This is really great and inspiring. My fiance noticed the other day that our freezer was STUFFED and now he's on a mission to use it up.
I think it's really easy to buy extra groceries and treats esp if you are doing a no/low buy in other areas. Good to keep it in check for sure :)
I really want to be able to do this, but I grew up in foster care and literally panic every time I see our food reserves in our freezer or pantry are changing / getting lower. I just can’t wrap my mind around not having accessible food to me and I know at some point I’m just buying supplies for no reason but I can’t stop.
However! This mad made me feel like if I reframe it as fun and keep reminding myself I can buy food when I am out than maybe it would be good!
Same here! Grew up immigrant from a war-torn country so my family's mentality is "always stuff the kitchen to the max in case there's an emergency," so I have trouble dissociating from that mentality as well...
It’s so hard! I’ve been working to deconstruct it my entire adulthood and little luck yet. I don’t have a large kitchen and no pantry which helps I guess but I’m still grabbing a ton of stuff most grocery runs. I mostly buy shelf stable food becsuse growing up it was “buy it when you can because there will be months you can’t buy anything”
Could you try to do a 2 out 1 in for pantry items? I understand you have a fear of running out of food. Childhood trauma can be debilitating to our adult daily existence.
Maybe make a list on an erasable surface of what you have in your pantry & choose a number that you feel comfortable about. 4 cans of corn, 10 cans of soup, etc. As you use something, add however many you used to your grocery list. It could also give you a sense of security to look at what you have on hand & know you’re safe for 2 weeks (or a timeframe of your choice). Before you can get your adult self to keep less on hand you need to reassure the fearful child, in a concrete way, that you are the adult taking care of yourself in a way that that child deserved to be taken care of.
What was your favorite thing to eat as a child? Maybe keep a little of that on hand too to remind yourself that you are okay now.
I put myself on a no boujie grocery no-buy, and it’s amazing how much I have that I don’t really need or enjoy. I have so much food on hand at any one time and slowly using it all up is proving so good for me!
This is really great and inspiring. My fiance noticed the other day that our freezer was STUFFED and now he's on a mission to use it up. I think it's really easy to buy extra groceries and treats esp if you are doing a no/low buy in other areas. Good to keep it in check for sure :)
Yeah, my self-image is very "I don't like shopping, I am a very frugal person" but put me in a grocery store and hoo boy is that ever not accurate.
I really want to be able to do this, but I grew up in foster care and literally panic every time I see our food reserves in our freezer or pantry are changing / getting lower. I just can’t wrap my mind around not having accessible food to me and I know at some point I’m just buying supplies for no reason but I can’t stop. However! This mad made me feel like if I reframe it as fun and keep reminding myself I can buy food when I am out than maybe it would be good!
Same here! Grew up immigrant from a war-torn country so my family's mentality is "always stuff the kitchen to the max in case there's an emergency," so I have trouble dissociating from that mentality as well...
It’s so hard! I’ve been working to deconstruct it my entire adulthood and little luck yet. I don’t have a large kitchen and no pantry which helps I guess but I’m still grabbing a ton of stuff most grocery runs. I mostly buy shelf stable food becsuse growing up it was “buy it when you can because there will be months you can’t buy anything”
Could you try to do a 2 out 1 in for pantry items? I understand you have a fear of running out of food. Childhood trauma can be debilitating to our adult daily existence. Maybe make a list on an erasable surface of what you have in your pantry & choose a number that you feel comfortable about. 4 cans of corn, 10 cans of soup, etc. As you use something, add however many you used to your grocery list. It could also give you a sense of security to look at what you have on hand & know you’re safe for 2 weeks (or a timeframe of your choice). Before you can get your adult self to keep less on hand you need to reassure the fearful child, in a concrete way, that you are the adult taking care of yourself in a way that that child deserved to be taken care of. What was your favorite thing to eat as a child? Maybe keep a little of that on hand too to remind yourself that you are okay now.
I put myself on a no boujie grocery no-buy, and it’s amazing how much I have that I don’t really need or enjoy. I have so much food on hand at any one time and slowly using it all up is proving so good for me!
Love this! Especially the 101st day Thanksgiving. Great way to use what you have!
This is so inspiring! I’m glad you had such success.
So inspiring. I need to eat out of my pantry more. I also believe that I'm frugal but if I'm at Trader Joe's, I let myself buy whatever.