October Week 2: Wraps and Bags

This week's food storage/emergency supply item(s) are:

October Week 2: Wraps and Bags - aluminum, saran wrap, wax paper, garbage bags, freezer bags, etc.

This week, you should decide on which items you use or might use in case of a long-term emergency. Aluminum foil has many uses in an emergency, so I keep a couple of rolls of that. I also keep plastic wrap, wax paper, garbage bags (kitchen bags and also a heavy-duty garbage bag), gallon size freezer bags, and baggies. All of these items, I keep on a non-rotating basis. So, I do my best not to delve into my supplies. But, I sometimes find myself without foil or baggies, or some-such thing, and I gratefully remember I've stowed some away for emergencies. 

Each year, on this week, I go down my inventory sheet and check that my supplies of wraps and bags are what they should be. If I have taken from my supplies sometime earlier in the year, this is the time to restock my shelves. I make a note of what I need and in the next couple of days, pick up the items at the grocery store. Then, I get the items on the shelves and update my inventory sheet. Yay! Another week of items on the shelves. It is SUCH a great feeling!

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.

October Week 1: 72 Hour Kits. Start them or update them.

This week's emergency preparation item is:

October Week 1: 72 hour kits. Start them or update them.

72-hour kits in back packs

72 hour kits
(includes the rolling cart under the backpacks)

So...... if you have a 72 hour kit, this is relatively easy. Just get your kit(s) out and go through them. Throw out the old, expired food, batteries, etc, that may need replacing. Then, write the items on a list and get to the grocery store in the next couple of days to purchase what you need. When you have the items back in your kit, and your kit back where it belongs, then check it off the list, and relax until next week.

I like to keep my 72 hour kits on the main floor, in a closet that is readily accessible. It's the closet on the way out to the garage, so it's pretty convenient. Everyone knows where the kits are, so we should be able to grab the kits and go quickly. If I kept the 72 hour kits in the basement with the rest of my emergency supply, they would take longer to grab (which may not be possible in the case of a house fire or earthquake), or they might get ruined in the case of a flood, etc.

Now, if you don't have a 72 hour kit yet, then you've got your work cut out for you. BUT, this is the time to get started. I have a couple of different lists... one for the kids' 72 hour kits, which are contained in separate backpacks for them. The other list is a comprehensive list that includes everything my husband and I would need, along with some items that the entire family will use. This is the week I check on all of my items, and try to get them completed and updated.

On my lists for my 72 hour kits, there is a place to write when items expire so that I can just look at the list (without even pulling my kits out) and purchase the items that have or will soon expire. Once I have bought them, I can just switch the items in the kit out and update the list.

We worked on 72 hour kits last year on this blog, so we've gone through it step-by-step. To see the different posts on collecting the items, click on the 72 hour kit tab above.

Now that we have all of our kids married off, and on their own, we don't keep an emergency kit here at the house for each of them. In fact, I've passed on to them their 72-hour kits in their backpacks. They can keep them, update them, build off of them, or whatever they want. I will continue to encourage them to build their own kits for their own little families. In my opinion, the 72-hour kits should be for whoever is living in your home at the current time. Any others should keep their own kits at their own homes. Because that can get way out of hand to keep kits for older kids, grandkids, parents, etc.

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.

Week-By-Week Food Storage: Bye Week!

Remember this is a plan that used four weeks out of each month (48 weeks in the year). That means that four times a year you'll find yourself with an extra week and no new assignment.

This is that wonderful week where you get to catch up on anything in your food storage or emergency supply that needs catching up on. If you're totally caught up, maybe you can straighten your shelves, or dejunk. If all of that is done, then you've obviously earned the right to admire your handiwork and rest on your laurels for a week. Enjoy!

September Week 4: Sugar (white, brown, powdered), honey, corn syrup, molasses

This week's food storage items are:

September Week 4: Sugar (white, brown, powdered), honey, Karo corn syrup, molasses

It may be hard for you to know what your family consumes in sugar every year. One helpful thing is that sugar (granulated, powdered and brown) has an indefinite shelf life, and the same goes for honey, as indicated in this post from stilltasty.com:

Does Pure Honey Ever Go Bad?

Question:  I have a bottle of pure liquid honey that’s starting to get thick and sugary on the bottom. Does this mean it has gone bad and I need to replace it? 

Answer: No — your honey should be fine, provided you’ve been storing it properly.

From a safety standpoint, commercially produced pure honey has a practically indefinite shelf life,says the National Honey Board. It’s not unusual for honey to crystallize over time —  but that doesn’t make it unsafe to use, adds the Honey Board.

That said, prolonged storage can potentially take a toll on the taste and appearance of honey. Besides crystallizing, your honey may also start to darken, change aroma and lose flavor after a couple of years. So it’s a good idea to check your honey from time to time, to see if it’s still satisfactory for your tastes.

As for honey that’s already crystallized, you can revive it by placing the opened honey jar in warm water and stirring until the crystals dissolve. Another option is to transfer the honey into a microwave-safe container, with the lid off. Microwave on medium-high power, stirring every 30 seconds, until the crystals dissolve.

To help keep honey at its best, be sure to store it in a cool, dark area and keep it tightly capped after each use.

So, you can feel good about buying whatever you can, and knowing that if you buy too much, it will stay on the shelves until you need it. I like to pick up sugar at case lots sales once in a while, and keep extras on the shelves. As you go through this system for a couple of years, you'll be able to see how much of each product you use in a year, and then you will know how much you need on the shelves. I keep way, way more granulated sugar than I need, but that is all to be saved for a rainy day!

Decide how much sugar and sweeteners you'll need this year, and write them on your shopping list. In the next day or two, when you're out on errands, stop by the grocery store and pick up the items from your shopping list. Bring them home, get them on your shelves, and update your inventory sheets. And think how happy your family will be that you will have something sweet for them in the years 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 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.

September Week 3: Dry Beans and Legumes

September Week 3: Dry Beans and Legumes

Depending on what your family uses of these items, this week should be pretty easy and straight-forward. I have white beans, black beans, pinto beans, and dehydrated refried beans that are in cans and will all last for 20+ years. Those, I generally don't open and use during the year (though I could, if needed). I have bags of beans (lentils and split green peas) that I do use throughout the year, so I will decide what our yearly need is, and be sure that I have that on my shelves.

With the Week-By-Week plan, you will decide on your family's needs for the year, and enter those numbers on the Inventory Sheet. Subtract what you already have, and then you'll be left with the amounts of each item that you need to purchase this week. Next time you're at the grocery store (within the next few days), pick up the beans and legumes you need, put them on your shelves, and update your Inventory Sheet. There. Done for the week. Smile at what you have done for you and your family, and then relax til next week's items come up!

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.

Snakes... A Never Ending Supply

We've got a situation again around here. Snakes. We "got rid of" 7 last year, so my hopes were that the word would get around, and we wouldn't have a real snake problem this year. Alas, no. The fourth one for the year met it's demise on Tuesday, and it was the longest one so far.

I see a snake at least 3 times a week. I always tell myself that it's the same snake, but way inside I know better...

With all the sightings I have, you'd think it would become common and lose its fearfulness. Nope. Not at all. 

This one below was a classic catch. Bob was on the phone with an important call that he had to take while we were out in the backyard. I was walking through the yard, and said, "Snake!", and without a break in his conversation, he stepped on the tail of the snake and picked it up and held it there by the tail until he could get off the phone. The person he was talking to was none the wiser.

And then there are things like this that give me just as much of the heebie-jeebies. A snake skin. A pretty long snake skin. Which means that a good-sized snake was growing even bigger and had to shed his skin. And I love how it came off as he was crawling down into a whole. Ick.

Bob's second catch of the season. Can I describe how much I love this man o' my dreams, who gets how much I fear snakes? He never seems to tire of coming to my rescue!

How does a son-in-law earn his mother-in-law's eternal gratitude? By coming to her rescue and getting a whopper of a snake. I will ever be thankful for this man!

All of this leads us to this package from Amazon. I can't tell you if any of it works, but I certainly am going to give it all a whirl. It's either that, or put cement across my whole yard, which I've contemplated. 

I'll let you know how things go.

September Week 2: Veggies - canned, bottled, dehydrated and frozen

This week's food storage items are:

September Week 2: Veggies - canned, bottled, dehydrated and frozen

What canned or dehydrated vegetables do you consume in a year? We generally use fresh or frozen vegetables, but I do like to have some canned veggies on hand. I have recipes that call for cans of vegetables, and I definitely like to have some on hand for emergencies. I don't use my dehydrated vegetables regularly... those are kept for the long-term food storage. So far, I only have dehydrated carrots and chopped onions, but I think I'll add a few different dehydrated veggies to my shelves. If you bottle your own vegetables, obviously you will have to do this when the veggies are ripe and ready for bottling, but include the updates and information in this week's inventory. This is also a good time to stock up on frozen vegetables (whatever you can store in your freezer).

So, determine what your family's needs will be (for the coming year) as far as vegetables go, whether canned, dehydrated or frozen. Write them down on your grocery list, and next time you're at the market, pick up what your family needs. Get the items on your food storage shelves, and then sit back and feel really good about what you've just accomplished for you and your family. Update your inventory sheet with the information, and relax til next 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.