Prepare with Simple Food Storage

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Ben Franklin said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

I have no bomb shelter.  I have no prepper storage facility.  But I do have a healthy respect for the fact that a little bit of time now could make all the difference in the event of a future emergency.  And much in the same way that we put money in savings and make freezer meals to have on hand for busy nights, preparing for a potential emergency is a wise step.

Have you had storms in your area that have taken out the power?  How about floods or hurricanes?  There are so many things that could cause you to have to venture out of your normal routine.

Prepare in Simple Ways

I’ll admit, I’m pretty new and not especially organized in going about my preparations.  In fact, I’ll bet that some of you know far more about this kind of thing than I do.  But I’m really interested in the premise of planning ahead and doing some simple things to  set my family up for success in the event of an emergency.

Here are some resources that I’ve found that you might find some ideas in:

Car Emergency Kit

“…one of the benefits of packing a vehicle emergency kit to respond to large emergencies is that the contents will also take care of numerous everyday emergencies.”

Items under $5 to stock up on for emergencies

These little items are things you can pick up a few at a time and add to a stash to keep on hand.

Create a DIY Survival Bucket

Using a 5 gallon bucket, this post has lots of ideas of materials that would fit inside this air and water tight container.

20 Foods to Freeze to Save Money

It’s my opinion that in case of an emergency, the food we have in our freezer and pantry will be the first go-to.  Using your freezer wisely is a prime way to save money as well, because you can stock up when items are on sale.

One Mom’s Ideas for Practical Preparedness

This lovely piece is not meant to be a guide on how to prepare, but a springboard to get you thinking about why to plan ahead, and some solid general ideas on getting started.

DIY $20 Food Bucket for Emergencies

This post was written as a follow up to the one above it, with a simple plan for creating some inexpensive buckets of food to store long term.

These last two posts by Christy at Southern Plate are what really inspired me to start putting a few things together.  So let me tell you about what I’ve done.  Maybe the few things I’ve done will inspire you to try some things too.

Beginner Steps

In my basement, I have an area where I keep all of my herbs for making remedies like my raspberry leaf tea and herbal salve.  My family has affectionately dubbed this area my “potions room”.  There’s some extra storage shelves back in this area, so I decided to take some of it over.  I purchased a couple of large plastic storage tubs and began to be on the lookout for some useful items when I was out to stash.

I’m kind of embarrassed to even say what I’ve got in there, because there’s really no rhyme or reason, it’s just things I’ve seen on clearance here and there that I thought…“Hmmm, that might be useful in an emergency.” 

Things like:

• Bandaids
• Duct Tape
• Aluminum Foil
• Matches
• Work Gloves
• Rope
• and more

I’ve also picked up some food items that last for a long time that we will use even if we don’t have an emergency, but I’m keeping them in the tubs to keep them out of sight unless we need them.

• Peanut Butter
• Crisco
• Candy (jelly beans, Skittles, Smarties)
• Pancake Mix
• Powdered Milk
• Salt

Storage Buckets

One the thing I’m kind of proud about is that I followed Christy’s plan and put together a few 5 gallon buckets of long term food storage.  I did two buckets of rice, one of pasta, and one of oatmeal.

Each one also has some additional items that vary by bucket.  Things like drink mix, dried beans, bouillon cubes, sugar, & water purifier.  Be sure to read Christy’s instructions, some of the items store best inside the mylar bags and some need to go on top, outside of the bag.  (For example, did you know if you store sugar with oxygen absorbers, it turns it into a solid brick?!)

The mylar bags and oxygen removers I ordered on Amazon.  I ordered one pack of large bags/absorbers and one package of smaller ones.

You can learn from my mistake…buy your buckets new.  The first ones I got from Firehouse Subs really cheap.  Great buckets.  But the pickle brine smell will not go away.  No. Matter. What.  I tried about 15 different ways to eliminate the odor and it was just not going.  So we relegated those buckets for outside duties and I bought some new ones at Menards.  I bought my lids there as well.

Then you just need to fill your bags and seal them.  An iron is all you need to seal the bags, super easy.

Be sure to label the tops of the buckets, too.

It feels good to be a little ahead of the game, and know that in case of an extended emergency, we’ve got a little cushion.

Do you keep a fully stocked freezer and/or pantry?

Have you ventured into any more long term storage for food or other emergency items?