When you do something long enough you take it for granted. You get sloppy. Food storage is no exception. From time to time we need to step back. Today we go back to basics on food storage. We look at the rules to success. To some this is old news. To others this is just what you need. Whether you are new to prepping and feeling lost or a seasoned pro today’s post is for you. Proper food storage is the backbone to survival.
Food Storage
No food and you are not much of a survivalist.. Rule #1 is to survive. To do that we need food storage. More than just a set and forget pallet of crap. I don’t know many that could afford a pallet of mountain house food anyway. Some have food storage all wrong. They want to store food forever. If it doesn’t have a 30 plus year life span they aren’t interested. I don’t trust food that has a lifespan that long. Honey is the only exception. I like my food storage eaten within a 5 year shelf time. I don’t really believe in canned food expiration dates. The food will still be safe but begins to lose nutritional value.
Copy Canning
This is the most effective way to build food storage. It’s the one I always tell to people just getting into prepping. To do copy canning is simple. You go to the store and need to buy a can of spam because you ran out. Instead of buying one get two. Next week you need to buy another one. Do the same thing get two instead. In a few weeks you will have a enough of one item to move on to another. You don’t even notice buy 1 extra can of anything.
$20 Stock Up
This is something I like to do once or twice a month. Take twenty dollars and spend it all on 1 item. Say you go buy cases of water. You can get about 6 cases of water with $20. That’s a significant amount of water storage. I’ve done it before with Hormel completes. I don’t care for them but I’ve had company over that wanted something to eat that like them.
Rotating
Rotation of foods is a vital part of your food storage. If you are storing things you don’t eat just to store them they won’t get eaten. By using your food storage you get to see how to cook things. I rotate to keep food fresh. Unless damaged a can is and always will be safe to eat. The canning process kills all bacteria. The only thing that happens is food looses nutritional value. Why bother eating food with no value.
There are many ways to ensure you are eating the oldest first. Many commercial options as well as DIY ones. In the past I have rotated my food storage manually. I reach to the back and push the cans forward and place the new one in the back. It is a pain in the ass. I have thought about buying a shelf reliance rack for my tiny house to optimize space.
Eat What You Store
Eat what you store and store what you eat. We know this and still forget it. Once I bought a bunch of canned white sausage gravy. I thought it would be great comfort food for a disaster. Then I tried it. Disgusting is an understatement. Try the things you store. It best to know now rather than later.
Long Term
My food storage plan is mostly short-term items. This gets you the 1~2 year storage items. This is the bulk of your food storage. There is a place to have some longer term food storage though. I would say 10% of your storage. For me I have a some #10 cans of items I use daily. Freeze dried Meat and veggies. I also have 1 case of MRE’s. I use it like a and table with a cloth over it. Though not the best they are convenient. I keep a few hiking meals around too.
Just 3 things to add to this great article.
* 1. Don’t store all your supplies in one place. As I looked at your picture, I couldn’t help thinking of when I had done that. While on vacation and having a house sitter, we were burglarized. They took ALL our supplies because we kept them in one place. Even to taking everything in our brand new freezer! Which brings me to
* 2. Store in separate places and where possible store a months’ worth. This way you can even plan on a 13th month. When a month ends and there are extras, empty and put those extras in the 13th month space. This will alert you to if/when you stock up on something which you aren’t using or rotating. That 13th one is also the one you draw from when the need arises for any bartering because it will be your ‘spares.’ When you have used up the 12th month. Begin again with #1 and consider what you have for re-evaluating. Which leads to
*3. Keep an inventory but don’t keep it where others can find it. If you do, it becomes a scavenger hunt for those seeking it, to find it and leave you w/o. This is your second method for keeping track of what you are using and not using.
O and with the idea of buying that second can or bottle, put that second into your next month and keep staggering that way. You will soon find yourself with at least one years supply sooner than you think.
As to those premade food stores. For sure have some available because after all, we’re preppers and need to be ready for anything. 😉