What should I start with to stockpile?

**New-mom-to-be** · 03-08-2009, 10:26 AM

We are getting back a bunch with our income tax and the check should be here Monday or Tuesday. I am going to use part of it to buy a deep freezer for the garage and to hit Sam's and stock up on things (I haven't quite figured out the CVS and Walgreen's reward bucks thing yet) that can last quite a while (my school district has the funds to operate one more year if we don't get a tax increase approved). What would be the basics you would stock up on if you had 800 dollars to spend on yourself, your husband, and a 6 months old?

I was thinking toilet paper, tooth paste, pasta and sauces, rice, canned veggies so far.....

**Maine Girl** · 03-08-2009, 10:31 AM

flour sugar baking powder baking soda peanut butter

**Wendy99** · 03-08-2009, 10:31 AM

Buy the freezer yes - they are great!! As for the stockpiling .. ONLY stockpile when you see a sale and its an item you use. No sense stocking up on a bunch of things only to find out a couple weeks later they are on sale and you could have bought so much more!! Put the money away, save it for stockpiling if thats what you choose, but dont stockpile until you see a sale .. jmo

**thefrug** · 03-08-2009, 11:13 AM

what she said! wait till you see the sales

**LuvMyHubby** · 03-08-2009, 11:29 AM

I don'th ave much room to stock pile so mine is limited to a few extra cupboard goods and things like deoderant, toothpaste and tp. I would love to have the space and extra $ to do some serious stockpiling.

**Grainlady** · 03-08-2009, 11:47 AM

Originally Posted by New-mom-to-be

We are getting back a bunch with our income tax and the check should be here Monday or Tuesday. I am going to use part of it to buy a deep freezer for the garage and to hit Sam's and stock up on things (I haven't quite figured out the CVS and Walgreen's reward bucks thing yet) that can last quite a while (my school district has the funds to operate one more year if we don't get a tax increase approved). What would be the basics you would stock up on if you had 800 dollars to spend on yourself, your husband, and a 6 months old?

I was thinking toilet paper, tooth paste, pasta and sauces, rice, canned veggies so far.....

#1. I wouldn't suggest purchasing a freezer. They are a wonderful convenience to have, but they tend to gobble up in electricity what you manage to stick in them in the way of bargains. ESPECIALLY if you park them in a hot garage. Check the user's guide and you will probably find they suggest storage temperature for a freezer is room temperature - which is commonly considered 70°F. You may even void your warranty if you keep it in the garage.

#2. Always think INGREDIENTS when you think of stockpiling food. Choose basic ingredients you could use for making meals, rather than highly-processed foods.

#3. Caution over-stocking anything that may contain perfumes/fragrances. These can easily alter due to heat or changes in storage temperatures and can go "off". Chemicals can also migrate or ingredients separate in some hair-care products, stick antiperspirants, etc.

#4. Check use-by dates and make sure you can realistically use a case of something with all the same use-by date BY that date. Because my stockpile is rather large, I only add foods with use-by dates in 2010-2011. I normally only purchase 1-3 of something for adding to food storage to avoid having all the same use-by dates.

#5. Store a variety of foods that covers all the food groups. It's better to have 3-months of a variety of foods rather than a large amount of one food or just several things.

**latierra84** · 03-08-2009, 11:53 AM

i would skip buying any hba products. a little time spent learning the cvs/wag thing and you could make money off of those. toothpaste, deoderant and toilet paper and things that are always on sale and regularly make me money with little effort. id go with food basics like rice, flour, canned veggies and meat.

**ladykemma2** · 03-08-2009, 12:35 PM

skip the freezer.

what grain lady said.

is your motivation to do a GREAT BIG shopping (like i do once a year i top off my stockpile) OR is your motivation to save money on loss leaders (this drives me nuts) ? please inform.

sams is not a great place to start the stockpile.

If i were running your world i would start with scotts TP , laundry detergent, soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes, at the dollar store. i buy 12 of everything.

**shoiji** · 03-08-2009, 01:11 PM

There are websites that list when items go on sale by month. I would do a search to see the lists. Such as condiments usually go on sale in the summer. Great time to stock up on those things. Make sure to make a list of the types of foods your family eats. Always check expiration dates.

If you can grow a garden, even in pots, you might want to set aside some money for this. Just growing some herbs can make a big difference in you meals.

Also check this website for properly storing your stockpile. Some people suggest putting things like flour, sugar, rice, beans, pasta, lentils in the freezer for 24 hours to kill off any potential bug infestation. You might want to buy some shelves or containers to hold your stockpile.

Have fun creating your stockpile. I really do love being able to make something pretty much whenever I want to since my stockpile allows this.

**MisaLady** · 03-08-2009, 01:29 PM

I have done a little stockpiling (I don't have room for a lot) by buying what I normally do, but buying a ton when on sale. For instance, tuna was at a really great deal several weeks ago. I bought a ton. We still have tuna left. This time around, I bought a ton of crushed pineapple because it was on a good sale. It might seem a weird thing to buy in bulk, but I LOVE crushed pineapple, so I buy it anyway.

**Cricketlegs** · 03-08-2009, 01:39 PM

I do the oposite of what everyone else does it seems..

1. I LOVE my deep freezer. It is inside in my utility room. In the 10 years I have had it I have always used it. My electric bill was $49 this month so it can't be using that much enegry. I would NEVER be without it.

2. I stockpiled the first few months(2) by giving myself a set amount and then I just picked up one or two of everything I thought I needed(I found more stuff I needed later as I learned) so I had a nice assortments of foods in a short amount of time on a set budget amount. Start with basics and try to wean away from prepacked processed food as much as you can. Flour, oatmeal, and brown sugar makes a ton more cookies than one package of oatmeal cookies and you can have oatmeal for breakfast too!

3. After that I did continue to shop the same way except by this point when I would do my regular grocery shopping(a seperate budgeted amount and trip)about half of it would end up in the stock pile because I already had it on hand due to buying some of everything previously. Therefor I was adding everything to my stockpile once a month and also adding more to it.

4. At this point since I had a nice pile started and was contining to add to it the same every month I gave myself about $50 more a month to shop the ad specials. You know, canned goods at .33 each limit 12 so I would go back every day to get the 12 that the sale was going on.

sooo in a nutshell my budget

$150 for regular groceries--1/4 to 1/2 end up on my stockpile shelves
$150 for food stockpile buying all my usual stockpile foods as far as I can stretch it.
$50 stockpile for ad specials and loss leaders
$50-$75 for my pet stockpile(it depends on if I need catfood)
$30-$40 HBA stockpile

My food stockpile is growing at a nice steady pace and I am about to start getting creative with my shelving.

My HBAs are at about a year

Pets are at about 1 month ahead...I used up my dog food and only just put it back. Next month I will need bird food and cat litter and possibly cat food.

Come see us in Challenges --look for the Stockpile challenge!

**tiff** · 03-08-2009, 02:20 PM

Originally Posted by ladykemma2

skip the freezer.

what grain lady said.

is your motivation to do a GREAT BIG shopping (like i do once a year i top off my stockpile) OR is your motivation to save money on loss leaders (this drives me nuts) ? please inform.

sams is not a great place to start the stockpile.

If i were running your world i would start with scotts TP , laundry detergent, soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes, at the dollar store. i buy 12 of everything.

I have a fridge/freezer but no room to have a separate chest freezer so I have to do without.

I also things 12 at a time like canned veg, soup, tuna etc. Somethings I buy less of, like golden syrup (corn syrup) and the largest bags of pasta I can find, which here is 6lb bags.

I would agree with starting off with basics like rice, flour, oatmeal etc. Oatmeal is so cheap for us to buy, 58p for a 2lb bag. I always use it for porridge and for making treats. We never usually buy canned meat but I plan to stock some for future use, as fresh meat here might become too expensive to buy in the future.

I have a very small space to stock things, but its fun coming up with a solution. This weekend DH helped me clear out a tall kitchen cupboard where I store vases, glasses that are used rarely. We boxed those up and put them in the loft, which created 3 deep shelves plus floor space. Next I plan to box up the books on the bookcase under the stairs and buy a cupboard to put there and stock more stuff! DH doesnt know that part yet.

Good luck, I find it quite fun which I suppose is a little sad but it gives you a great feeling being able to provide for your family if things get tough. I dont know of any other person here that is doing the same, although I've come across like minded English people on forums.

**redhead68** · 03-08-2009, 02:30 PM

Here are my thoughts about what to stockpile:

Your first step should be a survey of your existing pantry. It's a mistake to go by another family's list. They may have totally different eating habits and cooking skills than you do. Instead, consider the types of meals you currently make for your family.

Do you eat a lot of pasta w/ tomato sauce? Then, buy a case of tomato sauce and large packages of spaghetti.

Do you make your own bread? Buy a 50# bag of bread flour.

Do you eat beef? Consider buying half a cow and having it processed into your favorite cuts.

I like the previous poster's suggestion for a garden. One note of caution: plant only vegetables you will truly eat. If you hate zucchini, then don't plant it. Stick with the foods you love. When planning your garden, look for heirloom varieties that are known performers for your region and avoid those that are difficult to grow. I live in Colorado, where growing tomatoes is a pain, so I save myself the trouble and buy canned tomatoes.

That said, here are some things I stockpile because we love these foods and eat them frequently.

*canned tomatoes
*brown rice
*oats
*pasta
*free-range organic whole chickens (I buy six at a time from a local rancher.)
*elk (we share the processing fee with a friend who is a hunter)
*flour, sugar, butter, and other baking ingredients
*kidney, black, & garbanzo beans
*black, green & red lentils

**Wendy99** · 03-08-2009, 02:39 PM

Personally I would not skip the freezer. We have a smaller freezer & pack it full - I couldnt live without it!! We save so much money getting meat half price,cheap cheese on sale etc, strawberries in the summer .. I couldn't imagine being without one.

**redhead68** · 03-08-2009, 02:50 PM

For those of you who have freezers, do you keep a generator to minimize loss during power outages? Or, is this not an issue for you?

I ask because we lost about $600 worth of food this past summer when our refrigerator/freezer failed twice in two weeks, and the part to repair it the second time wasn't available. We ended up eating out for nearly a week while we waited for a new fridge to be delivered. In the end, that debacle ended up costing us nearly $2600.

I like the idea of freezers, but I worry that stockpiling lots of frozen foods is risky, so I stick with mostly dried & canned foods for stockpiling. I also made friends with a restaurant owner who offered up his freezer for our meat if it happens again.