How's your quarantine stockpile holding up?

[geekette]

We don't go to the stores and don't use personal shopping type service and everything is delivered to us by UPS/FedEx/Amazon/GLS/OnTrac. We are on 3 subscription services, 1 for farm produce, 1 for meat and 1 for mixed of produce and meat. Our fridge, freezer and pantry are filled to the brim. I have used up half of the open floor space in one guest room for stockpile. By nature I am an online shopaholic and SIP has turned me into Godzilla of online shopping. I need therapy!

I would suggest that you are instead Queen of online resource procurement... You would be a great surrogate caterer - knowing exactly where to get what, have it shipped to event destination... I saw something about caterers yesterday, that's why I went that direction... difficult business now ... no more buffet set ups...

Too bad you're retired, you would be amazing as head of purchasing for any company.

 

[sue1947]

Thanks you. I'll follow those tips. But has anyone tried to freeze it?

You can't freeze lettuce unless you want a soggy mess. Anything with cell structure will break down when frozen. The water in them expands and then collapses the cell walls. Fresh salad stuff needs to be fresh. If you are going to throw some spinach or kale into soup, that can be frozen and added while frozen to the soup. If you let it thaw before adding, it will look too unappetizing.
Onions and celery are the same but you can freeze them for cooking where the crisp texture isn't an issue. I dice up onions and celery and freeze to use in meatloaf or soups etc. Carrots are better since they have less water, but the texture changes so diced carrots in soup works ok frozen, but whole baby carrots or potatoes in stew don't freeze as well.

Sue

 

[VacationForever]

Need some help here. Is there a way to preserve lettuce? We by the lettuce salad mix from Costco, but it comes in a large bag and wilts after a while. Can it be frozen? What's the best way to preserve it?

This may not be what you are used to, but lettuce is great in soups and they maintain some of the crunch. When I make chicken vegetable soups, I also throw in whatever greens that I have in the fridge and lettuce is great in soups. You can freeze soup if you make a large pot.

 

[mdurette]

I have been thinking about the stockpile a bit more recently. A couple months ago we finally made our way through all the frozen meats and pantry items that I stockpiled in March. We are back to shopping week to week (still 95% delivery) but was close to that prior to Covid anyway. But now the case count is starting to increase and we are on the verge of rolling back phases and I'm considering filling the freezer. fridge and pantry again. The good thing is this time around, I at least know essential business will still be open. I know what I will and will not need.

Anyone else building their stash back up?

 

[silentg]

Yes we are getting some meat for the freezer tomorrow. We haven’t really stocked up since the time our freezer broke while we were on vacation. But we are going to be home mostly for a few months so should be ok. New Freezer now.

 

[Panina]

I have been thinking about the stockpile a bit more recently. A couple months ago we finally made our way through all the frozen meats and pantry items that I stockpiled in March. We are back to shopping week to week (still 95% delivery) but was close to that prior to Covid anyway. But now the case count is starting to increase and we are on the verge of rolling back phases and I'm considering filling the freezer. fridge and pantry again. The good thing is this time around, I at least know essential business will still be open. I know what I will need and not need.

Anyone else building their stash back up?

Just was thinking about it and will

 

[klpca]

Just ordered essentials from Costco this week. I bought TP, paper towels, coffee, dishwasher detergent, flour, sugar, rice and peanut butter. We get deliveries from imperfect foods (meat, dairy, produce) and our CSA box (produce) so we are good to go if things get crazy again. We cook from scratch so not much changes for us. But we do have the craft beer issue to deal with

 

[clifffaith]

I bought TP yesterday, rather than open up my stash pack. Think I'll keep my stash intact. That being said, it occurs to me I have a separate smaller TP stash in a large plastic crate with a lid that also has hand sanitizer, wipes, etc -- I suspect those smaller packs of TP are lesser quality than we usually use (took whatever I could find last spring), so we should use that up and move some of the better rolls to the stash box.

 

[Brett]

I have been thinking about the stockpile a bit more recently. A couple months ago we finally made our way through all the frozen meats and pantry items that I stockpiled in March. We are back to shopping week to week (still 95% delivery) but was close to that prior to Covid anyway. But now the case count is starting to increase and we are on the verge of rolling back phases and I'm considering filling the freezer. fridge and pantry again. The good thing is this time around, I at least know essential business will still be open. I know what I will and will not need.

Anyone else building their stash back up?

yes, the coronavirus is breaking records for new cases but I'm not panicking. (yet) ..... still got a big TP supply

 

[geist1223]

Costco and Kroger seem to be better stocked. We have about 3 sets of the 5 plastic containers of cleaning wipes, 2 of the 36 rolls of TP, several bottles of Pump Lysol, meat, etc. When we use something up we replace it. Luckily we have all the firearms and ammo we want. Last trip to Sportsmen Warehouse (looking for sheaths for our special flashlights) we noticed the Handguns, Long Guns, and all Ammo were in short. Lots of empty shelves.

 

[Glynda]

Our dining room has had two corners with grocery bags and some boxes on the floor. I'm so tired of looking at the mess. We have a very small kitchen and little storage so there it has sat all this time though some has been used and replaced. We also have a small freezer and have gone through most of its contents several times over the course so far. Hopefully there is no need to panic shop. Our state's numbers are almost back up to their previous highs. This is not the time to let our guards down because we are tired of the sacrificing our pleasures and former routines.

 

[pedro47]

We are not panicking, but we are well stock with paper products, Lysol wipes & spray, clorox, canned goods, meats, seafood, snacks, water, soap, wine, alcohol, ginger beer and tonics water.

We also now have ten (10) wild turkey's in our backyard morning and evening. Hopefully someone in our community knows how to cook a wild turkey on a grill. LOL

 

[pedro47]

Our dining room has had two corners with grocery bags and some boxes on the floor. I'm so tired of looking at the mess. We have a very small kitchen and little storage so there it has sat all this time though some has been used and replaced. We also have a small freezer and have gone through most of its contents several times over the course so far. Hopefully there is no need to panic shop. Our state's numbers are almost back up to their previous highs. This is not the time to let our guards down because we are tired of the sacrificing our pleasures and former routines.

Our dinning room is also where our stock pile is located. LOL.

 

[Glynda]

Our dinning room is also where our stock pile is located. LOL.

Right! No entertaining going on or people coming in to see it. But it's starting to bother me.

 

[WVBaker]

We are not panicking, but we are well stock with paper products, Lysol wipes & spray, clorox, canned goods, meats, seafood, snacks, water, soap, wine, alcohol, ginger beer and tonics water.

We also now have ten (10) wild turkey's in our backyard morning and evening. Hopefully someone in our community knows how to cook a wild turkey on a grill. LOL

 

[Passepartout]

We have pretty much set our quantities of 'pandemic supplies' more or less back to 'normal' amounts. I Do think that with Winter coming on there is an increase in Covid cases. Our medical facilities are at and above capacity. There is no place to go if we get sick. I believe the worst is yet to come. The authorities don't seem to have any stomach for closing back down, but (imho) that is the only way to achieve some sort of control of the disease, and give healthcare workers a break. They are the long-suffering heroes.

Right now, the stores are well stocked with all the supplies that sold out last Spring, but a shut down will go through that quickly.

I think the wise will stock up. It's gonna be a looong Winter!

Jim

 

[WinniWoman]

You should always have a stockpile of emergency supplies. We always lived like that. We were major preppers.

The only thing is when we moved this year we downsized big time on all fronts. We used to have tons of land and water and wildlife on our property, a big freezer, security system, 2 pantries and two car garage, landline phone just in case, 25 year dry food supply, and a standby generator and firearms and tools, etc. And a big wine stash in my kitchen island wine racks.

We now have no where near what we had. We just don't have the freezer/fridge space. My pantry is big, wide but deep, so I have like three rows on each shelf and it makes it hard to find stuff. Plus it has the wire shelves which I hate. I just ordered some sturdy, solid liners to cover them to make it easier to move stuff around and see what I have. I have been spending so much money on food. The prices are out of sight. But as I open up something I immediately put it on my shopping list and buy it again so as not to run out.

We do have a large basement so I store paper products and soda down there and could stash more dry goods if I feel it necessary. I could put a big freezer down there but right now I went with the small chest freezer in the garage (which I hate). Going in the garage to get food is so much easier and convenient than going down into the basement but there was no room for a big freezer in our small garage. But digging through the chest freezer everyday to find something and pulling half the stuff out and putting it back in really stinks.

As for toilet paper, we have a nice amount but now with our 2 bidet attachments I don't use it anymore. (but hubby can't seem to make the transition to using a towel to pat dry)

 

[pittle]

We do have a large walk-in pantry that is usually well-stocked so we did not have problems in the spring. I ordered some things from both Sam's and Costco online in the past 6 months to keep it this way.

The pantry is super full right now as Wednesday I went to the new Costco that is less than 10 miles away. So, I now have lots of my staples - Kirkland Albacore tuna, canned chicken, chicken stock, strawberry preserves, peanut butter, granola bars, shredded cheese, cream of mushroom soup, Better Than Bouillon, ground, beef, chicken, etc. I went at 9AM because I could and there were few people there so I meandered around and filled my cart to overflowing. So now we are set for several more months. Just go to the local Walmart Market and get milk, eggs & salad stuff. I can run in and be out in a few minutes for that.

When we worked, the company implemented the kanban system - always have the supplies for the next step ready so that you do not have to stop and go get it. We pretty much implemented that at home too - when we open a bale of TP or paper towels, we buy a new one to back-up soon after opening. Same with bottled water and anything we use on a regular basis.

 

[mdurette]

Another question on this topic. What did you stockpile in March and really didn't use?
For me it was canned soup and canned tuna. Not sure why as they are typical staples in our house anyway....just never ended up eating it.

 

[bluehende]

We restocked the last week. With the numbers as they are I want to have the option to not go to the store. Some of this was a matter of joining Restaurant Depot. Our charity work gave us this option. When you have to buy chicken in 40 lb cases muted buying is not an option.

 

[Ralph Sir Edward]

I put up shelves in the guest bedroom. I go on food runs about once every month - gloves and full respirator. Pick up from Kroger, walk in at Costco (wine and meat) every 2 months or so. Once a month at Wal-Mart, for a few items I can't get otherwise.

I haven't eaten any food out (restaurant or fast food) since mid March.

 

[kckaren21]

Another question on this topic. What did you stockpile in March and really didn't use?
For me it was canned soup and canned tuna. Not sure why as they are typical staples in our house anyway....just never ended up eating it.

Canned vegetables, canned chicken and tuna. DH has used some of the canned soup. I use canned tomatoes in cooking, but am not a fan of canned items in general. Somehow our cupboards and freezer supplies never seem to diminish. I shudder when DH goes shopping, wondering where we will fit what he brings back...

Must laugh and share: in March DH bought a case of TP online and it turned out to be huge industrial-sized rolls, which he is still re-rolling onto regular sized TP cores... I tease him that the quarantine can't be over yet because we still haven't finished those rolls!

 

[controller1]

I bought TP yesterday, rather than open up my stash pack. Think I'll keep my stash intact. That being said, it occurs to me I have a separate smaller TP stash in a large plastic crate with a lid that also has hand sanitizer, wipes, etc -- I suspect those smaller packs of TP are lesser quality than we usually use (took whatever I could find last spring), so we should use that up and move some of the better rolls to the stash box.

Yes, we just finished using up our lesser quality TP that we purchased when nothing else was available. It's nice to get back to our regular brand!

 

[kckaren21]

I haven't eaten any food out (restaurant or fast food) since mid March.

I want to eat out, but it seems unconscionable with so much food in the fridge and freezer at home!

 

[DaveNV]

We're still in "moving mode," so haven't really been stocking up. I did restock our freezer after we moved form Washington to Nevada in June. (Gave my nephew, sister, and friends everything that was in the freezer up there before we moved.) Now that we're finally located in our permanent home here, I can take stock of what we have, and get things back to normal. Yesterday they moved the chest freezer from the rental house here to our permanent house, and I boxed up what was in the freezer. It helped me see that there is plenty of food in there already. Not much to add.

The same will happen with the kitchen cupboards. We've been living in a temporary situation for the last few months, so food and such was pretty much what we knew we'd use in a short time. Now that we're going to finally be settled, we can work toward getting together the regular things we like and use.

Whoever said moving during a pandemic was easy? Oh wait - that was me. Oops!

Dave