Packing Cabinets & Cupboards

[kdmac]

You have room to secure things with entire ROLLS of paper towels. I'm impressed. My cabinets are way too full to do that

Good Point. I suppose the reason being that I just started on my journey in mid December 2010 in a very "pared down" fashion. I like to think that I will not be buying much over the years, I have never been a "shopper", I hate shopping.

[Bethers]

You have room to secure things with entire ROLLS of paper towels. I'm impressed. My cabinets are way too full to do that

Good Point. I suppose the reason being that I just started on my journey in mid December 2010 in a very "pared down" fashion. I like to think that I will not be buying much over the years, I have never been a "shopper", I hate shopping.

I thought that, too I've added too many clothes (can one have too many clothes? But I always keep my food cabinets full - I like to know that when I boondock, I can eat for a long time without needing to go to the store. Well, my food cabinets often would get low - my first several years out I only went food shopping once a month - so the cabinets got filled then - emptied during the month, refilled, etc etc. It saved me a ton of money doing it that way. Now, with a car - I go out way too often and buy things too often, and don't eat things in the cabinets - and have more spoil, etc etc. Need to find a way to stop doing that (like not stopping in the groceries so often again).

[kdmac]

Beth, I would be interested to know what kind of food-stuffs you would stock up on that would last well into a month? I am sure you have thought of things that I haven't. I have bought large round tips steaks that I cut up into small steaks and get about ten steaks. Frozen chicken, canned and frozen veggies, powdered milk (which I've grown to like ok) tea and hot chocolate, eggs and bread. I plan to buy canned fruits packed in water since they won't spoil. I am not really sure how this works for me since I have been sick I have lost twenty pounds and haven't eaten much. But, it's good to hear how others do it...as I too don't want to be going to the grocery strore.

I know this probably sounds dumb, but I have attributed the queasy stomach to the constant and daily gentle, and sometimes not so gentle, rolling of the trailer in the wind...some mornings are still but around 10 the wind picks up. Like being on a train, It has to be the reason that it has lasted so long. Stabilizers are down, tires are chocked, but the swaying and rocking is sometimes nearly indiscernable and other times it's "Hail Mary Time".

[Bethers]

You know, you should try one of those wristbands for motion sickness - maybe that'll help. Of course, when you get away from the wind, you won't need it so badly - but losing all this weight and constantly being nauseaus can't be good!

You have the ideas on foods. I buy canned and packaged foods that I'll use (carefully, reading labels) and basically ones I bought before when I was in a house - although I'm pickier now. I keep canned fruits. I actually buy the individual servings. I get things for recipes I might be making - then when I make them, I keep out a couple meals, and freeze in pint size bags 1-2 portion servings. When I was buying monthly - the first week to 10 days or so, I'd eat fresh fruits and vegies. Potatos, of course, can last the whole month. But salads, etc - first week to 10 days, as well as fresh vegies and fruits. Then the canned and frozen the rest of the time. I have oatmeal in the cabinet. I always have a dozen or more Quaker breakfast bars in the light versions - those are either a snack or sometimes breakfast, especially when I'm on the road. I buy cheese and crackers/peanut butter and crackers and keep that in the cabinet for when on the road, also. A quick lunch for me can be my own different versions of nachos, so a large bag of tortilla chips is usually in the cabinet. Yes, I use powdered milk - but I dont' drink milk, just use it in recipes. I usually have 2-3 (sometimes more) of those healthy choice meals that don't need refrigeration (have none right now, but got those when I was not shopping often). I usually have a couple cans of tuna and a couple cans of cooked chicken on hand. A box of rice. Cereal. Oh, I don't keep anything in the original boxes - they take up so much space. I remove the cereal bag, etc and keep it separate. I love cheese - and keep Wheat Thins lite in the cabinet - and almost always have a few kinds of cheese in the fridge as well as the light shredded Mexican cheese (when I made potato soup last week, I made it potato/hot pepper cheese soup, for example). I look carefully at dates when I buy yogurt - sometimes it has a good 3-4 week shelf life, which is good for me, because I only want it occasionally - then I can buy 6 to 8 of them and know they'll all get eaten. Hopefully you're getting the idea. What you'll have in your cabinet will be different from mine. Oh, I try to always have some tomato paste and sauce and a couple types of pasta. Obviously it's not hard to fill my cabinet. But it doesn't mean I always am eating a meal that makes sense. I'll combine strange things But tonight - I made instant mashed potatos, pulled out a pre-cooked pork chop from the freezer and heated it up, and made an individual serving of green beans. (Pre-cooked pork chop because when I cooked them last time, I cooked the 3 in the package, ate only one, froze the other 2 - makes for a quick dinner and I only have to dirty my George Foreman once for 3 meals). When boondocking at lot - or no sewer a lot - those things can be important.

Way off the subject of packing cabinets, eh? Oh, and every few months I try to empty out my two food cabinets and reorganize with the older things in front - forcing myself to use those. Things can get hidden/buried.

[kdmac]

Thanks Beth, that made me think of things I hadn't before. Cheese and crackers is great to have on hand, I'm gonna do more of that; easy while driving and for the "munchies" and tastes sooooo good...I think this information is pertient and cohesive to "packing cabinets and cupboards", I'll bet others will benefit from it. Thanks again.

[retiredhappy]

Being constantly nauseas and losing so much weight should get you to a doctor ASAP. Its not something you should ignore, please. Those minor symptoms can be because of something more serious especially if you're also nauseas during the day. Years ago I had an inner ear infection which causes me being constantly sick to my stomach. I had NO ear pain cause it was from a virus - my only symptom was being nauseas and queasy and my balance was effected. Nauseasess can be symptoms of some serious illnesses.

[dpf]

I have the same expandable racks that Beth has and I really like them. The extra space that they gave me in the kitchen cabinets was awesome. However I did learn quickly to only put light items on them. Since there isn't a lip on the edge items will fall out when you first open a door after you have traveled. After a few bonks on the head I rearranged and put the plastic bowls, koozies, etc on the racks and bought some baskets for spices so they don't tip over and slide around.

[khenrie]

Loving all the ideas and thoughts, even about food. We could never shop for a whole month though. Both Randy and I would overeat in the first two weeks and starve the second two weeks.

Will start packing up the RV tonight. Let you know how it goes. I'm going to go in search of those shelves this afternoon.

[Excel]

Thought I'd share my tip on packing cabinets...When I bought my foam pad (3") for my bed (Have a rear side bed model), I cut it down to fit the mattress. I then took the left overs (strips sort of) & cut them lengthways to fit in my upper cabinets. (They are maybe 2-3" wide and however long I needed them to be for each cabinet). The 'strips' keep everything from moving around, yet doesn't take up much real space. Has worked great for me, especially when I've been on really rough roads where things normally would rattle & move around....as with the foam strips everything stays in place. Also, I pack similarly to how Beth packs as I remove stuff from the boxes & put into my own storage containers to save space....But I also cut out any cooking instructions that come on the box & simply insert into the container. As you can tell I don't have the best memory & this saves me from overcooking or undercooking or throwing away as I can't identify contents.....

[Bethers]

But I also cut out any cooking instructions that come on the box & simply insert into the container. As you can tell I don't have the best memory & this saves me from overcooking or undercooking or throwing away as I can't identify contents.....

I do the same - but keep them all in one place. Makes cooking so much easier when I still have the instructions. In cases of things I freeze, I write the instructions directly onto the freezer bags.

[shnz821]

Just a tip for adding "fresh" time to your fruits, veggies and cheese, those green (for fruits & vegetables) and blue (for cheese) bags work really well. You can find them online and on those "as seen on tv" websites (and stores in most outlet malls), but we also found a couple of half empty boxes of them in the thrift store (6 out of the 12 bags for just $1 is fine by me!!). Typically the bags can be re-used several times if you rinse them out and dry them well in between uses. I would imagine they would help to keep similar foods together in the fridge and from sliding all around....and they don't take up much space either.

[JoanE]

Sure glad I found this thread. I hate shopping but I do like to eat! I am mostly a whole food type of eater; grains, beans, veggies, fruits, coffee, wine.... Beth, your shopping/storing ideas are great. Certainly gave me some "food" for thought.

[Bethers]

Sure glad I found this thread. I hate shopping but I do like to eat! I am mostly a whole food type of eater; grains, beans, veggies, fruits, coffee, wine.... Beth, your shopping/storing ideas are great. Certainly gave me some "food" for thought.

Other than the coffee, your type of eating is perfect for me.