Anyone else realised how little food storage they have now they can't shop almost every day?

[megletthesecond]

I used to shop 5/6 days a week. I would usually walk past 3 supermarkets on the way to work and grab extras at the weekend. Tiny under counter fridge, a mid sized freezer and limited cupboard space, even just for three of us.

Turns out it's a PITA trying to stock up as little as possible she you have no where to put it. Surplus for this week is currently sitting under my desk and I'm considering a second fridge freezer. Rather jealous of everyone with a beast of an American fridge freezer now .

Yes definitely!

We have a very tall/deep pantry cupboard but it's narrow, so it's of limited usefulness for everyday stuff - as small items slips to the back or can't be reached very easily. Otherwise only two cupboards for crockery and pots/pans etc.

Have got two over-spill boxes of dry goods in another part of the house but they are a pain to get into fully, and unless I keep a list of what's in there, and update what's been used, it's not immediately obvious what's there.

Fridge not so bad and is rarely full, apart from the first day of a big shop! Also have a separate fruit/veg drawer which is really helpful.

I have two tiny freezer drawers and that is what is the biggest pain for me as I can't store too much stuff/fresh stuff or batch cook. I don't have any room to get another one either so I'm envious of people buying chest freezers and stocking up.

IMO everyone should be trying to improve their food resilience at the moment since we don't know what lies ahead. In all likelihood increased prices, restricted choice and difficulties in getting some things.

Stock up on basics if you possibly can to build a pantry. It doesn't matter where its stored. I have things behind the sofa for example.

Tbh 5/6 days a week would drive me mad! I think I'd be storing non-perishables all around the house if necessary!

Yes we have a very small kitchen with a small fridge. I had a delivery pass and for the last ten years or so used to get two or three small deliveries a week, with the odd pop to the shop to pick up milk / bread on the school run.

I did a pre-Brexit prep end of last year so didn't need to panic buy but have got bags of stuff dotted round the house but keep losing track of what is where and am sick of tripping up over things.

I thought I was a pretty decent pre-Brexit prepped until this happened.

I have a crisis drawer under my bed but that really isn't going to be dipped into for the time being.

I would love a second freezer right now! My freezer is packed and it's not stuff we need.

My dh now goes by Granville....
He has reorganised our pantry so very well!!

Yes! How I’d love to have a larder.

I always thought my fridge freezer was a decent size. It's about 160cm tall, with three freezer drawers and four shelves/drawers in the fridge.

Without the extra fridge in the Bar, we would seriously struggle. All the meat, eggs, unopened milk/butter etc is now in the Bar fridge, all the lunch/breakfast/fruit/veg is in the Kitchen fridge. The freezer hold the emergency food supply- but there's no space for milk/bread/veg in there.

Oh definitely. I really need a bigger freezer.

Yes, we have a small under the counter fridge and freezer and not much cupboard space. Never bothered me before crisis but now I wish I'd got the extension sorted before this crisis. I'd love a bigger kitchen. If architects can still work I'll be getting one round as soon as lockdown is lifted

@Windyatthebeach "Granville" . You should get him a brown shop coat.

DS would like a mini fridge for his room. I might treat him to one and commandeer a shelf for the foreseeable future.

I've got a large chest freezer and an American fridge freezer. That works fine for me. Then I have the cupboard above the oven as my baking supplies cupboard and my 60x 60 floor to ceiling unit is my pantry. Holds plenty of tins, packets etc.

I try to keep 8 minimum of each at all times i get sick all the time due to a dodgy immune system and can't always shop. 4 kids eat loads. So 8-12 sausage and beans, tinned Toms, coconut milk, pasta bake, hot dogs, curry pastes etc. 5kg rice and pasta. My freezer always has a few kg of chicken, mince and the regular pizzas and nuggets.

I also have shelves fitted above my windows as my kitchen is tiny and have lots of mason jars with different pastas, pulses, grains etc both for display but as extra storage. Just those shelves hold another 12- 18kg of stuff and looks pretty too. My kitchen is woefully tiny but I've really managed to maximise the storage. I got a thick piece of ply and used 4 cans to make a raised shelf above the top of the American fridge freezer. Even more storage up there now for kitchen rolls and cleaning stuff etc.

Not sure about coat but he has a bike already!!.

I have a very small kitchen. Now I can only shop weekly I have a big Tesco bag with tins in my bedroom....after a few days I put the tins in the kitchen.

I'm currently living in my parents house and very grateful for their old fashioned pantry. Maybe in the future they'll become a feature of kitchens again!

Our kitchen is so small I can touch all the worktops if I stand in the middle.

Our washing machine is in the bathroom, our tumble dryer is in the garage and our non-perishable food is stored in a sideboard in the dining room

I have several boxes of tinned/dry goods stores under the stairs at the moment. I'm using an app called Stock It to keep a list of what's in each box, it's really helpful. You can create storage 'areas' so I have one for each box and one for the freezer, then if you need something, you type it in the search box and it will tell you which box it's in.
We were lucky in that our old small freezer packed in in January so we replaced it with a full-height one, not really realising how useful it was going to prove a couple of months later!

We moved house last year to one with a fully fitted kitchen, so integrated fridge freezer. We had freestanding under counter fridge and freezer in our last place so stuck them in the utility room as a temporary measure. We thought about selling them but didn’t get round to it and I’m so glad as we’ve started using them now.

We used to get a couple of mid sized shops a week delivered and top up with salad, fruit etc from local shops most evenings on way home. Now it’s one big shop it takes up so much space.

We live in a flat and don't have a large kitchen but still have only ever shopped weekly and managed to put it all away.

I've realised how much unnecessary stuff we have in the kitchen cupboards. Somehow we have in excess of 50 mugs (2 adults). We still have the plain white IKEA china that we used before getting married (10 years ago) and haven't touched since. Other unnecessaries include a broken bread maker and untouched fondue set and untouched slow cooker (kindly meant gifts). But there's cupboards full of this stuff. Meanwhile, tinned food is piled up in the garage.

Might be time to Kondo the kitchen.

@Tableclothing

Your kitchen sounds like so many crap holiday cottages I’ve stayed in

Nope but that's because I have loads of space and dlhave never shopped daily. I didn't realise people did this! Seems like a waste of time but suppose it's a must if you don't have the space.

Your kitchen sounds like so many crap holiday cottages I’ve stayed in

Guilty as charged!