Stocking up for the winter

RadishRose

RadishRose

SF VIP
Location
Connecticut, USA
Do you?

I never really did, as I live very near a grocery store, pharmacy, gas/convenience stores. I get dog food delivered. I don't drink milk, but like it in my coffee or to make an occasional sauce with, so I keep a small can or two of evaporated milk in the cabinet for coffee. (hate the powder)

Those of you who live in snow and ice areas, what items do you stock up on? Do you can or stock your freezer with frozen meals? Canned goods?

How do you go about it and what items do you feel you "must have" on hand?
 

I don't usually stock up but may start doing it. I am on a fixed budget so it's kind of hard to get a whole lot. Many of the things like tv dinners I could get have too much salt in them and I can't have it in my diet too much anymore. But I try to get a couple dozen eggs and have them in the fridge, along with some avocados. I need to find alternatives to salt laden food to stock up on. I usually stock up on chicken thighs as they are economical and I freeze them. I also like pork ribs and ground round and can kept that frozen, too.

I keep brown rice too as I can eat that in smaller quantities. But I try to have frozen meats in the fridge usually.

Canned items have too much salt, too. I do buy some low sodium V8 juice.

There is a store pretty close to me where I do much of my shopping to stock up on things.
 
I usually try to keep stocked up on staples. Non perishables, and freezer food. Mainly because I just do not like going out a lot in winter. But like Ruthanne, being on a fixed grocery budget, I try to schedule my trips around when my check comes each month.

Plus, having stuff on hand makes it nice if there is a bad spell of weather, and I cannot get out.
 

Not intentionally. I've always kept a well stocked pantry though, including plenty of back up peanut butter;), canned beans, 25-50 pounds of flour, brown rice, at least 30 gallons of fresh, drinkable water plus a swimming pool full of water for laundry, bathing, cleaning, etc. We could live for several months if our natural gas supply (for cooking) remained intact, but we'd obviously need more potable water long before that.

California's emergency preparedness rule of thumb advises everyone to be completely self-sufficient with food, water (a gallon per person per day, plus some for pets), clothing, blankets, tent, meds and other life necessities for at least 3 days. A week would be better.
 
A little different in this part of the country. Stocking up down here is done during Hurricane season, which is now .. And it is mostly plenty of canned goods (for power issues) and cases of drinking water, pet food and any prescriptions needed for an emergency.
Stocking up on batteries for power outages, for radio, lights, etc., when you don't have a generator.
These things can carry over into the winter months if/when it gets too cold to get out.
 
It's been a long time since things were so bad that we couldn't get to the shops, but our lifestyle is such that we have pretty big stocks of food anyway. We'll be butchering a pig and a lamb in a couple of months, so the freezers will be pretty full. We've been making loads of jams, pickles and chutneys and the fruit and veges come ripe. We won't starve.
 
I keep a stocked pantry and freezer at all times 12 months of the year, lots of canned fruit, canned fish, canned veggies.!! My freezer is 75 % veggies, and the rest some meat and meals I've cooked and frozen, along with a little ice-cream and bread! I also stock up heavily on cleaning materials, toilet paper, and Kitchen rolls.. cooking foil, baking paper etc... I'm fortunate to have the space. not everyone does..

I have to admit..and this is controversial but I've been stocking up a little more due to the uncertainty of Brexit, this coming October 31st... Particularly OTC medication..
 
We have a second fridge/freezer in the basement and buy as much in bulk as we can to save money, so we're pretty much stocked year round. We always have plenty of canned veggies, oatmeal, rice and paper goods on hand as well.
 
We have cooked meals that we freeze so if we need them later... no problem. If the power is out, the wood stove will heat them anyway. We have a few years worth of dehydrated food stashed about along with around 40-50 gallons of drinking water that I dump, filter and re-fill every once in a while. Of course, toilet paper is well stocked too. :) that, and a swimming pool full of water allows us to flush when ever needed. ;) There's a lot more because I suppose we're considered preppers.
 

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I keep a well stocked pantry because I buy in bulk or when items are on sale. I also have two chest freezers that right now are brimming with veggies from the garden. I like to freeze my herbs as well. I have a big container of parsley,oregano, dill and thyme. So nice to reach in and grab a handful for winter dishes and very satisfying when I see the price of those herbs during the winter months. We now have a generator so if we lose power the freezers will be ok.
 
I do keep a good supply of dog food at all times. Altho' I think he should start supplementing that with all the rabbits instead of just chasing them.

Got really tired of using firewood and put in a propane furnace. My only real worry if snowbound is BEER!
 
wvnewbie said:
I do keep a good supply of dog food at all times. Altho' I think he should start supplementing that with all the rabbits instead of just chasing them.

Got really tired of using firewood and put in a propane furnace. My only real worry if snowbound is BEER!
Click to expand...
LOL, start building your stash!
 
Just thought of something else. When Rick was working he would order a supply of ice melter from the place that provided for his employer. He worked for a small shop, and his employer allowed folks to do stuff like that, so long as they paid the invoice within a month. We usually ended up with enough to get through most if not all winter
I will need to go out and get some, as last winter I used up the last of what he got before he retired.
 
I live within 5 miles of all the major stores and three blocks from a small strip shopping plaza. with a grocery store, drug store, etc...

I normally have a backup of frequently used items on the shelf and a few things in the freezer.

I do keep an eye on the weather and try to shop for a few things just before a storm. The things I buy have more to do with cravings than they do with emergency rations.

I also keep a few delivery menus on hand, the pizza and Chinese delivery restaurants seem to be more dependable than the snowplows in my area.
 

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