Stock Your Pantry in 52 Weeks

One of the many things that my parents did well was stocking their pantry. They had multiple pantries depending on what they were storing. By the kitchen, there was a hallway closet that held an overflow of canned goods. On the other side of the hallway was another closet that held our coats and boots. There were two overhead shelves that held toiletries.

In the basement, we had a storage room where there stored canned goods, onions that were tied in pantyhose (this kept the onions good for the winter), and sometimes carrots packed in sand in bushel baskets. They didn't do the latter often because eventually the carrots would get soft and we no longer would want to eat them.

At any rate, I saw on Pinterest some plans to stocking your pantry - little by little - throughout a year. Some plans said that you could do this on $5 a week, others said $10 a week. The goal isn't just to amass these items, but use them when you run out of them. Then you would replenish what you use as needed.

It is so convenient to have items on hand when you need them, when there's an emergency (especially when there is no water, which has happened to us multiple times thanks to issues with our well), or when you run out and don't want to make a special trip to the store.

There wasn't one list on Pinterest that seemed to fit our needs, so I looked at a variety of lists and created one just for our family. I may modify it as I go along. When the week's item is purchased, the cost will be added to that line and the week number changed to bold-face and italics.

The items on the list are just the non-perishable ones. I did not do a plan for the freezer (which my parents also did exceptionally well at stocking and keeping track of the items).

Stock Your Pantry in 52 Weeks Plan

Week 1 – 10 gallons of water ($7.80)
Week 2 – 5 cans cream of chicken and/or mushroom soup (I did a combination of both types of soup and chose Campbell's Healthy brand since the sodium level was about 300 mg less than regular soup) ($6.65)
Week 3 – 8 pounds of sugar ($2.84)
Week 4 – 8 cans tomato soup (I already had four cans on hand, so I only purchased 4 more cans of soup) ($2.00)
Week 5 – 6 pounds macaroni ($5.88)
Week 6 – 10 pounds all-purpose flour ($2.36)
Week 7 – 1 pound regular salt; 1 grinder salt; 1 ice cream salt ($3.32)
Week 8 – 7 cans tuna ($10.01)
Week 9 – 1 can vegetable spray and 2 packages taco seasoning mix ($3.46)
Week 10 – 9 packages yeast (the jars of yeast were out because of people stocking up in preparation for Corona virus spreading in the U.S.). Because supplies were also getting low, I got items that we use and didn't want to be without: Dayquil, BC Powder, 4 containers of hot chocolate mix, 3 packages Kleenex, 4 rolls paper towels, 2 boxes cat litter, 1 box dishwasher soap, 12 rolls toilet paper (1 container), 1 bottle vitamins, 1 bottle Vitamin C, 2 bottles aloe vera gel (since anti-bacterial cleanser is out-of-stock now and it recommended to make your own), 2 packages Wet Ones, 3 packages anti-bacterial wipes for cleaning, 32 quarts powdered milk (this was more expensive because powdered milk was out at Walmart due to people stocking up for a potential Corona Virus outbreak in Minnesota), 3 packages of coffee, cleansers with bleach for handles and toilets ($159.21)
Week 11 –  6 jars spaghetti sauce (different varieties) ($11.04)
Week 12 – 1 box rice, 1 package Lysol wipes, 3 packages paper towels, 15 pounds cat litter, 1 container ketchup, 1 soy sauce, and 1 can wasabi peas, 2 Pho bowls, Bisquick, Nestle chocolate drink mix, hand soap, 2 molasses, 1 peanut sauce, 2 cooking oil, 2 drink/punch mix, panko, 2 jars of peanuts, 1 dish soap, 1 plastic wrap, 3 boxes of BC powder, trash bags, pop, 2 bags dog food, 2 Lysol sprays, 1 Clorax toilet bowl cleaner, 1 bottle Vitamin C, beef jerky, Clorax clean ups, 20 quarts of dry milk, 40 pounds of BBQ pellets, baby wipes, facial wipes, toilet paper ($257.48)
Week 13 – 2 bottles Vitamin C, 1 jar Miracle Whip, 1 container cashews, 1 jar dill pickles, creamer,  and 2 packages toilet paper ($76.28)
Week 14 – Peanuts, big bag flour, hot chocolate mix, mini marshmallows ($14.69)
Week 15 –  Toiletries (toothpaste, floss, shampoo, conditioner, razors) ($16.49)
Week 16 – 10 cans of beans (variety) ($10.84)
Week 17 – 1 bottle of vitamins ($8.03)
Week 18 – 1 container of oats and 2 containers shortening (free - through food program) 
Week 19 – 5 pounds of rice (variety of types) ($4.92)
Week 20 – 2 containers cooking oil (free - through food program) 
Week 21 – 5 cans of vegetables (e.g., mushrooms) ($7.01)
Week 22 – 2 jars peanut butter (free) and wasabi peas, ($4.43)
Week 23 – 2 jars peanuts, 5 jars spaghetti sauce, and hot chocolate mix ($23.70)
Week 24 – 5 containers of dry soup mix ($5.24)
Week 25 – 5 pounds corn flour (free - we have plenty on hand from a recipe that Olivia made in
                  April)
Week 26 – 2 boxes trash bags (2022 - we have two boxes of trash bags that we acquired in 2021)
Week 27 – 4 pounds sugar (2 each of powdered and brown)
Week 28 – 1 box baking soda and 1 container baking powder
Week 29 – 2 jars salad dressing
Week 30 – 10 jars of homemade canned tomatoes (will do in 2022)
Week 31 – 10 jars homemade pickles (will do in 2022)
Week 32 – 2 jars vinegar  
Week 33 – 2 boxes crackers
Week 34 – 5 jars of honey and 2 jars molasses
Week 35 – 3 bottles of hand sanitizer ($8.91), 2 bags of white sugar ($3.20), chocolate drink mix ($6.98), 2 boxes of cat litter ($16.74)
Week 36 (1st week of September) – 5 cans of soup and 2 jars Miracle Whip
Week 37 – 1 box of laundry detergent and 1 container of water freshener  + 1 box of laundry dryer sheets 2 boxes cereal
Week 38 – Natural cleansers (Thieves, hand soap, dish soap)
Week 39 – 5 cans fruit
Week 40 – 5 cans vegetables
Week 41 – 2 containers pancake syrup
Week 42 – 2 pounds dried fruit (e.g., raisins)
Week 43 - 1 jar each of rose water and orange water
Week 44 – 5 jars of spaghetti sauce
Week 45 – Juices (lemon, lime, apple, grape)
Week 46 – 2 cans cooking spray
Week 47 – 2 boxes stuffing mix and 2 boxes dry potatoes
Week 48 – 5 cans vegetables and 2 containers hot cocoa mix
Week 49 – Condiments (mustard, BBQ sauce, ketchup)
Week 50 – Condiments (soy sauce, parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce)
Week 51 – Snacks (popcorn, granola bars)
Week 52 – Toiletries (toilet paper, paper towels, Kleenex)