Food Storage Build Up

Last Friday, when I got paid, I had my check left over from the week before. So I decided to go to the store and stock up on some food. We had already been to the grocery store on Sunday, so it wasn't the usual shopping trip. 

I  believe I have mentioned before that we got a can rack. It rotates the cans so that we don't have to take everything out of the pantry and put the new stuff in and then put all the original stuff back in. We would go to the store and it would take me over an hour just to put groceries away. This is a much smoother and easier process. Just drop it in the top. All of the sections are adjustable so I can move it around to fit whatever can size we buy. The box and paperwork said it would hold something like 200+ cans. I don't know if it will actually hold that many. I should count them. (I need to anyway so I can update the inventory list.) 

Anyway, I made a trip to the store to see if I could get enough to top off the can rack and finish filling the containers I store the beans in. I spent about $100 and succeeded. Well, almost. I am a few cans short as a couple items I bought, I bought the store out of but not enough to fill that row. I also bought several bags of beans and some popcorn. (I love popcorn. Not the microwave kind, the kind you pop on the stove!) 

I got all the cans in the rack and pulled the bean containers out. Dumped the current contents out into a bowl and dumped the new beans in. Put the original ones on top and back into the cabinet they went. 

I realize that most people can't do that. I am fortunate enough that we could. It is a good feeling to know that no matter what happens, whether personal, local or regional, we will be okay for a time without having to worry about food. No where near a year's worth or anything like that, but definitely enough for a while, especially if it just the two of us, but even if my son is still here.

Next on the list is getting some cat and dog food built up. We almost always have a second bag of food that is not opened yet, but will be nice to know that we have more than just about 30 days worth of pet food. My goal is to get to about 60 days. 

So what about you? Do you have enough to get you past some tough times? At least a week's worth? If not, get hoppin' before it's too late! 

Food Storage I

A question has come up about storage. Specifically, buying food in bulk and how to store it.

There are actually several options available for storing bulk purchase foods. This particular question was about a grain so that is where I will start.

First of all, when you buy any grains (note: sugar is NOT a grain, do not freeze it), did you know that you should freeze them for a few days? If you haven't heard that before, well now you have. The purpose of this is to kill any bugs that might be in there. EEEWWWW! I hear you saying. But if you believe there are no bugs, parts of bugs or eggs (and worse) in the store bought stuff, you are sadly mistaken. If you ever wanted an ironclad reason to produce all your own food, go do a search on the allowable "extras" that are in your food products you purchase. So freeze your grains for a few days to eliminate those mealy moths or whatever buggies are lurking in there.

If you choose to, you can leave your grain in the freezer all the time. Just take out what you will use for the week and you are good to go. Store it in the freezer Ziploc bags if that is your choice. Or use any container that you like: empty, washed soda jugs, mason jars, just about anything will work.

If you are trying to eliminate the use of your freezer for items like grain, take it out after a few days. Let it come to room temperature and repack it. Again, there are many options for storage containers. Ultimately what you use will be preference and availability. If you are a single person or the only one in your family that will eat something, say rice, then it makes sense to store it in much smaller individual packaging in your cabinet. If the whole family likes it, say oatmeal, and you eat it regularly, then you want more of it available to you in your kitchen cabinet.

The first, optimal (but most expensive) option is to store all of your grains in mylar bags. These bags eliminate air, moisture and light from getting to your foods. These are the three items that will ruin your food. Once you seal the food up into the mylar bags with an oxygen absorber, then you would store them in a food safe plastic bucket with a gasketed lid to seal it completely.  This works very well for long term storage.

A second option is to skip the mylar bags and put your food into a food grade plastic bucket.
Side note - how do you know you are getting a food grade plastic bucket? Look on the bottom, there should be a wine glass and a fork. That is the universal symbol for food safe.

Putting your food into a plastic bucket with no mylar bags will still keep your food fresh for a while. Not long term, but possibly long enough to go through the whole bucket.

Another option is to use the zipper storage baggies. This will be a relatively short term way of storing things, but still an option.

If you are trying to eliminate plastic out of your home (and you should-look it up), then you can use glass. Mason canning jars come in a variety of sizes. They do not offset toxic gasses. They do not however block light, one of the three food damagers. Make sure you have a secure, solid, dark place to store them.

Now you have a few storage ideas for bulk food storage.

No Room at the Inn; Storage Space Part Two

When we left off last, we had covered a couple of ideas for adding storage to your home. Shall we look at more? There are many more, I assure you.

I think we should start with the kitchen. Tell me about your cabinets. Are they organized and alphabetized? All containers facing the exact same direction(out), like good little soldiers? No? Why not? Just kidding! Well, just a little. If you are one of those that comes home from the grocery store and just shoves what you bought in the cabinets, please rethink that. First of all, it is very hard to inventory when you don't have things together. Second, how do you ever find anything? You don't have to be as anal about it as I am, but do put some order to it. Rotation is key to food storage. ( I will cover this in another post right around the corner.) Also, look in that cabinet that you store all your gadgets. Do you use all of them? If not, donate them. Just keep the ones you actually use. If you really want to go hog wild with purging gadgets, consider the space the microwave takes up. I went a long time without one. Believe it or not, you can live without one. If you can live without a microwave, you can live without most kitchen gadgets. If you can't, no problem, I am not here to judge you! We have one on our counter now.

Look around your kitchen and see where you can add storage. Can you add a shelf anywhere just under the ceiling? Think those handy little containers again. Can you add a bookcase or any kind of cabinet with doors somewhere in a corner? Do you have that cabinet that has wasted space because the shelves inside are so far apart? Any big box store has these handy little wire shelved that stack together to create more space. They are relatively cheap as well.

Don't forget wall space. Years ago, I put rings on all my regularly used cooking utensils and hung them above the stove. All I had to do was grab them while I was cooking. Can you put up one of those magnetic strips to hang your knives? What about your pots and pans? Do you have nice ones, like cast iron? Instead of taking up cabinet space, show them off. Hang them from the ceiling if you are able or have a space you can, or hang them on the wall over the stove. Just make sure they are anchored well, you are not after ripping a hole in the wall if they fall. I have an enamel covered cast iron dutch oven that I love. I keep it out on the stove all the time. It adds a nice splash of color and shows it off at the same time. And if my husband misbehaves, I can simply grab it and smack him upside the head with it! I love double duty items, especially when they double as an attitude adjuster!

We also have a large spice rack that my grandpa made. We hung it on the wall above the window. Displays my spice rack, keeps the spices easy to grab and use and frees up that valuable real estate in those cabinets. Don't let those vertical spaces go to waste!

Do you have hard to reach cabinets or spaces in your cabinets? Who doesn't? I think that the folks that put cabinets in think that everyone is either 7 feet tall or 2 feet tall. Anyway, that space is a wonderful place to store those items that you want to keep for long term.

Now on to the living room. But my wife/husband would never let me store things in there! Oh, but you can. Be creative. Look around and see what you have in there. I am not suggesting that you just put in a bookcase and start filling it up for everyone to see and look at. But what about the end tables? What could you fit under them? Then all you have to do is cover them with a table cloth, of which you can find many styles to suit your living room colors. You can do the same with a coffee table. Replace the footstool with an ottoman. Is your couch and chairs flat against the floor? If not, next time you buy some canned goods, keep one of the boxes they stack them in and slide it right under there. Is your couch flush against the wall? Put some items back there. Is it out in the middle of the room as a divider? Buy or build a table to stand behind the couch. Put some pretties on top of it and either cover it or add cabinets and doors under to store more items. Also consider freeing up closet space by using your couch and chairs to store your extra blankets. Especially in the winter time, or in my case all year! Fold the blankets and put them on the back of the couch or chair. If you are not overly fussy about these things, let everyone pick their favorite and mark their spot. You do have favorite or usual places where you all sit, right?

Again, look at the walls. Do you have a corner you could build a set of shelves? You may need to take a chance and see what's behind a wall. We found a marvelous amount of space on one side of our fireplace. We took a chance and ripped part of the wall down to see what was behind it. Loads of room! We put in a bookcase. Of course with my love of books, we filled it up immediately...But doing that allowed us to free up another moveable bookcase for other uses. And by using as much scrap lumber and pieces from other projects as we could, we didn't really spend any money on it. What we did buy was red cedar to frame it with. It smells wonderful and looks good too.

Be critical. What can you get rid of? What do see when you look around your house? Where can you "add" more storage? It's there, all you have to do now is find it.

Getting Started

No one can tell you exactly how to prepare. I can give you examples, advice and the like, but how you go about it is ultimately up to you.

A good way to start learning what you need to do to balance a budget is to keep a notebook of all the things you spend money on. Then at the end of a specified time, usually a month, you know how much you spent and where you can/should cut back.

You can apply this same principle to preparing. Keep a log for one month. You can go all out and record everything in great detail as to exactly how much you used (how many squares of toilet paper!) or you can be a whole lot more general (approx. two rolls a week for your family for toilet paper). Or you can focus on one group of items. Like what your family uses in the bathroom, what your family ate for meals for the month. A breakdown of exact amounts or estimates. Either way will get you started.

If you are going to keep track of all the food that your family eats for one month, don't forget meals that you eat out or that the kids eat at school.

If you are going to keep track of what your family uses in the bathroom, write down preferred brands and acceptable alternatives.

If you are going to keep track of disposables, don't forget to include things like toilet paper, paper towels, paper plates, disposable utensils, pads, tissues, coffee filters, etc.

If you are going to track cleaning supplies, don't forget to include items like dish soap, laundry detergent or the items used to make your own, bleach, vinegar, baking soda, etc.

The variations for this are endless. There is no hard and fast rule for preparing for anything. Well, except one. Do it. Other than that, there are some guidelines, advice, suggestions. But what it boils down to is you stepping up and getting started in whatever way you can.

Speaking of suggestions, I do have a suggestion. This is one that my family follows. Buy water every time you go to the store. Not everyone has a way to store the 50-55 gallon drums for water, but nearly everyone can find a way to store jugs of water. There are many many hiding places to stash water. Consider investing or making a rain barrel. As long as it doesn't freeze, that is another option for water storage. Outside, yes, but still useable even if not drinkable.

So how are you deciding what to start storing? How much have you paid attention to all the items that you and your family members use each day? Where have you decided to start? Let me know.