There has been great emphasis recently put on becoming prepared. The church has begun to stress having a three month’s supply of food and then working on a year’s supply. We are also encouraged to get out of debt and become more self-sufficient in general. There are several reasons to begin doing this. In being completely honest, we do not have a three month supply at this time. I think we could go about a month, but that would be on meager rations.
I know what we need to do in order to build up the three month’s food supply and then follow the additional counsel on preparedness. Lack of knowledge is not my problem. I feel strongly that it needs to be down, so I am motivated to do it. In many ways I feel overwhelmed by the entire process. I wonder where I am going to store the food. I worry about what to store and I feel as though I need to plan out three month’s of elaborate meal plans before I begin shopping. I also want to buy things on sale and save money, so timing is an issue.
If you need more information of what to store and how to store, you can check out the Preparedness blog. It provides great information on different options for food storage. The three month supply should be food that you eat on a regular basis. If you are like me, and the whole process seems a bit overwhelming, here are the tips that I am going to apply to my food storage goals. I will keep you updated on my progress. Of course I will begin this entire process with prayer.
1) I am going to plan out my meals a week at a time until I have a month’s worth of menus. I have done this in the past, but after two years of doing this, we are ready for some new recipes. As I purchase food each week, I will double or triple up on the sales items that we use regularly. This will help me to know what to purchase and be able to purchase it at the lowest price.
2) In order to solve my problem of storing and rotating the food, I am going to take time to rearrange my kitchen and pantry. I don’t have to do it all at once, but maybe just one cupboard or shelf a day. As I do this I can make a list of the food on the shelf, write dates on the cans that are not already dated, and stack them with the oldest cans at the front. I can tape the list to the inside of the cabinet door. If I laminate the lists, I can make notes on what I need to replace at the next sale.
3) Once I get a three month supply, I will begin to expand to a year supply. I may expand my menu rotation, so that I have a two month menu rotation instead of a one month rotation, since this can cut back on growing tired of the food that we eat.
Additionally, it is time for me to update our emergency kits. If you need to do this, you can watch for sales on the foods as well. The new pouch meats (tuna and chicken) may be easier to store and carry in your kits, but may need to be rotated more often. Do you have any suggestions on how to make the process easier?
Related Articles:
Three Month Supply
An Example of Provident Living