Self-Reliant Saturday-- Storage Room Inventory

Inventory....it's a dreaded word....but it had to be done!  I finally got around to taking inventory of my storage room.  In January I challenged all of you to organize your food storage  and I knew that right on the tales of organization rides the dreaded inventory. I may have procrastinated this job until almost May :)

 This week's goal is to really take a good inventory of what you have in your storage area or pantry.  

I focused on my longer-term #10 cans and buckets.  These are the two items that I have for extreme emergencies and not really every day use.  I counted all of my #10 cans and all of my buckets and it only took 2 hours :)  I decided that my smaller soup can size cans get used much quicker, and I would be updating the inventory list almost every day to keep track of them all.  That is just too much work for me.  But with this inventory I at least know exactly how many #10 cans and buckets I have on hand.  

 Now I need to calculate exactly how long we could live off of this food.  That is the scary part...it probably isn't as long as I would hope.  But it is a starting point and I can add to this list every month.  Slow and steady wins the race :)

Oh, and I also finally put together my rotating can thingys (real technical).  I have put this off for over two years because I really don't like dealing with all the parts and snapping them together.  One part always seems to be just off enough that the can won't rotate fully down.  But it got done and I love how organized it all looks! (FYI:  the technical name of the rotating can thingy is the Cansolidator from Thrive Live.  Click HERE to see their products.)

It feels good to get this project done but the real challenge will be keeping it updated.  I also discovered a really cool food storage calculator on the Thrive website. Create a Thrive planner just for you and your family.  Type in your family info, how many calories per person, and the length of time that you would like to be prepared for, and it will calculate how many cans you will need.  Click HERE to set up your planner. I thought it was a really great resource to know exactly how many cans I will actually need to feed my family a well balanced diet for a whole year!  Let's just say....I have some work to do :)

Organize and Prepare Every Needful Thing

I have been away from my blog for too long.  I apologize!!  Sometimes there are more pressing issues in my personal life that I need to take care of, and the blog was put on the back burner.  The issue was more important then food storage...shocked...I know :)  But in all seriousness I needed an emotional time out and I took the time to take care of my family.  

But I am back and it's a new year!! Happy 2015!!  Since so many of us set goals in the new year, I thought it would be a good time to set a few goals relating to food storage. 

Can you tell where I am going with that scripture??  Yes, we are going to start off the new year by organizing our pantries and food storage.  It doesn't do any of us any good if we have our food storage, but it goes to waste because we can't find it to use it!  Organizing your storage area and kitchen is a big part of food storage.  Being able to find what you need, and also using food before it's expiration date, are both important in a usable food storage system.  

There are many ways to organize your short-term and long-term food storage and there isn't a right way, or a wrong way.  Whatever system works for you is the right way of doing food storage.  

 Click HERE to read a post that I wrote a little while back on how I store my food.  I really like buckets with gamma lids to store my long-term staples. Plus you'll get a peak at my pantry.  

In the food storage world there are large #10 can rotating shelving units and smaller plastic can rotator systems on the market.  They are usually quite expensive, especially for the amount of cans that I would need to store. But...I found a great cardboard rolling can organizer for a relatively low price from the canorganizer.com company.  Click HERE to see my post on how I put them together and organized my smaller cans.  I have had them for several years and they hold up great, even through a move!!

These are just a few of the ways that I organize my food storage.  I'll admit that I love organizing and that it comes easily to me.  I don't say this to brag, but I am hoping that something that I do might help someone out there in the food storage world.  Food storage becomes a way of life, usable, and you'll actually want to do it, IF it is organized and user friendly.  I promise if you take the time to organize your storage and stick to a system that works for you...you will love having and using your food storage!!  Stay tuned for more posts with ideas and suggestions on how to organize and use your food store storage. 

The first thing that I want you to do is inventory your pantry and anywhere else that you have food stored.  You need to know what you have before we can organize and shop for items that you're short on.  Make a list of the foods you have and also the amount of each item.  This can be kept in a notebook, on the computer, on your phone, or on a giant white board. (I like to use a giant white board in my storage room so I can erase and add food when we use it) Whatever works for you....do it!! We'll use your inventory list to organize in future posts. Let's all commit to making food storage user friendly in 2015!!