The Barn and Fields > Preparing for Winter and Disasters

filling a pantry VS Stockpiling -- what's the difference?

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Alice:
I've been thinking about this a long time and I just don't know what the difference is?

I fill my pantry when I see deals so I have an extra or two of something so I don't have to run out when we're on the last spoonful of something. I have enough oats to last a couple of months and a case of peanut butter and things like that in my pantry. I also have pasta, ketchup, soups, potatoes, rice, case of tomatoes etc. just so I don't have to go shopping for these items every week. I have a freezer full of veggies from the garden too. I don't love shopping and love to reach into a pantry for something to make for dinner. I have three extra rolls of paper towels and a case of TP as well as three extra tubes of toothpaste just for when we run out, I don't have to run to the store.

Is this stockpiling or just keeping a pantry and cupboard filled with necessities?

Alice

greyhoundgirl:
I am guessing this is very open to personal interpretation, lol.

For me, stockpiling is buying enough of something at the best price to get me through till when I expect it to be at that price again.  For example, sale on PB.  Buying maybe three months' worth to get through till I get that on sale again.  I know some people aim for more than 3 months, but that is my personal goal.

Anne Ofalamo:
I have turned into an insane deal buyer! I see something we use on sale and I go crazed buying all I can afford. I am vowing to slow down, and think, "really? do I need 10 family size jars of peanut butter?" nope.
I just cleaned out both fridges...what? yes, two fridges, and one is empty. I am going to see how long I can go without it and then sell it. It uses lots of electricity and room. I moved it to our back patio. Perhaps I can fill with waters, and such?? but I am hoping to declutter it!
anyways, I babble.
I think it is a personal thought to the difference. How many boxes of something does one need? I think they probably go on sale more often than we think.

Alice:
Anne,

I'm thinking the same way.  How much does one really need to store away?

My life now is that we moved to a smaller home with 3 young adult kids so we are 5 adults in the home. I used to always have a full storage of TP, paper towels, canned goods, etc. but now the 3 kids are all away at college or working- one who just graduated college and is a teacher but living at home with us. We used to have two freezers and two refrigerators but when we moved, we sold one freezer and left the old second refrigerator with the home. I really don't miss either one.  I used to buy 6 gallons of milk at a time but now it's just one or two depending on how many people are home. All summer, when the kids were all home, we drank only two gallons of milk in about a 10 day time frame.

We realistically don't need the large quantities of anything anymore. We also moved from a large country home with a lot of space to a small city (outskirts of the city) home. My nearest grocery store is less than 2 miles away and if I need anything, it is easy to go get it. Now with only one kid home this school year, I suspect we'll need a whole lot less groceries and stockpiling isn't all that necessary for us. A filled pantry is always good for those nights we get home and put together a simple meal from the pantry without having to go out and get an item or two. What's also really nice is that my 22 YO daughter can help me put together a simple meal. She shoots out some ideas and together we put it together. It helps her learn how to put a meal together and cook instead of running out to get something so that's a plus.

Alice

Cheryl:
During the winter of 2007 we went through some really lean times.  Money was tight, Tony was working in construction, and it was a really bad time for us.  The next year work picked up and we were in a better place financially.  I started taking a set amount of money each paycheck and built a nice little stockpile.  That was the year I really started building my pantry.

We moved to this house in January 2010 and it's a lot smaller than our other house.  I don't have the space to store a huge amount like I used to, and to be honest, I don't want to.  Don't get me wrong, I still want a cushion in case something happens, but I've been working on downsizing everything and having a lot of food just gives me anxiety. :-\  I garden and can and freeze a good bit of vegetables so we have that in our pantry.  I also like to have extra items that can be used to make lots of things.

I don't consider what I have to be a stockpile.  I just think of it as a well-filled pantry.

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