It’s so important, especially when you are single, to be prepared for emergencies. The scariest thing I can think of as a single mother is a loss of income due to illness, injury or layoff. I try to plan ahead as much as possible, just in case, and one way I do that is by having food storage. This is something I would recommend for all families. Knowing that you can still feed your kids will alleviate some of the stress and let you focus on other things.
Getting a good food storage together takes time, don’t try to do it all in one shopping trip. If you grab something extra every time you go grocery shopping you will have your food storage put together in no time. I always watch coupons and sale items and when I can get a really good deal on something I will buy what I need for the house and then as many extra as I can afford for the food storage.
Don’t let the name fool you, it doesn’t have to be just food. I also store household goods, trash bags, laundry detergent, soap, shampoo toilet paper, and toothpaste. Pretty much anything you buy at the grocery store that doesn’t need to be refrigerated can go in your food storage.
You also need to develop the habit of rotating the food storage so it doesn’t become outdated. When you buy something, cereal, mayonnaise, whatever, put the new one in the food storage and the one in the food storage goes in the pantry.
I know that having my food storage makes me feel just a little bit more secure, I know if anything were to happen to my income I could at least keep us fed while I get back on my feet. For me, that is a huge weight off my shoulders. You can always pay the light bill late if you have to but you can’t tell your kids they can eat next week.