"Come what may, and love it!......Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result." ~ Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

December 14, 2010

Don't be overwhelmed, get started with preparedness with these few things.

"The greatest events that have been spoken of by all the Holy Prophets will come along so naturally as the consequences of certain causes, that unless our eyes are enlightened by the Spirit of God, and the spirit of revelation rests upon us, we will fail to see that these are the events predicted by the Holy Prophets." - George Q. Cannon

I would dare to say that some of those events are taking place. As my dad would say, "If I'm right you'll be prepared to feed your family and take care of them and if I'm wrong you'll still have peace of mind."
I'm getting excited just starting to write about this. I think that's why I call myself an emergency prep. geek. Also, when we moved I couldn't find my grinder and I admit that I did freak out (a little).

OK, a few people have asked me how I would suggest getting started with food storage and preparedness.
Well, the first thing I would suggest is start NOW, RIGHT THIS SECOND! Reading this post is a good start :)
Whether it's grabbing extra canned goods at the grocery store next time you go shopping or looking up things that might be important to you if something did happen.
Start a notebook and print and collect information that you are interested in.
Look at the things you eat. If your family likes ketchup, stock up. If you cook with a lot of a certain seasoning, stock up.
Look at local sales and use coupons. I look to see what's on sale for the week and then I buy multiple coupons at www.thecouponclippers.com and on www.ebay.com. I just got a ton of vanilla for $1.

Think about things like toilet paper,  toothpaste, diapers, tampons. Things you wouldn't want to go without. Again, use coupons.

Use the cannery for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. These are going to be the best prices for food canned and ready for long term storage. The basic things to store are wheat, powdered milk, oil, salt, honey or sugar, and water. If you add a few extras like yeast, baking powder, powdered eggs, and baking soda the list of things you can make will grow tremendously. 
Start with a variety. Don't just buy all your wheat first because if something happens before you can get everything, you're going to be stuck eating just wheat. Bet it wouldn't take you long to realize you'd rather not eat than eat wheat AGAIN.

One thing that is easy to get a year supply of for cheap is salt.
Baking soda is a great thing to store. You can use it in baking, brushing your teeth, as deodorant, as a cleaning agent, to wash your face,  etc

The best thing I can tell you is try to focus on something and NOT FEEL SO OVERWHELMED THAT YOU DO NOTHING AT ALL. Let the thought of your starving children, spouse, family be your motivation. That was mine.

Start storing small amounts of water. Everyday preparation will have great benefits.

I would for sure start planning for a spring garden now. Make preparations on how big you want your garden, what your going to grow, etc. This is a good book from the church that I think will help you A LOT. $1.50 well spent.
Then I would suggest looking in to how you can store what you grow. Learn how to water bath can and pressure can.  This all takes time. Don't be overwhelmed, talk to your grandma, and have fun. Not to mention you'll know exactly where your food came from and what's on it.

I figured when I started that this would be lengthy. I will post again. But this is a starting point. Good luck!

1 comment:

Sherrie said...

Just the title overwhelms me! LOL!