What's In Your Pantry?

(one of my Team Prepperific faithful members posing with my recent case lot purchases. See how uber excited he is about stockpiling!)

 

When you think about food storage, do you think about 5 gallon buckets , #10 cans, or cases of wheat, beans, rice, powdered milk, tuna, tomatoes, green beans, and oatmeal shoved in an obscure corner of the basement, collecting dust, just waiting for the end of the world. It's fabulous if that is what you have stock piled, so far, but when the Zombies come,what will you be whipping up for dinner based on what's in your food stash?  Odds are good that Peachy Tuna Surprise or Honey Wheat Chili are not going to go over well.

Approaching food storage as a collection of shelf stable consumables to be used only in case of emergency is setting yourself up for a lot of stress; at a time when you will probably already be riding the tidal wave of  " Oh no! What are we going to do now?!?". Feeding your family foods that they have never, or rarely eaten, especially in times of stress, will not be a pleasant experience. Plus, if they are not part of the families regular menu, some items may cause gastric distress (also not a pleasant experience). Another question to ask is," Will I even know how to prepare (fill in the blank here)?"

A better solution is to use The Pantry Principle to food storage. Basically, the Pantry Principle is compiling a list of food items that your family eats regularly, and use that as the master list to build a useable stash of food. In addition to building up a stockpile of items that your family will eat, you will be using those items in your regular menu. Frequently replacing the items that you have used.
I personally switched to this method years ago, after having to live out of my basement "grocery store" for several months. Let's just say, macaroni, oatmeal, and tuna played heavily into our menu.

Using the Pantry Principle provides opportunities for you to:

• Create a menu of recipes and foods that your family likes to eat.
• Rotating your stock of food by eating it regularly, avoiding stale and spoiled food.
• Get your family use to the idea of eating certain foods. Gradually introducing dried beans, wheat flour, powdered milk, canned fruit and veggies into your diet is much less traumatic than throwing your white bread loving family into the deep end, so to speak.
• Allow yourself the chance to learn how to cook with the above items. Learning new skills along the way.
• Save money on your grocery budget.  Having a stash of pantry basics will save you from running to the store to buy a "few items" to make dinner, spending much more money than you had planned on. In addition to curtailing extra trips to the store, once you have a decent amount of things stored away, you can wait to restock until the items you need are on sale.

The Prudent Homemaker's blog is a fabulous resource of how to strictly feed your family out of your food storage on a daily basis. I have used her ideas for inspiration on streamlining my own pantry. If your are confused about the basic idea of the Pantry Principle this blog gives you a great explanation of how it works. So... what's in your pantry?

How To Start Building Your Food Storage On The Cheap

 



(Excuse the halo above the canned goods. Photography is obviously no my super power!)

 



Food storage......a year's supply......a little something for a rainy day. We all know that it is important to have some basic food and household supplies stocked up for "just in case".  It is always a good idea to be prepared, but where to start? It is more than daunting to picture cases of wheat, powdered milk, flour, sugar, oil, canned fruit and vegetables stacked four high in your mind's eye. Even more so, to get that mental plan out of your head and into your basement storage room, or wherever else you can squirrel away a few items. It's enough to set a person into panic mode! Never fear! Rome wasn't built in a day......and food storage doesn't have to be, either.

Starting a stockpile is as simple as adding a few extra items to your grocery list each week. Starting small doesn't make such a huge dent in your budget. To start you should:

• Make a list of grocery items that you use on a regular basis. What  will your family eat happily? In times of stress nobody wants to experience the drama that will inevitably ensue when you serve something deemed less the palatable by the troops.
• Make a list of personal and household items you use daily. In the event that employment is lost non food items are not included in state assisted food programs. How many of each item will you need to tide you over for a few months or a year?
• Decide how much of your weekly grocery budget you can to set aside for food storage items? Even five or ten dollars worth of items will build up quickly.
• Watch for the items on your list to go on sale and then stock up. Toothpaste, soap, laundry detergent, etc. will always go on sale every three to four weeks. Take advantage and buy one or two extra.

If trying to figure this out in your head is still making you a little nervous, or you are the kind of person that likes to have things written out. The ladies at Classy Clutter have devised a great cheat sheet. They have broken down what to purchase week by week to get your food storage off to a great start. Most of the items on the list can be purchased for around $5.00. Click HERE to print out the weekly list. To make it even easier I will remind you each week on my FACEBOOK page what the must buy items are.

Got Goals?

It seems that at the beginning of each new year everyone feels obligated to set resolutions, myself included. Lose weight, organize the house, meditate for X number of minutes each day, or maybe read that classic novel. The possibilities are endless! I am not suggesting that setting resolutions is a bad thing, quite the contrary. Resolutions or goals, as I like to call them, are a great way to improve yourself, boost confidence, set priorities, and keep you focused on positive changes in your life.

This year I would like to challenge you to set a goal or two out of the norm. Take a moment to think about something you could or would like to learn or improve upon this year that will help you live a little more providently. Food, healthcare, and utility costs are projected to continue to rise. Employment isn't always stable. Budgets will only stretch so far, money isn't limitless (oh, how I wish I could grow a money tree!).

Focus on your families needs. Is there debt to be eliminated, or at least pared down to a more manageable amount? Maybe saving for a down payment on a house or a car? Perhaps your Emergency Fund is a smoking crater of despair after a string of unexpected expenses, and needs to be replenished. Would you like to be more organized at mealtime, or trim down the grocery budget?  How about growing some of your own food?

In order to successfully reach any goals, I have found there are a few steps to follow to keep me on track.

1. Make one or two goals at a time. Too many at once will be frustrating and overwhelming.
2. Write your goals down. Committing them to paper makes them real.
3. Set up a plan to complete your goal. Step by step if necessary.
4. Choose a time frame to have the goal completed. Having a finish line will keep you focused.
5. Recruit a "partner in crime" if you feel like you can't accomplish your goal on your own. Everything is more fun with a buddy.
6. Don't expect instant gratification. Some things take time to achieve or perfect.
7. Be positive. You can do it!

Now it's your turn. How do you successfully reach your goals?

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