Is your kitchen full of food all the time?

[Croissantsfordinner]

I was at a friend’s house last weekend and she opened a few shelves and fridge in front of me and noticed every single inch was stocked with lots of food - I mean lots! It made me realise that the only times when my fridge is full is when we get our bi-monthly grocery delivery and then we eat what’s in it and it gets emptied quickly. I do a weekly refill of fresh products but generally I don’t keep loads of stuff around, just enough to feed us for the next 3-4 days. So in my fridge, even when well stocked, you will only find 1 pack of meat (we don’t eat much of it anyway), 1 type of fish, some eggs, some cheese, plenty of veg and fruit and 3-4 condiments. And milk. That’s it. Cupboards are generally stocked with a few packs of pasta/rice, some canned tomatoes, coconut milk and a pack of porridge and one of cereal + some peanut butter, tea and coffee and 1 or 2 packs of snacks for DC. I don’t tend to store lots of snacks and other type of food unless I am having guests over.
I wonder if I am a bit unusual and most people are more like my friend?

I generally have things in the cupboards. Beans, pasta, rice, oats, canned veg in the cupboards, loaf of bread in the freezer just in case. Not because I am a planner, but because I can never remember what I have at home so if I'm in the supermarket and can't remember if I have beans in, I'll get some just in case. Sometimes I have none, Sometimes I end up with 12 cans.

I've also been in a situation where one or both of the kids or I have been ill and we've been unable to get out to the shops, so it has come in quite handy to have a few stock things.

Freezer and larder are always full - actually I need to use some of the older stuff up to clear space.

Fridge waxes and wanes with the weekly shop.

I don’t know how people could have an always-full fridge without throwing lots away? Unless they have vast amounts of condiments and drinks in there I suppose.

I like fresh food so get a weekly shop delivered using a budget of £75-85 per week including the £5 delivery charge. It really does prevent the impulse buys. I also do a once a month Costco shop for my bulk purchases, and spend £150 maximum on that.

I wouldn't say my cupboards are always overstocked, but if you need something to eat at any given time, you should be able to find it, even the day before the shopping delivery arrives.

Cupboards are always full if possible. I weekly shop so forget gets filled up the goes down over the week

I have a very full ( massive) store cupboard. I have about 12 tins of everything....tinned tomatoes, lentils, chickpeas kidney beans, tuna.....lots of pasta/rice/ etc.
I meal plan every 4 days and go to the supermarket then. There's very little in.my freezer...COOK meals frozen peas, sourdough and sliced limes for gin.

by the end of the month, we are always struggling so have very little in.
I almost always have pasta, rice, lentils, milk, bread, eggs, butter, cheese, frozen/tinned veg for emergencies.

Our fridge, freezer and cupboards are always full. The fridge is full of different dishes rather than ingredients. At the moment, there is a large box of split pea soup, box of biryani, leftover roast potatoes and veg and a box of corn beef hash. Leftovers will get eaten in a day or two for lunch etc. There are also two large containers of sourdough bread dough, to be baked in the morning. Also, a large tub of natural yoghurt, 4 bottles of milk, large jar of homemade kimchi, lots of condiments and lots of veg. The fridge is always bursting at the seams but everything always gets eaten. My daughter doesn't eat sandwiches and prefers a warm meal (even soup or curry!) for every meal, even for breakfast.

I not only have full kitchen cupboards but since Covid I have spare stocks of tins and packets in the garage plus a full freezer. Still can’t find a damn thing I want to eat.

It’s currently just me, DP and 7 year-old DD so our fridge has what we need for the week.
We meal plan and have a food delivery every week based on that.
We have cereals, dry pasta and a few random cupboard items.
Our snack cupboard always has something in it.
We only use our freezer for ice cubes and ice lollies (maybe frozen veg sometimes too).

Those who have hugely stocked fridges/larders etc. do you have teens?

My freezer is usually full/almost full, and my larder is pretty well stocked with basics: eggs, pulses, pasta, grains, tinned tomatoes, oils and so on. I bake, so the baking drawer is always full. My fridge is rarely stuffed full - Christmas, Thanksgiving, if I’ve gone insane and am having a party - and is mostly empty the day before my shopping arrives.

I'm like your friend, OP, but I am pretty sure your way is better! Things won't get overlooked or simply not fancied and go out of date.

I recently stayed with my adult DC and their new spouse for a few weeks (till now, DC was in a flatshare and always used to come to me). I had some trouble getting used to their way. They don't drive and I'd brought my car, so I kept helpfully offering to stock up their fridge since it's easy for me... no thanks! I would notice that they had run out of cereal or they had no bread to make sandwiches for their packed lunch the following day and they just replied, it's okay, there's food, we'll just eat something else. Blew my mind 😂

Possibly my attitude dates back to growing up with a mum who was ill and often very tired. She made sure there was always plenty in the house so she wouldn't have to shop if she didn't feel up to it, and there was always easy food in case she didn't want to cook. Or maybe I am just more food-orientated than my DC?

DC and my son-in-law are environmentalists, and no doubt their approach is more responsible.

As for why we keep a supply of food, it's for a variety of reasons. I like to know we have food even if an emergency kept us home or disrupted supply chains. Same thing for if we both come down with an illness. The basics are already in the house.

It's also cost-effective, if you buy things you know you'll use and have the money and space to stock up, because you can save by buying in bulk or when something's on offer.

I find it convenient, too, to not have to visit shops or deal with deliveries as frequently. There are always options for what we can eat on a given day. Something that requires more unusual ingredients must still be planned in advance, but the basics are always available.

I was on the bones of my arse for several years so my fridge and cupboards were never full, I just bought what I could afford for the next day or so. Never bought a full weekly or monthly shop just in case I needed to buy something else. I'm now in the habit of that so I'll only buy what I need for the week and by the end of the week my kitchen is pretty empty

I feel the same.

I like to keep a stocked kitchen. I think it comes from my mum who always told me that she grew up in a home where food money was often spent on other things and that is why she always kept plenty of food in our home when I was growing up.
I have teen boys though so everything will get eaten at some point, very little waste here!

empty

this and for the same reason.

Yes, two fridges and two freezers, and they’re both always rammed. Not sure why as we live 500m from the nearest store, maybe covid got me into it. I hate the thought of there not being different options for food.

I have a varied diet. Usually have a lot of different types of beans, grains, pulses, nuts, seeds, several types of rice, various types of flours, etc in. It all adds up. I hate eating the same thing so rarely make the same thing twice (except for a few store cupboard favourites).

@Donttellempike : it’s a cupboard (Scottish term)

I like a relatively stocked kitchen, especially cupboards & freezer. Fridge less so in case plans change

I prefer to have at least 2 weeks food in, just in case I’m too busy to shop… don’t usually eat that much cupboard/freezer food but like it being there! A lot easier with just a couple of adults

Growing up in a large family, we used to keep huge stocks (eg 24 tins of tomatoes, sack of flour/potatoes) so it’s natural to me

I’m the same with cleaning products, toiletries, paper good, batteries, stationery etc : can be busy with work and fund shopping time consuming so like it all at home

The press is an Irish term for the cupboard 8 grew with it but never say it (as I lived in the UK)

so a hot press is the airing cupboard

Always have food in. That helped me not buying much during the selfish shelf stripping before the first lockdown.

We always have loads in. Chest freezer is full. Cupboards are heaving. I grew up in a household where we never had enough food.

depends; we live 3 min away from a liddle and purchased very small fridge and additional freezer on purpose. They are usually full and my husband goes to liddl, waitrose and tesco daily for various products. Both him and my daughter eat their favourite specialities

I eat cheese, bread and tomatoes

Fridge is somewhat similar to yours but cupboards waaaaaaay more eg 6 cereals easily. 6-8 things for toast eg marmite, jam, marmalade, peanut butter etc.
20 tins of various things eg tomatoes, beans, peaches, coconut milk
eveey grain, pasta eg couscous, quinoa, different rices