Usually May is a good time to start stocking up on condiments like BBQ sauce, mayonnaise and the like due to the summer holidays starting to kick in. It's also a good time to stock up on hot dogs and other grilling fare. Since my husband is so burned out on hot dogs they actually make him sick to eat them now, hot dogs aren't going to be an issue this year. And when it comes to condiments I'm still doing okay on some of them. I do, however, have a couple that I'd like to get if they go on sale cheap enough, but I'm thinking that is going to have to wait until the fourth of July holiday sales.
So, here are my minimal goals for this month.
Regular Stores:
- Wide Mouthed mason jar lids
- Sugar (or the bulk store for the sugar if the regular stores are too expensive)
- Reduced produce (if it becomes available)
- Water softening salt (Home Depot for that one hopefully)
Your list is short and sweet! Mine too. We want to take a trip this month out to wisconsin. I spent 88.00 this week and went to a bread basket. Hoping not to have to buy anything except maybe milk. For the trip I may by some snacks but until then trying to plan super careful :)
ReplyDeleteWell, have fun on your trip and good luck with keeping it cheap!
DeleteHopefully, you have plenty left in the freezers, and I can see you could have pasta every day! I don't know if you have Bi-Mart up there, but that is where I've always gotten the best price on jar lids for canning.
ReplyDeleteWe have been able to get a good price at Cash and Carry for sugar. I don't know if your Costco-type store would have it for a reasonable price or not.
Today, I finished packing my stockpile of food (at least most of it). I still have a few gallon jars full of dry beans, etc. to pack and left some canned goods on the shelf to eat for the next couple of weeks. I sorted as I went. I have several boxes that I don't need to see again until after we move, and 3-4 bins I want accessible. It's a bit mind-boggling, but I don't want to buy groceries unless I really need to, so I want to use what I have. Hopefully it's organized enough so I can access what I want:)
I've never heard of Bi-Mart, but it sounds like a cool place. We also don't have a Cash and Carry up here either. Three Bears (Costco type of store) has prices that kind of go all over the place, so sometimes they are cheaper than the store and sometimes I can actually buy sugar or something at the regular stores cheaper than I can there. If I recall correctly, Fred Meyer actually had the cheapest prices on sugar the last time I bought it, so I'm going to try there first.
DeleteI remember moving and trying to figure out what I needed to keep one kitchen running while setting up another and how miserable it was. I hope everything goes decently well for you as you move!
Even though this is a tremendous amount of work to do it this way, I think it won't be miserable. I have the camper kitchen to cook in during transition, even while we are still living here. Then, while we are living in the camper, of course, I can cook in there, and have offers from friends and family to cook at their houses if I want to make something more complicated or cook casseroles for the week, or anything. My freezers will be in 2 garages, about 45 minutes apart from each other, but I can "shop" in them when I can work it out. My stockpile will be in storage, but several bins have been set aside to be accessible to re-fill the camper's tiny cupboards. It is mind-boggling, to say the least, but I think it is worse thinking about it then it will really be. I tend to over-plan things and forget that the stores are still open, and I have some $ set aside to fill in the gaps over the summer, and that we will not die if we don't have everything we are used to having. We will make do.
DeleteIt sounds like you have it worked out as well as you can, so that will help. It's like anything else, you just need to get used to the "new normal" and then it'll be fine. I hope you guys find a nice place to take the place of the one you had to give up really soon!
DeleteThank you. I intend to make it nice
DeleteCheck your local thrift stores and see if they have any canning jars or new lids there. I pick up canning jar lids (new in box), rings, new jars in the box and even labels at the thrift store. This has saved me so much money!
ReplyDeleteYou're kidding?!? Wow! Can I have your thrift stores??? *Laugh* our thrift stores will have empty used jars to buy, but I've never run into new jars or lids ever. That's awesome that you can do that!!!
DeleteErika, I wouldn't get too panicked about buying condiments and BBQ foods on sale this month if you don't have the money. They tend to cycle those sales all the way through the summer months. If you can, each time they go on sale maybe buy 2 of what you need to stock up. Before you know it, you'll be well stocked for winter.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I took inventory of my pantry hardcore yesterday and I found some things that aren't ideal (like not the favorite brand of ketchup, but a less favored brand) but will work for now. About the only thing I need to get is some brown mustard (anything else I get for winter would be nice but not 100% necessary at this point) and worse comes to worse I have mustard seed and mustard powder so I could whip some up on the fly if we needed it, so really, I'll see how finances go, but if it comes down to it we'll live without condiments over the winter :).
DeleteI wonder...if you planted some of mustard seeds you have, would they germinate then go to seed?
DeleteJeannie
I don't know. They are pretty old, but I have like five pounds of mustard seeds total (I bought them cheap on Amazon and didn't look at the amount when I bought them *laugh*). I guess I could experiment, but I'm not a big fan of mustard greens, so it's kind of hard to get motivated to try it ;).
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