The following are my own baby steps to get going building that 90-day supply and space to put it in. There may be better lists out there, but this is what I suggest based on my personal experience with this commandment.
*Note: Steps 1-5 would be great to do as a family for a Family Home Evening or two. If you're struggling with the motivation or time to do this, make it a Monday night activity...the whole family will benefit from being on the same page and focused on the same goal. You'll want their input, anyway, as these steps are helping you plan what you will store for your 90-day supply..all of which they have to eat!
Baby Step #1: Get on your knees!
Before you even begin to embark on this journey, let the Lord know that you are ready to keep this commandment and will need His help in giving you the wisdom, and possibly the resources, to fill your shelves. Without His help and a healthy dose of faith and focus on your part, this journey will be less fulfilling and profitable for you.
Baby Step #2: Making The List
Before you start purchasing anything, it's important to have in your mind what food storage will look like for your individual family. The following three steps are just to get your mind wrapped around amounts and goals to prepare you for step #6.
Food Storage Calculation
Using the food storage calculator here: http://lds.about.com/library/bl/faq/blcalculator.htm you can "see" what a complete year's supply will look like for your family, specifically. (Make sure to scroll down to view the calculations once you've pressed the "calculate" button.) But, remember, this calculator is for your long-term, year-supply of life-sustaining food which, at this point, is beyond the mark! Don't be overwhelmed by the numbers and don't go out and buy 1,000 pounds of wheat just because it says that's what you need. This list is to help with our first goal: to acquire a 90-day supply of the foods our families regularly eat. Don't worry about the year's supply yet. That comes later.
However, you can use this calculation to help you acquire your 90-day supply of things you normally use...sugar, baking soda, baking powder, oil...you know, typical cooking supplies or long-term food storage items you probably normally serve your family like pasta and rice. Ignore the powdered milk, dry beans and other items you may not be familiar with or that you have never cooked for your family. Again, these items are beyond the mark at this point.
Estimating Your 90-day Supply
Take a look at this calculation sheet and mark the items you do normally use and divide those amounts by 4. For example, if your family requires 8 pounds of baking soda for your year supply, just divide those 8 pounds by the 4 quarters of the year and you end up with 2 pounds per quarter, or 2 lbs. per 90 days. So, your goal for baking soda for your 90 day supply is only 2 pounds.
Do this with all the items on this list that you would normally use...including pasta, rice, oats, flour, etc.
Baby Step #3: Add Shelf Stable Items to the List
Rewrite the numbers and items from step #2 on another sheet of paper so you aren't distracted or discouraged by thousands of pounds of unfamiliar stuff. This is the beginning of your 90 day supply list.
Now, just for a few minutes (and maybe with your kids and spouse), brainstorm the other shelf-stable things your family eats regularly. This would be things like cream soups, canned fruit and vegetables, spices, cereals, snacks like crackers...anything that doesn't need refrigeration or freezing or will not spoil within a week or two. Though bread does not require refrigeration, it is not considered a shelf-stable item because it spoils too quickly.
Estimate Your Amounts
Once you have your list of shelf-stable items (or do this as you add each item), estimate how many times a week you use each one, then multiply that number by 12...the number of weeks in a 90-day period.
Example: If our family uses 4 cans of cream of chicken soup each week, we would calculate that by 12 and find that we needed 48 cans of cream of chicken soup to equal our 90-day supply.
(See? Story problems in school WERE useful after all!)
Now that you have a good idea of how much you need of each of the shelf-stable foods your family eats regularly, it's time to get creative!
Write down the fresh foods you like to have on hand. Fruits and vegetables, dairy products, breads and other baked items would be included on this list.
Once you have done this, or while you are making the list, think outside the box a little and brainstorm ways of storing food that would substitute for your favorite fresh foods if you were in a situation where you couldn't freeze or refrigerate anything or if you couldn't get to the store to supply your household with those items.
Here are some ideas:
*Fruit = canned or dehydrated/freeze dried fruits
*Vegetables = canned or dehydrated/freeze dried vegetables
(*Note: Dehydrated and freeze dried foods have infinitely more nutrients than canned foods. However, canned foods already include the water necessary for preparation and can be eaten straight out of the container. It's always good to have several options in our food storage...especially where children are considered. Also remember, if you won't prepare it or your children won't eat it, it's usually not necessary to store it.)
Bread = learn to make bread at home
Lettuce = sprouts (see the "Making Fresh Shelf Stable" tab)
Milk = powdered milk (Country Creme is our favorite...you can't tell it's powdered milk)
Tortillas = learn to make them at home
Eggs = powdered eggs (you wouldn't believe what comes powdered...sour cream, egg whites, butter, etc. and they work just great in baking and cooking!)
***
This portion of your list is not going to be complete and comprehensive, so don't feel like you need to have it that way. Don't let it discourage you from moving forward...it is an exercise in creative food storage thinking while giving you a new way of approaching some of what you do on a regular basis. Just do your best and don't worry if you can't figure out another option for some ingredient you like. Chances are, you'll figure out a solution to that over time.
Baby Step #5: Thinking About Water Storage
I chose to use the word "thinking" in the title of this step because water storage is another animal altogether and we are not going to tackle it completely at this point. However, it is so vitally important to be storing water that it is actually more important than food, so we have to start considering it at the beginning.
(For more comprehensive information on water storage, see the "Water Storage" tab.)
At this point, lets just refer again to our food storage calculation sheet. It already has an amount of water suggested for your size family.
The rule of thumb is to have at least one gallon of water per person per day. This amount will only keep you alive, not allow you to wash clothes or bathe or prepare food...especially dehydrated foods.
So, be thinking about the first goal of storing that vital one gallon per person per day. (Don't go out and buy the gallon jugs of water, though. They disintegrate in a fairly short period of time...like 3 months. Oh, and don't use old 2-liter soda bottles...the sugars can absorb into the plastic, then re-enter your water and cause it to become toxic. Remember to study about water storage before attempting it!)
Consider where in your budget you might be able to afford a water storage container of some kind. They are made in all shapes and sizes, for every budget and for every living space, so don't worry about finding a place for some huge, heavy thing you can't move.
This step is here simply to make sure water has a place in your mind and plans as you begin your food storage journey.
Baby Step #6: Making Room
Now that you know approximately what you need for your family to have a 90-day supply, it's time to make a space that the Lord can fill. It's not going to be easy on you when the windows of Heaven open and you don't have room enough to receive it! It will soon become cluttered and disorganized which will not be of any benefit to you...ask me how I know.
For those of you with a built-in storage room, congratulations. This is for the rest of us...
For those who feel like you don't have room to store food and water, I guarantee that if you truly don't, you will. Remember all things are possible with the Lord and this is His commandment so have faith that He will supply your need...even if it's the space to put the other needs in!
First of all, you do not have to go out and buy a bunch of shelves or move a child out of their bedroom! Making room doesn't have to mean displacing the whole family or spending $50,000 finishing the basement so you have a "food storage room". Let's keep things simple and reasonable.
Most likely, you already have plenty of space to store food and water, you just aren't seeing it.
As we are looking for room, let's consider these things:
- Food will last longest stored in a cool, dark place. (Garages and attics are not for storing food.)
- Your food storage containers will vary in size from very small to very large. Some will be heavy, some will not.
- Your food will need to be accessible. You will be using it on a regular basis since it is what you normally eat. Rotating it will keep it from spoiling or expiring before it can be of benefit to your family.
- What can you declutter or get rid of to make room for something that is a whole lot more important? I often feel like the Lord is awaiting our willingness to sacrifice to follow Him, then He can work the miracles.
In a pantry
- Remove excess stuff from your pantry to make room for more of what you need to store.
- Use can racks like this one to help use upward space effectively while making sure you're eating your oldest food first:
In a bedroom
- Upper spaces in closets are usually an area where less important items are stored.
- Under beds can be a catch-all for clutter. Consider using these areas for food storage instead. Under-bed containers can help with easy access and organization.
- Carefully consider the weight of the items you put up high. What goes up must come down!
- #10 cans and buckets can easily be used to build shelves and tables inside your home. Tops of tables can be placed on buckets and a table cloth draped over top to hide the buckets underneath.
Baby Step #7: The Budget
In our household, there is no "food storage budget". Our grocery budget is the food storage budget.
Some of you may be able to find extra money that can be assigned to "food storage" and some of you may be able to sacrifice some things to make more money available. Others will be like us and will need to find a way to build up a supply of food while not changing the amount that is spent each month. Whichever you are, it's okay. It's all possible because the Lord is in charge of all resources.
Remember how I said there would need to be some things sacrificed, that the Lord would require a bit of effort and work to bring about the miracles? This may be an area where some of us need to consider what luxuries and unnecessaries we can sacrifice to make what might seem impossible, possible.
For those of us who don't have excess available anywhere, creativity and work is required. When the food budget is the food storage budget, too, we have to work to cut down our food costs in other areas to free up funds for stocking up on shelf-stable food. This is our sacrifice because it takes more time, concentration and sometimes going without what we are used to for a while to allow the acquisition of items that are needed for our goal.
For help in finding ways to cut grocery costs and "find" money that can be used to acquire more food for your storage, see the "Finding Funds" tab on this blog.
Baby Step #8: Shopping
(Since most of us are not in a position to go out and spend excess money on large amounts of food storage at one time, my suggestions will continue to be geared toward those who have to pinch their pennies. If you are not one of those, feel free to go about purchasing a variety of items on your list each week until you reach your goal. Then, move on to Baby Step #9.)
So now that we have our list, our budget and our space, it's time to let the shopping begin!
There is no one item to start with that is better than another. The real starting point is to keep an eye out for the best prices on the items you need for your storage and be ready to purchase several of that item when the price is right. This will take some concentration, some study and some self-discipline as it will probably require that other things are sacrificed to be able to afford to stock up when the occasion presents itself.
Staples
The only exception to the above rule is in purchasing items like baking soda, baking powder, salt, etc. These staples are rarely included in sales in grocery stores to a degree that you could find them cheaper than club stores or the cannery. Since you will be buying these items in pounds, purchasing them in bulk will always give you the best price per ounce. Don't pay for grocery store packaging!
The Cannery vs. Club and Grocery Stores
Often, the Church cannery will have the best possible prices on items like sugar and oats. However, it has been my experience that Sam's Club often sells rice for less and grocery stores will put pasta on sale once or twice a year that will also beat the cannery's price. However, if you don't feel ready to wait for a twice-a-year sale on pasta, the cannery is your best price. You will often pay more for packaging of pasta at the club stores.
Always check the cannery price list before purchasing. Taking the price list with you to your club store or while checking local grocery store ads, you'll know where the best prices are. You can access the price list HERE.
If you are not a member of a club store don't worry, just use the cannery. The price difference between the rice at the cannery and the rice at Sam's Club is so small (like a cent or two per ounce) that you would have to question whether it was worth the gas to get that much further down the road if that's all you were going for!
Bottom line: If you are not a member of a club store, just use the cannery and look for great sales at grocery stores.
Coupons
If you have the time and inclination, couponing is an extremely effective way to quickly build your food and toiletry supply. The key to couponing is using multiple coupons to be able to purchase several of each item at a reduced price or even free. There are many ways to go about using coupons without spending huge amounts of time cutting or organizing. Visit the "Finding Funds" tab for more information on using coupons.
Baby Step #9: Using What You Store
Now that you have created a stash of food, it's important to start using it on a regular basis. Since you are storing what your family is used to eating, it won't be hard to integrate it all into your normal diet, but it might take a little planning and creativity.
The idea is that we are building a "home store", a place where you can go to access pretty much anything you need to feed and supply your family for several days, weeks or months at a time. In order to make sure all your food remains in a state of good quality, it's important to rotate it into your weekly menus and keep an eye out for stocking back up on those things you are using quickly.
Usually, if you are using your food storage twice per week, you will rotate it in a reasonable period of time.
Making menus, planning meals that use all shelf-stable items, learning to cook from scratch are all things that can help you use what you store.
Baby Step #10: Starting a Year's Supply
Once you are well on your way to maintaining a 90-day supply of what your family normally eats and uses, it's time to start working toward a year's supply of life-sustaining foods.
Revisit your food storage calculation sheet and the cannery order form to start planning the obtaining and budgeting of a long term supply.
In our household, just about everything listed on the cannery order form is actually part of our daily/weekly supply of food. It is possible to learn to cook almost everything from scratch and the supplies listed there will facilitate that for you.
Use the other tabs on the blog for ideas and recipes in using grains, beans and powdered foods in meals you are already used to. Once again, the rule that using your food storage twice a week will rotate it in a reasonable period of time also applies to your long-term storage.
Congratulations on getting a great start on your family's food storage!
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