Where Do I Begin?

Well, first you've got to realize it takes baby steps... If you jump into preparing & food storage, chances are you'll get WAY too overwhelmed. I hope to help you take those baby steps as I post what I learn & have learned. FOR NOW - here is a simple outline that will hopefully help to at least give you an overall picture of what we are trying to accomplish:

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Obtain AT LEAST a 2 weeks supply of water for each member of your family. Have water in various types of containers. An inexpensive idea is to put water in emptied, clear, plastic 2 liter pop bottles. Small water bottles are convenient & portable. 50 gallon drums are good for drinking water and/or cleaning water. It is essential to have enough water—a person can only survive a few days without water. You need at least one gallon of water per person per day.
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Put together a 72 hour kit of water, food, clothing and essentials for each person in your family. Make it portable in case you need to leave your home in a disaster.

Tips: To begin, buy 72 hr. backpacks - Get backpacks with handles and wheels for the children to carry themselves, put children’s 72 hr. backpacks under their beds for quick access, and put together a small car emergency kit. Put water and some basic essentials in a backpack in your car incase an emergency happens, and you (and your children) need to walk to somewhere safe. Items that might be important include water, snack food (granola bars, suck on candy, dried fruit or jerky etc.), a flashlight, poncho/umbrella, and a sweater or jacket in case of cold weather.

You may also put your 72 hr. kits in 5 gallon buckets w/ handles. One for food, one for supplies, etc... You can even purchase special toilet lids that fit right onto the bucket for going potty! (Don't forget to have some trash bags available for changing when someone uses it!) The buckets are waterproof & can also serve as a seat! Think about decorating your buckets with permanent markers so you can tell them apart from others who may have buckets.


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Make a list of the food items your family eats most often (say... 30 days worth?). (i.e.- macaroni & cheese, chili, tuna (mayo), peanut butter & jam, pasta & spaghetti sauce, etc.) Start building your food storage around those items. Start by getting a three month supply of these commonly eaten foods. One thing to remember is to buy all the components of each meal you eat on a regular basis. Calculate how much you need for each recipe & multiply it by the number of times you would use it in a year (or whatever amount of time you're storing for). Example: If you use 2 package of spaghetti noodles for spaghetti dinner & eat it once a month, multiply it by 12, & that will be a total of 24 spaghetti boxes to purchase for a year's supply. Once you have created a supply of these items, you can begin accumulating more long term food items. These items include grains, legumes, sugar, vegetables, fruit, salt, oil and powdered milk (among many others).


*MORE ON MEAL PLANNING & STORAGE LATER!

How to store your food? The main concern is keeping insects and rodents out of your food. There are a few ways to store paper packaged food items. One idea is to dry pack items at a cannery (very easy!) Another is to put food items in plastic containers (Rubbermaid totes, empty plastic buckets, large plastic garbage cans etc. ) Anything will work as long as it can be shut out from surrounding bugs and damp air. Keep food in a cool place—like a cold storage room in your basement or in a cool area of the house. KEEP OFF THE DIRT/CONCRETE WITH 2X4'S, CARPET, ETC!
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Keep track and rotate your food items. Tip: When you buy the food, put the month and date you purchased it on the container with a permanent marker. This way, you will know which items to use first. Of course, always use the oldest first!

Put the newer food on the back of the shelf and move the older items forward.
(Creating a shelving system makes storing food easier to organize and rotate. This can be done inexpensively with cheap metal shelves, store bought food storage racks, or homemade wood shelves. You will feel so good when you begin to see your own “store” growing in the basement, pantry, etc...)
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When items are on sale—STOCK UP! If you buy a year supply of items, you will not need to run to the store and buy it when it’s not on sale. Watch ads & compare prices. Bulk buying on basics is good too. Just repackage into your own buckets & containers. Doing this will save time and money!

*I WILL HELP YOU WITH THIS! IT MAY SEEM OVERWHELMING, BUT IT'S NOT - ONCE YOU GET ORGANIZED & UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT. THIS IS WHY I'M HERE!)
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With a little faith, effort, and time, you will feel the peace that comes by knowing you are prepared for whatever comes your family’s way. whether it be loss of employment, medical illness, struggling economy, skyrocketing prices, a natural disaster, terrorist attack, etc... it will be worth it!

Starting is the hardest part. But once you start, it will come naturally.

"If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear!"

"The feeling of peace and the desire to be faithful to the commandment given by the Lord through the modern prophet helps us feel the Holy Spirit, . . . to not be afraid, and to see that the signs of the time for the Second Coming of the Lord is a blessing and not something to fear. We rejoice in it. . . . It gives us the motivation to be faithful and endure to the end and to be saved and obtain eternal life." - Gordon B. Hinckley