6 ms·

Same here, we try and keep 3 months supply of groceries on hand from costco at all times. Once a month we look through what won't last 3 more months and stock u

Same here, we try and keep 3 months supply of groceries on hand from costco at all times. Once a month we look through what won't last 3 more months and stock up, and once you actually figure out what you need it's surprisingly cheap. For example we skipped our December trip because of the holidays and so spent around $1100 for our family of six. Which sounds like a lot but when you stretch it out over 2 or 3 months that less than $100 a person. I'd recommend everyone who can does this.

jxramos 4y ago
you have any tips for managing expiration dates? Me and the wife were getting into this subject recently. I'm considering buying a barcode scanner and just have an in and out spreadsheet that somehow I manage. Still tinkering with a few ideas. We have a big family and there's potential for a lot of food waste if not managed properly.
- kneebonian 4y ago
  The way we do it is we just take the new stuff and put it at the back so the oldest stuff is at the front. The other thing is we only buy things we know we eat regularly. So we have 3 months worth of applesauce, goldfish crackers. We also freeze anything that isn't in a can or a sealed, so bread we usually buy 4 loaves and freeze 2 or 3, and accept we'll have to get more from the store before we go. The limitation is we can't get things from Costco that aren't used regularly, for example, we don't go through enough cream cheese to buy Costco size, and it doesn't account for all our food needs. But if tomorrow I lost my job we know we could survive without having to go to the store for anything but milk and eggs* for the next month or two. * Hopefully we'll remedy this in the summer with chickens.
  - jxramos 4y ago
    Yah physical arrangements to support turnover are good. That's so true on that point about the rate of consumption for different food types is just irregular. I've been contemplating somehow tracking the pounds of food bought per trip as a quick informer on the spot. The tricky thing is that the kids are growing so their consumption has a steady ramp but not yet enough for a timely consumption of stuff like cream cheese etc. Lots of products seem to be in the 2lb range. 2lb is actually a good deal of food I'm finding out.

jxramos 4y ago

you have any tips for managing expiration dates? Me and the wife were getting into this subject recently. I'm considering buying a barcode scanner and just have an in and out spreadsheet that somehow I manage. Still tinkering with a few ideas. We have a big family and there's potential for a lot of food waste if not managed properly.

kneebonian 4y ago
The way we do it is we just take the new stuff and put it at the back so the oldest stuff is at the front. The other thing is we only buy things we know we eat regularly. So we have 3 months worth of applesauce, goldfish crackers. We also freeze anything that isn't in a can or a sealed, so bread we usually buy 4 loaves and freeze 2 or 3, and accept we'll have to get more from the store before we go. The limitation is we can't get things from Costco that aren't used regularly, for example, we don't go through enough cream cheese to buy Costco size, and it doesn't account for all our food needs. But if tomorrow I lost my job we know we could survive without having to go to the store for anything but milk and eggs* for the next month or two. * Hopefully we'll remedy this in the summer with chickens.
- jxramos 4y ago
  Yah physical arrangements to support turnover are good. That's so true on that point about the rate of consumption for different food types is just irregular. I've been contemplating somehow tracking the pounds of food bought per trip as a quick informer on the spot. The tricky thing is that the kids are growing so their consumption has a steady ramp but not yet enough for a timely consumption of stuff like cream cheese etc. Lots of products seem to be in the 2lb range. 2lb is actually a good deal of food I'm finding out.