You’ve sat down and figured out what food you need to purchase for a year. You have a list and it seems a mile long. The idea of actually purchasing a year’s supply of food can be very daunting, but it doesn’t need to be. You just need to take it one step at time and you will be able to accomplish your goal.
1) Break your goal down into smaller portions. You may want to begin by storing a three-month supply and then extend it to a six-month supply and so on. This way you can purchase items while they are on sale. You can also make sure that you are purchasing a variety of foods as you go. You don’t want a year’s supply of salt and peanut butter. That won’t cut it if you do experience a situation where your will need to utilize your food storage.
2) If you need to break it down even further than that set aside five or ten dollars a week to purchasing extra items for food storage. It is fairly easy to look at the sales papers and then at your list to purchase items which you will need that are on sale.
3) Keep track of what you have already purchased. A home inventory really does help to make the process easier. Begin rotating your food now. This just means that you use the food you have previously purchased and replace it with the food that you are currently purchasing at the grocery store.
4) You need to find a place to store food in your home. You will want to store food in a cool place that is dry. You will want to store the food in a location that is fairly easy to reach. I have stored food under the bed (cans) and I store food on a shelf that I have in my kitchen. The ease of reaching the food makes it easier to rotate.
You should begin to store food now. It is a good feeling to know that you would be okay if you couldn’t make it to the grocery store for awhile. You may want to save money so that you can continue to purchase perishable items. I personally cannot stomach powdered milk. I smell it and I gag. I have a hard time even cooking with it. So my plan involves saving money to purchase milk and planning for alternatives if milk is not available.