Comments on: Managing a Stockpile

By: The Prudent Homemaker

The Prudent Homemaker — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 22:29:02 +0000

I live in a mild climate. However, if you live somewhere colder, check out the book Four-Season harvest. The author lives in Maine and eats from his garden all year long using cold-frames.

I date with the month and year on the things in my pantry.

By: Emily

Emily — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 01:44:43 +0000

@Amy, I’ll be posting the recipe in the next couple weeks!

By: Amy

Amy — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 01:28:02 +0000

@The Prudent Homemaker, great tip on labeling with the date when you buy!

Ah, to have an all-year garden would be a dream. I might even trade one of my freezers for that!

By: Amy

Amy — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 01:22:29 +0000

@Emily, those peach preserves sound heavenly! I should do that with some of my strawberries...

By: Amy

Amy — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 01:21:47 +0000

@Jennifer, yes. If the stockpile is large, you definitely have to find a way to make sure it is used in a (fairly) timely fashion.

By: The Prudent Homemaker

The Prudent Homemaker — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:47:51 +0000

I only have one fridge/freezer combo, so I don’t have room to freeze a lot of things. I can lots, though.

I date things when I buy them with a sharpie. I put things in order–newest in back when I buy things. The oldest items are closest to the door, so I rotate things in this order.

Two days ago, we just had fried zucchini for dinner, with corn and tomato salad (the corn was from the pantry; the zucchini and tomatoes were from my garden). I had flour, salt and pepper, and oil for frying in my pantry, along with the items to make the dip (powdered ranch mix bought in bulk, evaporated milk, and mayo).

I don’t have a lot of room to freeze zucchini, so I only freeze a little at the end of the season. In fall, though, we’ll have other fresh things from the garden, like spianach, swiss chard, and lettuce. Many of those will last through the winter (we’ll have fresh turnips then). In spring, our garden brings asparagus and artichokes.

Though I have many things canned, we also enjoy a lot of fresh things in their season from the garden.

By: Emily

Emily — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:45:58 +0000

I am actually trying to figure out how to best stockpile. My husband and I (no babies, yet!) live in a one bedroom apartment and only have one refrigerator/freezer. My parents do have a deep freezer that I’m sure they would let me use, but for now I just try to be as effective with my space as possible. Freezing as much as possible in Ziploc bags, laying flat, helps conserve space and staying organized is very important. I just put up five bags of homemade peach preserves for the freezer yesterday from the peaches we brought home from vacation in South Carolina!

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:01:23 +0000

I’ve found that keeping an eye on what I have is incredibly useful. It’s easy for me to simply stash food away in our pantry or in our basement and then not remember what I have. I’m still searching for a way to do this in an organized fashion. But for now I simply go and take a look every week or so. I try to find a way to incorporate what I have into the next week’s meal plan. Maybe I can use something I have to go along with something that’s in season. I still do my regular shopping, focusing on what’s on sale. I can use what I have on-hand now and be shopping for the future.

By: Amy Green - Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free

Amy Green - Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 03:33:12 +0000

Ok, honestly it’s just Joe and I cook a lot – I have learned to use left-overs (I know it sounds silly but for a long time we just threw them out. ) I buy produce on sale and I stock pile, too. I freeze a lot of fruit and eat it or cook with it later. My biggest trick, though, is carefully planning our meals around what we already have and what’s at a great price.