I am always thinking of the pantry lifestyle (can't you tell?) and what it means to our family. For me what it means the most is that I have on hand something I need... when I need it. So often there is something I realize I need and it has to go on the stock up day list rather than purchased immediately for budget purposes.
This week what I was reminded of was the need to stock batteries. In particular, AA batteries since our thermostat needs them to operate. Without warning, my thermostat window went dark and I knew immediately what it was. Thankfully, we do keep a supply of AA batteries so I was able to get it working again immediately.
We cannot raise or lower the temperature when the battery has stopped working. In this case, it was not an emergency since I only wanted to lower the heat a degree. I was roasting a chicken and the oven had been going for an hour at 400 degrees (creating plenty of heat for that side of the house!).
If you have any kind of remote control device, you also need to make certain you have the appropriate batteries on hand, usually AA batteries. I know in the case of Direct TV, you cannot change the channels without the remote. (As an aside... I found out this week that you can order a new remote without having to have anyone come to the house. Who knew? I ordered it one day and it arrived by FedEx within two days.)
When my son lived at home, a lot of his electronic devices took A batteries but we don't use them since he moved out. But we do also make C batteries a priority to have on hand. Our flashlights all take C batteries. I think there is a need for D batteries but for the life of me, I don't remember what it is. Which is why I should write everything down.
I budget for a large package of AA batteries and a large package of C batteries once a year. I buy them at Sam's Club usually but Amazon has good prices and they also tend to go on sale around Christmas so it's a good idea to look for sale prices in stores if you can find them. I know, I should store more but we do what we can with what we have, right?
As an aside... another item I budget to buy in bulk is toilet paper from Sam's every three months. More if I have the budget to stock up on essentials. They are the kind of budget item that is necessary but not fun. Kinda' like keeping an extra package of socks and underwear put back for everyone in the family.
Next week I want to chat about keeping a list of those items we don't think about putting in a "pantry". Sorry this is short but I had a post almost finished when something happened and wiped out all but one paragraph. Poof! Those things use to happen all the time in the early days of Blogger. Haven't a clue why it did this today.
Maybe God is telling me this is all I need to say regarding batteries and such? ;)
Mentioned in this Blog Post
Well actually... mentioned in the photo, the AA battery link is... here.
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4 comments:
Batteries...so many things require them...I like the lithium batteries for long-lasting battery life. Another thing I like to do is change out clock batteries when we fall back ... when is that...oh November 3...coming right up. It is not fun to replace them on the schoolhouse clock so high on the wall.
Seems as if the cooking/baking bug bit a few of us today.
Ah those boring things but necessities still the same. I seem to buy some weird stuff but hey we use it all. I have a heap of c batteries that were used for my grand baby's swing. Now I don't have a use for them. If I lived closer I would send them to you.
My old flash lights used D batteries; you are right about the C ones now! I stock up AA for everything else...I think! Thank you for the reminders! LC Note: Love lithium ones for the hearing aids, but they are expensive!
We recently were out of AA batteries! Tim manages the battery purchases, and usually picks them up at Costco. I like having a stash of needed batteries on hand.
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