Tip #15: Eat the food you have.
You know that jam that was given to you last Christmas, as in 2014? If it's sealed, it's still good.
When we began to downsize I made it my goal to use up all of the food in my cupboard and freezer. I think this is hard for me because I like to buy things and if it's food I can justify the purchase :).
It was a real challenge for me to go to the store and ONLY buy the noodles for spaghetti...ONLY the noodles, no more, no less. I had the tomato sauce, herbs to make it yummy, carrots, onions and meat...I ONLY needed the noodles. Going to the store and ONLY buying what I needed to be able to use the things in my pantry was an ongoing challenge as I downsized.
Now that we're living tiny, I always take stock of my food before a trip to the grocery store. For instance, I have a jar of Cashew Coconut Sauce that needs chicken and veggies: I bought chicken and veggies for the week. It is nice that we don't have much to take stock of, however, I did almost buy 6 peppers at Costco today when I still have one from last week unused in the back of my tiny fridge...
I feel the same way about buying food! If it's food, it's useful, right? So the cost is justifiable and the hubs can't complain about money spent. :)
ReplyDeleteBut when I bought $100 of meat and came home to realize that I couldn't fit it in the freezer, I realized I might have a problem. So I got a credit card with a $200 limit. It has to pay for gas (we drive A LOT) and food for the entire month.
As a result, I've cut my overall spending and our cupboards can latch again! I'm still finding things in my cupboard that expired two years ago (I found ranch dressing tonight from BG's everything-needs-sauce phase), but the overall extra food situation is not like it was. We could probably go a couple months with only buying fresh fruits, bread, and dairy products and still not run out of food. But Wal-mart is on the way home... and my husband gets free pasta from work. :)
And when the zombie apocalypse comes, we will be the last to starve to death.
We will come and live with you when the zombie apocalypse comes! Win, win :)
DeleteWell, my house IS bigger than yours... :) I have no idea why I'm suddenly excited for the zombie apocalypse.
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