Saturday, February 9, 2013

12 Step Program (To Prepping)

Alright folks...we all know what the first step to any problem is...that's right, admitting that you have a problem.

Step 1- Admit that you have not been preparing as much as you would like to. I know it feels overwhelming and exhausting, but we are going to take 11 small, incremental steps to make you a Super Prepper!!! Each step will have several hands-on items that you can do right away and be successful.

Step 2- Designate a space that will just be for food storage. It can be a closet, a corner of a room, under your bed or couch. Just pick a space and say, "That is my store." We call it a store on the farm because we actually rotate most of our food throughout our meal planning. When you run out of mayonnaise you simply go to your store and there is another jar. Don't get overwhelmed- stick with me. Just select a spot and clean it out.

             Take inventory. What do you already have on hand? We are just focusing on food for step 2, so empty your cupboards,  put like things together and start counting. This was my inventory list about a month into making this a full time commitment. (The min. and max. columns did not get filled in on this sheet as I was just getting our on hand count. I will share later on what our inventory looks like now and explain the min./ max. then).


Food Type On Hand Min. Max
Spam 8 cans
Hash 6 cans
Can Chicken 6 cans
Can Tuna 9 cans
Potatoes 9 cans
Green beans 16 cans
Corn 25 cans
Cream Corn 5 cans
Carrots 13 cans
Peas 15 cans
Mushrooms 5 small
Diced tomatoes 6- 28 oz
Diced tomatoes 15- 14.5oz
Whole tomatoes 3- 28 oz
Crushed Tom 11-28oz
Manwich 2 cans
Pizza Sauce 8 jars
Canned Soups 11 cans
Gravy-wet
Chicken Broth 9 cans
Beef Broth 10 cans
Vinegar 3- 32oz
Peaches 3 cans
Pears 3 cans
Gravy Mx Dry
Boulllon
Beans
White Rice 105 cups
Pasta-various 10 boxes
Ramen 51 pouches
Cup nood- dry 36 cups
Mac n ch 10 boxes
Coffee inst
Teas
Bug Juice-dry
Cocoa
Canned Milk 1 can
 
Sugar 50 cups
Flour 24 cups
Salt
Non Io salt 4-1 lb/10 oz
Yeast
Corn Meal 4 canist
Spices many- variety
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Oil 1 gal.
Pancake Mix 12 cups
Cereal 
Brownies 4 boxes
Jiffy Corn 14 boxes
Jiffy Bisc. 5 boxes


                                     
                 Plan a one week menu. Sit down and write down what you are going to eat for meals for a week. Really be thoughtful and go through every single ingredient. If you are going to have burgers one night, do you want them on buns, with onions, ketchup and relish? Do you have all of those things? If you are going to roast a chicken, make sure to set aside two nights for chicken. One night with all the fixings and another night using the leftovers in a casserole (or whatever floats your boat). I urge you to plan it all out and try to get the biggest bang for your buck. This process has turned into a game for us on the farm. If that makes me weird-there you go, but I am happy and my family is taken care of. 

Can you try step 2 this week or next? I promise you will gain momentum if you start off small. Don't look down the road too far. Ride along with me, Constant Reader and we will get there eventually!

Happy Prepping~




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