The $20/$20 Challenge: Cari From Washington Shares Her Pantry and Canning Stockpile

Another great submission for the $20/$20 Challenge. I’m loving all these canning stockpiles. Makes me super motivated to get on the ball and can more! You guys are inspiring. Here’s Cari’s story:

Hi Mavis,

I thought I would send you some pictures of my pantry as part of your $20/$20 pantry challenge. As far as background: I’m mostly stay-at-home-mom to twin 6 1/2-year-old boys, and I work part time as a dental hygienist. My husband and I have lived in western Washington for the past 13 1/2 years. I spent a lot of time growing up with my grandmothers who both lived through the depression. I was taught to use every ounce, crumb and drop of things. It does drive some of my family bonkers! {What can I say, raspberry freezer jam in re-purposed margarine tubs always makes me think of my grandma!}

The first picture is of my garden. This was the first year we had a garden and decided to go with some raised beds. It was really eye-opening to see how much produce could come from such a small garden! Most of the seeds I used this year were free! I found them in a roadside free donation box. Some of the plants were purchased this year. We purchased corn, jalepenos, onion starts, tomatoes and strawberries. We planted carrots, green beans, lettuce, basil, and oregano from seeds. My fails this year included lettuce, beats and kale.

I learned to can with my mom and grandma. So, every year I can jams, pickled green beans, relish, apple sauce and whatever I can get my hands on! I also ended up at the dehydrator this year and I’ve been playing with dehydrating different fruits and vegetables.

The second picture is from a major canning project done with my extended family. The past two years we have gone tuna fishing out of Westport, Washington. This year 10 people went which was a full boat. They came back with a literal pick up truck bed full of fresh tuna loins. So, we spent the rest of the weekend canning together. We had six pressure cookers going and canned over 800 pints & 1/2 pints of tuna in two days!

The third picture is of my “main” pantry. It is located in the detached garage at our property. So yes, I do have to walk outside to go to my pantry. But, it works for now. My dream is to add on & have a pantry inside my house.  You’ll find sugars, different flours, dried goods like beans & rice, lots of canned tuna, homemade wine from my brother-in-law and anything that I happened to can over the years time.

Also in our pantry, you will our meat packaging material. My husband is a hunter and we fished together as a family. About three years ago we decided to start packaging all own meats. We couldn’t find butcher we were happy with. So, we bought the equipment and started doing ourselves. We haven’t looked back. In fact, most of our family has started to do the same. Either smoking, canning or freezing their own meats. The next challenge I would like to take is to make my own sausage in coming years.

My final picture shows what our freezer looks like. It’s generally stuffed to the gills at the end of fall with our hunting & fishing activities. I actually challenged myself in August 2013 to stop buying meat at Costco. Needless to say, I crave chicken! A splurge for me is a bag of frozen chicken breasts at Costco.

I do have to admit that I’m not the best meal planner. I have a tendency to have 5 to 6 general ideas of what I’m going to cook for dinner on any given week. I have a list that I keep on my phone and check them off as I complete them. Then, when it comes around time to meal plan I pushed the “show completed” button and up pops everything I’ve cooked over the past several months.

I generally select from that list what I have on hand in my freezer or pantry. I do try to account for specific cravings that my family members may have. Like my kids infatuation with boxed mac & cheese! I also like to play a game with myself to see how long I can go without making a trip to the store.

As far shopping goes, I have a tendency to shop at Fred Meyer’s and Costco as my mainstays. I do also like to go to Winco on occasion to stock up on bulk spices and other sundries. And I also like to hit Trader Joe’s several times a year for a few items. I shop once every two weeks and sometimes I have to go every week depending on how much my children, the neighbor kid, their cousins and friends are eating at any given point in time.

I’m always curious to see how other people live and how they run their lives. I think that’s why I love the blogging world so much. I get to see a good picture of what other people do in their day-to-day. I hope this email is giving you a good little glimpse into our life and our habits.

Have a great day!
Cari

Are you getting your pantries camera ready? You can participate in the $20/$20 Challenge by simply sending in pictures of your pantry. Find out more about the $20/$20 Challenge: Show Your Pantry – Fill a Pantry!