I’m No Mother Hubbard
Quite the opposite in fact. I wonder if there is an opposite to Mother Hubbard? Someone who’s cupboard is so full that you can’t fit the shopping in when you get home?
When we moved to this house I promised myself I’d NEVER fill up the pantry. I saw how empty it looked with 4 boxes of food packed into it and KNEW that if I ever filled it up it would be a LOT of food.
Now in my defence, the cupboard isn’t entirely dedicated to food. The top shelves hold containers, party supplies etc and one shelf is dedicated to plates, cups and glasses.
BUT….
I’ll admit that we have TOO MUCH FOOD.
The fridge is full. The freezers (we have 2) are full and the cupboard is full.
This is what happens when I throw the budget out the window.
I buy stuff.
Too much stuff.
So, now I need to have a pantry (and fridge and freezer) challenge.
The best way to do that is menu plan.
Blah!
Can’t say as I really feel like menu planning.
But I really DO need to buy less food and let us use up what we have.
It’s been a very full on weekend. Netball Saturday then off to Whyalla for some family time and shopping (which is why the cupboards are now overflowing). I had to go to Whyalla in my netball uniform because I left my bag with my change of clothes at home. Doh! First thing I did was buy a pair of pants (I had a shirt over my netball uniform so that was okay). Came home and got the worst migraine I’ve had in quite a long time.
Then Farmboy’s sister and her family were here for lunch Sunday (which was a lovely time).
Followed by Father’s Day stuff and me collapsing in a heap Sunday afternoon/evening.
So today I’m tired and *should* be menu planning as well as some other stuff. But won’t be.
As soon as I feel better, I’m going to tackle the issue of “too much food”.
Please tell me I’m not the only one guilty of hoarding food.
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I hoard food (so does my mum) but thankfully we have so few shelves it’s impossible too hoard too, too much. But I do my best
Congrats on getting into the grand final!!
Sounds like my mum’s pantry. I’m sure if there was some sort of disaster they could live for 2 months on the food in there.
I’ve had a couple of weeks off menu planning too. It can work in your favour when you’re trying to reduce what’s in the cupboards - just make meals from what you have.
I thought exactly the same when I came home from shopping today and couldnt fit another thing until I cleaned some shelves up. Oh well lets be thankful for the food we do have and that we are plentiful. Now lets work on using up all we have in a wise way and as creatively as we can. I too will do a menu plan tonight - at least it helps day to day!
Pray your nasty headache has gone too.
L
I used to. Quite badly. But after having to go charities a few times because the ex had spent all our money on drugs, I soon learned to get what I could when I could!
It was a really hard habit to break too…..
I still slip into it occasionally when I haven’t menu planned for a while - either too much altogether or too much side meal/treat stuff and not enough basics.
So no, you’re definitely not alone!
We don’t have a very big pantry and store food in a bunch of different spots. Sometimes I loose track of where things are and we end up with excess.
I’ve found since I started shopping through Coles Online I buy much less. Used to walk through ALDI on autopilot buying the same things each time, 2 wheetbix, 2 cordial, 1 toilet paper pack etc. Even with the list I’d sometimes think maybe we’d run out of something and get more of it when in reality we had tons already. With the Online shopping I can run and check the cupboards there and then.
I do stockpile the things we buy from ALDI that I just can’t get cheaply through Coles Online but that means only a once a month trip to ALDI
Our freezer and fridge get depressingly empty just before shopping day. Wednesday Coles Online delivery arrives and I just pulled the last loaf of bread out of the freezer.
My Mum still shops for a family of 4 even though it is just her and Dad at home now. Dad is even worse, he gets it into his head that there will be some kind of disaster and buys food and hides it in his wardrobe. Recently Mum found box and box full of food Dad had purchased and was stockpiling in case that Bird Flu thing hit the Gold Coast.
[...] When you have a desperate craving for microwave popcorn and none in the house since you accidentally cooked the last packet a *tiny* bit too long yesterday causing smoke and possibly even fire that you begin to realise the benefits of being the opposite of Mother Hubbard. [...]
I bought a whole pile of reduced meat the other week, and tallied up the meals in the freezer - 24. Ooops! I’m now down to a much more respectable 16, so maybe next week I’ll be able to buy more meat.
We’re also still getting through the 60 odd tins I bought early last month when I was in an area that had home brand tins at 40c rather than the 75c I have to pay here. But I only got things I use, so they’re dwindling quickly now. I think I’m down to about 14 or so.
It’s taken me a couple of years, but I’m finally learning how to “stockpile” effectively. I figure it’s my nature so I should embrace it and do it properly. I think there’s a bit of space on the bottom shelf in the pantry. I wonder if anyone has cereal on sale this week…
My problem is that I have food in the freezer I don’t really like and I procrastinate eating it. It kind of just sits there….waiting.
Or then there’s food we kind of just keep forgetting about.
Besides that, we’re fairly okay at not having too much food. Maybe? Although that’s probably because I eat too much.
Oh my gosh - you are soooooo NOT the only one who has way too full cupboards. I get so excited when I’m in a whole foods store that I want to buy everything because I feel like it’s healthy so I should be able to eat it. Then I buy too much, espeically of the “healthy” goodies. LOL. I don’t like menu planning either but in all honesty - it does make the most sense and uses up what you already have before you go restocking. I am resolving to do more menu planning and I’m actually starting today.
I have been extremely thankful for my stores of food the last few weeks, when the budget had $80 for the weekly shop rather than the usual $250.
Growing up in the country where floods (or the wish of) could mean the 50k trip to town may not happen on a regular basis - and therefore I learned the food hoard from a professional.
V thinks I am mad because I have “reserves” and buy bulk items when there is a good deal - but he has shut up firmly when he gets rump steak on the table in a week where we are scratching pennies!!
I do the stockpiling thing too, but I don’t just buy willy-nilly. I take advantage of the specials and buy extras of stuff I know I will use. For instance about 6 months ago my local Coles had my preferred dishwashing detergent on special for a ridiculous 99 cents a bottle. I bought 2 dozen. Since I only wash dishes once a day and there’s only two of us here, it’s going to last a long time. Ditto with laundry powder. I have enough for a couple of years at least and haven’t bought any for at least a year now. It’s stacked in the back of the wardrobe. Other specials I stock up on are things that don’t go “off”, like coffee, milo, vegemite, jams, baked beans, jars of spaghetti sauce, sugars, pretty much all of the stuff required to make a meal when added to fresh ingredients. There are weeks when all I have to buy is fresh fruit & veg, milk, bread and eggs. The rest of that weeks budget is stashed away to take advantage of another round of specials if it’s something we have run out of. (or just added to the christmas fund). My linen cupboard is stacked with toilet paper and other bathroom, kitchen and laundry items that I haven’t had to buy for months now.