RS: Preparedness- Three-Month Food Supply

I wanted to focus today's preparedness post on the three-month food supply.  In previous posts I had addressed a 72-hour kit, which can be viewed here: 72 hr kit post.  I also did some posts on the "Go-Bag" for that post, click here: Go-Bag Post.  When I started thinking about what post I would do today, I found myself on Lds.org. I typed in preparedness and was directed to the "Emergency Preparedness" page. I decided to go along with one of the topics listed on the page, and that was "Three-Month Supply". I love what it says on that page about your three-month supply, "Build a small supply of food that is part of your normal, daily diet. One way to do this is to purchase a few extra items each week to build a one-week supply of food. Then you can gradually increase your supply until it is sufficient for three months. These items should be rotated regularly to avoid spoilage."

When I was first married and was trying to heed the counsel of putting together food storage, I was just buying all the stuff that I new had a long shelf life.  They sat in my food storage and sat their some more until, they finally expired and I threw them away.  They were not things that I, nor my family really ate regularly, nor was I going to open the big can to use a little bit and not have it for my food storage.  I like this idea of buying what your family actually eats and rotating it, a lot better!  This is actually what I do now in a sense, because it made me sick seeing all of the food wasted.

These are some of the ways I go about accomplishing this goal of food storage:

Way One:
I watch for the case lot sales. I look at this as kind of the starting point. I do not go overboard, because I do not want all of my items expiring at the same time.  So, I figure kind of what I think I will use in a 6 month time frame. Since, this is how often they usually run case lot sales at the grocery stores.  Then that is how much I buy of that particular item.  I particularly like to purchase toilet paper and paper towels at this time.

Way Two:
I have my pantry, that I keep a few of each items in, so they are easily accessible as I am preparing meals.  Then, I have my "store"-age in my cold storage, which has the remaining items. When I have used the stuff from my pantry, then I go to my "store"-age and bring what I need to my pantry.   Those items go on my grocery list, for my next shopping trip. What makes this work is, rotating! I make sure that the things that are to expire first are used up first. Everything shifts forward in my cold storage and the new items are placed in the back. Newly purchased items are not placed in the pantry, the old ones need to be used up first.  It also is great, because not everything is going to expire at the same time and things are always being rotated.

I have found that it is hard to have food storage for the more perishable items.  This is where canning and frozen foods come in.  I have noticed that I have to be careful with frozen foods too and not go overboard, because of things getting frost bite.  Again I do this by only buying what I know that I will use in a certain time frame.

Everyone seems to have what works best for them. I know some of my friends are big with couponing and watching the sales. Others use the case lots sales, some use the church's cannery, some buy pre-made storage foods and others are big users of bulk stores, such as Costco and Sams.  I would love to hear what you have found works for your family's food storage needs. Please leave a comment below and share your secret! 

Here are some of the different printables I have in regards to food storage:

Mommy Monday - My Gospel Standards FHE wk 5: I will use the names of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ reverently. I will not swear or use crude words.

Family Home Evening Outline for: I will use the names of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ reverently. I will not swear or use crude words.

Welcome everyone to Family Night

Sing: "Let Us Oft Speak Kind Words" Hymnal pg 232

Have a member of the family member say the prayer

Discuss any family business

Scripture:  “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” (Ex. 20:7.)

Lesson: 

Watch the conference talk by Ted E. Brewerton, titled, "Profanity and Swearing". This is an amazing talk on the subject.

Read "Josh and the Dragon" by: Lauri Walker. Talk about how Josh felt like he was the protector of his brother and sister and that he did not want them to hear the bad words.  Talk about how each of us can stand up to swearing and profanity and protect others from it as well.

Show them the Speak Reverently Free Printable.

Have a family member place the word strip "Heavenly Father" on the heart. Say the name "Heavenly Father" reverently.  Next, place the word strip "Jesus Christ" on the heart. Say the name "Jesus Christ" reverently.  Explain that we should only use these names in a reverent manner and with love. They should not be used in anger or in a joking matter.

Show the Garbage Mouth free printable.

Free Download of Both images

(I love the quote on this. I have had it since I was a young women and have kept it on my mirror.) 

Read the quote.  Explain that when we use swear words or crude words we are not keeping Heavenly Father's commandments.  We need to find other ways and words to express our emotions.  Have some little papers cut up prior to family home evening.  Talk about what kind of word we should not say.  Have each family member write on a piece of paper what kind of word we should not say. Examples: Mean words, hurtful words, words out of anger, hate, etc.  I would probably suggest that you do not have them actually write the swear words.  Then have them think about words they should say in their place. Have each family member write the replacement word on another piece of paper. Take the words we should not say crumble them up and through them in the garbage (you could use an actual garbage, a small container or this printable, cutting a hole in the top)  

Read "Sometimes I feel like swearing. Is it really so bad?" by: L. Tom Perry

Talk about the ways we can overcome using bad language.

Bear testimonies on Using Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ's names reverently and not using profane and crude words.

Close with a Family Prayer.

Treat option:
Garbage Bag Treat Mix (aka Muddie Buddies) recipe can be found on Betty Crocker's Website
9 cups of Chex Mix
1 cup of semisweet Chocolate chips
1/2 cup of Peanut butter
1/4 cup of butter
1 teaspoon of Vanilla
1 1/2 cups of Powdered Sugar

1. measure out the cereal and set it aside

2. In a 1-quart microwavable bowl microwave the chocolate chip, the peanut butter. and the butter for about 30 seconds or longer, until you can stir it smooth. Then Stir in the vanilla. Pour the mixture over the cereal and stir it in until all the cereal is evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon plastic bag.

3. Add powdered sugar. Seal the bag, and then shake it until all the cereal is coated with it. Spread it out onto waxed paper to cool, then put it in an airtight container to cool.

Cutest little boy bed!

So, I just had to show off my little boy's new bedspread. It was made by my mom, I must say she is very talented and did a fabulous job. We have found that if you need to purchase a lot of material, such as for bedspreads, the most inexpensive way is to by sheets. We usually just purchase the flat sheets from Walmart. You get a ton of material for your money. The front of the bed spread was made from a brown flat sheet, muslin and spraps for the cute bears and trees. The reverse side was an off white sheet with some pladish lines in it. She also used the shapes of the bears and trees to quilt the beadspread, so cute! I love the cute little deco pillow made to match! She even made the sheets for the bed.

Great Deal!

Great Deal!!! Babys R Us is having a trade-in event right now. You can take your used strollers, car seats, etc and trade it in for 20% of a new select brand item. We did this! We traded in our old little umbrella stroller and got 20% off our new double stroller. We also traded in our broken car seat (it had a manufacture defect, so we haven't been able to use it) and we got 20% off a new booster seat. It turned out to be a great deal for us!!! I think there is even a $5 dollar off coupon out there on the Internet too.