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“If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny.” Thomas Jefferson

Saturday, January 9, 2010

February=No Buy Month

Since spring comes fairly early here in the south and I will be starting spring seedlings soon (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, etc.)we typically have one month during the last of winter in which we do not purchase anything except for gas for the cars. This year it will be February. We will eat completely out of what we put up last summer and fall so that we have room for new produce that will be coming soon. This is a really good way that I have found to keep stocks rotated out and to make sure that nothing is "lost" in the vast depths of the freezer. I remember at times that my grandmother would find the peas that had gotten lost and forgotten and I have done the same myself. It is no fun to find food that you worked hard to grow and put up that has gone to waste. Of course, the chickens are very happy to clean up that waaayyy out of date food for you. However, wouldn't you have liked to enjoy some of it yourself. So in February the only thing that will be purchased will be gas for the cars. Anything eaten will be out of the freezer and pantry to make room for the new season. I challenge you all to at least get to the point where you could have a no buy month as well. No, it doesn't really save you money and that is not the point. The point is to have a good time to make sure that stock is rotated out and to see how well prepared you truly are. We always tend to think that our preps are in good shape for whatever the world might throw at us. It is in testing ourselves that we find that we have a few holes. So in February I will be able to find where those holes are at and hopefully get them plugged up. God bless you all, Kat

3 comments:

Kelle at The Never Done Farm said...

Amen Kat! We too end up having several months were we eat entirely from the pantry/ cellar. I have found as we've gone further down the path of sufficiency, that we don't NEED to buy from the store. It's typically more of a want, extra ingredience, not necessarily needed, IE: nuts, choc. chips, fruit( other than what we have stored), etc.... We've changed our way of eating and thus eat seasonally, instead of buying produce and whatnot out of season, that comes from who knows where?
Great post, praying it will help others to see you can live without buying from stores.

Kat said...

Absolutely! I find that most of what I purchase is something that I either want or do not yet make at home. I usually tend to buy more herbs and spices also since I never seem to have enough and this is something that is quite an expense. We too eat seasonally for several reasons, one I can get it locally or close to locally and buying what I don't grow in season is cheaper. For instance, I am just a little too far north to grow citrus. However, we love citrus and I wait diligently until fall when the Florida citrus crop comes in and then I will can citrus for use during the rest of the year while we enjoy fresh citrus until the supply is exhausted or we are simply sick of citrus. I have found that eating in season also means that our variety is greater througout the year than it used to be. God bless.

Kelly Cook said...

I'm kind of stuck in that spot between knowing what we should be eating, but not yet able to provide it for ourselves. I go to the grocery store and put so many things back down after reading the ingredient list that I end up not really buying enough. We're moving in the direction of supplying more of our own food though!