I seriously decluttered our pantry the other day! I gave away a ton of dishes, etc. that were just taking up space there that are never used. Now my pantry is literally bare! DH gave me the go ahead to spend $500 to stock it full!

What would you fill it with? I seriously need a list of things with a long shelf life!

TIA!

Stock up on the things you regularly use. I tend to stock up when things are on sale, and even when I have a hunk of change to stock up with, I hesitate to pay full price for things. So I would stash some of the money away for when things are cheap ;)

Things I stock up on (on sale!!) for the freezer and pantry. No particular order as I'm typing as I think.

sugar
flour
green peppers (throw in freezer whole)
potatoes (no more than 10-15lbs though)
ground beef
chicken
steaks and roasts
cheese
pepperoni
yeast
cereal
oatmeal
grits
beans (dry lentils, kidney, navy, black, pinto)
canned and frozen veggies (20 meals worth)
crackers (have to be super cheap as I don't normally buy them)
boxed snacks (same as above)
mac and cheese
apple pie filling
canned pumpkin
canned chicken
canned tomatoes (sauce, crushed and diced)
refried beans
flour tortillas
rice
pasta
pasta sauce

I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can think of right now

That is a good starting point! Thank you, Allison! I really stink at keeping a stocked pantry! I never know what to get!

if ever your family tends to get into the low income bracket, I would recommend buying powdered milk.
Get the Milkman brand, because it's in smaller packets, less air to spoil the whole box. That is, if you drink milk. Powdered milk works great for cooking (think mac n cheese and instant mashed potatoes).

If you have a $500 credit to go on though, I would also suggest Costco or some other warehouse bulk store.

I would stock up on canned goods for sure:

tomatoes, diced, either Italian seasoned or plain- you can puree these for tomato sauce in a pinch, as well as add them to tomato sauce to make it chunkier.

tuna - if your family likes tuna. (dont mind me, I am stockpiling for my bomb shelter! Lol)

garbanzo beans - quick protein source. add to salads, or puree for hummus.

kidney beans - make chili..mmmmmm

pinto beans - well, you know what these are good for.

pasta.
cereal.
granola bars or the fruit breakfast bars.
juice boxes, if your kids take a lunch to school, or plastic bottles of juice.

snacks, like crackers, trail mix, chex mix type stuff, dried fruit.

peanut butter. always always stock pile peanut butter.

drinks. summer is coming up, and I dont know what sort of drinks you usually have in the summer, but those huge cans of Country Time Lemonade seem to provide endless amounts of delicious refreshing lemony-ness.

Hmm, I could spend hours shopping the aisles of Costco in my head for you!

Ohhhhhhhhhhh! Thanks so much, Becky! Please feel free to shop away! I need all the help I can get! We are trying to be (for once! lol) prepared for hurricane season, a possible food shortage, recession, etc. Of course it would be great if DH could be here to help but unfortunately he is deployed! So please don't hesitate to be the surrogate husband! :lol:

Any more suggestions? I am hitting Sam's & the store tomorrow!

I may be too late, but I would recommend buying a food grade 5 gallon bucket Or smaller and buying rice in those big bags, and storing it in those buckets. add a bay leaf or two to repel bugs.

I like the tubs of dried buttermilk for pancakes. I think reg. buttermilk is nasty stuff, but hubby loves buttermilk pancakes. We also stock up on multiple flours as hubby likes to bake breads and if the ingredients are not readily accessible, then he won't bake. I love his breads--you can tell by the hips and rear...all thanks to the carbs ;-)