Hello Dear Reader,
Thanks for the lovely comments about the cottage renovations, I am in agreement with you, people do not need to spend much money on their homes.
I didn't need to do a food shop this week so used my budget to stock up on other items. I bought
3 toothpastes for £5 which was the best deal I could get locally without going online or driving to a supermarket. I bought the toiletries in the local Superdrug. 2 Sanex shower gels at 1.55 each and two portable shower gels for when I'm back in the gym after work each day for 85p each. 3 packs of razors at £1.11 each, 2 shampoos and 2 conditioners for 99p each and three Sanex 250ml anti-perspirants at £1.58 each. I bought the best offers I could find and comparable or cheaper than the supermarkets when I checked the prices on line.
As you can see, I keep my pantry cupboards well stocked. Plenty of everything.
I really didn't need to buy any food at all this week. Two or three times a year, I buy a stock of goods from Approved Foods, such as salad dressings, jams, yeast or pickles and those top up our supplies for months on end. I also stock up on supermarket basics such as UHT milk or ketchup.
I only have a three drawer freezer but that can hold almost a month's food for us.
Plenty of meat from the butchers as well as frozen vegetables to compliment the fresh veggies that we eat.
I always have some convenience food, it means on the days when I just can't be bothered, which sums up today, I can just have a baked potato with tinned tuna and some salad. We eat very few potatoes so it isn't worth me buying a bag of them even if they are cheaper. It's always good for families to have a supply of pizza or oven chips for days when everyone is tired, everyone is busy and tummies just need filling. It isn't the best idea but it's much cheaper than a take away.
Even though I keep a keen eye on prices and always aim to get the very best deals, I don't like shopping and being well stocked means I don't have to go very often. I also have a walk from the car park (my house has no parking on street or off street and I have to park in a public car park) to the house so I would prefer to get household items and groceries back to the house in dry weather instead of struggling back through the rain.
I've been busy today and have made a start on the roman blind and curtain for my sewing room. I'm photographing as I do this so you can have a step by step tutorial. I will share that with you tomorrow.
Over to you, who else stocks up and keeps a keen eye on prices? Who else stocks up and keeps a good pantry? Any one else use mysupermarket.com to compare prices before they buy? Does anyone else stock up now and then from Approved Foods?
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxx
We stock up on things. I have a small chest freezer that I fill with meats, frozen veggies and the odd ice cream treat. Using the freezer allows me to buy in bulk and reduce my prices. The small freezer on the bottom of the fridge has a hodge podge of things....like leftover veggies I froze, home baked breads, etc. The pantry is well stocked and we have one large kitchen cupboard I keep the most frequently used baking supplies in and one that keeps all the coffees, teas, etc. The linen closet has more bathroom supplies in it than it does linens :-) We also have a large set of cabinets in our pantry (over the washer dryer area) that I use for storage for cleaning and bathroom supplies.
ReplyDeleteI find that there are four big advantages to me shopping this way and keeping things well stocked. First and foremost I can take advantage of sales and bulk buys, secondly it keeps me out of the stores, third just like you I don't have to go out if I don't want to and fourth it makes entertaining a lot more pleasurable because I don't have to panic.
I have been running down my store cupboards through the summer as money has been tight , my ebay business suffers through the months when people get out in the lovely weather, having a few cooler days made me realise how low everything is now and not being a driver i have to wait until my husband has his good days through the winter to take me shopping, having no shops within walking distance i use my store of food more often through the winter so your post has reminded me to get cracking on re stocking This week i made a batch of pasties and today I cooked a large chicken casserole that will be portioned to stock the freezer too , The thing is stocking up on essentials always saves you money in one way or another in the long run.
ReplyDeleteI have a small freezer, the kind that is at the top of the fridge, and it is jammed with food at all times, mainly materials for cooking as much as cooked items. When I cook something like a lagasna, I freeze single portions. And I make a lot of soup and freeze containers of it, great for evenings you just can't summon up the energy to cook! never waste anything at all. All bits go to make stock or sauce or something. I save the water with which I steam veggies, and use it as soup liquid. And I make my own pesto, using herbs I grow in pots, and that kicks up the flavor of all kinds of foods. My farmshare costs me the equivalent of $12 a week, for 26 weeks, yes I live where we have a long season and a great local farm selling dozens of varieties of fruit and vegs, and we get a lot of variety in our weekly shares. So I live on a lot of veggies in season, freeze the surplus, and for only a few weeks a year do I need to shop at a regular shop for produce.
ReplyDeleteI was in the City today for hosp appointment so we stocked up in the Chinese supermarket. They are much cheaper. We can buy large packet for very little. Onions today were £2.50 for a very large bag.
ReplyDeleteI hate shopping
Loved your living room photos yesterday, it all looks fab.
ReplyDeleteI have cooked so much stuff for the freezer these hols - ratatouille, curry, chilli etc for when back at work. I shop a little everywhere to stretch the pennies.
Oh yes, I've been an Approved Food customer since I discovered it about 4 years ago. I shop there about once every 2 months, but I have had to learn to be more discerning, for example the drinks they sell are often a disappointment (flat or no taste) but they refunded me some orange juice I bought that tasted horrible. Also, I've learned to make the most of the 25kg weight allowance. I do buy a lot of rubbish from them though (sweets and crisps). Funnily enough, I used to always keep oven chips in the freezer but I have eschewed them in favour of baking my own from big potatoes, partly as a result of inspiration from your food blog Froogs. Shame on you! (only joking!) :)
ReplyDeleteI like all your remodeling photos that you do so cheaply. With the bargains I find, toothpaste is about 2 for $1. I would be appalled paying what you do. Whew. I mostly shop around and just buy stuff on sale or reduced and with coupons. I have never seen a three drawer freezer before. It looks like finding your frozen food is easier than digging through shelves like I do.
ReplyDeleteHi Froogs! I am definitely of the mindset that it's best to stock up. I don't have a huge freezer so I will often go to one of the 3 main stores I frequent and get enough frozen food to last the month. (Although this summer, ice cream and cold treats have been taking up more real estate in there than they ought to...). Last winter I really worried about the weather since for the most part I shop on foot. I stocked up a lot and intend to do so again. Right now I'm eating down the cupboards so that I can re-stock in a few weeks. I'll be restocking for the winter and will do it over 2-3 months ~ Pru
ReplyDeleteMy kitchen shelves are always stocked with the kitchen basics we use all the time. I have started to batch cook and freeze for the coming winter, too. So, there are quick and easy meals to pull from the freezer if we feel lazy or tired of cooking. I`ve bought two large chickens from Aldi on Wed., and they have been dissected carefully to provide meals in the future, then put into the freezer. I`m slowly stocking up with every weekly shopping trip I undertake. Spices I buy once or twice a year from our local Mediterranean shop. I`m well stocked up with these at present. I`ve had a few orders from Approved Foods last year, but have given up on those as I can`t find enough goods we actually would use. So, now I just shop locally by visiting two or three shops in our vicinity. I don`t actually like frozen ready meals or oven chips, so we rely on my home made frozen meals and make chips fresh when needed, as we don`t have chips more than once a week. I make jacket potatoes in the microwave, so I never need to buy those frozen.
ReplyDeleteI stock up to the extent that if I am under great stress, I overstock as if I had to feed the 5 thousand! I have to give myself a good talking to, then, and it always gets used up. We use AF to buy healthy stuff (apart from the odd packet of biscuits) and I buy loads of whatever they have that we use lots of. A few years ago it was tons of gluten free pasta, which saved a fortune, now it's loads of skimmed milk powder, which we both hate mixing up but we have saved every month on milk and will do so for months to come. Savoury rice, couscous, quinoa products etc are good for lazy meals. We get our main shop at asda, where we get staff discount, but sometimes we go to other supermarkets for the odd loaf of bread and cherry-pick their offers and discounts. I tend to buy reduced meat when I see it and joints of meat when it is on offer. We also go to a local wholesalers that welcome the public; we buy vinegar for cleaning, dried fruit, nuts and seeds for muesli and baking (some are cheaper at supermarkets), creamed coconut, which is hard to get locally, and a free coffee! I do look online before I go and see the price per kilo of things at the supermarket, then decide whether it's worth buying a catering pack or not. My neighbur doesn't have a car, so we get some shopping for her; I know what she likes and enjoy getting bargains for her, too.
ReplyDeleteThese pics really help froogs, gives folks and idea of how to do it, thanks again. Looking forward to your blinds tutorial and hope it will give me ideas for hanging quilted blinds to stop the cold getting in. Its nippy up here in Scotland and all the signs are for a harsh winter. So your tutorial is bang on time, thank you.
ReplyDeleteI swear to god that shopping steals your soul, I hate it too. Supermarkets suck! Lol.
ReplyDeleteWe get the weekly grocery ads for the 2 stores in our town. I find any great bargains and stock up ....I also get "points" at one of the stores and use my points to get bargains for about a third of the regular cost. There is an Aldi's 28 miles south of us and if and when I'm in that area for another purpose I stop in ....I also clip and use coupons that we get in the Sunday papers. Our stores used to double coupons up to $1 but stopped that many years ago. We go to the Farmers market during the summer months to get vegetables and fruits they offer on Saturday mornings.
ReplyDeleteLove a well stocked pantry! My sister is here from London and cannot believe how expensive groceries are compared to London. x
ReplyDeleteThroughout the Autumn I watch prices and try to stock up on everything I know will be needed through the Winter, for myself and for the animals (no "sales" there, I'm afraid...the price of hay and grain only tends to goes up). Not only do I dislike shopping, but I don't want to have to carry things up from the road when I can't get in or out of my long and steep driveway.
ReplyDeleteForgot to say, I love the curtains you made! Beautiful job, lovely fabrics :)
ReplyDeleteI also 'stock up' though slightly differently as most comes from our garden or the woods. This year is very good for mushrooms so I have been to the woods daily returning with baskets full. They are then preserved in various ways and I won't need to buy any during the winter. My aim is to have all the jams, marmalade, canned veg and fruit to last us the whole winter. It makes great savings.
ReplyDeleteI do a weekly online shop, but my cupboards are pretty bare as I ran them down to the minimum over the summer to try to save some money. I do always have a good supply of toiletries though as I stock up when they are on offer, and because I am a bit of a beauty product junkie! Your blog reminded me the other day that I probably should start stockpiling for the bad weather. Our nearest supermarket is 2 miles away but as I pass it every day when I walk my children to school, I never think of it as "far away". But I guess if it was snowy and school was shut, it would seem quite a long way! So I've now devoted a cupboard for "stockpiling". Thanks for reminding us all to do this - I've never done it before so in my case, thank you for introducing me to the idea xx
ReplyDeleteI use mysupermarket.com to check out Tesco offers. Also use Aldi, Morrison and Lidl's websites to check out their weekly offers. I stock up on toiletries and dry goods when I see them at half price. Love what you've done to your new house - you're a real homemaker.
ReplyDeleteWe have a Bodycare shop in our town and it sells fantastic products at a very reasonable price. You just can't find it online but here is a review.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/bodycare-leeds
You can get main brand toothpastes (100ml) for an average of 99p each, sometimes for as little as 69 p, 500ml pots of Cocoa Butter body lotion for 99p, cheap soap, shampoo and conditioner. They stock a wonderful brand called Creightons and also regularly buy up end of line stock. I once got and end of line antiperspirant deodorant for only 19p. I bought one thinking it would be awful but it was great and so I went back and bought several. We stock up on all toiletries there.
I've only just started using My Supermarket, it's certainly a helpful tool. I actually really enjoy shopping and look forward to it every week :) But I do stock up on toiletries whenever I'm in town, as we have a Savers, a brilliant shop for discount toiletries.
ReplyDeleteHaving just managed to get budgets sorted think this may need to be my next plan! dont have a stock of anything !
ReplyDeleteWe are eating the pantry down. It is overfull and I would hate to waste the food in there because it is so easily lost. I am beginning to see some space and when it is time to refill things are going to be approached in a disciplined manner. Tonight the stock pot is converting bits and bobs into stock. Since we all have colds I see chicken soup on the menu for the coming week.
ReplyDeleteWe are eating down the pantry before our trip, and I aim to go to the SPC cannery store in Shepparton after we get back and stock up on things. I've found our needs have changed over the last few years, I used to buy little fruit packs for the kids lunch boxes (all kids grown up now), the main things I'll get this time is tinned fruit, tomatoes,corn, and tomato soup which apart from being the only tinned soup we eat (the rest are all MOO'd) I use a lot in cooking for pasta etc. I stock the freezer with bulk cooked lasagnes, mince base, chicken breast that I've bought at $5.99kg and than prepared before freezing and MOO freezer meals, I also sometimes bulk cook rice, vacuum seal and freeze for instant days or make up my own bags of soup mix veges etc. The pantry mostly has staples like flour, sugar, pasta. I try and bulk shop at the start of each month and my husband or son do little top up shops for F&V, milk or specials
ReplyDeleteYou know I have a well stocked cupboard, freezer, in fact kitchen in general, but I am running down supplies with a No Spend/Low Spend September in a bid to only stock the absolute essentials that we use regularly.
ReplyDeleteI too, buy my toiletries when they are on offer, our brand of toothpaste is usually quite expensive so I wait until it's on offer at £1 each or thereabouts before really stocking up. It tends to happen about every 3 months or so, which means we have never run out or had to buy it at full price.
I always find the best time to stock up on toiletries is immediately after Christmas they are really cheap then, as I guess lots of folks have gift packs to use up and don't add things to their usual weekly shop.