I think a well-stocked pantry is essential for meal planning and in case of emergencies. I try and keep basics plus TP and other nonfood items. But over the last year I’ve read some interesting blogs on minimalism and food storage. The idea that space is valuable in your house and why fill it up with more stuff than you can reasonably use. Or fill your garage or another room in your house with shelves of STUFF!

Ha Ha, this picture says it all.

Just because you can use triple coupons to get 6 candy bars, should you?? I do think there’s a balance between stockpiling and hoarding.  If you’re just out for the mega deals and loading up on hamburger helper boxes or Kraft macaroni( both which don’t count as healthy eating) then I think it is hoarding of a sort.

Back in 1975, right after we moved to California, a member of the firefighting crew that my husband was on introduced me to a better way of eating and buying in bulk. Shelley was an unusual woman for the time. She was strong and one of a few women fire fighters at the time. This is USFS firefighters. But she and I would drive an hour and a half to a tiny co-op like store to buy bulk oats, rice, beans, honey, shampoo, rinse,( we even brought our own bottles.)  I would go around to restaurants and ask for their empty gallon pickle or mayonnaise jars so I could use them for storage.  That kind of stockpiling is okay and really, in my opinion, a good thing.

When you have bulk beans or rice you can always whip up dinner. Plus, now with a freezer, I try and freeze tomatoes and sauce in the summer for winter use.

In trying to streamline our pantry, I’m looking at less condiment type things and just the basics of beans, rice, pasta, canned tomatoes and beans.  But I don’t need a case of canned chili or whatever case deal could be bought.

I guess it’s a balance and finding out what your family uses.

Some of my essentials are

• Lundberg organic rice
• organic pintos
• organic black beans
• organic canned tomatoes
• oats( not always organic)
• sugar/honey
• a jar or two of salsa
• canned fire roasted chiles
• tuna

That’s about it.

PS

I had written about 2 more paragraphs but the blog gremlins made them disappear and I can’t find the original post, so this is the modified one. If I think of what I was saying I’ll add it later.

PPS

Here’s a picture of some of my Ball Jars