Food storage hasn't been a terribly practical thing for us to work on until we moved into this house. Our little apartment in CA couldn't even permit the unpacking of all our boxes let alone lots of extra space for a year's worth of anything. We had a few nice sets of 72 hour kits and 21 gallons of water that we kept stashed under our bed. We feel strongly about following the counsel we've been given in this area.
Now that we have the space we've been stocking up. My mom recently sent me a little booklet that she used for years to build up food storage. Its called 'The Plan'. I'll post the details and then if you're working on food storage, we can do it together.
The Plan
- Add the weekly item to your shopping list.
- Buy the largest amount of each week's item you can sensibly afford.
- Replace items as you use them.
- If you miss a week, skip to the next week. Don't get behind.
- Share your hot buys with the rest of us.
- If your family loves something not listed, buy it and store it.
January
Week 1
Watch for and buy 50% off on Christmas items, cards, paper, ribbons, etc.
Week 2
Detergents, bleach, cleansers. Laundry detergent, dish detergent, bathroom, window & toilet cleaners.
Week 3
Medical supplies: Aspirin, Tylenol, Pepto Bismol, Vicks, cough drops. Whatever your family needs.
Week 4
Paper supplies: Paper towels, plates, cups, Kleenex, toilet paper, napkins, utensils.
February
Week 1
Juices: lemon, orange, grapefruit, or powdered juices-like Tang, etc.
Week 2
Peanut butter- get your creamy and/or crunchy
Week 3
Solid vegetable shortening and/or oil. Buy both if you prefer, shortening is usually less expensive
Week 4
Personal products: Soap, deodorant, shampoo, lotions, shaving supplies, feminine products.
March
Week 1
First aid kit: Gauze patches, Q-tips, cotton balls, band-aids, Neosporin, Calamine...
Week 2
Mixes: Cake, pancake, muffin, Bisquick. Purchase or make your own.
Week 3
Spices and Herbs: Pepper, salt, cinnamon, bay leaves, oregano, taco seasonings, chili powder...
Week 4
Rice- buy 10, 15, 20 pounds. White, brown, instant
I know that January has already come and gone. My plan is to go back and hit those items (though we definitely made a dent in the after Christmas sale venue already--check) when I come across a weekly item that we already have in storage.
I'll post more monthly lists in March!
6 comments:
I know how you feel. My husband and I havn't had room for any food storage...we have become creative and started using can foods to help lift couches and such. nice to know someone can prepair ;)
This is a pretty good plan. Thanks for sharing. I think my mom probably used a similar system...one thing I noticed is that you have to be careful how much of the medication you buy. We bought it in bulk in the past but then by the time we got through one bottle the one we would bring in was expired. Food you rotate a little faster or the expiration date last longer. Anyway props to you for being prepared.
SWEET!! I am in LOVE with food storage (and all disaster preparedness ever)--thank you so much for posting this, I love it!
(Quick unsolicited tip we've learned from experience: If your nearest dry-pack cannery sells pouches (which are typically cheaper than cans), and you're tempted to buy them, I'd recommend going with cans instead. They're much easier to stack, use and move and they're 100% pest proof.)
Thanks for the tips, ladies!
I'm totally doing this. THIS plan sounds doable and affordable. And it doesn't say anything about cans of wheat. What in the sam hill am I going to do with cans of wheat? That's always stressed me out.
(ps... I commented back to you about the comment you left me on my blog. you're the best)
I love this idea. I need to do way better at this - I'm still in the graduate student mode of only buying enough to get us barely through the week, and I haven't adjusted to the fact that we actually have a pantry to put food in now.
Anyway, you guys are such good examples.
Post a Comment