What's in my Stockpile

Kate asked in my previous post if I could outline my stockpile list, and as it's something I received a few emails about, I thought I'd do a quick post on it.

There are many advantages to stockpiling; buying items when they are on sale and in bulk will both save you money, having a store on hand will save you time at the (super) market and will also help in times of difficulty and crisis, such as when a family member is ill or you can't get to the shops due to the weather (snow storm, flood etc).

I hate shopping at the best of times (even the farmer's market can be stressful when it's crowded and I have all three kids with me, who have little patience for my browsing), so the less time I spend on it, the better.  Moving away from convenience foods was a big help as I can avoid over half the aisles at the supermarket.  We usually get our organic fruit & veg delivered, and I am a member of a couple of bulk-buying co-ops but I still need to go out for fresh milk & juice, toilet paper, some tinned foods, and dry dog & cat food for example.

The items that I are on my stockpile list at the moment include those listed below. Most items are organic if they are available (& I can afford them), though I generally give locally-produced foods preference over imported organic food.

Dry Goods
Flours (plain & self-raising wholemeal, bread flour, buckwheat flour, masa harina, semolina & Khorasan)
Polenta
Sugars (raw, caster & Rapadura)
Pulses (several types of lentils, chick peas, split peas, kidney beans & cannellini beans)
Nuts & seeds - e.g. sesame, sunflower seeds, pepitas, pecans, cashews, macadamias, hazelnuts, almonds.  Other nuts & seeds such as walnuts & linseeds (flaxseeds) go rancid quickly so we buy as we use them.
Pasta & spaghetti (I make fettuccine but we like penne and spirals for a change)
Wheat grain & other seeds for sprouting (e.g. radish seeds, mung beans)
Cous cous
Pearl barley
Burghal wheat
Popping corn
Coconut - flakes & dessicated
Sea salt
Baking powder, bicarb soda, citric acid & tartaric acid
Powdered milk
Cocoa powder
Cornflour (corn starch)
Brown rice & arborio rice
Instant coffee & tea leaves.  Roasted coffee beans go stale quickly (and I am not impressed by the taste of beans stored in the freezer) so we buy fresh-roasted beans regularly.
Breakfast cereals - oats, bran, wheat flakes. Wheatgerm goes rancid quickly so we buy in small amounts as we use it.
Dog & cat biscuits


Tinned & Bottled Goods
Pasta sauce (which would normally be homemade but alas, not this year)
Tomato paste & Passata (puree)*
Coconut milk*
Baked beans & brown lentils*
Beetroot
Tuna & salmon*
Preserved fruit (mostly pineapple, pears & peaches in juice)
Evaporated milk& UHT milk
Stock powders (bouillon)
Oils - coconut, extra virgin olive oil, regular olive oil (for soap-making), canola (GM-free), sesame, peanut and rice bran oil
Cat food (he is old and refuses to eat anything I make).

* I no longer buy tinned tomatoes due to my concerns about BPA in the lining of tins leaching into acidic and fatty products (refer to this Choice report) and the only tomatoes I can buy in glass locally are puree (though there are several US brands which have BPA-free tomatoes and other products). I will not buy coconut milk or tinned fish for the same reason when my stockpile runs out, while I investigate BPA-free canned products.  I hope to start making and canning my own baked beans this year, so I won't be replacing them either.

Condiments
Tomato sauce (also would normally be homemade)
BBQ sauce (as above)
Worcestershire sauce (as above)
Soy sauces & Tamari
Maple syrup, rice malt, golden syrup & molasses
Tahini
Mustards & vinegars
Honey, peanut butter, sunflower nut butter, Vegemite & jam
Home made sauces, jams, pickles and chutneys


Frozen goods
Peas & corn
Yoghurt & cheese cultures


Laundry & bathroom supplies
Bicarb soda
Washing soda
Borax
Pure soap (for clothes washing)
Oxygen bleach stain remover
Bleach
Toilet paper
Liquid castile soap (generally homemade)
Milk hand soap (as above)
Tea tree oil, Eucalyptus oil & clove oil
Glycerine

We also have a first aid kit where many other items such as matches and aloe vera gel are stockpiled.

As much as I'd like to store all of these items in glass, not plastic, that just isn't practical for some items.  I have a few 3L glass jars which I try to use for items with a high fat or oil content, which may be more likely to absorb chemicals from the square 10L lidded plastic buckets I use for the rest of the foods.

I hope that this is of some help!

Cheers,