Buying in bulk and stocking up during sales is a great way to be frugal. But, if those items spoil or otherwise go to waste, you will wind up losing money instead of saving it. Proper storage is essential when you are talking about staple items. Staple items include things such as flour, bread, milk, eggs, butter and anything basic that you usually have to have on hand.
A great additional advantage to storing staples is that you will always be prepared in case of emergencies.
For the first bunch of tips for storing staples, let’s start with flour. Here is a quick guide to storing it frugally and well.
Flour can be stored in the freezer for as long as needed. In fact, placing it in the freezer for at least 24 hours is a good practice to get into because it kills all of the potential bugs that might get into your flour. I usually put my flour in the freezer as soon as I get it home from the store. Then I use that flour to refill my flour canister.
When storing flour in the freezer or the refrigerator, you can keep it in the original package, but then either tightly wrap that package in plastic wrap, place it in a freezer bag or in a glass container. This way, the flour won’t absorb moisture or odors.
Storing flour in the freezer is especially good for wheat flour. Whole wheat flour contains oils that can turn rancid in warm weather.
Another good way of storing large amounts flour is in large clean garbage cans, new ones of course, that you buy just for this purpose. Make sure that you can get a good seal on the can. As I mentioned, flour can absorb odors, so I wouldn’t suggest putting it in a plastic container if you are planning on storing the flour for more than a month at a time.
Putting in a bay leaf or two in your container will keep those bugs away. Storing the can of flour in a cool, dry place, such as a basement or garage will help extend the life of your flour.
You can purchase large quantities of flour at bakery supply stores and save a lot on your purchase.
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