFunnily enough, I have found fresh milk is ok a few days after the date they have on the carton.

I have just done a quick tidy up of my food store and next will have to rotate what I have so the oldest stuff is used first but I am not too bothered about best Before Dates...

I was eating some Mr Kipling Vienese Whirls from a couple of months ago the other night and have eaten Kitkats well past their date too.

The fridge/freezer is pretty well stocked(it should be big enough for someone living alone)and yet the freezer is small and not ideal for cooking extra and freezing it!:mad:

So I have cheated a bit by buying items on offer and I suppose that has not worked out any more expensive really. And I do stretch items out to last longer...An example Aunt Bessie's Roast Potatoes for perhaps £1 and they can be cooked in maybe 20 mins.

Will check out my cupboards with canned soups/fruit and cereals etc...

When I look at my food store I think it doesn't look as though I have that much but if I am honest I probably am ok for a few months.

I don't mind making meals from scratch but it's the cost of cooking that is the problem so if I do I try to use microwaves, hobs and grills.

Good point about household goods and keeping the place clean as vanoonoo suggests.

dancingfairy

At the moment I have a massive storecupboard, which has since been taken over by my ex OH and his chocolate stash. I need to go through there and rediscover what's in it. My main constraints will be space I think and I was curious to know what others considered the main 'essentials'. I think it's going to be hard reducing it to a tiny area.
Also I want to stock up when I move so I can stock up on heavy tins etc.

zippychick

I think it's quite subjective, as it largely depends on what you eat

I've merged this with our older SC essentials thread

Zip

nicolula87

I am hoping to start a store cupboard at home, I already buy some things in when they are on offer (loo roll, beans etc) but want to be a bit more organised about it.

Does anyone have any tips on how to get started, where things are best to buy, what sort of things I should think about stocking up on and what offers to look out for please?

Much appreciated!