I hesitate to talk a lot about food preservation and storage on here for several reasons. Because I’m getting lots of questions, I’m going to do this post but please realize that what’s right for me isn’t necessarily right for you. My mom has a pretty well stocked pantry, though she seems to go to the grocery store every day. My niece with four kids probably never cooks a meal that she doesn’t have to go to the store at least once before she starts cooking. Who cares? The way I do it would make some people crazy. Having to go to the store more than once every 2 or 3 weeks would make me crazy! (no comments please!) There’s no right for everyone way to prepare and store food for your family. As I’ve said before, in the fairly recent past, either myself or my immediate family have lived through weeks without power due to ice storms, tornadoes or hurricanes. For us, no matter how prepared I think we are, there are things I wish we had when the lights go out. I just try to do the best I can with no guarantees! 
We are very lucky to have the storage areas in this house that we have. If you’re living in a small place or don’t have storage room, obviously my method isn’t going to work for you. If you’re living on a tight budget and barely have $$ to buy this week’s groceries, it may be hard to build up a supply of food. We all have to make it work in a way that fits our lifestyle so please don’t think that what I’m doing is what I’m telling you to do. Just because I mention food prep so much on the blog, I understand the interest in knowing what I do.
This method of keeping food actually saves $$ on my grocery bill because once I have a stockpile, I hardly buy anything that isn’t on sale. And, its very rare that I find a recipe I want to make that I don’t have everything I need to make the recipe. That saves not only on gas but I seem to be one of those people who can’t go to the store for just one thing. I always come out with several bags, if not more.
This blog post provided more pictures and info on my pantry.
This photo may give you a better idea of the room. It’s all concrete except for the ceiling and it is about 6′ wide and 40′ long, then there’s about a 12′ x 12′ room at the end (see where there are some batting rolls), and then the room comes back towards the opening and that part is about 6′ x 30′ but it’s a dead-end. You have to walk back out past the food shelves, stacked packages of batting and filing cabinet that you see above. The “out” door is right past that filing cabinet.
Around the corner and what you can’t see because I don’t like going back there, are 5 gallon sealed buckets of flour, sugar, wheat, and beans.
I try to keep at least 20 jars of homemade, home canned chili, beef stew, Cincinnati Chili, spaghetti sauce, cooked pinto beans and baked beans on hand. That supply is very low now because I’ve used every available jar for tomatoes, green beans and such. Each week, I empty 12 – 15 jars and within the next month or so, I’ll start restocking these items. If the power goes out, it’s so easy to heat up something that’s ready to serve!
I don’t necessarily think there’s going to be a time when groceries are in short supply, though I’m not saying I feel 100% confident with our food supply either! But . . if we ever need our own supply of food, I’m ready. If we don’t . . no problem. We use it all anyway.
Also, we have solar panels set up so we can charge cell phones, laptops, batteries for flashlights, and small fans. I’m working on getting Vince to build me a solar oven and a brick wood fired oven, both outside of course. I would love to bake bread and pizza in a wood fired oven every day but it would be very useful if we didn’t have power for a while.
In my opinion, there’s nothing like being prepared. We all have to decide what level of preparedness we’re comfortable with and then work to get to that point.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
I envy you your preparedness and your sense of what a home should be.
I stockpile as well, but on a smaller scale, living alone in a basement apt. I always have covered buckets of water in the bathroom (in case of power failure for flushing purposes), dozens of 2-liter bottles filled with water (that I refill with fresh water every month or so, using the old water in my garden so as not to waste), water filters and pitchers, batteries, candles, flashlights and lots of quilts for cold nites. Every time the gas in my car nears halfway, I refill the tank. I feel safer somehow.
I love your blog, as I’ve told you before.
Love those hens. Please post more pics of them and their doings?
quiltbea
I completely agree with this approach– it doesn’t pay to depend too heavily on our supply chain or the weather. I keep plenty of food in the house and have a 55 gallon water drum in the back yard in case of earthquakes. And I keep stores near the doors of the house and garage in case it’s too dangerous to go back in there.
I think your preparations are great! We saw a lot of this in 1999 as we approached the year 2000. We bought buckets of grain at that time and a water filtering system.
Hi Judy–
I completely agree with your thinking. We live 10 miles from town and although I commute to town to work, I grocery shop once a week before I go home. Many of the reasons you give for being prepared, I apply to my stash. I love the luxury of being able to test blocks, small projects, baby blankies, etc. from my stash! I am vey proud of the lone star and other quilts I made using just my stash. I am currently on a “fabric diet” –I’m certain it won’t last, but I’m trying!
I to do a lot of canning. I learned to cook a turkey on a Coleman stove or gas grill. We lived on a farm and had a huge garden. 450-500 quarts of food was canned every year. I buy flour ahead and rice and sugar. Food grade plastic containers were recycled from the restuarants and grocery stores I worked at. Extra flour can be stored in a freezer also if storage is a problem. I have food allergies to canned food prepared with preservatives so it has been a necessary thing for me for years. I do use a freezer but when the power goes out it is hard to use up the stored products in the freezer soon enough. If milk is on sale I will buy extra and freeze it also. This year I dries herbs and next year I want to dry some tomatoes. I did dry green pepper and they turn out great. Glad to hear others do it to. Chris
We may be both unemployed but I still keep my stock pile in rotation..it has come in very handy when the times are really lean. I do hate to shop and love to stretch what we have without wasteing anything.
I left you a PM on FB..have a canning question. Love your blog and especially lately your canning methods and recipies.
Thanks
Man, I am so unprepared! Well, I guess I’ll be warm, and I did buy a gallon jug of water a couple of weeks back. Everything in the freezer will be lost in a power outage except what I can grill in a day. I should know better. I was without power after Hurricane Andrew for six days. Okay, something else to think about stashing besides fabric……
I think most “country” folk live this way. When you live out in the boonies, it just doesn’t make sense not to have a large supply of most things on hand. I live in town now (more or less, 5 acres just outside of city limits) so I don’t stock like I used to, but when we farmed, I rarely went to the grocery store more than 4 times a year.
Saying that, I still have a huge pantry, and I can’t imagine living any other way! It’s definitely more cost effective, both in time and dollars, and just downright convenient!
The first few days after Katrina we just laid on the furniture and didn’t move. It was so unbearably hot! The third morning after the storm, DH stood in line at Lowe’s with a ticket to buy a generator. That was a lifesaver and we make sure it’s in good operating condition. I don’t have the food stores you do and I need to work on that. I think you’re very smart to be prepared. Who knows when you might need that good stuff!
We are right in the middle of a large city but almost every square foot (as in SF gardening!
) that we have is being used for food production with lots of edible landscaping as well! Our basement pantry is stocked with canned, frozen and dried foods as well as personal items (shampoo, soap, laundry detergent, etc.) We used to be a family of 13- now it’s just the 2 of us, but our adult children, as they have been in school or just starting out have had times that they have “shopped” at our house to help them stretch their budgets! Should there ever be a natural disaster in the area, we will have enough to share with our neighbors! It’s a good feeling!
I have never had a stash this big, but almost. For the past three years we have been”moving” to MO from IL. I made the decision to use up the stash and even went so far as to pack up my jars 2 years ago.
With the economy as it is, we will no doubt be here for awhile. I am in the process of canning up a storm – boy did I miss tomatoes!!!!
I have been worried that the rocks and clay in MO will not grow things as good as up north here next to the WI state line. But a year ago I found blogs – and I think we will be fine.
The shelves are filling, and even thou my husband is on workmans comp we are adding to the store downstairs.
We live in the desert. We have no basement (grew up with one near San Francisco). We now try to leave during the summer. It was 115 here today and our AC died. Cooking dinner was not fun. I have canned a little but do not have the “cool” basement storage. Also had a full freezer die one summer when we were gone. (Worst smell and clean up job ever). I just do not have anywhere to store canned goos. When we leave in the summer, all canned goods, candles and flour etc goes into our fridge.
I need to go take another dip in the pool and pack for our trip tomorrow.
Judy, love you!
Marilyn
I would really love to stock up on more things…seems like when I do get to the store I’m always in a hurry and have to get back so I try to grab what I need quick. My husband asked me to stock up on green beans(I haven’t canned them in years). He said why don’t we have about 6 gallon cans on hand. I do buy a few but I never realize when they’re all! I keep a list by the door so when something gets all the person who used it up can write it there…Yeah that’s going to happen! They usually tell me it’s all and think I’m going to remember it!
I like your room, it reminds me of that movie where the couple go underground to live because they thought the country had been nuclear attacked. They had something like 20 years of supplies and the woman had a grocery cart she used to gather up what she needes. Then when the supplies get low, they send their son up to get more and he finds a whole different world than what they expected. Sissy Spacek starred in it. Loved it!