Making Space for Food Storage

This is adapted from an article written by Carolyn Nicolaysen for Meridian Magazine

There are three reasons to make a space for storage even before you lay in the food supplies:

First, you won't start a project the size of food storage, until you have made a dedicated space for it. Time to unclutter and get organized.

Second, you need to take time to save a little money while eliminating the unimportant stuff you are storing — make room for what is more important. Begin today by saving your change or designating a small amount to be put aside each day, and then do it. As you sort through cupboards — creating space — keep a box handy for items you can sell or trade. Determine ahead of time that any money you make will be used for food storage. But, if you are too busy or hate holding garage sales and selling on eBay, then please give your appropriate surplus goods to charity and move on!

Third, we’ve already addressed the question of what to store and how much. See our article “A Second Look at Food Storage”.

Let’s begin with the tried and true — the ideas we have heard for years. These are the space-saving food storage strategies that worked for your mom:

1. Create a table by stacking two 5-gallon plastic buckets, placing a wooden table round from the hardware store on top, and draping the whole thing with a fabric skirt.
2. Purchase a bookshelf or storage shelf and hang a curtain to cover your stored items.
3. Move the sofa out from the wall and stack food storage in boxes behind the sofa.
4. Instead of a brick and board bookshelf use #10 cans from the Church cannery to create that shelf. If they’re full of food, they’ll serve a double purpose.

Most of you have heard those ideas, and most of them do not sound very appealing, so we will move on to some more creative concepts.

1. We all know the value of under-bed storage. You can purchase risers for your bed, thus adding increased height for taller items and easier access. Higher beds are a popular decorating trend! Purchase under-bed storage boxes, wire baskets or visit a Mailboxes-type shipping store to peruse the various sizes of shipping cartons available to fit your space. Wooden drawers or bins with rollers would be ideal for easy access. The cost of store-bought solutions can be shocking, so watch for sales, or innovate with what you already have on hand.

2. Redesign your closets.

a. If you have a deep closet with a bar for hanging clothes, move the bar as far forward as possible. Make sure you still have room to hang clothing. Add shelving to the back wall of the closet. Even if the shelf is narrow it can be used for smaller items such as soup cans, catsup, or shampoo bottles.
b. Add an additional shelf. Most closets have a shelf above the bar on which you hang your clothes. Look for wasted space above that shelf. Add another shelf if you can, and take advantage of the space all the way to the ceiling. Remember you don’t have to use this for food storage but it is a great place for Christmas decorations and items you use only occasionally.
c. In children’s rooms, lower the clothing bar and add shelving above. Most clothing bars are hung higher than they need to be, even for adults, creating wasted space on the floor — which usually collects lots of clutter.

3. Under a staircase. If you have enclosed space under your stairs, it could be a huge cavern just waiting to be put to work. Even an open staircase offers possibilities.

a. If you have an open staircase, you can install custom cabinets, shelves, storage cubes on the wall, or a bench with storage underneath to utilize this space in a fashionable way. If you don’t care about fashion, then it’s a great place to stack and store lots of goods, but if you do — keep a map of your inventory and remember to rotate your foodstuffs.
b. If your staircase is enclosed, create access to the space within, and store away!

4. If you remodel, or know someone who is doing so, salvage the kitchen cupboards and add them to your garage. Remember you can mount them high and go all the way to the ceiling with storage while retaining plenty of floor space for the car.

5. Don’t forget the back of a closet door. An over-the-door shoe bag makes a great place to store spices, packaged seasonings, and other small items.

6. Instead of a dresser, use an armoire. An armoire will double your storage space but without taking extra floor space. Add shelves and fold clothing on the shelves. Add baskets for small items. You probably don’t really want green beans stored in with your clothing, so why not move the sheets and other bedding into the bedrooms and empty the linen closet for food storage. Remember to look up … Baskets, hat boxes, and other decorative storage containers can also be added to the top of the armoire for even more storage, and can be decorative as well.

7. Have a big bathroom? Add a dresser and store your supply of toothpaste and other bathroom products where these items are ready to use.

8. Do you have a lot of open space in your cupboards? Add more shelves. This is such an easy fix. If you are stacking cans in the cupboard you can easily add another shelf. Adjust shelving to accommodate the size cans you wish to store on them. Leave about 1 ½ inches above the can so you are able to easily access your stored food. Pre-laminated shelving is ideal — it is easy to clean, and there is no need for shelf liners. Home centers will cut the boards for you so take exact measurements with you. If your shelving has the plastic supports, this would be a good time to replace them with the stronger metal ones. If you have cupboards without the predrilled holes for shelving, you will need to get some 1x1s and add supports for each shelf.

9. If you have a sofa in the middle of a room, consider adding a dresser or cabinet behind it that can be used as lamp table. This is a great place to store games, DVDs, or anything else that is taking up space in a cupboard that might best be used for food storage.

10. Baskets, baskets everywhere! I use baskets to free up other space. I store TP in a tall, tiered sewing basket in the corner of a guest bathroom, which is decorative and holds about 15 rolls. Sheet music is stored in a picnic basket next to the piano. Baby bottles and bibs are in a basket that decorates a dining room hutch.

11. You may be noticing a theme here. Clear items out of cupboards and off closet shelves and use these areas to store food.

a. Roll towels and place them in a basket in the bathroom.
b. Roll towels and place them in a wine rack hung on the wall. Our hutch came with two built in wine racks. What are we going to do with that? Roll place mats and place them in one and remove the other and add a basket to hide small items like cookie cutters. Now you can use the cookie cutter drawer for pudding and gelatins.
c. Remove pots and pans from cupboards and hang them. All the decorative wrought iron curtain rods on the market now make an easy way to create a custom looking pot rack; just add hooks.

12. Open up a wall. That’s right. There are so many ways to use the space between the studs in your walls, including storage solutions. You can:
a. Add a medicine cabinet. They really make some beautiful ones now, which are flush to the wall and look like any other mirror.
b. Look at recessed shelving for spice storage.
c. Build-in storage with dowels to hang tablecloths. Enclose with cabinet doors.

13. Invest in uniform storage containers. Having containers of the same size, for everything from linens to cereal, will greatly increase the amount you can store in a given space.

14. Don’t forget the attic, both in the house and in the garage. Of course you would never store food in these hot spaces, but they are great for dry goods and other items unaffected by the heat.

15. Create a window seat. Use two purchased bookcases to flank either side of a window. Add a bench or cabinets on the floor between the bookcases. Lay a board on the top of the bookcases, long enough to span both cases and the opening between. Add molding to the front edge of the board. Paint the whole unit the same color and enjoy your added space for storage. If you don’t have a window wall, use the same purchased bookcases and create a storage space as if you had a window. Add a board instead of a bench and you have a great desk.

Now that you have created room for that food storage there is one last thing to prepare. Create a list of the places you have designated for food storage areas and a master list of the items to be stored in each area. After all this work you want to be able to find your ingredients as you prepare your family feasts.

Source: Meridian Magazine, 2007. http://www.meridianmagazine.com/emergency/070502space.html

Food Storage: Long term food storage calculator

For those who are obtaining or maintaining long term food storage, these links may help you determine how much food storage you might need to meet basic food requirements for a one year supply.


http://yourfamilyark.org/foodstoragecalculator.htm


http://providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,7498-1-4070-1,00.html




*This blogspot does not endorse any companies or products

72 Hour Kits with nutritional and energy requirements in mind

Although it is not official church counsel to maintain a 72 hour kit, it is a good idea to have one in case of an emergency.

The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency states on their website:

"You may need to survive on your own after a disaster. This means having your own food, water, and other supplies in sufficient quantity to last for at least three days. Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene after a disaster, but they cannot reach everyone immediately. You could get help in hours, or it might take days.

"Basic services such as electricity, gas, water, sewage treatment, and telephones may be cut off for days, or even a week or longer. Or, you may have to evacuate at a moment’s notice and take essentials with you. You probably will not have the opportunity to shop or search for the supplies you need.

"A disaster supplies kit is a collection of basic items that members of a household may need in the event of a disaster.The U.S. government recommends every person have one as emergency officials are often unable to respond to catastrophes immediately."

I found this article on a website called MormonShare.com and feel it has great information about the nutrional needs of someone during a disaster and how to meet them with a 72-hour kit. If you click on the links, you can get this in a printable or spreadsheet form.

I've become increasingly concerned with the 72-hour kit menus made up of beef jerky, oatmeal, and chewing gum. After reading that the US military creates 3,600 calorie daily MRE kits for soldiers in the field (recently cut to 2,400 calories for so-called First Strike Rations), I knew these 600 calorie Enrichment Night chewing gum menus simply weren't adequate.

The argument, "My 72 hour kit just has to keep me alive for 3 days," is patently false. During a crisis, if you're not injured, you'll probably be fleeing a disaster, setting up camp, performing rescue operations, contacting and locating family members, removing debris, making repairs, calming children, or performing first aid. 600 calories a day just isn't going to cut it. But don't take my word for it -- here's what one military dietician says about dietary needs during extreme conditions: "During field operations you may burn as much energy as a competitive endurance athlete. Eating right can help decrease fatigue, increase endurance, prevent dehydration, maintain mental alertness, reduce diarrhea and constipation, reduce risk of injury, help maintain emotional stability, maintain morale and strength, and prevent muscle loss. Remember vitamin[s] and mineral[s] can't make up for a poor diet. What and how much you eat and drink can mean the difference between top performance and struggling to complete the mission. In extreme conditions, it could be the difference between life and death." (CPT Lisa M. Giese, RD, LN; High Caliber Nutrition in the Field)You'll also need to store 64 ounces (4 lbs) of water per day per person. 64 ounces equals 1/2 gallon or about 2 Liters.The following menus are available in printable form or spreadsheet form, or in brief text form below:

MALE AGE 12-40 – 2,500 CALORIES – POUCH ONLY MENU
Kashi TLC Trail Mix Bar
Kashi TLC Trail Mix Bar
Sam's Choice Mountain Trail Mix Individual Size
Rice-A-Roni Express Asian Fried
Austin Toasty Crackers with Peanut Butter
StarKist Tuna Creations Garlic and Herb
Idahoan Original Mashed Potatoes (prepared)
Planters Nutrition Heart Healthy Mix 1.5 oz
Great Value Tropical Trail Mix 6 OZ
Price: $6.38/dayWeight: 1 lb 15.8 ounces

MALE AGE 12-40 – 2,500 CALORIES
Quaker Instant Grits Red Eye Gravy and Country Ham
– 1 packet Quaker Instant Grits Red Eye Gravy and Country Ham
– 1 packet Del Monte Tropical Fruit Salad 8.25 oz
Sam's Choice Mountain Trail Mix Individual Size
Sam's Choice Mountain Trail Mix Individual Size
Tyson Chicken Breast Salad Kit
Hunt's Snack Pack Pudding Cup Chocolate
Daredevil Planters Nutrition Heart Healthy Mix 1.5 oz
Dinty Moore Chicken and Dumplings 7.5 oz
Great Value Tropical Trail Mix 6 OZ
Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs Chips Ahoy
Price: $7.33/day
Weight: 2 lbs 12.2 ounces

FEMALE AGE 6-30/MALE AGE 6-12 – 2,000 CALORIES – POUCH ONLY MENU
Kashi TLC Trail Mix Bar
Kashi TLC Trail Mix Bar
Sam's Choice Mountain Trail Mix Individual Size
Rice-A-Roni Express Asian
Fried Austin Toasty Crackers with Peanut Butter
StarKist Tuna Creations Garlic and Herb
Idahoan Original Mashed Potatoes (prepared)
Planters Nutrition Heart Healthy Mix
1.5 oz Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs Chips Ahoy
Price: $6.83/day
Weight: 1 lbs 10.4 ounces

FEMALE AGE 6-30/MALE AGE 6-12 – 2,000 CALORIES
Quaker Oatmeal Express Baked Apple Raisins 1.5 oz box
Sam's Choice Mountain Trail Mix Individual Size
Del Monte Tropical Fruit Salad 8.25 oz
Bumble Bee Tuna Salad with Crackers
Great Value Tropical Trail Mix
6 OZ Hormel Roast Beef and Gravy with Mashed Potatoes
Hunt's Snack Pack Pudding Cup
Chocolate Daredevil
Price: $6.29/day
Weight: 2 lbs 0.2 ounces

CHILD YOUNGER THAN AGE 6 – 1.500 CALORIES – POUCH ONLY MENU
Kashi TLC Trail Mix Bar
Sam's Choice Mountain Trail Mix Individual Size
Austin Toasty Crackers with Peanut Butter
Sam's Choice Mountain Trail Mix Individual Size
Idahoan Original Mashed Potatoes (prepared)
Raisins 1.5 oz box
Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs Chips Ahoy
Price: $2.73/day
Weight: 0 lbs 15.6 ounces

CHILD YOUNGER THAN AGE 6 -1,500 CALORIES
Kellogg's Apple Jacks .95 oz
Austin Cheese Crackers with Peanut Butter
Hormel Cheezy Mac N Cheese
Planters Nutrition Heart Healthy Mix 1.5 oz
Raisins 1.5 oz box
Hormel Lasagna with Meat Sauce
Barum's Animal Crackers
Price: $4.77/day
Weight: 1 lb 13.8 ounces

POOR MAN'S 72 HOUR KIT MENU – (Meets Caloric, protein, and carb needs for 1 male or female adult for 3 days w/o exceeding sodium daily values)
Jif Reduced Fat Creamy/Crunchy 18oz
Great Value Unsalted Tops Crackers
Great Value Tropical Trail Mix 6 OZ
Great Value Tropical Trail Mix 6 OZ
Great Value Tropical Trail Mix 6 OZ
Great Value Tropical Trail Mix 6 OZ
Price: $7.30/person for 3 days
Weight: 5 lbs 14 ounces

NOTES:
None of these menus require any cooking, hot water, or refrigeration. I had my friend, a doctor, take a look at these menus (especially the Poor Man's Menu) and he said they were safe. Instant grits come in a pouch that's coated on the inside, so all you have to do is pour water in the pouch and let them sit to prepare them. Water temperature doesn't matter. Same for oatmeal, but grits taste a lot better than oatmeal when cold. If you substitute menu items be sure to compare with the full chart to ensure you're getting similar amounts of calories, sodium, protein and carbs.What to look for in choosing items for a 72 hour kit menu:
1) adequate calories
2) adequate protein and carbohydrates
3) keep sodium as low as possible
4) plenty of water - 2 L or 1/2 gallon per day per person
5) ease of storage
6) ease of food preparation
7) weight (include water needed to prepare food)

Food needs under extreme conditions"Remember the rules of thumb of performance eating.
1) Eat the right amount of food. Energy in equals energy out. Not enough food = fatigue. Too much = unwanted pounds.
2) Lots of carbohydrates. Now I know carbs may have a bad rep right now, but they are a MUST in the field and in the rear. Carbohydrates (55-70% of your calories) give you a quick start and provide nutrients for the long haul. They prevent fatigue by keeping your blood sugars up and filling energy-giving glycogen stores.
3) Adequate protein. Protein (12-15% of your calories) helps build and repair those muscles and tissues plus heal wounds and fight infections.
4) Lots of fluids. Fluids help prevent dehydration. The best choice is water, but if you don’t like the taste include juice, sport drinks, and UHT boxed milk. Remember unlike water these have calories.
5) Not too much fat. Fat can be used for energy, but carbs are your body’s first choice. About 30-35% of your calories should come from fat.
6) Vitamins and minerals. Think of these as your spark plugs to keep your body running. Vitamins and minerals from food sources are better absorbed so eat a variety of foods...."Some of [the] better choices are high carbohydrate, low-fat snacks. Examples include cookie bars, canned fruit, bread, crackers, granola bars, juice, bagels, fruit newtons, and instant noodles. Snack foods that are higher in fat are harder to digest and might decrease your appetite. The following snacks can lead to quick weight gain and affect your performance: sunflower seeds, nuts, pumpkin seeds, candy bars, snack cakes, sausage, canned Smokey’s, cheese, and jerky."
(High Caliber Nutrition in the Field; CPT Lisa M. Giese, RD, LN) Need for Carbs: Carbohydrates or "carbs" (pasta, bread, cereal, rice, fruits, milk, yogurt, potatoes, etc.) are especially important for athletes because they supply the body with glucose (blood sugar) for energy. Extra glucose is stored in the muscles and liver as glycogen, your energy reserve. During short bursts of exercise such as sprinting, basketball, gymnastics, or soccer, your body primarily uses glycogen for energy. If you don't have enough glycogen you can feel very tired, which will affect your athletic performance. During longer exercise, your body uses the glycogen stores first and then uses fats stored in your body to fuel performance. (Center for Young Women's Health, Children's Hospital Boston)Need for Protein:Your body needs protein every day to build and repair muscles and other body tissues, to make hormones, and to make enzymes that it needs to function normally (enzymes speed up and help certain chemical reactions to occur in your body). If you don’t eat enough protein, your body may start to break down your muscle. (Center for Young Women's Health, Children's Hospital Boston) If [y]our diet is too low in calories (from all food sources) the body will begin to use protein as an energy source. It will take the protein in our muscles to convert into calories. This is not good because when this happens important muscle mass is lost and our bodies become weaker and flabbier. People who are dieting and severely restricting their calorie intake run this risk. (Proteins) High protein intake can result in over-working your kidneys and more frequent urination, which potentially could lead to kidney problems, dehydration, loss of water-soluble vitamins and nutrients and build up of waste products (gout, kidney stones and uremic poisoning). (Become a PRO on Protein) Muscles rely on glycogen (the energy they use for fuel) to perform work. When bodybuilders replace carbohydrate with protein in their diet, they have lower muscle stores of glycogen. For that reason, a high protein/low carbohydrate diet cannot provide enough glycogen for our muscles, so they feel weak, tired, and fatigue quickly. (FYI, three grams of water are needed for each gram of glycogen we store in our muscles.) -- So on Poor Man's 72 hour kit menu, be sure to include dried fruit to up the carbs you take in. (Do bodybuilders and other weightlifters need more protein?)

Questions: Here are some questions that were emailed to me about these kits:

Q) Your 72 hour kit menus were very interesting to me as I have been on the same quest lately to improve the health and nutritive qualities of my family's 72 hour kits. I have a couple of questions regarding your menus. In your pouch only menus are you putting them in the foil pouches from the storehouse or do you just mean each item is self contained in it's own pouch? A) I mean each item is self contained in its own pouch. You can think of my pouch menus as the poor man's MRE kit. These items could, of course, be sealed with a storehouse or stake sealer to keep them safe from water damage, but a ziploc bag would suffice since they'll need to be rotated fairly often.
Q) Also I noticed you didn't make any mention of expiration dates. I looked at some of the same items you have listed, but had found that they didn't last even a year, such as the austin peanut butter crackers. What is your rotation schedule? Preprepared food items are just like the ones in your pantry, and should be rotated every 6-12 months. A common way to remember to rotate items in a 72-hour kit is to eat the food in the kit during General Conference. That helps you keep your kit current with fresh food, helps you determine what your family will or won't eat, and makes you open up your kit to update it (prescriptions, dietary needs, clothing sizes, caloric requirements, etc. may have changed).
Q) Did you find all of the items you have listed in one place? Thanks for the info.
A) Yes. I bought them all at a Super Wal-Mart. If you choose different brands than I listed, be sure to check that the sodium, carb, and protein values are similar. For example, the Kashi brand of granola bars was a lot healthier than some other brands.
Date Submitted: 2006-02-23

Source: http://www.mormonshare.com/search-lds-activities.php?ActivityID=421

Financial Preparedness: The Truth About Credit Card Debt

Myth: Aren't there positive uses of a credit card? Like rebates and airline miles?

Truth: Responsible use of a credit card does not exist. Credit card debt is a major problem in America.

There is NO positive side to credit card use. You will spend more if you use credit cards. Even by paying the bills on time, you are not beating the system! But most families don't pay on time. The average family today carries $8,000 in credit card debt according to the American Bankers' Association.

Now let's talk about the rebates. If you were using a credit card at 5%, you would have had to have spent $80,000 to get $4,000 rebates on new cars that lost $6,000 of value when you drove them off the lot. That is not a good deal!

Cash vs. Credit Cards

When you pay cash, you can "feel" the money leaving you. This is not true with credit cards. Flipping a credit card up on a counter registers nothing emotionally. If you use credit cards instead of cash you will spend 12-18% more. This is money you could have saved.

If you "have to" use plastic, I suggest a debit card. I use them for travel and the occasional convenience of ordering something over the Internet or phone. Other than that, I use cash.

Personal finance is 80% behavior. You need to cut out habits that make you spend more. You do not build wealth with credit cards. Use common sense. When you play with a multi-billion dollar industry and you think you're going to win at their game, you are naive. You cannot beat the credit card companies.

Source: Dave Ramsey
http://www.daveramsey.com/the_truth_about/credit_card_debt_3478.html.cfm