{"id":7726,"date":"2009-10-28T00:15:55","date_gmt":"2009-10-28T04:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/?p=7726"},"modified":"2010-11-30T22:59:02","modified_gmt":"2010-12-01T02:59:02","slug":"food-storage-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/cooking\/food-storage-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Storage \u2013 Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

While I am not one to preach gloom and doom, I do think it is a good idea to be prepared in this economy. When I realized I had a reader who stockpiled I begged<\/span> asked Keeley to write a guest post on the topic. If you think about it, stockpiling was a way of life 100 years ago. People planted in the spring, harvested and preserved in the summer and fall in order to store up for the winter. With the convenience of supermarkets on every corner, stockpiling is unfamiliar to many people today. Keeley does a great job of explaining and encouraging us to start this old tradition again.
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Keeley Brooks is the child of English army parents who converted to Americanism several years after she married her CA native husband.\u00a0 She has three children who are all pretty much as nutty as she is.\u00a0 At this moment in time they are gleefully taking pictures of a tie-bedecked dog.\u00a0 Keeley does not know why, but she is grateful for the gentle nature of said dog.\u00a0 Food storage is one of her numerous obsessions, along with cloth diapers, running, homeschooling and sushi.\u00a0 She has a blog of meandering thoughts <\/a>of interest to no-one in particular.\u00a0 She no longer lives in Michigan, and finds it a tragedy that no-one has yet invented a usable transporter.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Store what you eat. Eat what you store.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What on earth is food storage?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Food storage is basically pantry living. You gather supplies that will last a certain period of time and store them in your home rather than pop over to the store every week \u2013 or several times a week. This may sound funky \u2013 and in some countries, believe it or not, it\u2019s illegal \u2013 it actually brings amazing peace of mind. You know that, come what may, you have the supplies on hand to feed your family.<\/p>\n

Why would I want to store food?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are as many reasons as there are people. Perhaps your church recommends it. Perhaps your husband works on commission and you can\u2019t count on a certain amount of money each month. Perhaps your husband works in a volatile industry and you may be out of work for several months at a time. Perhaps you simply like to be prepared. Whatever the reason, food storage = peace of mind. And a full stomach.<\/p>\n

How much do I store?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It depends. I\u2019d shoot for a year\u2019s food storage, but frankly, every little bit helps. Just remember: Store what you eat. Eat what you store. Rotate, rotate, rotate. And don\u2019t be like me and get all excited because you finally have a complete year\u2019s food storage \u2013 then eat it and forget to replace it so you\u2019re back where you started. *sigh*.<\/p>\n

What do I store?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are so many food storage plans out there you could easily find one that works for you. For beginners, I recommend making a weekly menu and shopping list. On the list, write down *everything* you need for that menu, including the stuff you already have in-house. Keep this list in a binder set aside for food-storage record keeping. After three months of doing this \u2013 Voila! Three months of data on the food you family actually eats and the supplies needed to feed them. If you rotate through this menu four times \u2013 Voila! One year of data on the food your family actually eats and the supplies needed to feed them.<\/p>\n

How do I afford this?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s assume you\u2019re rich and can afford to double your grocery budget each week. Then do that. Just buy double of what you were going to buy. In three months you\u2019ll have three months of storage. In a year you\u2019ll have a year\u2019s worth of storage.<\/p>\n

Presuming you can\u2019t do that, =), you\u2019ll need to carve some money out of your budget for food storage. Even a little bit helps. There\u2019s even a plan that helps you pull together your food storage on $5 a week. You can find that here<\/a> and discussions about it here<\/a> and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You have your plan though \u2013 it\u2019s right there on the menu and shopping list pages you put in your binder. Look at the amount of money you\u2019re able to spend on food storage, then look at your shopping list for week one and say \u201cI can afford these items this week\u201d. After you\u2019ve purchased the items, put a tick by them on the list. The next week look at the list again and decide what you\u2019re going to buy. Before you know it your problem will not be \u201chow can I afford this?\u201d because it will simply be a part of your budget. Your problem will be \u201cI\u2019m running out of room! Where do I put all this stuff?\u201d<\/p>\n

Where do I store all this stuff?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you have a child that just got married, send them all their stuff and use the room as storage. Okay, okay, not many people have that happen. And many live in tight living spaces. Presuming you can\u2019t just move into a larger house that has a ready-made storage room for you, you have to find spaces in your house to store the food. You may:<\/p>\n