Members of my church are encouraged to become self-reliant which includes having a 3-month supply of food on hand, https://www.lds.org/topics/food-storage?lang=eng. I had focused on a year's supply for a long time so I wasn't really thinking about this. But then I read this blog post by a woman who decided to take this counsel very seriously. Her idea was good but she used a lot of processed food that would store well without refrigeration and I'm not a big fan of processed food. She also seemed to be storing food that she didn't necessarily use on a regular basis.
I wanted to store food that I use regularly and like to eat!, so I decided to come up with my own method. Since I have 2 refrigerators as well as a big freezer, I had more flexibility in my storage plan. I realize this is a luxury that a lot of people don't have. However, it might be easier than you think, especially if you have the space. We bought our freezer gently used back in 1991 for about $150 and it is now 29 years old! Some neighbors gave us the extra refrigerator back in 1998 when they were getting rid of it and I have no idea how old it is. I'm sure the appliances are not as energy-efficient as I would like them to be but we plan to eventually replace them.
Here's what I did for the 3-month supply:
First, I created a list of all the food we use in a month. This actually wasn't as difficult as it sounds because I have a rotating dinner menu that lasts about a month. Also, we have a rotating breakfast menu that is the same from week to week and lunches are also fairly predictable.
Second, I created a 3-month food inventory by multiplying all the monthly amounts by three and put this inventory on one page that I could print out. I was generous in my amounts to make sure that at any given time I would have close to a 3-month supply, even if it was close to shopping day. I should clarify that this list did not include the long-term staples that I already have in my pantry which includes: oats, wheat, rice, pasta, dried beans, baking essentials, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, canned beans, applesauce, peaches, green beans, corn, etc. So this 3-month list only includes the perishables that have to be stored in my freezers and refrigerators. It includes things like butter, frozen juices, meats, tortillas, sour cream, cottage cheese, other cheeses, etc. You might think some of those things wouldn't last three months (like cottage cheese) but if they're vacuum packed, then they'll last much longer than the date stamped on the package. I have not had a problem with most of those things unless the vacuum seal got broken too soon.
I should also clarify that not everything that's perishable can be stored for three months, so I didn't include that in my inventory. For example, milk goes on my weekly list, along with fruits and vegetables that don't last more than a week or two. Also, eggs can be stored for several months but they take a lot of space so I only keep about a one-month supply of eggs. Some fruits, like apples or oranges, can be stored for a month so I try to keep a one-month supply in the winter and utilize my cold garage. Despite the extra appliances, space is still the biggest limitation for me.
Third, I used some savings and went out and bought the whole 3-month supply in several shopping trips. You can imagine this was fairly expensive for our large family which included four teenage boys at the time. This was painful but I was afraid that trying to spread it out over several months would just prolong the pain and make it that much harder to keep track of my inventory. Keeping track of what I have (and then using the oldest first) is the most difficult step for me so I decided just to do it all in one month.
Fourth, to maintain this supply I try to take inventory (with my 3-month list) at the beginning of each month and then replace what I need over the course of the month as I go to different stores for my shopping. This does not always happen and I will frequently just guess about what I need. But hopefully it happens often enough that if I need my 3-month supply, I will have it. As always, motivation is key to putting aside the time and money to get it done.
I wanted to store food that I use regularly and like to eat!, so I decided to come up with my own method. Since I have 2 refrigerators as well as a big freezer, I had more flexibility in my storage plan. I realize this is a luxury that a lot of people don't have. However, it might be easier than you think, especially if you have the space. We bought our freezer gently used back in 1991 for about $150 and it is now 29 years old! Some neighbors gave us the extra refrigerator back in 1998 when they were getting rid of it and I have no idea how old it is. I'm sure the appliances are not as energy-efficient as I would like them to be but we plan to eventually replace them.
Here's what I did for the 3-month supply:
First, I created a list of all the food we use in a month. This actually wasn't as difficult as it sounds because I have a rotating dinner menu that lasts about a month. Also, we have a rotating breakfast menu that is the same from week to week and lunches are also fairly predictable.
Second, I created a 3-month food inventory by multiplying all the monthly amounts by three and put this inventory on one page that I could print out. I was generous in my amounts to make sure that at any given time I would have close to a 3-month supply, even if it was close to shopping day. I should clarify that this list did not include the long-term staples that I already have in my pantry which includes: oats, wheat, rice, pasta, dried beans, baking essentials, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, canned beans, applesauce, peaches, green beans, corn, etc. So this 3-month list only includes the perishables that have to be stored in my freezers and refrigerators. It includes things like butter, frozen juices, meats, tortillas, sour cream, cottage cheese, other cheeses, etc. You might think some of those things wouldn't last three months (like cottage cheese) but if they're vacuum packed, then they'll last much longer than the date stamped on the package. I have not had a problem with most of those things unless the vacuum seal got broken too soon.
I should also clarify that not everything that's perishable can be stored for three months, so I didn't include that in my inventory. For example, milk goes on my weekly list, along with fruits and vegetables that don't last more than a week or two. Also, eggs can be stored for several months but they take a lot of space so I only keep about a one-month supply of eggs. Some fruits, like apples or oranges, can be stored for a month so I try to keep a one-month supply in the winter and utilize my cold garage. Despite the extra appliances, space is still the biggest limitation for me.
Third, I used some savings and went out and bought the whole 3-month supply in several shopping trips. You can imagine this was fairly expensive for our large family which included four teenage boys at the time. This was painful but I was afraid that trying to spread it out over several months would just prolong the pain and make it that much harder to keep track of my inventory. Keeping track of what I have (and then using the oldest first) is the most difficult step for me so I decided just to do it all in one month.
Fourth, to maintain this supply I try to take inventory (with my 3-month list) at the beginning of each month and then replace what I need over the course of the month as I go to different stores for my shopping. This does not always happen and I will frequently just guess about what I need. But hopefully it happens often enough that if I need my 3-month supply, I will have it. As always, motivation is key to putting aside the time and money to get it done.
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