"Food Storage - Maximizing Shelf Life" Guest Post By Laurie!

I am so excited to share my first guest post with you today!!! My good friend Laurie (who is one of the best on food storage, stocking up, preservaing food and growing stuff! =)) is sharing some wonderful and Very helpful advice for the Stocking Up Challenge! I hope you enjoy and visit her blog for more advice and encouragement, etc! =)
Thanks so much, Laurie!
~Hannah



"Food Storage - Maximizing Shelf Life

When I think of “food storage”, I think of stocking up on food items that I know my family will use. This includes seasonal storage of garden produce, bulk purchases of basic items (grains, beans, fats, etc.) and buying “extra” when things are on sale.

“Emergency preparedness storage (EPS)” is a little different. While I may purchase some of the same items for both, EPS also needs to take into account the emergency conditions you may be in when the food is needed, such as power outages, freezing, flooding, etc. EPS also extends beyond food, to survival type gear. Hannah has inspired me, and I’ll be doing a series of posts on EPS over the next several months.

One of the biggest hurdles we can face with food storage is how to store things properly to maximize shelf life. Let’s discuss the storage environment.

Avoid Heat – Heat is one of the worst enemies or stored food. Avoid locating your long term food storage near heat producing appliances (like a furnace, stove or powered clothes dryer) or in direct sunlight. If you must store food in a warm area, put the food there that you rotate through the most quickly.

Avoid Moisture – Unless you’re talking about a root cellar , which needs some moisture to keep veggies non-wrinkled, moisture is generally a storage enemy. It rusts cans, and promotes the growth of molds, bacteria and insects. I repackage items in mason jars (such as bagged dried beans) and suck the air out with my vacuum sealer. I have also repackaged bulk items such as dried coconut and oatmeal (purchased through my natural foods buying club in 25 pound heavy paper bags) into roughly five pound vacuum sealed bags. (This also covers the next item on our list.) I use large vacuum seal bags to slip over ten pound bags of sugar. Keeping the sugar in its original bag (inside the vacuum seal bag) keeps the sugar from being sucked into the vacuum sealer and damaging the unit. Dry goods can also be stored in well sealed glass, food grade plastic or metal. Don’t just leave dry goods in the sacks they came in, unless you want to be feeding critters other than your family.

Avoid Oxygen – While essential for our lives, oxygen also feeds the critters, microscopic and otherwise, that will damage our food storage. Use a vacuum sealer if you have one, don’t break factory seals until necessary, and use airtight containers. Non-saturated fats (such as liquid oils, and the fats in nuts and grains like brown rice) can go rancid very quickly when exposed to air. I prefer saturated fats for home use and for long term storage. Their carbon atoms are already “saturated” with hydrogen atoms, so they are more stable.

Avoid Light – Light inhibits mold growth, but it also causes the breakdown of many nutrients. Just think about what happens to garden tools or children’s playsets left sitting out in the sun. You don’t want the nutrition bleached right out of your food. Keep your storage area dark (preferred), or use opaque containers.

Avoid Odors and Dust – If your food storage is in your garage, utility area, laundry room or other strongly scented/dirty area, watch out for odors and dust. Grains, flours and milk and other dry goods are particularly affected. You do not want to eat oatmeal that taste like soap or motor oil. Certain contaminants also present health risks (although hopefully you use primarily non-toxic substances in your home). These areas are probably best used for canned goods, or non-food items. If you must store in these areas, try to use multiple barriers between your food and its surroundings.

The author of “Dare to Prepare” gives a good overview of the shelf life of many basic food items (link HERE). Remember to plan for rotation and using the food you store. No one really wants to eat 20 year old home canned chicken - it might even be dangerous. Years ago I knew a couple that had their laundry room overflowing with canned goods, but it was so poorly organized that they wasted a LOT of money. Food went in and it never came back out. I know most of us can’t afford to do that.

How and where do you store your food? Do you have any tips you’d like to share?


Laurie is a homeschooling mom with a background in engineering and a passion for natural healing, homesteading and gardening.

She blogs at Common Sense Homesteading , and writes a weekly article for Living Well Moms ."

"Stocking Up Challenge" The Pantry List!!!!!!!

Okay ladies!

I hope you have your piggy banks filled and a lot of money saved over the past week+!
If you don't, keep saving! you will have it in no time!

Now it is time to get your list ready!

You can find some good shopping, goal, and inventory list HERE at Chart jungle, if you would like to copy some off, or start you a notebook.

Get an idea of what you want to start out with. I would recommend that if you are a Newbie or Worrier you start out with getting at least 25 lbs. of beans and 25 lbs. of rice on your first stocking up shopping trip. These are essentials to pantry stocking! =) Everyone can and will eat them, you can use them for TONS of dishes, and they are staples, so if that is all you have to eat, you will be okay and it will fill you up better then crackers and mac'n chesse!
If you want to/or have the money to get more, go over the list below and a list of what you use on a weekly and daily bases around your home.
If you are Brave on stocking up, make a list of as much as you can afford! =) You may want to get large amounts of a few items at a time, or you may want to get 4-6 items of everything you need! Remember you are stocking up. you want things that will keep for a long time, and you want enough to last you and your family a long time. So when making your list remember to get enough to hold your family size, or how many people you think you will be feeding in the future!!

Here is a kind-of "main pantry food list":

beans (pinto, kidney, white, black, and whatever your family prefers, but make sure you get pinto! You can make more foods with pintos!),
rice,
flour(s),
baking mixes (if you use them),
oats,
your favorite cooking oil, lard and or shortening,
sugars, (sweeteners, honey, molasses)
baking powder,
baking soda,
dry yeast,
salt,
pepper,
cumin,
chili powder,
red pepper,
cinnamon,
bay leaves,
baking cocoa,
vanilla,
coconut,
coffee,
tea,
hot chocolate,
lemonade mix,
peanut butter,
nuts,
raisins & other dried fruit),
pastas,
ketchup,
mustard,
mayo,
salad dressings,
seasoning sauces,
cakes mixes (if you use them),
powered milk,
dried cereal,
crackers,



Canned goods:

tomatoes,
tomato sauce,
spaghetti sauce,
tomato juice,
salsa,
corn,
greenbeans,
carrots,
peas,
greens,
canned milk,
soups,

tuna,

salmon,

chicken,

jellies & spreads (if you use them & do not can your own)

canned fruit,
applesauce


Household/Personal Products

toilet paper
paper towels,
feminine products,
razors & shaving cream,
bath soaps,
dish soap,
laundry soap,
diapers,
school supplies (if you have children, homeschool, or use a lot of paper & supplies)!

Other:
Apple cider vinegar,
lemon juice,
fruit juices,
gatorade and or sprite (if you use them when your family is sick!)

Health/Wellness:
(I think we all need to have a good supply of first aid handy at all times, and I believe in living/healing naturally, so I keep some herbs, vitamins, salves, tinctures, etc. on hand too! I Highly recommend this!). Here are some things you can start stocking up on, and as usual, make a list of what your family needs/uses/may use!

So.....get a first aid kit, or pack your own! And have extra
bandaids, gauze, pads, tape, peroxide, rubbing alcohol, etc. stocked up!

If you take vitamins, stock up on the ones you use.

Stock up on herbal teas.
I recommend having at least red raspberry, chamomile & peppermint!

A healing herbal cream, for bumps, nicks and bruises, is also good to stock up on, and echinacea tincture!


It is very handy to keep a list of what you have and how much, so when you start running low, you can start restocking it.
For those who are Newbies and Worriers, this is a great way to get a pantry over flowing over time, without stringing you out too thin!

Once you have your pantry stocked with essentials, you can slowly or quickly start adding extra things, and treats!

For example, if you have beans, rice, flour, cornmeal, oats, baking mixes, canned goods, in your pantry and some meat in the freezer (or canned), then you can add things like canned fruit, etc!


The important things to remember when you are stocking up...
1.
STICK TO YOUR LIST AND BUDGET!
If you do not stick to your list, you are sure to go over your budget, or get things that are not essential.
2.
Shop (or if you are Brave, Order!), from a store (company/coop) that is least expensive!
3.
Buy in bulk if you can. Things are usually cheaper in bulk.
4.
Remember to keep a look out for sells on the things you need to stock up on.

Okay! I think that should get you going! Now I am going to post on a few challenges for each "Stocking up" level, and you can get to it!
There is much more to come on how to store your stocked items, a freezer stocking challenge, canning challenge, etc!

By the way, I know I have not listed a lot of things so if you come up with a few that you would like to share, please mention them in a comment!
And as always, look forward to what you have to say and share!
God bless!
~Hannah

"Stocking Up" Challenge Step 1

Hey ladies!


I am so excited to see that ya'll are interested and want to do this! Good for you!

I am not going to rush this challenge! I have no "day to finish" and have not planned on having one! I want to get you started and then you can grow from there!

Also for anyone who is on a tight budget, you may need 5 or 6 weeks to stock up on things that some one else can get in two or three weeks. So even if I lay it out to say so many weeks, you make your own plan on paper, and STICK TO IT AS BEST YOU CAN!

Okay, the FIRST STEP:

I want you to save every penny that you can for the next week!

Save your eating out money.

Stay home as much as you can. When you go out, you spend money!

Roll your change that you have around the house.

Get your spouse and your family involved! Tell them your plan and see if they can pitch in to help save money!

Spend as little as you can, and please save up!

Your stocking up money is the most important money for your families future! They can cut back on a trip to the movies, going out to eat, and just shopping around for "things"! Give it a try! I think you will be amazed at how much you can stock up on and things you can get that you couldn't before. And most of all, when you are done stocking up, you will feel so good about yourself and what you have done for your family! It will give you peace!

Also,

Get the local grocery store papers and find out what is on sell for next week.

And Collect some coupons if you want.

Well there you go! Short and simple! For the next week, SAVE MONEY!

I wish I could give you more then a week, but as I said, this is just to get you going! After this challenge, and during, I hope you continue on your own, to save and spend WISELY!

~Hannah

P.S. I will be posting more tips and ideas for stocking up over the next week, but I will probably not post the big step(s) 2 until the 28th!