Last night while flossing my teeth, I wondered how much was left in the canister. Did I need to buy more floss? Which inadvertently led to the question: Do I have enough floss for my long-term storage? You might wonder how I jumped from flossing my teeth, to thinking about my long-term supply...well, lately it hasn't taken much to pull my mind toward such thoughts. I will be making lunch for my kiddos, and question how many ziplock bags (in various sizes) I might actually use in a year. What about soap, shampoo, etc. How much to store of each of those? And WHERE to store?
There is the big question...how and where and in what quantity do we store these obscure, yet useful items? Floss might have an easy answer...since a canister of floss doesn't take up that much space. And you might need 1/2 a dozen canisters. It takes up a lot more space to store some of the other daily items we use. Such as soap, shampoo, lotion, toothbrushes, toothpaste, razors, etc. (and this is just things we need for hygiene.) There are many other non-edible things (beyond our long-term supply of food) that are a good idea to store. From the afore mentioned ziplock bags, to extra socks & clothes to laundry soap & softener, etc. (and wow! a long-term supply of all your laundry needs will take up a good chunk of space!)
These aren't the only questions I frequently ask myself. I am so used to running to the local store if I run out of something, that I really don't have a clue some of the things that maybe I should be storing. School supplies, batteries, band-aids, pain medicine. Wow! The list could get pretty extensive...let alone daunting. (in checking my wording in the previous sentence, I noticed that I first wrote 'expensive' instead of 'extensive'. Both would be true.)
This is why I think it is important to have your long-term goals, as well as short-term, and attainable goals. Someone training to do a marathon, isn't going to run the 10k immediately, they are going to start with smaller and reachable goals, to help build their stamina up to the ultimate goal.
So, that is what I am going to start doing...and maybe take a portion of either Sunday evening, or Family Home Evening to evaluate and update the short term goals, see where I have gotten...and what I need to do in the upcoming week.
Anyone have any good resources for getting together a 3 month supply, and on to the long-term supply of more then just food? In a step by step 'attainable' method.
Here is the link to the lds.org website on Family Home Storage.
skillet baked macaroni and cheese
19 hours ago
5 comments:
I haven't given much thought to storing more than just food, but I tell you what, if we ever run out of toilet paper, it's going to be a real crisis. Razors I can do without.
I'm most concerned about storing water. The water went out here at the apartment for just a day, and it got me thinking. All the sudden the toilet didn't work. We couldn't shower. Oh, and what do we drink? We had some water in used apple juice containers, so we were good for a day or two for drinking water. Sure, we just went to the neighbors to shower, but what if they didn't have water either.
We've got batteries stored, and we put together a med kit. So I guess that's a start.
Ya, when I went shopping today, I picked up a couple of big pkgs of TP, and a pkg of Paper Towel. They are light, but they sure do take up a lot of space! The water thing is also an issue. We try to keep our 5 gallon containers filled. (we have about 4 that we have been using consistently, and another 5 that we could clean up, and use as water storage)
I suggest that you get a couple cases of water bottles, when you find them on sale. (I bought a case, today...it was $2.99 for 24 water bottles) It's good that you re-fill your juice containers. I am doing that, and I have a good 15 or 20 various containers filled. It annoys us, cause they take up the kitchen cupboard space. But I have a feeling we will be glad for it at some point. Maybe we could move them to a different location. I really need to work on creating storage space!!
This post got me thinking about the booklet I made years ago that had items you could shop for on a weekly basis to add to your storage, everything from tinfoil to pepto bismol. I couldn't find a copy, but I think I've tracked down something similar. When I get a hold of it, I'll share it here.
I, too, need to seriously consider how to store some water. I take it for granted in a big way that water comes right out of the taps. Storage space is a big deal,too, especially because I am a visual person. I like my eyes to scan a room and see that nothing is out of place, and also that there isn't too much stuff in one room (I hate overload). SO, to tuck away all the storage that we would need would take some serious creativity. Okay, okay, so I know when there's a crisis I'll wish I wouldn't have worried about how my house "looks", but I'm willing to at least TRY creativity first before throwing my wishes for a clean, spacious home to the dogs :)
We try storing the water under our bed(s). I'm pretty sure enough for a year couldn't fit there, but we can last 3 days (at least for drinking and cooking), and you can't see them!
Sarah, thanks for the idea. Most of our beds sit on the floor, but the four twin beds upstairs that have built in drawers under them (kind of like captains beds), well, the drawers only go part way back, now that I think about it. I could lift up the plank that the mattress goes on and store bottled water in the back half. If I measured the height, I bet I could even fit some pretty tall jugs. Cool. I'll get right on it!
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