Be Prepared For An Emergency With A Grocery Stockpile
The reason everyone should begin an emergency food stockpile list is that you never want to go without.
In times of need where your income may be lower, job loss, health decline or the recent hoarding pandemic of the coronavirus that put many Canadians up against a corner until grocery shelves were re-stocked.
I’m fully aware the government assured us that grocery stores wouldn’t be affected however that didn’t stop hoarders from buying up masses of products.
In the future (hopefully we won’t have to go through this again) stores will immediately put limits on products so they don’t run out as fast.
This is why I feel that since we began stockpiling food and other items years ago it gave us a bit of an edge.
There was no stress as we have hundreds of rolls of toilet paper, water, paper towel, case of wipes and a small stockpile of foods ready to go.
Our freezer is always stocked up as we take advantage of 50% off stickers whenever possible.
So, we didn’t freak out and rush to the grocery store because we knew we would be fine even if the grocery stores closed, ran out of stock or had limited hours.
Stockpiling Depends On Need and Finance
Not everyone has money set aside to stockpile food but one thing to consider is that stockpiling may only mean 2 or 3 bottles.
I’m not getting into the realms of extreme couponing in this post because that’s not the message I want to convey.
What I want you all to understand is that using coupons is a great way to save but so is building your stockpile food list slowly.
You don’t need to rush out with 100 coupons to buy 100 products that are on sale just so you have it in your home.
This is about creating an emergency food stockpile list that will keep you and your family going in the event of a mass emergency.
We don’t know what could happen in the future and I know many people who started preparing for the coronavirus pandemic months in advance.
They saw the warning signs and began stocking up on products such as toilet paper, paper towel and grocery items as they went on sale.
Smart thinking however if we keep the stockpile mindset all year we won’t have to wait until something comes crashing down on society or in our personal lives.
I’m glad you’re here reading this and I hope that by the end of this post you’ll print my free printable and brainstorm your emergency stockpile food list.
Hoarding vs. Stockpiling
There is a big difference between having a large food stockpile and hoarding so let’s debunk a few myths.
If you have a stockpile you’re a hoarder– FALSE Stockpiling food and other products that you or your family uses regularly is a great way to save money and always have the product on hand. Over three years, we amassed a moderate food stash + a large health and beauty stockpile that lasted us many years.
People who stockpile take away from those in need – FALSE Again, engaging in simple foods to stockpile is a process that happens over time and NOT all at once. Grocery hoarders will clear shelves in one shop with no regard for other shoppers, stockpilers will not. For example, Brexit or the Coronavirus pandemic where shoppers rush out and hoard all of the toilet paper when everyone is looking for it. Some may hoard products for resale purposes to earn a side-income at the wrong expense of fellow citizens. Buying 20 bottles of Advil at full price clearing a shelf. Essentially hoarders may not even consider price where those who stockpile do so for money savings and emergency.
Stockpiling Is Expensive – FALSE Not if you plan your grocery shop according to your food budget, use coupons, coupon apps and follow the flyer sales.
Hoarding and Stockpiling is the same thing – False Stockpiling is keeping enough food for 1-6 months even a year in the event of an emergency, job loss, health issues, etc. Whereas hoarding has no end in sight. Hoarders will continue to buy and store until there is no space left in the house, apartment or room.
There are many reasons why people hoard essentials especially in the face of the coronavirus even though we’ve been assured everything will be alright.
Although Health Canada has recommended people build emergency kits — including items like water, non-perishable foods and prescription medication — they’ve also said stockpiling essentials in bulk isn’t necessary right now.
Here’s the thing though, they are saying “right now” which means you don’t need to rush out and go crazy buying stuff.
As I pointed out throughout this post stockpiling is a process that must meet your needs and done over time.
Emergency Stockpile Food List
Other Things To Stockpile For An Emergency
There are many other products besides foods to stockpile which I would advise consumers to keep on the radar.
When we were in our stockpiling years there were quite a few health and beauty products as well as laundry products that we kept on hand.
To be honest at the time the main reasons we would stockpile were to save money and limit winter grocery shopping.
After we became parents stocking up meant fewer trips to the grocery store with our baby and savings since adding diapers, wipes and bum cream to the budget.
Another reason for our food stockpile was so that we always had product on hand that we used regularly.
One item we would never stockpile again would be cereal as we didn’t get through it as fast as we thought.
We ended up donating it to friends in need who gladly accepted it.
So, it’s important to gauge what you need vs what you think you need.
Again, using coupons and coupon apps is great but try to avoid stockpiling just because it’s free or near-free if it’s not a product you think you will use up before expiry.
Let’s have a look at some of the items we would stockpile and continue to stockpile.
Personalize Your Stockpile Food List
Keep in mind that this is our list and yours will differ as it should be custom to your nutritional lifestyle.
Some of the items below are what we would stockpile in the past but our diet has changed where Mrs. CBB has been low-carb, keto for three years and I’m somewhere stuck in the middle.
You can see from our Keto Pantry Staples that we do tend to keep extra on hand of everything apart from the nuts.
We also bulk shop at Costco for many products when on sale especially if they are keto-friendly.
Another thing we keep on hand in our Budget Binder is a printable spice list that we update often.
We use lots of spices in our house so we keep doubles but not too many as they can go off quickly.
You won’t find any pasta in our house today unless it is Nupasta a zero-calorie pasta found in the health food section of most grocery stores.
Food Stockpile List Example
Canned Tomatoes
Tomato Paste
Lemon Juice
Franks Red Hot Sauce
Pasta, Quinoa
Pulses/Beans either dry or in the can
Canned goods and frozen vegetables
Jars of pickles, hot pepper rings, and pickled beets
Sugar-Free Jam or Jelly (if we don’t make it homemade)
Peanut Butter
Nutella
Cookies for Junior (he won’t eat homemade, figure that out)
Frozen fruit- Strawberries, Cherries, Pineapple
Meat and Seafood that we would freeze
Loaves of Bread, Tortilla or Pita Bread that we would freeze for times we can’t make it fresh
Chocolate Chips that we would freeze
Cheese that we would grate and freeze
Cereal, Oatmeal, Cream of Wheat (not now)
Ketchup and Sugar-Free Ketchup
BBQ sauce and Sugar-Free BBQ Sauce
Coconut Milk
Some Dry Spices – Parsley, Basil, Oregano, Dried Onions
Chocolate bars for baking or eating stored in the freezer
Almond Flour
Avocado Oil
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Coconut Oil
Maple Syrup
Baking Supplies
Apple Cider Vinegar
Butter that we would store in the freezer
Bacon that we would store in the freezer
Jugs white vinegar (maybe 2 or 3 jugs)
Fresh vegetables that we can blanch and freeze. For example, we bought 6 bunches of rapini last week, blanched it then froze it in packages.
Fresh Fruits that we can make jam from such as sugar-free strawberry rhubarb chia that we all love when on sale or we pick strawberries in the summer and make jars of jam for the year.
Rice
Apple juice not from concentrate
2% Milk 4L we freeze
Instant Coffee
Sweeteners such as Splenda or Truvia and other Keto Sweeteners
Water Enhancers
Gum (is that a food group?)
Powdered Organic Chicken and Beef Stock
Health and Beauty Stockpile List
Toothpaste for adult and child
Tampons
Condoms (you never know)
Shampoo and Conditioner
Hair Colour (not for me yet)
Face Care Regime products
Soap
Hand Sanitizer
Tissue
Toilet Paper
Floss
Over the counter medications (watch expiry)
Deodorant
Wipes and Baby Wipes (we still buy wipes from Costco)
Diapers (no longer in our house)
Other Baby essentials
Liquid Handsoap
Mouthwash
Razor and Blades
You get the idea.
As I could go on a bit more but you should sit down and fill out the food stockpile list printable with your essentials and how many of each that you’d like to keep on hand.
Cleaning Stockpile List
There isn’t much to this stockpile list apart from a few items that are great because they won’t go off.
Laundry Soap
Dryer Sheets or Dryer Balls
Dish Soap
Cleaning Supplies for around the house (Windex, Vinegar, Floor cleaner)
Mr. Eraser but the dollar store version (must-have in our house)
Stain Remover
Bleach
Again, this is an example of a few items we would stockpile more than one.
Once you personalize your cleaning stockpile list you’ll have a better idea as to how much you need to buy.
Another great thing is that once you have your stockpile food list, cleaning list and health and beauty list prepared you can keep an eye out for the sales.
There’s no reason to rush out and purchase it all when you can take time to build your stockpile.
Don’t forget to take advantage of online cashback offers, coupons, and coupon apps when building your food stockpile list.
Another huge advantage point that we’ve taken seriously is PC Optimum Points where we’ve amassed 5 million PC points.
The great thing about rewards points is that you can use them in place of your hard-earned cash.
Free stuff always tastes and feels better in my opinion.
Oh, and the new favourite mobile app that helps us to build our food stockpile list is Flash Food which boasts 50% off or higher on products at the grocery store.
It’s worth checking out for sure.
Be ready when you need to be ready so you aren’t panicking as we’ve seen over the past week around the world.
Grocery Stockpile Food List Is Essential
The more I think about it the better I understand why we continue to stockpile food products and other items in our home.
One other thing I want to point out is that you should always take note of the expiry dates of any products you purchase.
We’ve gone over expiry on many of the health and beauty items without incident although you may struggle with aerosol sprays.
Be prepared that they may clunk out on you if you hang on to them for too long.
Your food stockpile should always be rotated and if you store food in your freezer be sure to print my freezer inventory list to track it all.
Having a Budget Binder is not only for your financial budget but for everything that it stands for.
Keeping your life organized is simple as long as you are committing time to do so every day.
Good luck with your stockpiling journey and if you want even more tips on grocery shopping visit my Ultimate Grocery Shopping Guide with over 200 blog posts.
Download and print the Free Budget Binder printable for the Stockpile Food List by visiting my Free Downloads Page under the printables heading.
Discussion:
What items would you put on your emergency stockpile food list? Leave me any comments below that you have on this post and I’ll be sure to respond.
Mr.CBB
The post How To Create An Emergency Stockpile Food List (Free Printable) appeared first on Canadian Budget Binder.
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