Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Week-By-Week Food Storage: Bye Week
This is one of those few times in the year when there are five Tuesdays in the month. Since our plan uses only four weeks in each month, use this week as an organizing week, or a week to catch up on any previous weeks that you are behind on. And if you're all organized and caught up, then grab a book and a lemonade, sit on a lounge chair and enjoy. You deserve it! We'll keep moving on the plan in a week!
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
May Week 4: Portable toilet and supplies, feminine products, etc.
This week's food storage/emergency prep items are:
May Week 4: Portable toilet and supplies, cloth or disposable diapers and/or Depends undergarments (if needed), feminine products
I love the idea of this little portable toilet. It is basically a five gallon bucket -- but the lid, (as you can see in the photo) is a little toilet seat with a lid. It all snaps right into place and would provide the perfect little emergency toilet.
You can also buy these little toilet waste bags, which are brilliant. You fit them right around the bucket and under the seat, which makes it easy to dispose of the waste. Love it! The bags have a waste bio-gel in them, which makes the whole clean-up process easier and neater.
The toilets come with emergency hygiene items (toilet paper, wipes, toothbrushes and paste, soap, etc) stored right inside of them, so there is a complete kit that is easily carried out when needed. I bought my toilet and supplies from Emergency Essentials, but they are surely available through other stores.
This is also the week to buy some extra diapers and/or adult disposable undergarments. For whatever reason, I thought it a good idea to have a package of adult disposable undergarments on our emergency shelves. It seems like a good thing to have in case of illness during an emergency situation.
And lastly, store whatever feminine hygiene items your family might need for the year.
The great thing about this week's items is that from year to year, I shouldn't really have to re-stock (unless there is an emergency and we have used some of the items).
If you are not in a position to spring for one of these little toilets, I would get a 5 gallon bucket, find some bags that will fit over the edge of it, and store the bags and some toilet paper in the bucket. Also include some sort of hand sanitizer or soap. That would definitely work for an emergency!
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 most up-to-date post 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.
May Week 4: Portable toilet and supplies, cloth or disposable diapers and/or Depends undergarments (if needed), feminine products
I love the idea of this little portable toilet. It is basically a five gallon bucket -- but the lid, (as you can see in the photo) is a little toilet seat with a lid. It all snaps right into place and would provide the perfect little emergency toilet.
You can also buy these little toilet waste bags, which are brilliant. You fit them right around the bucket and under the seat, which makes it easy to dispose of the waste. Love it! The bags have a waste bio-gel in them, which makes the whole clean-up process easier and neater.
The toilets come with emergency hygiene items (toilet paper, wipes, toothbrushes and paste, soap, etc) stored right inside of them, so there is a complete kit that is easily carried out when needed. I bought my toilet and supplies from Emergency Essentials, but they are surely available through other stores.
This is also the week to buy some extra diapers and/or adult disposable undergarments. For whatever reason, I thought it a good idea to have a package of adult disposable undergarments on our emergency shelves. It seems like a good thing to have in case of illness during an emergency situation.
And lastly, store whatever feminine hygiene items your family might need for the year.
The great thing about this week's items is that from year to year, I shouldn't really have to re-stock (unless there is an emergency and we have used some of the items).
If you are not in a position to spring for one of these little toilets, I would get a 5 gallon bucket, find some bags that will fit over the edge of it, and store the bags and some toilet paper in the bucket. Also include some sort of hand sanitizer or soap. That would definitely work for an emergency!
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 most up-to-date post 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.
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
May Week 3: Jello and pudding mixes
This week's food storage items are:
May Week 3: Jello and pudding mixes
Now, if you don't eat or cook with any jello and/or pudding mixes at all, then you have a week off! I have a few recipes that we use that use jello or pudding mixes in one way or another. So, I will decide how many times I think I'll make my salads and desserts that involve using a jello or pudding. Then, I'll check my inventory and see what I already have on my shelves, and add whatever I still need to my shopping list. Next time I'm at the grocery store, I can pick up a few boxes of jello and pudding, then update my inventory, and get the boxes on the shelves where they belong.
There you have it. Another week's food storage items are easily inventoried and added to the shelves. It truly should only take 5 minutes to decide how much and what you need. And then you just add that in to your next grocery trip. So, so easy, and so, so do-able! Remember... if you are just now starting this plan, not to worry. You don't need to make up the previous months of the year. You just start with this week, and move through the plan. A year from now, you will have gone through all of the weeks and should have a wonderful storage of food and emergency supplies. And since you'll continue your weekly checks and updates to your supplies, the plan really doesn't have an end. Just take that first step and start today!
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 most up-to-date post 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.
May Week 3: Jello and pudding mixes
Now, if you don't eat or cook with any jello and/or pudding mixes at all, then you have a week off! I have a few recipes that we use that use jello or pudding mixes in one way or another. So, I will decide how many times I think I'll make my salads and desserts that involve using a jello or pudding. Then, I'll check my inventory and see what I already have on my shelves, and add whatever I still need to my shopping list. Next time I'm at the grocery store, I can pick up a few boxes of jello and pudding, then update my inventory, and get the boxes on the shelves where they belong.
There you have it. Another week's food storage items are easily inventoried and added to the shelves. It truly should only take 5 minutes to decide how much and what you need. And then you just add that in to your next grocery trip. So, so easy, and so, so do-able! Remember... if you are just now starting this plan, not to worry. You don't need to make up the previous months of the year. You just start with this week, and move through the plan. A year from now, you will have gone through all of the weeks and should have a wonderful storage of food and emergency supplies. And since you'll continue your weekly checks and updates to your supplies, the plan really doesn't have an end. Just take that first step and start today!
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 most up-to-date post 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.
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
May Week 2: Dry soups, ramen, canned soups / crackers
This week's food items are:
May Week 2: Dry soups, ramen, canned soups / Boxes of crackers: saltines, grahams, etc.
Pretty cut and dried. If you use dry soup in any way (as soup or in other recipes), decide how much you use in a year. Does your family eat ramen noodles? If so, add a year's supply of those to your list. Canned soups include all canned soups you eat, which also means any cream of chicken, cream of potato, cream of mushroom, etc. Estimate what you will use as far as all of those items go, and add the items to your grocery list.
As far as crackers go, I don't really keep crackers on my food storage shelf, because their expiration dates just seem to come too quickly. But, I do use this week as a time to go through my crackers -- saltines, grahams, Wheat Thins, etc. I toss out the old half-eaten boxes and add to my grocery list whatever it is that I need to replenish so that we have some on the shelves. There is nothing worse than making a pot of soup and not having the right crackers to go along with it. I also make sure I have enough grahams to get us through grandbabies' needs and also several s'more nights during the summer.
Next time you go to the grocery store, buy the items you have just put on your shopping list, and then get them on your shelves. Update your inventory sheets, and sit back until next week! Yippee! Another week completed!
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 most up-to-date post 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.
May Week 2: Dry soups, ramen, canned soups / Boxes of crackers: saltines, grahams, etc.
Pretty cut and dried. If you use dry soup in any way (as soup or in other recipes), decide how much you use in a year. Does your family eat ramen noodles? If so, add a year's supply of those to your list. Canned soups include all canned soups you eat, which also means any cream of chicken, cream of potato, cream of mushroom, etc. Estimate what you will use as far as all of those items go, and add the items to your grocery list.
As far as crackers go, I don't really keep crackers on my food storage shelf, because their expiration dates just seem to come too quickly. But, I do use this week as a time to go through my crackers -- saltines, grahams, Wheat Thins, etc. I toss out the old half-eaten boxes and add to my grocery list whatever it is that I need to replenish so that we have some on the shelves. There is nothing worse than making a pot of soup and not having the right crackers to go along with it. I also make sure I have enough grahams to get us through grandbabies' needs and also several s'more nights during the summer.
Next time you go to the grocery store, buy the items you have just put on your shopping list, and then get them on your shelves. Update your inventory sheets, and sit back until next week! Yippee! Another week completed!
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 most up-to-date post 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.
Sunday, May 8, 2016
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
May Week 1: Flour - white, wheat, wheat grinder
This week's food storage items are:
May Week 1: Flour - white, wheat, etc. Whole Wheat: white or hard red wheat, Wheat Grinder
First of all, notice that the highlight color is now green. That will be the color all month long, and will coordinate with colors on the Food Storage Inventory list. For the month of May, we'll concentrate on all the items that are highlighted in green on that Inventory. So, to begin with, this week is flour and wheat.
Flour includes white and wheat, and any other types of flour that you use. For instance, I use both white and wheat, and I also use Gold Medal Wondra, a super-fine flour used for thickening.
As far as wheat goes, I have my buckets of wheat that I bought several years ago.
Those should be good for 30+ years as long as they were packaged correctly. If you have whole wheat stored, you should really think about having a wheat grinder. Having said that, I'm going to go one step further and say that if the only wheat grinder you have is one that needs electricity, you might want to think about getting a hand grinder. If the power goes out for a prolonged period of time, and you are left with whole wheat and an electric wheat grinder, you might starve. Just saying. If you don't really use your whole wheat, so you don't have an electric grinder, just skip that and buy a hand grinder that you keep somewhere very near your whole wheat containers.
As with some of the other food storage items, I also have wheat and flour that I've canned at the Dry Pack Cannery. To read details and information about the Dry Pack Cannery, click here.
Whole wheat can keep for 30+ years, if it is stored correctly. Flour that is packaged with oxygen absorber packets can keep for 10+ years. And flour that you buy in the grocery store has an expiration date on the bag, and I stick pretty close to that. I remember years ago that I dipped into an older bag of flour that had weevils in it. Never again. Trust you me. I don't want to go into the sordid details, but suffice it to say, I had to throw out that batch of cinnamon roll dough. Ugh.
So, there you have it. Decide what your family's needs are for flour and wheat, both long term and short term. If it isn't really feasible to try to store the really long term stuff, then just think about this year and what your family might use for the year. Add it to your shopping list, and in the next couple of days, buy the items and get them on your shelves. Done. You can rest for a week.
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 most up-to-date post 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.
May Week 1: Flour - white, wheat, etc. Whole Wheat: white or hard red wheat, Wheat Grinder
First of all, notice that the highlight color is now green. That will be the color all month long, and will coordinate with colors on the Food Storage Inventory list. For the month of May, we'll concentrate on all the items that are highlighted in green on that Inventory. So, to begin with, this week is flour and wheat.
Flour includes white and wheat, and any other types of flour that you use. For instance, I use both white and wheat, and I also use Gold Medal Wondra, a super-fine flour used for thickening.
As far as wheat goes, I have my buckets of wheat that I bought several years ago.
Those should be good for 30+ years as long as they were packaged correctly. If you have whole wheat stored, you should really think about having a wheat grinder. Having said that, I'm going to go one step further and say that if the only wheat grinder you have is one that needs electricity, you might want to think about getting a hand grinder. If the power goes out for a prolonged period of time, and you are left with whole wheat and an electric wheat grinder, you might starve. Just saying. If you don't really use your whole wheat, so you don't have an electric grinder, just skip that and buy a hand grinder that you keep somewhere very near your whole wheat containers.
As with some of the other food storage items, I also have wheat and flour that I've canned at the Dry Pack Cannery. To read details and information about the Dry Pack Cannery, click here.
Whole wheat can keep for 30+ years, if it is stored correctly. Flour that is packaged with oxygen absorber packets can keep for 10+ years. And flour that you buy in the grocery store has an expiration date on the bag, and I stick pretty close to that. I remember years ago that I dipped into an older bag of flour that had weevils in it. Never again. Trust you me. I don't want to go into the sordid details, but suffice it to say, I had to throw out that batch of cinnamon roll dough. Ugh.
So, there you have it. Decide what your family's needs are for flour and wheat, both long term and short term. If it isn't really feasible to try to store the really long term stuff, then just think about this year and what your family might use for the year. Add it to your shopping list, and in the next couple of days, buy the items and get them on your shelves. Done. You can rest for a week.
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 most up-to-date post 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.