Did another Bulk Barn run... but this time I used their on line order form. I just showed up at the door, gave them my name and they had my order waiting at the till for me to pay. I don't think I was in the store for more than 3 minutes.

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Alright, I’m sold... Even just convinced the boss at home to buy a vacuum sealer. Do you have a recommendation for brand and model? Is “whatever Costco has for device” good enough?

HP, I have to defer to others with more experience as to what product is best to buy. Here is a picture of what I am using. It is not mine, I have borrowed it from a neighbour who bought it for when he butchers up game, I think he said the price was right around 100.00 from CT or Walmart , cant remember what place he said.

After using one now, I can say I don't want to be without one so before hunting season this fall I will be getting my own.

Well, you may be happy to know that they have that same model (actually, it's the FM2100, the one you have pictured is the FM2000 - I assume they are very similar) is going to be on sale at CT starting tomorrow at 50% off for $120 with 2x 8" and 2x 11" rolls.

Picked up some fencing supplies (including a post pounder) and added 2 bags of hens feed (I have about 5 months worth stored). In the summer, the hens eat mostly what they can forage and they hardly touch the feeders.

Alright, I’m sold... Even just convinced the boss at home to buy a vacuum sealer. Do you have a recommendation for brand and model? Is “whatever Costco has for device” good enough?

HP, I have to defer to others with more experience as to what product is best to buy. Here is a picture of what I am using. It is not mine, I have borrowed it from a neighbour who bought it for when he butchers up game, I think he said the price was right around 100.00 from CT or Walmart , cant remember what place he said.

After using one now, I can say I don't want to be without one so before hunting season this fall I will be getting my own.

Well, you may be happy to know that they have that same model (actually, it's the FM2100, the one you have pictured is the FM2000 - I assume they are very similar) is going to be on sale at CT starting tomorrow at 50% off for $120 with 2x 8" and 2x 11" rolls.

Hp, check at Princess Auto as well, On Tuesday when I was in the big city, I think its the model 2100 ( I think? )is on sale for 90 dollars, and I found they had a good deal on bags as well, it looks like I have already thrown the empty box into the wood stove but I remember it was the box with 3 fat rolls, I forget the total feet in the box but it was a lot, and the bags seem to be of good quality. Trust me, you are going to want lots of bags. By the time I use up the last of these rolls I will have used up a couple hundred feet! it goes fast. I am already kicking myself for not buying the 90 dollar machine.

Just ordered the one at CT (racking up my CT $ account) for curb side pick up tomorrow. I’ve also ordered a spare chainsaw bar and blade, as extra.

I returned to the big city Thursday. I had rising meat prices on my mind so I decided I was going to stock up, or I should say, stock up more. I Did the line up outside Costco thing. I was masked up, so were many others 15-20% I would guess. I loved it once inside, few people and they had gotten rid of the end of ilse food dispensers so moving through the place was a breeze. Everything was in stock from what I could tell. I loaded up on large hams, flats of chicken thighs, flats of ground hamburger and such. I then hit another Bulk Barn on the way out of the city, again full stock of everything. Stopped at Princess Auto and bought the Vacuum sealer for 90 dollars. Then left the city.

Another bulk barn buy.

I’m thinking with a baker-wife and a kid with a sweet-tooth, my BulkBarn runs would look more like: chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, cacao powder, cake-topping confetti, a piñata, a pound of scotch mint, Swedish berries and then rolled oats, quinoa, bean and lentils...

I’m thinking with a baker-wife and a kid with a sweet-tooth, my BulkBarn runs would look more like: chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, cacao powder, cake-topping confetti, a piñata, a pound of scotch mint, Swedish berries and then rolled oats, quinoa, bean and lentils...

HP, if you have a baker wife and sweet tooth kid you need to pop in to a Bulk Barn and have a look at the selection. Its one place you can find most anything for someone who likes baking. Also the spice selection beats anywhere else, things I have never seen elsewhere. Also if you don't like the on line order system, once you become familiar with the stock they have you can do what I have done the last couple visits. Make a list with the product name, the quantity you want in kg, with your name and phone number. Step in the door and hand your list off to a staff member and go about shopping elsewhere, come back and they will have your order all ready for pick up. The only things I don't buy there are things used in quantity where I am price sensitive, like flour, or large bags of cheap rice.
I know on regular priced items I pay more, but they have everything, its one stop and I am done, no pissing around and when I have to drive in from the country, a round trip that can burn up to 20 liters of fuel (in the truck), I just don't want to piss around if that makes sense.

We go to Bulk Barn whenever we get to the city. Haven't been there for awhile now as we haven't been going to the city. Definitely on the favorite list of where to go for alot of baking supplies, oats, and other stuff. Like peppercorn says, don't buy the flour or rice, although if looking for specialty flour, they have quite a variety of same, and we also get some spices there too. With some of the canning recipes I use, I need dill seed and its the only place to get it without paying an arm and a leg for it and thats only if you can find it in a regular store.

Also for the foodsaver, to store stuff, we also use canning jars. There is an attachment you can get that uses the accessory port that will take the air out of the jars and they will be sealed. There are the two sizes you can get, wide mouth and regular mouth. Only place seeing them was at basspro and amazon.

Acquired an M-3200 Mask and a rather light supply of filters this week. A couple different retailers claim the filters are N95 rated so I may try and find some more filters (and maybe another Mask or two), but I'll wait until after the credit card bill comes so I can pay that off and start fresh, that particular bill has been a little scary since all this COVID stuff started 😀

Keep replenishing the larder, a child who was going stir crazy in an apartment and unable to hike or camp in parks has moved back in for a bit. Teleworking so no difference. Being a smart child, they had a good stash of food and some of that came with them and with new purchases, we will maintain and continue to build up reserves.

And I now have a youthful set of hands to help with my garden! A great thing indeed. Other child also followed the old mans advice and had a decent stash and also topped things up in January and early February. Also beefing up Their garden.

Went looking for Mylar and oxygen absorbers and boy are amazon.ca choices down !!! .com had more but many refused to ship to canada

Invested in a Foodsaver this week and some bags. I like it! Easy to use. Picked up another 10 lbs of rice, 10 lbs of pot barley and 6 lbs of assorted dry beans. A few packages of hot dogs, sausages and pea meal bacon, yum.

No flour or other baking materials (beside baking soda) to be found. Limits are still on most items. I’m concerned about supply chain issues (mentioned in another thread) but I’ll just keep adding slow and steady to the stockpile.

Also waiting impatiently for good weather (snow and hail in May!!) to put in a flat of tomato plants I got today.

I keep buying within the purchase restrictions, even if just not to give impressions of panic buying/hoarding. A package of canning jar here, an extra jug of vinegar there (anticipating the wave of shortages this fall).

Picking up extra seeds for those harder to save in the off chance that next spring see shortages. I save my own cucumber, squashes, tomatoes, beans/peas and obviously, potatoes. But for onions, carrots, beets... it’s easier to pick up a couple of extra seed packets.

I have about 2 dozen seed potatoes in the ground and I’m cleaning up my beds ready for planting next weekend (still see zeroes in the forecast for the next couple of nights).

The plants I’ve started from seeds are doing well. The hardening process is a workout, moving tomato and pepper pots up and down the stairs, moving them in/out of sun and wind... but so rewarding when it’s done.

Bought deer deterrent spray after seeing a few fat ones munching in my early flowers. My main garden is fenced but the second garden I’m preparing isn’t... yet.