The Tariff Closet

 

This came up in my Instagram feed today. Alas, it was too late for me to take advantage of the deal.  Penzeys takes up a lot of space in my spice cabinet.  I am hoping tariffs don't hurt their business. So many people are already out of a job. Farmer's crops are rotting in ports, and they won't be able to sell more because USAID is shut down.  Living in a politically Blue area, there were no scheduled protests or events for me to participate in, but I had related work that kept me busy all day.

My Health and Beauty Aids closet is being renamed "The Tariff Closet," because I have it stocked to get me by for as long as possible.  My beauty routine depends on serums, moisturizers, creams, cleansers, and more that I buy at Dollar Tree.  I had begun stocking up on some items that were not reliably in store.  Then when we started to hear tariff proposals, I started stocking up to have product before the prices went up.  Everything at Dollar Tree that was previously a dollar, is now $1.25 because of the last round of tariffs.  I am expecting that to go up to $1.50. In other instances, the price not only went up, but products like face masks, which used to be a two pack, now only come with one piece per package. 

I am about 2/3 of the way through this task. After facial stuff, I attacked cold and cough supplies, then moved on to cleaning supplies.  When there was talk of Big Lots going out of business, I went to my local store and stocked up on toilet cleaner.  It is the only task-specific cleaning product I use. Each bottle was under a buck, so this was a good buy.  My progress came to a halt when I ran out of containers, which I will address tomorrow. I'll just head back to Dollar Tree and buy more storage. My label maker also needs to be refilled!

I found a stash of light bulbs which are going to be stored in the basement.  The most unpleasant part of the job is going through the first aid and surgical supply stock. We have had supplies left from various surgeries and also have stuff from a relative who passed away. He had a large inventory of wound care supplies.  There's also over a dozen of tubes, cans, etc. of sunscreen.  It's likely that half of it will go into the garbage.  With any luck, this yuck will be set right by tomorrow night.

Frankie ran out of oatmeal slop, so I had to make more.  While I wouldn't feed her Beneful, I've brought small packages like this to dog shows. In fact, I had a stash of these packets plus a few jars of baby food (peas).  A successful round in the ring depends entirely on hunger and poop management.  If she is at all hungry, she turns into a demon.  I have to space her feedings, so she won't puke from excitement in the ring and also so she won't poop. We feed her lunch at home because if she doesn't get a meal in the middle of the day, she turns bratty.  My girl is actually not temperamental.  She's just very "extra" -- extra energy, extra cuddly, extra mentally driven.  I think she burns calories just being her. That's why she needs some calories in the middle of the day.

Dinner was based on a bag of the butternut squash ravioli from my FlashFood haul yesterday.  Shrimp and grated cheese (which was FF too), served as protein.  Then I added peas and onion for the vegetable portion.  I tossed it with olive oil and butter.  Once dinner was done, I ground up the beans, rice, and lentils from yesterday into flour.  My sourdough starter needed to be fed, so I took the discard and added some yeast and water. Tomorrow I will make that the base for a loaf of bread using a mixture of the various flours I have ground.

It's late, but I still have to mop the floor downstairs and do a few other things. My appointment with our financial advisors had to be rescheduled today, so I actually got more done than I expected.  What are you stocking up on? And is your cache as messy as mine???