Mar 29 2009
just in case
I think my dad must have been a boy-scout. I’ve often wondered, because his motto seems to be ‘always be prepared.’
Every winter he took our 1976 Town and Country station wagon in to the shop to get it winterized. He’d have the snow tires installed, the oil changed, the radiator flushed and new antifreeze put in. Then he’d pack the back end with survival gear - blankets, kitty litter and a shovel. Just in case.
I guess its rubbed off, because I’ve decided to its time for me to learn something new.
I want to know how to put up a year’s worth supply of food into long-term storage.
Its not because I’m Morman with an impending sense of doom…And I’m not a big survivalist or homesteader - for heaven sakes, I don’t know how I’d live without satellite TV and a flush toilet.
Its just that after all that has happened to our family in the past year, I think its a good idea to be prepared.
A little over six months ago, my husband and I gave up good jobs, packed our stuff into a U-Haul and moved our family out of a beautiful home, across three states and into the middle of nowhere, so we could be closer to our family. Our parents are getting older…and we felt like they needed our help.
Unfortunately, the move hasn’t done our immediate family any good. I gave up a job as a journalist and figured I would find someting new, rather quickly in our new diggs.
I was wrong.
The economy tanked, our old home isn’t selling and six months later, I have had all of one interview…and no job offers. We’re living off my husband’s salary alone…and we’re barely making it.
Now that the government is printing new money like a daily circular, I know its only a matter of time before super-inflation takes over. And with super-inflation comes higher food prices. The thought of taking a wheel-barrel full of money to the bakery to buy a loaf of bread makes me ill. And I can’t imagine anything more painful than watching my kids worry about where our next meal will come from.
So before things get much worse, I’ve decided to take things into my own hands and to start preparing for the worst case scenario.
I’m going to start a food pantry. At first it will just be a three month supply of food and water. But later on I hope to make it to six months and then a year.
I pray that I will never need to use it.
But I want to be prepared…just in case.
Living 120 miles round trip turns you into a “just in case” type of person when it comes to food. I can’t tell you how often with the economy and me not working we have used up almost all of those extra stores and not had to really worry about food. As much as DH likes to give me a hard time for doing it I know that he really appreciates it when those tough times come.
My biggest tip is to invest in a chest freezer. Then stock up on things you use when they are on sale. I rarely spend over $1 a bag on frozen veggies and many other items.