Simplifying Your Food Storage: 1 Tool and 3 Tips to Take Your Food Storage into Prime-Era
Long-term food storage is a complicated process, especially for those at the start of their journey. Comparing yourself to someone who has been prepping for decades is discouraging. However, some basic principles can help everyone simplify their food storage, whether they are just beginning or consider themselves seasoned veterans.
Keep Records in a Physical Binder
The best way to simplify food storage is to write everything down in a physical binder. You can use a computer to make it if you want, but remember that the power might go out when you need access to your food storage information. Therefore, it is best to have an updated physical copy printed out and readily accessible.
There are many ways to organize a food storage binder. Feel free to choose the method that makes the most sense to you, but you may want to consider at least 3 partitions to hold info about planning, buying, and storing food. Your binder should be where you keep all your food storage information in one organized location.
Plan Meticulously Before Buying Your Food
Wherever you are on your journey, pick a goal. If you're beginning, how about getting enough food to support your family for 2 weeks? Those with more experience can pick a longer window, perhaps 6 months to a year. Regardless, once you choose a length of time, you can start calculating.
To simplify your food storage as much as possible, figure out how much food you will need ahead of time. What are the calorie requirements for your family? Of course, everybody is different, but the general estimates for moderately active people are that men should have about 2,500 calories per day, women 2,000, and children over 6 years 1,600.
Next, list what foods your family likes to eat. How long will they last? What is their nutritional value? Whatever foods you choose, make sure you figure out how much of each type of food you must purchase to meet your family's dietary needs over the period you selected. Making these calculations before buying will streamline the process and prevent wasted food and effort.
Simplify and Save by Buying in Bulk
Buying in bulk saves you money since you'll pay a lower cost per serving. Furthermore, it saves time because you will make fewer trips to the grocery store or food supplier. You will also consume less fuel if you go shopping less frequently. Buying in bulk is not only a more straightforward way to shop, but it conserves resources and impacts the environment less than conventional buying patterns.
Keep Your Storage Organized and Cataloged
The simplest way to preserve food for as long as possible is to use mylar food storage bags and oxygen absorbers in food-grade buckets. This process can hold some dried goods for up to 30 years. However, you may want to learn some basic preservation techniques that simplify things for entire food groups for shorter-term storage. For example, you can dry fruits and pickle vegetables.
However you decide to preserve your food, keep every container, jar, and mylar bag labeled and stored in an organized fashion. In addition, keep a catalog of your stocks in the binder. This habit will simplify determining how much your family consumes, whether you need to make any adjustments, and when you will need to refill your stocks again.
Foresight and Attention Make Food Storage Simple
The single best way to simplify food storage is to plan. With a good plan (and a handy binder), you can make precise calculations about what you need, track your purchasing information, and monitor your catalog of stores. These three habits are the foundation of any long-term food storage journey.
How do you simplify your food storage ?
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