Ever since we moved to the country I’ve been big on stockpiling for the colder months. Why? Mainly because it’s not a short trip to the store, and the weather can be unpredictable in the winter. The more food I have on the shelves, the more I don’t have to worry about getting into town as frequently.
It also gets really busy around here in the fall with school and extra-curriculars starting back up. If I can avoid going to the grocery store as often that will save me a lot of time.
Now, I’ve yet to hit a prepper’s level of stockpiling. That really isn’t my goal (though I am inspired at the way preppers have stocked their pantries!).
My goal is to get through the colder months with as minimal grocery trips as possible. While I definitely like to plan for a minor emergency, I’m not trying to stock a year’s worth of food.
However, given the state of the world right now I have been working harder to stockpile just because I do feel there is still a lot of uncertainty around what our grocery stores will look like in the coming year. Many products have been difficult to get since the pandemic hit, food or otherwise, and so I do have that in the back of my mind.
There are a few different ways to stockpile, and even if you are on a tight budget there are ways you can make it happen. Don’t try and fill your pantry and freezer in one big trip – that will definitely cost a lot. The key is to build up slowly.
The good news is, even though it takes some money to slowly build up, over time it can actually save you money. And I’m all about living a fearlessly frugal life.
Do you have to have a homestead to fill your pantry? Not at all. There are many ways you can stock up without ever growing or raising your own food.
So, let’s talk about all the different ways you can stockpile. You can try just an idea or two, or you can implement all of these tips.
HOW TO STOCKPILE TO FILL YOUR PANTRY
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USE 10-20 DOLLARS EACH GROCERY TRIP FOR YOUR STOCKPILE.
Like I said, you don’t want to use all your money in one shot. Every time you go to the grocery store take just 10-20 extra dollars and purchase some canned items you want to stock up on. Ideally you want to choose whatever is on sale that week. So if pasta sauce is on sale, spend the extra money on that.
The key here is to make sure you still buy pasta sauce on your next trips for a little while so you are still building up your supply.
PRESERVE PRODUCE FROM YOUR OWN GARDEN
If you are able to and enjoy it, growing extra produce to preserve is a great way to build up your pantry. My favorite produce to can is tomatoes. I grow a lot of tomatoes and then I make sauce, salsa, canned tomatoes – you name it!
STORE ROOT VEGETABLES IN A COLD PLACE IN YOUR HOUSE
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a root cellar to keep root vegetables over the winter. You do want a cold space, and depending on the vegetables will depend on whether you want it damp or dry. A damp, cool basement will still keep vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and onions for awhile. Check out this post over at Farmer’s Almanac that explains how to store your harvest without a root cellar.
You can store them in various ways, but one of my favorite is to fill crates and buckets with layers of sand and putting the carrots and potatoes in between the layers. I like to braid the onions to hang them for easy storage.
VISIT SOME FRUIT FARMS
Every summer we go blueberry and strawberry picking at a local fruit farm and we turn them into things like jam to add to the shelves. This year we added cherry picking to the list. I haven’t bought a jar of jam in a few years!
BUY PRODUCE IN BULK FROM FARMERS
Sometimes you can buy produce in bulk from farmers for a great price. You can then take it home and preserve the harvest for winter time! We just bought over a bushel of peaches that are set to arrive on Friday which I will can and add them to our stockpile.
RAISE YOUR OWN MEAT
Filling the freezer with your own home raised meat definitely gives you a sense of food security.
BUY A WHOLE COW OR PIG
You don’t need to raise your own meat to stock your freezer. Many farms sell whole cows or pigs already butchered and ready for your freezer. Don’t have that much room? You can often buy a half portion or even a 1/4 of a cow or pig.
BUY GRAINS IN BULK AND STORE IN AIRTIGHT BUCKETS
I buy my flour, oatmeal, and sugar in bulk. I store them in airtight food grade buckets with these lids, which by the way, are one of those products I would buy ten times over if given the chance. They are called Gamma Seal Lids and they allow you to screw it on the bucket – you know, instead of prying the bucket lid off with your fingernails (ouch!). Not only that but they are airtight and critter proof which is pretty important when you have food being stored.
WHEN TO START STOCKPILING
So, you can stockpile at any time of the year, especially if you are building it up slowly. I tend to focus more on building up my stockpile in the summer months leading into early fall. That’s when everything is ready to be harvested and when we have time to focus on canning and preserving food without extra school year commitments.
That doesn’t mean I don’t stockpile the rest of the year, especially if I find some good sales. But it does mean I put a little more effort into stockpiling during the summer.
I also like to plan to stockpile in anticipation of slower work times for my husband and I. So, for example, my husband is having a minor surgery in October that will put him out of work for a few weeks. I know things will be tighter around that time due to that taking place and so I’m trying to have a well-stocked pantry for October. The plan is to avoid the grocery store as much as possible to save on our food bill when October hits.
If you have a slower work flow at some point of the year, or you know there will be extra bills coming, or you have to plan for a surgery you will want to start stockpiling months before any of those happen.
However, we all know with life we can’t always plan for that. If you have been working away for awhile to have your pantry and freezer a little better stocked, then what happens is your stockpile will help you during life’s unexpected emergencies as well.
Stockpiling is a great idea to help you save money and assist you in being prepared for uncertainty. If you don’t have a stockpile, consider starting one today.
