Shopping Fast

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You may think we're crazy, but here's the deal: We have decided to not make ONE purchase (gas and bills only) for one full month. We want to see how well we've done in preparing for hard times. Our goal was so have a year supply of all our necessities and this will help us figure out what we missed. Why aren't we just doing it for a week or two? Because that wouldn't be hard for me. It's going to be hard to not stop at a fast food place to feed my kids when I'm in a rush. I usually go out to eat because I want a break or to reward my kids. That will be hard as well. I don't think it will be hard to not "shop." I've never been a big spender. I'm sure after a couple of weeks I'll be feeling it. I'll keep posting my status!

What I'm missing or forgot:

Day 1: Baby shower gift! Uh oh, looks like someone's going to be getting diapers and/or wipes as a gift. (I'll have to explain in my card =)

Day 22: I'm really tired of forgetting that I have to make more bread and having to stay up till midnight. I love home-made bread, but having to make it day in and day out is tiring. I have to say, though, that my family is probably eating MUCH healthier and LOVING the food. I did a good job with planning meals in advance.

That's what I've learned so far: Organization and planning are key when taking care of your family in any avenue, not just in food storage. Life is much easier and less stressful when things are organized. I would love to prepare a month's worth of meals in one day and have it ready so I have to do almost nothing for the next 29 days. So, it takes a lot of work for about a week, but I'm sure you'd end up saving money, eating better, and maybe even saving time once you get good at it. I don't know if I'm up to that challenge yet, but I know that I need a lot more of certain things to make a year's supply. What are they?: Honey, Flour, learn how to make butter and cheese, grow a garden with fresh vegetables, plant some fruit trees, invite more people over to eat dinner with us and when they ask what they can bring, tell them to bring Ice Cream!

1 week after fast is over:

Well, that was so much better than I thought it was going to be! I LOVED feeling prepared, and I was. So, I spent most of my day preparing meals and cleaning up after them. My husband was thrilled to have great dinners EVERY night. Now, grant it, this is not what it would be like in a disaster. I would be rationing our food and certainly not eating like a king every night. I really liked not having to run out to get things. From now on, I'm going to do one big shopping trip a month to replenish my freezer and fridge. I'm also going to get together with a friend and make dinners for about 20 days and freeze them. I'm going to refrain from buying more food till most of my freezer and fridge are emptied, thus saving money on food that would otherwise go bad. I'm only going to eat at a restaurant once a month and fast food once a month as well. I was relying way too much on these luxuries. My kids were being spoiled and food was going to waste at home. This way, I figure, I will have something to really look forwards to and feel like I have deserved it. My kids will feel this way too, I'm sure.

Food storage: Okay, so our leaders have asked us to have a supply of at least 3 months of food. Here's how easy this really is. Find 5 meals that you KNOW you eat at least once a month that contain ingredients which can easily be stored for up to a year. (ie. spaghetti, chicken/rice casserole, chili, tortilla soup, etc) Then, buy enough food to make 12 of each of these meals. This will get you 60 dinners. So, now you know you can have at least one meal a day for your family.

If you eat cereal, as my family does almost daily for breakfast, this is a great food to store and rotate. It lasts for up to a year and never gets wasted in our house. (We drink dry milk mixed with water, so that's not a problem for us...if you don't, it will take you quite a while to get used to...I'm glad we started that when we got married.)

So, there's two meals a day. Lunch is not too hard. If you know how to make bread, storing peanut butter and jelly along with flour, honey, and yeast in your freezer will get you by for a long time. (Lisa would do well on that diet being that PB&J is one of her favorites!)

So, there you have it! An easy way to figure out a three months supply of food for your family. The harder part is figuring out where to store it. We have an entire walk in closet devoted to food storage. The things that don't go bad (toilet paper, cleaning supplies, diapers, wipes, etc) are in our garage. Under our bed, I have rolling shallow boxes that hold all of my canned goods. It's a work in progress still, but I feel like I have a better grip on how to do this efficiently.

Today a speaker in church told of how they had spent tons of money on their dream home that was destroyed by a natural disaster. They now spend money on being prepared and spend the rest on things that can't break like vacations. I think that's a wise way to go. It's taken us the nine years since we were married to gather together what we think is necessary....and it keeps changing as our family grows. I have yet to figure out what we would do if our power went out. We need to store a good supply of propane for the BBQ, which I can cook a lot of things on. We still need to work on our water supply (unless the disaster happens in the summer when our pool is up!)

"If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." I know this to be true. I have to remind myself that I'm not only preparing for my family, but for those who were not as fortunate to have been counseled to do so (or whose supply was destroyed). It would feel great to have enough to share. I am blessed to have been exposed to leaders inspired by the Lord.

As far as preparedness in your home is concerned, organization is the key. Rotating and easy accessibility of your supplies is crucial if you don't want to waste what you buy. It's a life style that I'm proud to be working my way into. Feel free to ask me questions!