We are
just starting on our food storage, what should we store first?
I get asked
this question a lot. Here is my advice:
1) Store a little bit of water, even if
you do not have much room such as living in an apartment. You can buy nice, sturdy containers that are
stackable. There are many styles, sizes
and prices. Do what you can afford to
do. You can also start with re-using
empty juice or soda bottles. Rinse, fill with clean tap water and store in a
dark place. It is not a good idea to
re-use milk bottles. You do not need to
pre-treat the water with Clorox if you are using a reliable source such as
treated city water.
2) Think of your family’s favorite
meals. What do you eat the most
often? Start with storing those
foods. If your family eats lots of rice,
store lots of rice. If you do not like
rice, but eat lots of pasta, store pasta. Do not spend time or money on storing
things your family does not like! The kids eat a lot of peanut butter? Buy a lot of that!
3) Try to have a variety of foods such
as vegetables, fruits, grains and meats.
Also have some oils and basic spices on hand so you can prepare as many
different meals as possible. After you
have a little bit of lots of things, keep adding to your stockpile.
4) In case of a power outage or some
other disaster I think it is a good idea to have a few quick and easy to
prepare foods on hand that you can eat while you are getting other things
settled. Some things that could fit in
this category would be canned stew, soups or chili or MRE’s that you do not
even have to heat up to eat. Have at
least one non-electric can opener on hand for all of your canned foods.
How do I
work on my food storage on a budget?
We have
always had a tight budget and have never been able to spend a tax return on a
bunch of food storage. What we do have
has been built up over many years and by employing several methods. I will list
them below.
1) Study the grocery store ads and buy the things
you use when they are on sale. When an
item in on sale buy more than 1 of that item.
Take advantage of 2 for 1 sales.
2) Use coupons and shop case lot sales.
3) Go to the Home Storage Center (HSC)
several times a year and buy a little bit of dry packed foods each time.
4) If you have a yard, plant a
garden. If you live in an apartment ask
a friend or family member is you can share garden space in their yard.
5) If you have a yard, plant at least 1
fruit tree. Learn how to can, freeze or
dry the fruit.
6) Watch for sales on non-foods
too. I have noticed that at least 1 time
a month such things as tooth paste and deodorants are on sale for $1 each. If you use coupons you can get them for free
or only 50 cents each. Even if you only
buy 2 extra each month for that price, soon you will have a bunch and get to
where you are never paying full price anymore.
7) I only buy the meats that are on sale
for my budget. When there is a
spectacular deal on meat I stock up on a bunch of it and freeze it. You can also pressure can meats in quart jars
if you have the equipment.
8) The less you eat out the cheaper your
food budget will be. Take the money you
would have spent on a couple restaurant dinners and put that toward longer term
foods. This is a big deal. I know lots of families that spend as much on
restaurant meals each month as our family’s monthly food budget.
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