January Week 1: Discounted Christmas Wrap, Cards, Paper, etc.

Since its January, its time to start the food storage rotation all over again. I'll keep posting each Tuesday of the week all throughout the year. Many of you follow the blog and count on the reminder, so I feel like we should keep up those Tuesday posts. If you're new to this plan, read on to find out more about the Week-By-Week Food Storage Plan. I've used this plan for several years now, and through that process, I'm pretty sure I have most of the kinks worked out. The thing I really like about this particular plan is that it breaks it all down to into weekly, bite-sized pieces. I also like that you can jump in wherever you are in the year, and just start from that particular week. Its a good, "non-overwhelming" way to get started (and continue!) on your food storage!

For those who are looking at this plan for the first time, I'll give a quick over-view...

This is the sheet that I use that shows each month with four weeks listed and the items to work on each of those weeks:

The first year I implemented it, I just stocked our shelves with whatever was on the list for the week. The next year, at the beginning of each week, I checked my inventory of each item for the week, rotated if needed, tossed out expired things, and then made sure that my stock was up-to-date and consisted of the correct amounts for what our family needed.

To go along with the above week-by-week sheet, I have a corresponding inventory sheet (notice how the colors match up with the colors on the weekly schedule). It has all of the items in my food/emergency storage. This is one page of seven in my inventory sheet set:

Every year I tweak it a bit according to our needs. Our family has changed through the years from a family of four children, to teens, to now all married, and expecting our 6th and 7th grandchild. So, we've adapted through the years according to our needs. This system is easily adaptable, so that isn't a problem. I also look at other lists that come across my desk and add things that aren't yet in our emergency storage. So, the list is ever-changing, which is good. I also hate to throw food out, so I don't want to store more than I need to be storing. I try to store what we will use in the coming year (along with some long-term food storage).

I'm going to post the food storage "items for the week" on this blog so that it will remind me and maybe spark something in somebody out there in blog-land to make sure you and I both, are ready for any upcoming emergency. One thing you need to know is that items for the week are guidelines. You can decide what in that particular category you would really want to have in your food storage. For instance, in the 2nd week of January, the items are cleansers. This could be just the basics that you might want to have set aside in case of an emergency, or the full-blown array of cleansers you might use in a year's time. I decided I wanted to do a true "year's supply" for my family, so I try to keep the basic items that I will use within the year. I may or may not include stain remover, or floor cleaner. It all depends on what you want to have in your supply. You also may want to start out with the very basics and then add to the list as the years go on. (A bit easier on the pocketbook!)

The first week in January, the items are easy...

January Week 1: Watch for and buy 50% off on Christmas items, cards, paper, ribbons, etc.

Notice I've highlighted these in pink. They will correspond with the items on my inventory sheet set (7 pages) so that I can find them right away on the list, know how many I should have in storage, and then know how many I need to put on my shopping list for that week. On my inventory sheet set, I record the quantity I have, the size of the package, the expiration date, and the amount I should have in storage. There is also a place to mark off if I have enough of the item and the date that item was checked off.

Does that all make sense? Clear as mud, right? It makes perfect sense to me, but I KNOW I don't think the same way as everyone else, so it might just be a bunch of jibberish to all of you. If any of it is helpful, then its all good.

Now, for this week's items, you may or may not have an interest in stock-piling these. There are a couple of reasons I've included Christmas Items on the list. One, they are all on sale right now, and it's an excellent time to stock up for next year. Two, if you're like me, you already stock-pile them, but you have no idea how much you really have. So, next year, when you're at the store and see wrapping paper, you think to yourself, "Well, I better buy a few rolls, since I'm not really sure what I've got left from last year". This way you will KNOW that you have way too many rolls for any one household to have. In the past, In the past, I didn't include this week's items on my inventory sheet, but after actually seeing what I have stacked up in the corner of my storage closet, I decided I better put it on the inventory sheet so that I'll know what I have, and I will remember that I don't need to shop for Christmas wrapping and bags until somewhere around 2028.

If you don't want to shop for or keep track of Christmas Supplies, then you get this week off. Work on preparing a good space for your food storage items -- getting some shelves and space ready for the week to come!

If you would like the full info on the Week-By-Week Food Storage Plan, just click on the tab at the top of the page. You can then click on any single week and it will take you to the blogpost that featured that week's items. It also has the information as to how you can get a copy of the weekly schedule as well as the complete inventory sheets.