This is Why … having a well-stocked pantry is important and 100 ways that will help you have one too!
by patsi norwood (c) 2015 All Rights Reserved!
Recently my husband and I received the news that one of our
monthly expenses … health insurance, was going to increase substantially. In the same month we also received news that
our income was being reduced substantially as well. Double whammy! Our first reaction was dismay, our second
reaction was to pray and then we set down with our budget and started making changes to accommodate our new financial situation. When all was said and done, we had some good
news and some bad news … the good news was that we could still pay our bills
each month … the bad news was that there was nothing left in the budget for
groceries.
For a lot of people not having money for a grocery budget
would be catastrophic, but for us it was a bump in the road. Why?
Because of our well-stocked pantry!
I grew up watching my mama keep a well-stocked pantry. When I married and we started our own family
I mimicked what I had seen my mama do, year after year, day in and day, I
watched her keep her pantry well-stocked all the while providing food for
her family from it every day. My pantry
today looks different from hers then, but the principle is still the same …
stock the things your family will eat when you can so that you don’t have to
worry about how to feed them when you can’t.
Our well stocked pantry has given us time to prayerfully
think through and come up with a course of action to balance out our incoming
income with our outgoing expenses. It
has allowed us to not have to panic.
This is why keeping a well-stocked pantry is a priority for
me; in fact, if you read my blog, A Working Pantry, you will know that I consider it my full time job and my
contribution to our family’s economy.
So how do I keep a well-stocked pantry? How did I get my pantry to the point that I
don’t have to worry about how to keep my family feed during life’s
unexpected? That’s what this special series is all about.
When I started this project, it was with the intention of
turning it into an e-book to sell, but the more I think and pray about it, I
think that I would rather make it a special series and give it away free … in
case there are others out there who find themselves in a similar situation …
whose finances just can’t be stretched any further but yet you still have to feed your family. It is to those whom this series is
dedicated. May it be a blessing to you
as you walk this path.
Please feel free to share about this special series … it’ll
be starting next week.
Patsi
Sharing 42 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building
My second blog: From This Heart of Mine
She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27
You can view my privacy policy HERE.
I'm looking forward to learning from your experience of keeping a stocked pantry. Thank you so much for offering the information at no charge to your readers. That is a real blessing to me. Our family budget is very tight as well. Health insurance changes are one of the reasons. Although I haven't been good about pulling back, looking at the big picture and really dealing with our financial changes, I know it needs to be done. Basically, I know I'm spending too much on groceries, but I don't know exactly what I need to change. I will be reading your posts in my attempt to learn what I can do to better improve our situation. God bless you:), Jeannette
ReplyDeleteThank you for the encouragement Jeannette. With the prices of food, it can be really hard to stay on budget. I hope some of the things that I'll be sharing will encourage you and give you more tools to fight the grocery spending battle.
DeleteWill LOVE following this as well! I learned from my mom as also and am so thankful that I did! I had just posted on my FB page about having an abundance of lemons and pomegranates and making jelly and canning lemon juice! I like using what the Lord has given us, I do share and we shop out of our pantry, also. It does my heart good to know that I am doing my part in our home! I am becoming my mom, which is a good thing! Prayers for you both as you share this information and help us all to be more frugal and 'waste not, want not'! Nancy G.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you are doing good already! Thanks for sharing!
DeleteBless you Patsi. It is for times like these that people like us prepare. Thank you for all you do, Angela
ReplyDeleteYes, it is for times like these that we prepare and I can tell you that we are really glad that we are prepared!
DeletePatsi, one of the reasons for starting my own blog was to keep a record of how I build my own flourishing household economy, as part of my mission to live deliberately and create a self-supporting home. As “way leads on to way” so too, blog leads onto blog, and I have found a number of blogs that are sources of information, inspiration and motivation in helping me achieve a flourishing household economy. Your blog is one of these. Patsi I am so looking forward to your new series. Thank you for your generosity and time in making this series available.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the encouragement Sherri and please do share about your blog and others that you've found helpful. Every bit of information helps!
DeleteLooking forward to this series! Thank you for sharing all that you do, Patsi! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the encouragement!
DeleteI know what all I do to keep the larders stocked but I am excited to hear your story. I will be praying for god hand in your special needs during this time of lower income.
ReplyDeleteThank you Kim and please feel free to share things that you do to keep your larder stocked. Every bit of information helps!
DeleteI can't wait Patsi! So many will benefit from your knowledge! My husband is very happy I have stocked so many things now that he has lost his job! Before I think he thought it more as stuff in the way. You always have such great posts with lots of wisdom!
ReplyDeleteVicky
Thank you for the encouragement and I'm glad that your husband now sees your pantry as much more than just stuff!!!
DeleteThankyou Patsy,
ReplyDeleteYour generosity is most appreciated. I look forward to your posts.
God Bless
Kathryn
Thank you, I will look forward to reading it. I am a dietitian with many low income patients and I have used some of your ideas in the past when helping them. Many do not have the benefit of having a mother like yours and did not learn as a child. Many do not even know how to cook and food insecurity is a big problem in this country.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for you to start this series. Is there a special day that you will post the next installment? Is it ok if I post a link to this series on my FB newsfeed? Thanks. This week, in my pantry, I added razor blades and toilet paper to my stockpile. They were free after ExtraBucks at CVS. I wish that I could score some meat deals like you talk about. I'd buy a second freezer for the savings you get. I also harvested and frozen brussell sprouts out of the garden. As you tell us, the pantry isn't just for food.
ReplyDeleteHi Maria, please feel free to share with others about this series. Hmmm, I hadn't thought about setting a specific day to post the series each week ... let me think about that. I will tell you though that I have another entry for this series to post later this week before we actually delve into the specific ways I build my pantry which will start next week. And ... yes ma'am, our pantries are more than just the food we eat!
DeletePatsy I am really excited about this!
ReplyDeleteI admire your generosity to make it free especially for families that are struggling and I think many people are. Can I add a thought? A blog I was reading the other day, she had her books as downloadable e books and there was a suggested price but it said you could pay what you want. So you could certainly do that and say that if the person cannot afford it they are welcome to have it for free. I love your kindness and I also know you could do with a little extra cash coming in. I would LIKE to be able to pay something as I know it would be awesome value for money.
Whatever you do I will link to your post and promote it on my fb page on my Building up your Pantry Wednesdays.
I really can't wait it is very timely for me!
Annabel, you are so sweet ... thank you for your concern ... I am at peace with the decision to give 'This Is Why!' away and feel like it is the right thing to do with where we're at now. Thank you for the offer to promote 'This is Why!' ... I really enjoy reading your blog and look forward to each entry.
DeleteGreat post! Can't wait to read it weekly. My husband recently lost his job, and we are trusting God as we start up a maintenance business. This series is coming"on time" for us! Thank you Patsy!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for your husband's job loss, I hope you are able to find something in this series that will help you. Thanks for commenting.
DeleteYou are a generous woman to share such a vast amount of knowledge with everyone! I hope you will be blessed for your efforts. I'm enjoying reading this series immensely.
ReplyDelete