If you have noticed the food prices rising and want to do something about it, I have a few ideas for you! Here are some frugal kitchen purchases you can make now to save you money on food in the long run.
Note: Some links in this post are affiliate links, which means I receive a commission if you click a link and then make a purchase.
Grow A Garden
If you have some space in your yard, you can use it to grow your own produce. You want to grow as much as you can of at least one to three types of vegetables, then you store these to last throughout the year. If you have enough for two years, then you grow a different vegetable next year to fill your pantry. In this way, you avoid these purchases from the grocery store.
My large family consumes a lot of pasta sauce, salsa, tomato sauce and canned diced tomatoes so we grow tomatoes to save money on those purchases at the grocery store. It seemed like a large investment in the first year. I added up how much money I spent per year on those canned goods versus what I was going to spend on starting the garden. I found that I would still save money in the first year, so I went for it! That garden box photo was from 2019. I have added additional boxes and now have taken a large section of my backyard to use for a garden. I am saving more with each year that goes by and the prices rise yet again. Now, I reuse everything each year, except I need to buy more jar lids, kosher salt and tomato plants or seeds. What a tiny investment for years two and up of gardening!
Canning
To save money on food long-term, you always need to be thinking ahead. When you plan your grocery list, always have a line item that says, “clearance” and budget a large amount to spend. Our grocery store has four clearance sections that I look through: produce, meat, dairy and frozen. These are all in different areas of the store.
Sometimes, these are hidden, so ask your grocer where they are in each location. At the grocery store nearest me, the clearance meat is on a small shelf at the very bottom of one refrigerator door section. It's kind of hard to see.
The goal is to come home with a lot of that clearanced food to use for a long time. Whether you grow your own produce, or find meat or produce on sale – canning is a great option to keep that food fresh longer.
Freezing
I am currently homeschooling four of my children and there are weeks that we are busy with outside activities, sports or volunteering. At those times, I freeze the great deals on meat, produce, some dairy items (especially butter) and bread.
In our dairy clearance section, there are often great sales on eggs where some of the eggs have broken in the container, yet the rest are still good. Did you know you can freeze eggs? You take a silicone cupcake holder and break one egg into each section. Freeze until solid, then pop them out into a freezer bag or container. To use, just thaw out the egg. These are best in scrambled eggs or recipes. So you may want to get an extra dozen or more this week before the price rises in the future.
Storing
You may be thinking, where am I going to put all of that extra canned food? I don't have room in my kitchen pantry! I completely understand as I was in your same situation six years ago, when I started this journey. I decided to use a section in my basement. At first, I used a bookshelf that had board games on it and put those board games on the tops of other bookshelves I wasn't very good at dusting anyways! This also solved the problem of lost game pieces as the kids had to ask me to reach the games down for them.
But when I filled that one up, I decided to get a plastic shelf that can handle the weight of heavy jars. I recommend you start with that. I do get great deals on regular canned goods from my grocery store too, so I like to use a first in, first out rolling can holder as well. Labeling the shelf and can holder helps everyone in my house help me to put the items in the right places.
Always remember to put your newest items in the back of the shelf or in the top of the rolling can holder. Use the oldest items first, so you don't have waste.
Conclusion
I hope this list has helped you to gain some ideas in how you can save money in the long run with these frugal kitchen purchases. If you would like a free printable checklist to help you shop, click here or sign up below.
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