Stockpiles can be very important for your household and are there to assist in saving you hundreds of dollars. From toilet paper and body wash to canned foods and condiments, you can stock just about anything. Finding great deals is key and with the rising costs of household items and groceries, you want to snatch any bargain out there to build that right up. But have you thought of some of the items that you should not stock up on, unless you take extra measures? You wouldn’t think that there was such a thing, but there is.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are an obvious no-stock item. Why? Because they spoil quickly! So with that in mind, buy only the ones you plan on using in the near future. If you find a great deal, chop up or dry the fruits and vegetables, place them in a zip-locked bag and store them in the freezer. They will last longer that way.
Don’t stock up on dry foods or ingredients such as pasta, rice, sugar or flour unless you store it in a sealed container. Pesky bugs can often make their way into our homes and are drawn to food, so they can easily make it into your opened boxes of food. Air-tight containers are the best. It has been told that flour can in fact go bad after a month, so be sure to rotate your old flour for new flour to get the most out of it.
Dampness is also one of the worst food spoilers. It will ruin whatever stocked non-perishable food item you have, so in that aspect, a sealed container helps out tremendously. Temperature and humidity affects food, whether it is good or bad. And when temperatures retain a certain degree, that’s when bacteria starts to grow and you have to toss out the food. That’s like pitching dollar bills in the trash. No one would ever purposely do that.
Bacteria is also a culprit (as shown above), causing food spoilage and even poisoning (also known as E Coli and Salmonella). This is why certain foods should not be stocked up on, such as dairy products, meat and poultry. Fish can easily spoil in one day. While your best bet is to freeze them, even using frozen products short term is best to avoid freezer burned food for dinner. Or if you want to find any alternatives, find shelf-stable milk and powdered eggs in the case of emergencies.
Medicine should be considered a non-stocked item. The expiration date is there for a reason. It ensures potency and safety. There’s no point in wasting shelf space, when it could be replaced with something that can be stocked up on. Use it while you can and then toss it out. Medicine itself is not cheap, so you will be saving yourself lots of money by buying it for a short-term use.
Cooking oils can hit your wallet hard, so when you run into a great money-saving position at the store, you can get quite excited and buy them off the shelves. Oils do expire, but thankfully they can last a long time unopened. However, once they are opened they can go bad within a month or two. If you use oil often, then it shouldn’t hurt to buy the bigger bottles. If you don’t, your best bet would be to buy the smaller ones to avoid wasting money.
And speaking of oils, nuts contain doses of it and will become rotten if left on your shelf for a few weeks. If you use nuts often, put them into a container and place them in the freezer. That will help them keep fresh and ready for their next use.
Do not stock up on left overs in your fridge, because they have a very short life span. That food in your fridge would last about 3-5 days. Use your imagination with them, such as applying left over mixed vegetables in your next day’s stew or adding deli meat with your salad to make sandwiches for a simple meal. Attempt to not waste any food so you can save money.
Avoid dented, busted, bulging or frozen non-perishable canned foods, especially ones at the seams. They should not be part of your food storage or stockpile. Those flawed cans have the potential of allowing bacteria to grow and can cause health risks to those who ingest them.
Whether you have a small or a large family, this can benefit your household. You can educate yourself about food storage, the benefits and the issues of spoilage. These money-saving tips are important in keeping your stockpile well managed while taking additional precautions properly. Make sure you are purchasing items that you use regularly and rotating your food often to get the most out your money and evading rancid odors. Pay specific attention to the expiration dates!
Kristin Willis is the founder of the blog, Coupon Friendly and a stay at home wife and mom of 4 children from Springfield, Missouri. She’s been writing for 2 years and has a passion for it as well as theater arts and music. Kristin is also a regular contributor to the CareOne blog, a community that provides debt consolidation and money-saving advice.
Photo Credit: donaleen
