Life in the Outback: Discover how this 'city girl' manages her monthly grocery haul
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The Outback: a quintessential Australian scene of endless vast sand plains and a night sky so stunning that it's worth an hours-long round trip to the grocery store.
Well, at least it is for Sally Millar, a former city girl who traded her comfortable urban life in bustling Sydney for an isolated village deep in remote Western Australia (WA).
Living isolated and over 300km from the nearest town of Kununurra, near the Northern Territory border, Sally and her husband Ed have mastered the art of the monthly grocery dash.
'As someone who grew up in a city within a five-minute radius of any supermarket, the biggest challenge for me was getting used to not living in close proximity to a grocery store,’ Sally shared.
Living in the outback and being unable to shop frequently was a big adjustment,' she confessed.
Sally also mentioned that she used to plan their meals for one month, only to realise that she could not find everything on her list in the supermarket.
'When we first moved here, I would write an in-depth list where I’d come up with elaborate meal plans,’ she recalled.
'I used to get really frustrated because I was spending all this time coming up with these lists, and then I get to the store and realise, we literally cannot make any of the things on the list because they don’t have this or that. There’s nothing more annoying than spending time and effort to come up with a monthly meal plan only to get to the grocery store and find nothing on the shelves.'
Learning to adapt, Sally keeps her grocery list more general, focusing more on categories rather than specific items but ensuring her essentials aren't missed.
‘My list now just says: “Pasta, rice, any oat milk, fruit, vegetables”,’ she shared. ‘It’s not super comprehensive, but it’s mostly just so I don’t forget anything that’s really important, like toilet paper.’
Sally revealed that she checks her pantry and fridge to avoid ‘buying things unnecessarily’. She also cleans the fridge before going to the supermarket.
‘I like to clean out the fridge so that when we come home with all our groceries, I just put the new groceries in.’
Their grocery shopping strategy soon evolved into a monthly haul, freeing the rest of the week from the exhausting journey. Taking up almost a full day in transit–including the actual shopping–opting for a monthly shop made more sense for their remote lifestyle.
However, even the best-laid plans could go awry. Despite their rigorous planning, Sally and Ed occasionally forget one or two items from their shopping list. In case of important items, they usually ask someone in the community.
'Ed and I work at a school, and if anybody needs something small from the supermarket, there's always someone going to the shops, so we just get them to grab it for us,’ she explained.
‘But most of the time, we just wait it out,’ Sally stated.
Managing their budget and fulfilling the task of item hunting, the couple has their shopping down to a tee, spending between $600 to $800 a month.
'When we’re at the supermarket, I always try to keep track of what’s going into the trolley so when we get to the checkout, it’s not $2,000,’ Sally said.
‘We buy the cheapest sauce rather than the fancy sauce. We try not to go too crazy and buy random things, we always buy what’s on special and what's in season,’ she added.
To withstand the month-long wait between grocery shopping trips, the couple bulk-buys supplies, often including 1kg of butter, 3.8L of olive oil, 2L of sunflower oil, and enough rice and lentils to feed an army.
To ensure her groceries stay fresh for as long as possible, Sally uses techniques like storing carrots and celery sticks in mason jars filled with water, ditching plastic packaging right after shopping, and even freezing avocados and fresh herbs such as coriander and spinach.
Fruits and veggies are pre-portioned into 'smoothie packs,' preserving their freshness and making for a quick and healthy treat after long work days.
The day after the big grocery shop, she dedicates four precious hours to preparing a month's worth of meals—anything that freezes well—with lentils as their meat substitute.
'I enjoy cooking, but I don't want to spend my entire day cooking,' she shared, speaking to her streamlined approach to food prep.
Sally shares that one of the most frustrating aspects of living in the remote outback is the high price of food, particularly snack items or 'sweet treats', which they often hide from themselves to prevent overindulgence.
This massive lifestyle change began as a whim. After unexpectedly losing her city job during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sally packed her bags with Ed, intending to take a casual spin around the country for the first half of 2021.
Little did they know a few months into their road trip, they would fall in love with a tiny remote community in WA and eventually make it their home.
'It’s a tiny community plopped in the bush. The school is really the only thing in the community,' she laughed.
'We just thought it would be fun to live somewhere completely out of our comfort zone just for a couple of years.'
Driven by simplicity, solitude, peace, and nature, Sally loves her new outback lifestyle.
'There’s no traffic, and we’re not constantly having to stop and start at roundabouts,' she gushed.
'It takes me two minutes to walk to work, it’s very chilled. We go camping on weekends, we walk down to the river…we love it here. We’re not coming back to Sydney any time soon,' she declared.
You can watch her video here:
What do you think of this story, members? Let us know in the comments below!
Well, at least it is for Sally Millar, a former city girl who traded her comfortable urban life in bustling Sydney for an isolated village deep in remote Western Australia (WA).
Living isolated and over 300km from the nearest town of Kununurra, near the Northern Territory border, Sally and her husband Ed have mastered the art of the monthly grocery dash.
'As someone who grew up in a city within a five-minute radius of any supermarket, the biggest challenge for me was getting used to not living in close proximity to a grocery store,’ Sally shared.
Sally Millar moved to a remote community in Western Australia with her husband. Credit: @sallymillar_/Instagram, TikTok
Living in the outback and being unable to shop frequently was a big adjustment,' she confessed.
Sally also mentioned that she used to plan their meals for one month, only to realise that she could not find everything on her list in the supermarket.
'When we first moved here, I would write an in-depth list where I’d come up with elaborate meal plans,’ she recalled.
'I used to get really frustrated because I was spending all this time coming up with these lists, and then I get to the store and realise, we literally cannot make any of the things on the list because they don’t have this or that. There’s nothing more annoying than spending time and effort to come up with a monthly meal plan only to get to the grocery store and find nothing on the shelves.'
Learning to adapt, Sally keeps her grocery list more general, focusing more on categories rather than specific items but ensuring her essentials aren't missed.
‘My list now just says: “Pasta, rice, any oat milk, fruit, vegetables”,’ she shared. ‘It’s not super comprehensive, but it’s mostly just so I don’t forget anything that’s really important, like toilet paper.’
Sally revealed that she checks her pantry and fridge to avoid ‘buying things unnecessarily’. She also cleans the fridge before going to the supermarket.
‘I like to clean out the fridge so that when we come home with all our groceries, I just put the new groceries in.’
Their grocery shopping strategy soon evolved into a monthly haul, freeing the rest of the week from the exhausting journey. Taking up almost a full day in transit–including the actual shopping–opting for a monthly shop made more sense for their remote lifestyle.
However, even the best-laid plans could go awry. Despite their rigorous planning, Sally and Ed occasionally forget one or two items from their shopping list. In case of important items, they usually ask someone in the community.
'Ed and I work at a school, and if anybody needs something small from the supermarket, there's always someone going to the shops, so we just get them to grab it for us,’ she explained.
‘But most of the time, we just wait it out,’ Sally stated.
Managing their budget and fulfilling the task of item hunting, the couple has their shopping down to a tee, spending between $600 to $800 a month.
'When we’re at the supermarket, I always try to keep track of what’s going into the trolley so when we get to the checkout, it’s not $2,000,’ Sally said.
‘We buy the cheapest sauce rather than the fancy sauce. We try not to go too crazy and buy random things, we always buy what’s on special and what's in season,’ she added.
To withstand the month-long wait between grocery shopping trips, the couple bulk-buys supplies, often including 1kg of butter, 3.8L of olive oil, 2L of sunflower oil, and enough rice and lentils to feed an army.
To ensure her groceries stay fresh for as long as possible, Sally uses techniques like storing carrots and celery sticks in mason jars filled with water, ditching plastic packaging right after shopping, and even freezing avocados and fresh herbs such as coriander and spinach.
Fruits and veggies are pre-portioned into 'smoothie packs,' preserving their freshness and making for a quick and healthy treat after long work days.
The day after the big grocery shop, she dedicates four precious hours to preparing a month's worth of meals—anything that freezes well—with lentils as their meat substitute.
'I enjoy cooking, but I don't want to spend my entire day cooking,' she shared, speaking to her streamlined approach to food prep.
Sally shares that one of the most frustrating aspects of living in the remote outback is the high price of food, particularly snack items or 'sweet treats', which they often hide from themselves to prevent overindulgence.
This massive lifestyle change began as a whim. After unexpectedly losing her city job during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sally packed her bags with Ed, intending to take a casual spin around the country for the first half of 2021.
Little did they know a few months into their road trip, they would fall in love with a tiny remote community in WA and eventually make it their home.
'It’s a tiny community plopped in the bush. The school is really the only thing in the community,' she laughed.
'We just thought it would be fun to live somewhere completely out of our comfort zone just for a couple of years.'
Driven by simplicity, solitude, peace, and nature, Sally loves her new outback lifestyle.
'There’s no traffic, and we’re not constantly having to stop and start at roundabouts,' she gushed.
'It takes me two minutes to walk to work, it’s very chilled. We go camping on weekends, we walk down to the river…we love it here. We’re not coming back to Sydney any time soon,' she declared.
You can watch her video here:
What do you think of this story, members? Let us know in the comments below!
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