28 August 2018

Re-building the stockpile - starting early

Having been away for six weeks earlier this year, and not doing any grocery shopping while we were away, then just doing the absolute necessities since then, the grocery slush fund is quite healthy.

But the pantry and freezer are looking a little thin, to be expected as we're almost three quarters of the way through the year.  I'll tackle the freezer later, but this week I decided to use the slush fund to re-build the grocery stockpile now, as much as I could, back to a 12 month supply.

Why? Well because the slush fund is healthy, and right now there are some great grocery bargains happening on things we use regularly.  I am looking forward and seeing price increases due to the drought.  Already butter and cheese have skyrocketed in price, and I can see flour and flour products going up and up and up in the near future as wheat crops fail.

And because the stockpile is like my security blanket - I can cope when I know I can feed my family, and keep them and our home clean and healthy.

It's important to me to be able to provide healthy, tasty meals for my family. It's important to me to be able to keep our home clean and comfortable. It's important to me to ensure our personal hygiene is exemplary. And it's very important to us as a family that all these things are done within our means. I consider these things to be a part of my job as wife, mother and homemaker. Having a stockpile makes my job so much easier, simply by reducing the stress of grocery shopping.

Here's a list of our basic stockpile, broken down into categories:

Grocery stockpile:

Baked Beans
Baking Paper
Cereal - Ricies
Cereal - Weet-bix -1.2kg
Cereal -All Bran
Cereal -Rolled Oats
Choc Bits/Melts
Clingwrap
Cocoa
Condiments - Coleslaw dressing
Condiments - Herbs
Condiments - Honey
Condiments - Jam
Condiments - Mayo
Condiments - Nutella
Condiments - Peanut butter
Condiments - Peppercorns
Condiments - Salt
Condiments - Spices
Condiments - Stock cubes
Condiments - Vegemite
Cornflour
Cream of Chicken Soup
Custard Powder
Dried Fruit - Cherries
Dried Fruit - Dates
Dried Fruit - Mixed Fruit
Dried Fruit - Sultanas
Drinks - Coffee, Instant
Drinks - Coffee, Pods
Drinks - Cordial
Drinks -  Tea bags
Flour - Gluten
Flour - Plain
Flour - SR
Foil
Icing Sugar
Legumes - black beans (canned)
Legumes - soup mix
Legumes - split peas
Legumes - kidney beans
Molasses
Mustard - wholegrain
Nuts: almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, peanuts
Oil - Olive
Oil - Vegetable
Pasta - Noodles
Pasta - Spaghetti
Pineapple rings
Popping corn
Powdered Milk
Rice
Sauce - BBQ
Sauce - Soy
Sauce - Sweet Chilli
Sauce - Tomato 2L
Spaghetti - tinned
Sugar
Tinned fruit
Tomato Soup
Tuna
Yeast

Freezer stockpile:

Butter
Casserole/Stewing Steak
Cheese - Tasty
Chicken - Drumsticks
Chicken - Fillets
Chicken - Wings
Chickens - Whole
Corned Beef
Fruit - oranges, strawberries,  apples, lemons, peaches
Legs of Lamb
Mince
Roasting Beef
Sausage mince
Sausages
Steak
Vegetables - carrots, celery, onion, eggplant, capsicum, beans, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potato, pumpkin, tomatoes

Non-Food pantry stockpile:

Oven bags
Freezer bags
Foil
Clingwrap
Vacuum bags (for the Foodsaver, not the vacuum cleaner!)
Baking paper
Patty pans of various sizes
Freezer paper
Paper bags
Foil trays
Serviettes
Plastic tablecloths

Cleaning stockpile:

Laundry soap
Borax
Washing Soda
Bicarbonate Soda
Citric Acid
Eucalyptus oil
Lavender oil
Ti Tree oil
Salt
Ocedar furniture oil
White vinegar
Dishwashing detergent
Dishwasher powder
Scrub buds
Matches
Spare gas lighters (2)
Bug spray

Toiletries stockpile:

Toothpaste
Toothbrushes
Toothbrush heads (for the electric toothbrushes)
Mouthwash
Dental floss
Shampoo
Conditioner
Hair spray
Deodorant
Moisturiser
BB cream
Mascara
Lipstick
Lip balm
Razors
Shaving cream
Bodywash
Soap
Dove bars
Body cream
Handcream
Sunscreen

First aid stockpile:

Bandaids of various shapes and sizes
Burn cream
Burn dressings
Betadine gargle
Betadine
Dettol
Antiseptic cream
Antiseptic wipes
Peroxide
Bandages
Elastic bandages
Paracetamol
Ibuprofen
Zyrtec
Immodium
Saline
Eye bath
Water purification tablets

Garden stockpile:

Lots of different types of seeds
Icy pole sticks to use as plant markers
Twine
Torn sheets to use as ties
Brass hose fittings (2 spare sets)

Clothing stockpile 

(these days I only stockpile for Wayne and myself):
Socks
Underwear
T-shirts
Long sleeved t-shirts
PJs
Nighties
Track pants (for Wayne)
Slippers
Gloves
Beanies
Scarves
Spencers
Warm winter jackets (bought at Aldi on half-price clearance - $9.95 each!)

Gift stockpile:

Wrapping paper
Gift bags (new)
Gift bags (recycled)
Cards & envelopes (birthday, thank you, thinking of you etc.)
Gift cards  & envelopes
Gift tags
Sticky tape
Double-sided tape
Ribbons
Bows
Curling Ribbon
And lots of things for presents, but because the recipients read my blog, I'm not listing them!

My list this week will had flour, sugar, butter, hard cheese, baked beans, tomato soup, pineapple, spaghetti on the Aldi list and use some of the slush fund to pay for them.

On the Coles list I had toilet paper, laundry soap and borax and I used Flybuys dollars to pay for them - which essentially made them free. I only collect Flybuys points on fuel and the few regular grocery items I can't get at Aldi, so it takes a while to build up but every little bit helps our budget so we soldier on until we have enough points to go shopping.

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