creating my space

I realized I'm already getting ahead of myself. I need to create a space for my food storage, which is difficult because we're living in my in-laws basement! so we have to be creative. there is a storage room in the basement, but it needs some serious cleaning out first.

This is our storage room:

Those top two shelves are ours. Not too much space eh?
The bottom shelves are my in-laws. As you can see, they've got a rotating system going on with their cans right there. they take the front can, and every time they buy a new one, it goes in the back. A whole lot cheaper than a cansolidator! (although I still want one, and some day will have a HUGE one)
this is the hallway back to the other storage room. Those shelves we just looked at? They're on the left side of the photo. Imagine the shelf space that could be created if all that stuff was moved, or at least cleaned up!
This is the back storage room. Pretty much it's full of random stuff. A lot of canning jars, from back when my mother-in-law would can stuff. There's actually still a lot of jam she had canned. Good thing that stuff can last forever!

They also have a little bit of their own food storage. Those big number 10 cans have a bunch of stuff in them.

anyway, my goal for tomorrow, while Captain Jax is off of work, is to get this room a little more picked up!! if we consolidate everything into it's own place, I can get some space in there. And I can use the empty canning jars to can some fresh fruit this summer. Yum!

starting food storage---and non-food storage

I don't know where to start with this. Everyone says "store what you eat!" but we don't really eat things that store. We eat a lot of perishables. Cheese is a big thing in our house, so is milk, and bread. We also really like fruits and veggies (or at least we're getting better about eating them).

Of the non-perishable food items, we eat a lot of pasta, pasta sauce, canned cream'o'soups, and um. . .I'm sure there's more but I can't think of any.

I found this food storage calculator. It tells us how much we need to store for years supply of food. I'm not ready to get that far. First I want to get a 3-month supply and start and good rotation working.

Your Family Will Need:

Grains
375 lbs of Wheat
62 lbs of Flour
62 lbs of Corn Meal
62 lbs of Oats
125 lbs of Rice
62 lbs of Pasta
748 lbs Total Grains

Legumes
75 lbs of Dry Beans
11 lbs of Lima Beans
25 lbs of Soy Beans
11 lbs of Split Peas
11 lbs of Lentils
11 lbs of Dry Soup Mix
144 lbs Total Legumes

Fats and Oils
10 lbs of Shortening
5 gal of Vegetable Oil
5 qts of Mayonnaise
3 qts of Salad Dressing
10 lbs of Peanut Butter
63 lbs Total Fats and Oils

Milk and Dairy
150 lbs of Dry Milk
30 cans of Evaporated Milk
32 lbs of Other Dairy
187 lbs of Total Milk and Dairy

Sugars
7 lbs of Honey
100 lbs of Sugar
7 lbs of Brown Sugar
3 lbs of Molasses
7 lbs of Corn Syrup
7 lbs of Jams
15 lbs of Powdered Fruit Drink
3 lbs of Flavored Gelatin
149 lbs Total Sugars

Cooking Essentials
3 lbs of Baking Powder
3 lbs of Baking Soda
1.5 lbs of Yeast
13 lbs of Salt
1.5 gal of Vinegar

Water *
42 gal of Water
3 gal of Bleach

Fruits
100 lbs of Flavored Apples
100 lbs of Applesauce
75 lbs of Banana Chips
87.5 lbs of Fruit Mixture
100 lbs of Fruit Juices
462.5 lbs Total Fruits

Vegetables
75 lbs of Corn
75 lbs of Peas
75 lbs of Green Beans
75 lbs of Carrots
100 lbs of Potatoes
12.5 lbs of Onions
50 lbs of Tomatoes
462.5 lbs Total Vegetables

* It is impractical for most families to store a year's supply of water. However, at least 14 gallons per person are suggested as a two-week emergency reserve.

So that's for a full year. 2 adults, and 1 child under the age of 6. It's pretty intimidating in my opinion. That seems like it would take a really, REALLY long time to get all that stuff! and it needs to be stored properly so it doesn't go bad, so it's mostly dehydrated stuff. And we're not big bean eaters, but I'm sure if it was an emergency we'd find a way to do it.

That's why I'm starting with a 3 month supply. It's all about baby steps.

I've made a list of things we use on a regular basis and should have a storage:

Building a 3-month supply of things we eat

Pasta/rice/beans
Pasta Sauce-pesto
Soups
canned fruit and veggies
flour
sugar
water

Non-Perishables

Shampoo
Conditioner
Hand soap
Bar Soap
Toothpaste
mouthwash
Laundry soap
Dish soap
toilet paper
paper towels
condoms
tampons

and now as I go grocery shopping, I'm going to pick up an extra of a few things until I have a good collection. With the non-perishables, I've started keeping a list of about how long it takes us to go through something. Like a bottle of shampoo. We go through that quicker than conditioner, because Captain Jax doesn't use conditioner, only I do. And toothpaste. Right now only 2 of us brush our teeth, but in a few months, Munchkin will probably have her first tooth or two.

It's all about baby steps. and trying not to get overwhelmed with all the information out there.

Couponing

I'm trying to get started using coupons. I've tried a few times, and haven't gotten very far. Mostly because the newspaper subscription ran out. but I've renewed it now, and we're getting 26 weeks, of just the sunday paper. I really just want the coupon inserts, and Captain Jax really just wants the comics. Actually, he probably just wants to dilbert comic.

I've subscribed to pinchingyourpennies.com and they have forums to help you figure out how to start couponing, as well as ads from all the grocery stores that match up sales with coupons, and give them a ranking on if it's a good deal or not. I like that concept.

The frustrating thing is I haven't got a newspaper yet, so I don't have any ads yet. And once I do get a newspaper, the ads probably won't do much for me for a few months. I guess I'm just a person who wants to have everything at once! I need to work on my patience I guess.

Confession

I pretend I'm a cheapskate.

I want to use coupons, but I don't know how.

I think I need to start storing food.

I don't follow my budget very well.

I live in my in-laws basement so my husband Captain Jax can go to school.

My munchkin wears used clothes. And new ones sometimes.

I have a weakness for scrapbooking stuff.

Captain Jax has a weakness for video games.

I have thousands of recipes I've never tried.

I'm LDS and proud of it.

I think a garden would cut down our grocery bill, but I've yet to ever plant one.

I'm bad at writing thank you notes.

Large amounts of debt scare me. And we have a large amount for Captain Jax's schooling.

I want to homeschool my munchkin so I can teach her how I want to, how it suits her learning, and about God and our religion.

I want to be a domestic goddess.

I want to help someone with something by this blog. Even if it's only me!