This is the small storeroom off the back hallway, off the kitchen; with the weather like it is at the moment, I'm fully realising the importance of having a well stocked store room if you can. We did get out on Friday for shopping, but there were a lot of bare shelves, very little fresh seasonal vegetables and fruit, no bread...........Fair enough, people have been stocking up, which I think is good under the circumstances. I don't see it as "panic buying" really - some folks don't know when they might be able to get out again. I don't judge people by what's in their baskets - if they have 14 loaves of bread and 60 litres of milk, who's not to say that it's for friends or neighbours who can't get out? Or for their own store room, with "panic buying" not even entering their head. Maybe they're on the same wavelength as me; maybe they only do their shopping once a month? Who knows? I just concentrate on what I need to do.
We live in a rural area, criss-crossed by tiny narrow lanes, with a good number of the population livng on them. I imagine some of them haven't been out or near a shop for days now. I spoke to one lass in the shop who said they'd been cut off completely for four days - they're only four miles from the town, so just goes to show.
I have plenty of breadmaking supplies - flour and grain, yeast. I refuse to rely on electricity and gadgets such as breadmaking machines, so if the electricity goes off, we'll still have bread. There are still fresh vegetables in the garden - I say fresh, that is if they ever thaw out the poor things lol Not unachievable, though.
When I live like I do, in the midst of trying to make the most of every moment, every day, being in the present as much as possible, it is necessary to plan ahead as well, and make sure that my family and I will have enough to eat, be warm and dry, and it's important to me to achieve that by my own hand as much as possible.
It's not always easy to maintain though; stuff has to be rotated and replaced - sometimes the money isn't there to buy as much of some things as I think we'll need, but we always get through; there's plenty of alternatives with a bit of forethought and imagination. A good store cupboard can provide the basis of many good meals. Another issue is space - I'd like much more space for storage of all sorts of things, but again, we manage with what we've got, which is a lot more than an awful lot of people.
I just get on with it, like most people do, without over reacting, playing the drama queen and having a go at others for doing things differently. It's what I'm good at :)
7 comments:
what a sensible, level headed attitude!
Leanne x
As I too live out in the 'sticks' I have always kept a good store cupboard and only did a bit of milk shopping yesterday, its amazing how long you can actually last. Its also lovely how everyone pulls together!
Couldn't agree more! I hope the current situation encourages people to be less wasteful too - it definitely concentrates the mind when you don't know when your next trip to the supermarket will be!
Willow x
As Leanna says you have such a great attitude.
You really are so inspiring MrsL, I've longed for more cupboard space in my kitchen so that I too can have a store cupboard and now suddenly while reading this post I've had a bit of a brain flash and have worked out how I can turn my coat closet in to a store cupboard!
I know I what I will be doing today once I've finished doing the windows!
Thank you so much xxx
Well said!! I also have a bit of a store cupboard but I am limited for space so it has to do and so far managing very well although we are also out in the sticks, we have main road nearby which is generally kept clear but the long drive from our park to the main road is the main problem and that is what cuts us off...
We did get to Asda yesterday but so many shelves were empty... bread, pasta, baked beans, and salt were the hardest hit... the rest were not so bad and milk was in good supply.
I only brought what I needed and a few extras to add to the store cupboard as we do need to live on a budget so not the funds for bulk buying.... but I have enough to rustle up some decent meals for a week or more. I also did put more food items in my trolley yesterday as I was buying for a neighbour who has a very poorly husband in hospital with pneumonia and its touch and go whether he will pull through.... so if anyone was looking in my trolley yesterday and thinking how greedy is she.. well they can think again!!
My point exactly, Aromatic - a mile in that woman's shoes and all that. We can only maange a bulk buy usually onve a year, as it's finding the hard cash for such an amount all at one time.
MM - when we moved here, that store room was a downstairs loo! Handy MrL shelved it out, capped off the toilety bit (but left the fittings in place in case it needs to be changed back in the future; I seem to recall he initialed and dated the concrete, which made me :) ), and we later moved the washing machine in there too, and the veg basket unit inot teh kitchen. The room is on the north east corner of the house, so stays pretty cold/cool most of the year; teh larder is on the north wall too - they knew how to build houses in 1947!!
I'm in cosntant hope of people being less wasteful, Tea w W; I feel teh message is getting through, albeit slowly, but these things take time, and education rather than coercion is the way to go I think.
Thanks for all the comments, appreciated. :)
MrsL
xx
Gosh MrsL - makes my task of clearing out the coat closet and finding new homes for everything seem really easy!
They did know how to build in those days that's for sure, not like this awful block of 70's flats we stay in!
Also, apologies, I meant Leanne in my last comment, not Leanna!
xx
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