Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Stockpiling Your Food Storage for 2010

Several years ago, my friend Melissa over at Melissa's Bargain Blog sent me a weekly calendar that I could use as a guide for buying my long-term food storage and 72-hour kit supplies. The list details items you can purchase each week, and at the end of the year, you'll have enough long-term food to feed an adult for an entire year, and the 72-hour kit will sustain an adult for 3 days.

The list was extremely helpful for me. I have used this list ever since Melissa gave it to me. I print it up, cut out the section for each month, and tape it to my calendar. During the month, I look for deals specifically on my long-term food storage and 72-hour kit weekly purchase calendar, and I cross them off as I receive them. And little by little, I have built up our stockpile. I've also used our stockpile here and there, but I continue to add to it as I follow the weekly schedule.

My church teaches provident living, or being in a position so that we can sustain ourselves in the event of an emergency, financial hardship, job loss, etc.. That's not to say that we can't ask for help if we need it, but we shouldn't procrastinate or be in denial that an emergency, financial hardship or job loss could never happen to us.

My family learned this first-hand when my husband's business began failing a year ago. He has been on unemployment for just over a year now, and dissolved the business this past summer. Our finances were hit hard--and I mean hard. The first few months were a nightmare, and we were facing foreclosure on our home.

I was so happy that we had one thing we could rely on--our food storage. We weren't anywhere close to a year's supply; it was more like a couple month's for our family of four. But it was a starting point, and it meant that we could just shop for some of the basic necessities, which meant we could use our now-reduced income towards getting our finances straightened out.

And now, one year later, we are in a much, much better position financially. My husband is still out of work (the economy is extremely bad in our area) but we have learned to live well on less. I continue to stockpile and work on our long-term food and 72-hour kit supplies. Our long-term supply is up to about 6 month's worth now.

One of the goals that I have set for 2010 is to focus more on our long-term and 72-hour supplies. Not just in purchasing the supplies, but in organizing everything, rotating through my stock, and keeping an accurate inventory.

I'll be posting periodically how things are going, plus online tools and helps that you may find helpful and inspiring in your own quest for provident living. Oh, and that weekly calendar list that I mentioned above? I'll post that as well, so be on the lookout. :)

4 comments:

  1. Can you please send me that list?? I am seasonally out of work during the summer months and I try to stockpile whatever I find on great sales but to have a detailed list of items would be so much more organized.(this is a New Years goal~to increase my organization) I also have a few questions about your religious reasons for provident living,is it LDS? Could you please contact me at mom2priceboys@yahoo.com Thanks.....Julie

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  2. Thanks for the post. I look forward to your updates.

    Have a great New Year!

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  3. I'd like to see that list too!! We're poor newly wed, college students!! Thanks for this post!

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  4. Julie,
    No problem! I'll email you the list that I've been using the past several years. And yes, I am LDS.

    There are lots of lists that I've come across.
    One list has you spend $5 per week and you build up a kitty--some weeks you spend a little less, some weeks a little more but it's supposed to even out over the years. This list may help you out, Myndie. I remember my own poor college years. I went a month straight having only 16 cents to my name, what a rough time that was for me!

    I'm going to try and do several posts because different lists will work for different people.

    Right now I've been working on a "best of the best" list to aid me in my quest for being more organized. So be on the lookout for that, too!

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