I am like your parents and do a stock up trip at the big grocery store on weekends and stop at the small IGA that’s on my way home from work for fresh items.
Does anybody else live alone? My problem is waste. I get sick of the food before I eat all of it, or it spoils before I can get to it. I sold my big freezer last year because I didn’t keep enough in it to justify the electricity it took to run it. I eat almost all of my meals at home. Work is close by so I even run home for lunch and brown-bag breakfast. I do consulting work afterhours and on weekends so like to keep something here to save time. Sometimes I think it might be cheaper for me to do take out.
I live alone. I have zero waste unless something happens to spoil on me. I cook every other day in mild weather and cook every day in cold weather. I’m a big fan of soup. I like to make all kinds of soup from scratch with fresh veggies.
My lab eats all the crumbs and scraps. I don’t know what it is about labs, but they seem to be extra extra fastidious about getting every last little speck, like a cat. And mine likes veggies, even raw and unseasoned. So all the trimmed skin and bad spots I cut off fresh produce get gobbled up by the dog. If something spoils, i trim off the mold, and give the rest to the dog.
I never keep a fridge stocked up. I stock up the cupboards and the basement pantry. The fridge is almost always bare.
Waste is my big problem. I have 3 teenagers, and I like having things around for them just to be able to eat. However, it seems like they don’t eat some of the things I buy (bread for sandwiches, bananas). I also buy things like bananas/apples/oranges once a month, and rotate those things. That way they don’t get sick of them.
Now, I try to keep things that don’t go bad quickly (oatmeal, cereal, canned goods, frozen pizzas, pasta).
Get a small new energy efficient freezer:)
I live alone and it’s called discipline-not fun and it took me a long time to get there. I shop once a month and my list is driven by specials at surrounding stores as well as Walgreen’s and CVS pharmacy which often have great deals. Then spend most of an afternoon cutting things into smaller portions and off to the freezer. Probably not too many here that will remember the milkman who came twice a week and the Manor Man who brought delicious cinnamon rolls! These were two conveniences that saved a lot of shopping time and we always had milk, butter, eggs and bread.
You prompted me to look up small freezers, as I need to get one for my daughter for Christmas.
Home Depot has a 5.0 & 7.0 Cu.Ft, $168 & $198, $22 & $25/yr for electricity. Free delivery.