EXTREMELY limited kitchen storage

studentlife852

I’m a uni student who is about to move back onto campus for my third year and I’m not looking forward to it. In halls, we are allowed:
- one shelf in the fridge
- one drawer in the freezer
- one wall-mounted cupboard
- one underunit cupboard

This is what I had last year and I just about managed but I had to top-up shop more than once a week because I physically couldn’t store enough food to last any longer.

We’re not allowed mini fridges in our rooms (and yes they do check these things) and I’m looking for tips on how to save money and store food with these limited restrictions. My second year house currently has more space so I’ve got used to the amount I can have in at once but I still end up with a literally empty fridge every 2 weeks before I can afford another shop.

Does anyone have any kind of tips of good things to buy? The freezer drawers are tiny (as in last year I couldn’t even fit a big bag of chips in there) so I’m looking mainly for fresh produce and just use the freezer for meat.

Many thanks savvy shoppers!

redfox

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Fire_Fox

Welcome to MSE.

I would suggest starting with setting a monthly budget for food, and by tracking the balance and variety of your current diet compared with official healthy eating guidelines (minimum/ maximum not optimal).

Then look at the price of the recommended serving size (by weight) of a given food item. You can track these easily on a smartphone or tablet using supermarket apps, or on paper.

Dried wholefoods and canned wholefoods are easy to store, can be nutritious, may bulk up loads when soaked or cooked. Examples include dried lentils, brown rice, wholemeal pasta, nuts or seeds, canned oily fish, baked beans, tomatoes, block creamed or dessicated coconut, dried fruit (no added sugar).

Frozen fruit and frozen vegetables are already prepared (no wasted peel/ stalks) and often cheaper than fresh. Buy mixed packs or share larger bags with other students.

Meat can be expensive, and most Brits eat too much. Eat more vegetarian meals (eggs or mature cheese), rotate with oily fish (pilchards or mackerel) and organ meats (liver or kidney), bulk modest servings of muscle meat out with dried or canned wholefoods.

Ready made chips are arguably a waste of limited space and a waste of money. Fresh potatoes are easier to store and healthier. The nutritious skin can be left on for jacket spuds, mash, wedges, roasties.

Consider sharing a monthly supermarket delivery with another student. Minimum spend is usually £25, picking and packing costs from £1. Focus on offers and deals on longer life or heavier products.

HTH!

GreenQueen

Think about what can be stored in your room to free up space in the kitchen., such as the dried/canned things that Fire Fox suggests, fruit in a fruitbowl - not all fresh produce needs to be refrigerated.

How big is the wall cupboard? Is it possible to create a shelf which would give you two layers of storage, on on top of the other? You can buy small shelves from places like Lakeland, or even improvise by using a strong cardboard box with one side cut off.

Do you have to store utensils within your allotted space?

Well done on cooking fresh and healthy where you can.

dandy-candy

My son kept a crate of all his tinned and dried goods in his bedroom. Solved not only the lack of kitchen space, but also meant no one nicked any of it!

maman

GreenQueen wrote: »

Think about what can be stored in your room to free up space in the kitchen., such as the dried/canned things that Fire Fox suggests, fruit in a fruitbowl - not all fresh produce needs to be refrigerated.

How big is the wall cupboard? Is it possible to create a shelf which would give you two layers of storage, on on top of the other? You can buy small shelves from places like Lakeland, or even improvise by using a strong cardboard box with one side cut off.

Do you have to store utensils within your allotted space?

Well done on cooking fresh and healthy where you can.

They sell them in Wilkos and (I think) Ikea too.


https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-telescopic-stand/p/0435939?nst=0&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1ubm18G04QIVFM13Ch1JPA3lEAQYASABEgIbZ_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

caronc

When my son was in a similiar position he stored non-perishables and kitchen equipment in under bed storage boxes which held lots and were inexpensive to buy. A good supply of things like tinned tomatoes, beans, herbs & spices, pasta & rice means a quick meal can be rustled up with very little by way of fresh/frozen foods and easy to make enogh variations to avoid getting fed up with the same meals. Tinned potatoes are cheap and very versatile, they make great roasties & wedges with some oil & seasonings. You might want to have a look at Jack Munroe's recipes which are very budget friendly and based on store cupboard ingredients.

GreenQueen

maman wrote: »

They sell them in Wilkos and (I think) Ikea too.


https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-telescopic-stand/p/0435939?nst=0&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1ubm18G04QIVFM13Ch1JPA3lEAQYASABEgIbZ_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Yes, and cheaper than Lakeland!

kboss2010

GreenQueen wrote: »

Think about what can be stored in your room to free up space in the kitchen., such as the dried/canned things that Fire Fox suggests, fruit in a fruitbowl - not all fresh produce needs to be refrigerated.

How big is the wall cupboard? Is it possible to create a shelf which would give you two layers of storage, on on top of the other? You can buy small shelves from places like Lakeland, or even improvise by using a strong cardboard box with one side cut off.

Do you have to store utensils within your allotted space?

Well done on cooking fresh and healthy where you can.

TK Maxx/Homesense also sell shelf dividers.

Chinese cooking sauces (light & dark soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce) are great for stir fries & you can buy minced garlic & ginger in jars. Use tinned water chestnuts & pineapple too.

Most fruit with a hard skin doesn't need to be kept in a fridge, potatoes & onions can be kept in the dark & kept cold on our windowsill in a light-proof bag but don't store onions with anything else as, like bananas, they give off ethylene gas which ripens everything faster.

I kept a non-stick wok & all of my tinned/packets of stir fry ingredients in my room at uni as my flatmates always used metal spoons on the pans.