It's a Giveaway!!

It's Shelf Reliance's 5th Birthday this week and to celebrate, they want to give one of our readers a $50 Shelf Reliance gift card!!

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post and we will use Random.org to choose a winner!  Answer the following question:

"What is your biggest food storage challenge?"  I'm pretty sure we've asked a similar question in the past, but we'd love to hear what things you are currently struggling with so that we can address these issues in the future!

You can also win a second entry by visiting Shelf Reliance's website and signing up for their newsletter, which is a regular email about their current sales, promotions, and other fun things that Shelf Reliance is up to (they have food storage and emergency kits as well).  If you sign up, make a second comment on this post saying you signed up, and that will give you your second entry into the  giveaway.

The giveaway ends on Friday, Nov 20 at midnight, and we'll post the winner on Saturday.

In celebration of their 5th Birthday, Shelf Reliance sent us a little history about their company, which we'd like to share with you.  It's pretty inspiring!

"Jason and Lindsay Budge became acquainted with Steve and Amy Palmer while attending college. Though they didn't immediately realize the devout friendship and enduring partnership they would form, they both felt the need and responsibility to prepare their families for the future.

"The two families have always believed that the keys to happiness are the pursuit of self reliance and the proper balance of life's priorities, including a sound education, healthy diet, physical fitness, financial independence, devotion to family, and faith in God. However, there was a key component missing in their goal to be self reliant: an adequate supply of food and provisions to prepare their families for unforeseen hardships or emergencies.

"In the summer of 2004, Jason and Steve felt a strong desire to find a solution to this problem. At a time when they were facing difficult decisions and personal challenges - including Lindsay being hospitalized for 3 months to save her unborn twin daughters - Steve and Jason could no longer suppress their desire and passion to help people become self reliant. They turned down extraordinary financial opportunities, took the leap of faith, and started Shelf Reliance.

"Shelf Reliance has developed proprietary food rotation products which make food organization and rotation more manageable. The company has also developed its own line of food, THRIVE, recognized for its high-quality and excellent taste.

"Through innovation, hard work, balance, the dedication of its employees and representatives, and an unceasing determination to help people around the world become prepared, Shelf Reliance has become the most trusted name in the industry."

Thanks again, Shelf Reliance, for the awesome giveaway.  And readers, be sure to visit their site for more birthday fun, and check out their blog, too!

Food Storage: Keep Discouragement at Bay

For me, the absolute hardest part of food storage is not getting discouraged and throwing my hands in the air. I've never been great at food storage--terrible even--which is one of the reasons why Hannah and I started this blog. We wanted something to keep us accountable, and a way to make it seem less dauntless. But truth is, I still get discouraged.

Food storage is a never ending task. You can't go to the store and buy thousands of dollars of food, bring it home and tuck it into the corners of your home and say: "I'm done!" Food storage consists of constantly planning, buying and rotating food to avoid spoilage. It's a job that's never done. Like laundry, if you have a two year old or younger.

There have been many times in my life when I've gotten down on myself about food storage:

"I should have my food storage perfect! I write on a food storage blog for crying out loud!"
"I can't believe I haven't even finished my 3-Month supply!"
"How am I supposed to build my food storage on just $200 grocery budget a month?"

These are all thoughts that have run through my head multiple times. Instead of sinking down and giving up, I'm trying to think of ways to ward off discouragement:

Keep going! Keeping going no matter what. For me, to keep going, it means that I buy a can of green beans and a can of corn every week when I go grocery shopping. It ends up being about $1.30 each week and that's something I can handle, and at least I know I'm doing something. I also try to buy a sack or a couple #10 cans of wheat from the cannery at least once every 3 months. Because I have a wheat grinder, wheat is something that we eat regularly.

Make mini goals. Instead of thinking: "Oh man, I've got to have 3-Months worth of meals for our whole family!" Try a goal of one week of breakfast meals. Then one week of lunch meals, and then one week of dinner meals, and then you have a whole week out of your 3-Month supply! Smaller goals are easier to attain and as you complete goals you'll have the strength and willpower to keep going.

Look at what you already have. Instead of focusing on what you don't have, look at what you do. Sometimes I stare into my guest room closet (home to much of my food storage) and think: "I have no food storage," when I'm actually staring at a lot of food. I have to compare myself to what I had 6 years ago which was a couple of cans of oats, sugar and instant potatoes that were gifted to us for our wedding. Compared to that I've come far.

Get to work. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, in his last General Conference address:

"Work is an antidote for anxiety,
an ointment for sorrow
and a doorway to possibility."

Instead of wallowing in self-pity, get to work. I may not have money to go buy food, but I have garbage bags stuffed with empty 2 liter soda bottles in my garage that I got for free from a friend. I could be washing out and filling these with water for my water storage. Doing something will always make you feel better than doing nothing.

In the end you have to remember that as long as you are trying to build and rotate your food storage you will still get the blessings of food storage. Although he was talking about raising righteous children, I think it also applies to following the commandment of having a food storage. President Gordon B. Hinckley said:

"You have not failed as long as you have tried."

Tuesday!

Every Tuesday, we post specific items you should gather in order to supplement your 72-hour kit, your 3-month supply, and your longer-term storage. If you are new to our blog, don't worry! You won't be left behind. Just start up where we are and follow along. You will eventually have everything completed! Once the 72-hour kit is complete, we'll be putting together emergency car kits again (week by week). Once those are done, we'll gather the 72-hour kits again. So don't worry, just jump on in and join us where we are today!


This week for your 72-hour kits, add a mess kit for every person, or something similar.  Abbie keeps a plastic mug in each person's kit.  It currently holds small snacks, but when it's time to eat it can be used over and over again for each meal.  Make sure you also pack utensils - plastic or reusable.


How is your three-month supply coming along?  Make a plan, and make a shopping list.  Just be sure that your meals are made from non-perishables, so that you can truly live off your food storage if something were to happen (for example, if you lose power for a significant period of time, you will lose your frozen food, so plan most of your meals to rely on frozen items).  Need some meal ideas?  Check out our recipes page.  Don't have time to plan it all out and make your master list?  Check out our e-book - we've done it for you!  It would also make a great Christmas gift!


This month for our longer-term storage, we're gathering wheat.  You can store wheat in 5-gallon buckets, or you could can it up into #10 cans.  Just be sure it's stored in a place where bugs can't get to it!