Prepping is Not Just for Preppers--A Homestead Pantry

Bathroom closet pantry

I’ve always had a relaxed approach to grocery shopping.

From the time I was first married way back in the day, I would buy one of each item I had on my list. Just like my parents always did. When I was nearly out of that item, I’d buy another one on my next trip to the store—which was pretty much all my budget allowed for.

I continued the same habit when John and I got married. Even after we moved out to the Foothills, that didn’t change much. Sure, we had power outages, and were completely snowbound for a couple of days now and then, but we weren’t concerned. 

We’d figure we could get to the grocery store in the next few days—either in the small town 15 miles away, or the big box grocers in the city an hour’s drive from our place.

In any event, John and I would generally have enough groceries to get us through. Plus the homegrown produce we had on hand—root veggies in the fridge and berries out in the deep freezer—and eggs from our hens gave us a sense of security.

Then came Covid.

Folks all over started stockpiling food and household goods (and a whole new genre of jokes was born about hoarding massive quantities of TP!). Common items that had been available—even plentiful— my entire life, no matter where I lived, were disappearing from brick-and-mortar and online store shelves. 

It was time to change my attitude, and quick. We didn’t do it overnight, but John and I began to build up our shelf-stable food stores. Especially as we got further into fall—knowing we weren’t too far away from Northeasters and snowstorms.

For instance, we would shop less often, but would buy more of a given food item than we would use up before our next shop. Also, buy larger quantities: maybe two bags of nuts at a time instead of one. Ten pounds of sugar instead of five. Two cans of salmon instead of one, three if they’re on sale.

Backup grocery shelf is cluttered!

We also began the habit of buying a backup item. Or, as John would say, “a backup to the backup.”
Even if we had a half bottle of olive oil in the cupboard and a full liter in the pantry, we would buy a backup.

As the supply chain has affected grocery items, our habits have veered, it’s true, into more of a prepper mindset. I confess we have six bottles of organic tomato sauce for soup-making on hand. Five jars of nut butter. 

And my personal guilty pleasure, for adding to plain Greek yogurt: a comfortable supply of organic maple syrup in the pantry (at this writing, four large jugs!).

You might be thinking: who has the budget or space? Even with looming supply chain problems?

Budget: For John and me, it hasn’t been easy on our finances; some of the online food purchases have sat on our credit card longer way than I would have liked. Still, I would rather carry a balance on the card—since you never know when certain items might become available either in the short term, or even long-term. 

In any event, our loaded pantry is adding to our net worth, for sure!

Space. Well, you probably guessed our pantry is very crowded. Cluttered, even. Readers of Real Simple magazine would avert their eyes. But on the homestead, practicality takes precedent over aesthetics every time.

More true confessions: We have very little storage space in our house. The biggest closet is off the master bath. Well, guess where I made room for those extra pantry items? But maple syrup in your bathroom closet makes for eclectic closet organization.

When it comes to food shortages due to supply chain issues, I do have a recommendation. Buy as local as you can. It may be items produced in your area or in your state. If that’s not possible, I go for “Made in the USA” every time.

John and I have also gotten into the habit of buying a lot of our groceries from the little mom-and-pop grocery in the village 8 miles away. We know all the clerks and they know us; the personal service is amazing, and they’ll special order things for us.

For sure, the Foothills’ groceries are more expensive than from the big box store (we never go there anymore). But you can’t put a price tag on the sense of community.

Lots of tomato soup in our future!

Stockpiling can lead to another drawback: the a lack of variety, creating meals from your food stores. After all, you can only eat a certain dish so many times before you’re tired of it. 

Where we live, there are no take-out places, delis, or fast food restaurants, so we have learned to eat simply out of necessity. Yet it's one trade-off we gladly make to live in our quiet, peaceful area.

Still, given all the advantages of keeping a full pantry, you might keep this in mind: If you start small, you can gradually increase your stores, while you get more creative with your cooking!