3 month supply

[Guest Username-Removed]

Im just finishing up my three months supply and thought I would share some of my ideas on this subject.

http://www.lds.net/file/pic/gallery/551.jpg (picture of my 3 month supply) The Shelving was purchased at Costco for $79 - This is very heavy duty wire shelving that I put in the bottom of my walk in closet!

A three month supply is important in those instances where a disaster lasts longer than 72 hours. There may also be circumstances, such as unemployment, that may occur when a longer supply of food, water and other daily use items need to be stored. A three month supply is part of a long term storage program recommended by the church. Items in the 3 months supply should include items you already use on a daily basis so that they can be rotated and avoid spoilage. A three month supply is not made of longer storage items, such as wheat, beans and rice. But rather items that you already use on a daily basis. The best way to start a three month supply is simply to buy a little more of the items you purchase every week until you have a 3 month supply. A three month supply is very attainable and manageable even in the confined space of an apartment.

Food Storage

A three month supply might include the following: canned meat; ham, tuna, chicken, corned beef, canned vegetables, canned soup, pasta, pasta sauce, honey, sugar, flour, saltine crackers, breakfast cereals, peanut butter, canned jams and jellies, cooking oil, toiletries & personal items, as well as water storage.

Water Storage

If you wish to store water as part of three month supply, you’ll need at least one gallon of water per person, per day for drinking and hygiene purposes. A normally active person needs at least ½ gallon of water per day, just for drinking. To store the safest and most reliable form of water, FEMA recommends that you purchase & store commercially bottled water. Keep bottled water in its original container and do not open until you need it and observe the expiration date. You can prepare your own water storage by using food grade water storage containers or reuse 2-liter plastic soft drink bottles. If you choose this method, you’ll need to thoroughly clean the containers with dishwashing soap and water and rinse completely so there is no residual soap. Additionally, for soft drink bottles, sanitize the bottles by adding one teaspoon of non-scented liquid chlorine bleach to a quart of water, and swish the sanitizing solution so that it touches all inside surfaces and rinse thoroughly with clean water. Then, fill the bottle with regular tap water from a city water supply (pre-treated with chlorine). If your tap water is not chlorinated, treat it yourself with two drops of non-scented liquid chorine bleach per gallon of water. Tightly seal the container using the original cap making sure that you do not contaminate the cap by touching the inside of it. Write the date on the outside of the cap so that you know when you filled it and store in a cool dark place. Some members might think a 3 month supply is not attainable or even practical in an apartment. However, not only is a three month supply attainable but also very practical - even in an apartment! There’s nothing like simply going to your 3 month supply when you need something! And, when the family is sick, or there are other circumstances where getting to the store is difficult, a three month supply of items that you already use on a daily basis simply makes sense.

Can you afford it? Absolutely! The church suggests …. “Build a small supply of food that is part of your normal, daily diet. One way to do this is to purchase a few extra items each week to build a one-week supply of food. Then you can gradually increase your supply until it is sufficient for three months. These items should be rotated regularly to avoid spoilage." Source: LDS Provident Living. There's also a great video from the church regarding storage right here at this link - http://www.providentliving.org/mediapopup/0,13405,1706-1-mcmullin,00.html

[pushka]

Wordflood, that 3 months supply sounds great and very easy to stock up.

[Mahonri]

With the market plunge today, I expect you'll all see more folks in Utah out shopping.

This could be the thing Pres. Hinckley was talking about back in 98. There will still be those who won't see the signs and won't go out and purchase food. There will be suffering because they didn't follow the prophet.

[Guest Username-Removed]

If Amercians actually do get money from the government as part of the Washington Stimulus Package, Im probably going to recommend that our branch members strongly consider using that money for thier 72 hour and 3 month supply. However, members should not be panic stricken. Simply realizing this is the natural course of action to prepare us for the 2nd coming – whether that comes now, or much later.

Below are some quotes from the Ensign ….

J. Lewis Taylor, “I Have a Question,” Ensign, June 1975, 22–23 - J. Lewis Taylor, Instructor, Salt Lake Institute of Religion, University of Utah

"Ancient prophets looked with enthusiastic anticipation to our dispensation when the fullness of the gospel would be restored and preached among all nations, and when final preparations would be made for the Second Coming and ultimate reign of the King of Kings, our Savior. Great eternal blessings, keys, and secrets of the gospel, which have been kept “hid from before the foundation of the world,” were reserved to come forth in this final dispensation to bless our lives. (See D&C 124:41; D&C 121:26–32; D&C 128:18.) How privileged we are to live in these momentous times! "

"Whether to us these days are ultimately times of peril or of promise depends upon our own spiritual receptivity and individual preparedness. Though all of us may be challenged, even alarmed, by the events of our day, the Savior assures us that we can acquire the spiritual resilience to hold up under the immense pressures of our time and prepare for his coming by faithful discipleship to him. This message seems to be the thrust of the parables of preparation in Matthew 25."

"The parable of the ten virgins (Matt. 25:1–13) calls us to prepare diligently and watch for the Savior’s Second Coming. The five wise virgins are faithful Saints who build a spiritual reserve. They “have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived.” (D&C 45:57.) They have “spiritual oil” in their vessels against times of darkness. For these there is no ultimate doom or gloom; they are not panic-stricken by the last days. The Second Coming is an exhilarating prospect. We are not told in the parable specifically of the virgins’ thrill at entering into the marriage with the Lamb, but who can doubt the inestimable joy of at last receiving personal communion with the Bridegroom! For these, the Lord’s coming is a day to be anticipated and relished; it is a great day. "

[cjcampbell]

I thought it was hysterically funny when Bernanke, Bush, and other politicians started talking about these tax rebates and other temporary spending measures to stimulate the economy. How do you "temporarily" spend anything? What, were they planning on getting it back from us later? Were they going to return a few tanks for a refund? I would sure like to do that in my house. I would like to be able to do temporary spending. I think my wife actually does that sometimes -- I have never seen anyone who returns so much stuff. But the fact is, once you have spent money, it is spent. There is nothing temporary about it.

Be that as it may -- sooner or later we are going to have a recession, probably sooner if the economic indicators are accurate. This recession will probably be deeper than most recessions of recent years and longer. I don't want to get into the whys of all this, but it is not something that the government can really control. People start expecting a recession, so they pull in their belts, and sure enough, the recession happens. Duh.

Anyway, keeping your food storage is a great way to even out the effects of economic fluctuations. In time of inflation, you are always saving money by buying in bulk and living on last year's prices. In recession, you have a cushion that can be very valuable when business is bad. It is the poor man's way to invest in commodities, and it is a sure winner. (As opposed to the rich man's investments in the commodities market, which is a sure loser -- why do people think they can consistently out-guess General Mills and R.J. Nabisco in the commodities market? They can't.)

Your food storage takes advantage of the fact that a penny saved is equal to two pennies earned. Half of what you earn goes to taxes, but you pay no taxes at all on what you save. This is why those who diligently acquire and maintain a food storage manage to have a much smaller food bill than those who do not.

[Iggy]

I just wanted to make a comment about storing and using from your food storage.

I had 4 bottles of Vegetable oil stored- large bottles. Got them on sale;) Thought that was a good deal. Well, I don't use very much veg oil- and the one bottle that was opened went rancid:sick:. I tossed the bottle and then I figured why open another large bottle? I found families at church who will use the oil up faster than I did. So- don't store sizes that you can not use up before the contents go bad.

I no longer store veg oil as I just do not use it. I use olive oil, and I buy it on sale in the smaller bottles. For my bread I use Veg Shortening. This seems to keep forever in the cupboard. Haven't had it ever go rancid on me.

I used to make a lot of bread, and rather than buy whole milk to use, I used powdered milk. Again, the large box went bad on me before I could use it up. It also got bugs in it.

The reason I got the large box was it was cheaper by the ounce. Well, it ended up costing me more because I threw away over half a box.

I now buy the smaller boxes and then I seal them with my seal a meal:D. Keeps the bugs out. I only have two small boxes- I now store cans of evaporated milk. Less liquid to reconstitute (1/2 and 1/2) and the opened can will last nearly a month in the fridge! I only use milk to cook with, as we no longer drink milk.

Anything that is packaged in paper-cardboard can get bugs in it. Rice a Roni, cereal, mac and cheese, flour, sugar, etc. Seal it in an airtight container, or vacuum seal a meal the unopened box.

Don't store your cans that are pop-tops on their sides. The seal can weaken and the food go bad, spill all over or even explode in the cupboard. Store them with the pop-top on the top.

When you replace your canned goods, pull all the old ones to the front and put your new cans in the back. Do it just like the grocery stores do. I go one step further, I write the date purchased on the top of every can with a Sharpie. 26Jan08 That way I know when I bought it. If I have cans in there for more than a year - I use them up and don't buy any new. Say like cans of mackerel. Got a real good buy on them, or so I thought. $0.50 a can. We don't like mackerel. Love canned salmon, but not mackerel. Bleah- spit-spit-spit!

I gave the 5 cans to the local animal shelter. They will mix it all up and feed it to the cats.

Did you go nuts and buy 4 or 5 bags of flour when it was on sale? Still have them all? Put them in your freezer if you have the room. When you open a bag, transfer it to an airtight container and then using a wire whisk stir the flour. Get air into it. When you measure out the flour, sift it first then measure it. Freezing it is a good way to store 1 and 5 lb bags and it also kills any bugs that may in it. Pretty much ALL flour has bugs in it. Sometimes the larvae just hasn't hatched out. Don't get all upset over it. You bake the flour, cook it, that takes care of the bugs and their larvae. Well you have just added to your families protein consumption. Don't sweat it.

Salt will last for eons as long as it does not get wet. I generally buy salt by the bag. But I am having a real hard time finding table salt by the 5 pound bag around here. So I buy it by the container, then open them up and store them in my airtight canister.

In my salt shakers I put about a teaspoon of rice and then the salt. It keeps the moisture out of the salt and it also keeps me from over salting foods. I hear the shake, shake, shake and am happy. Learned this trick from Mom. Grandma used to taste the food cooking on the stove and then add salt. Well Grandma was losing her ability to taste and she was adding more and more salt. When she ruined a stock pot full of bean soup, and we had to toss out 9/10 of it, that is when we got rid of the clear glass salt shaker, got the metal ones and filled it with rice. The salt shaker we used to season with was put in the cupboard, the metal salt shaker with rice only was left on the stove. She would shake away, taste, and think she had seasoned the food. Living on the Oregon coast, my spice jars always glumped up. This is from the moisture in the air. I just added rice to all of my spices. I would make little rice bags from tea bag material. (get from a Food Co-op or an herbalist) Works great.

[Guest Username-Removed]

I had no idea you lived in Oregon! I lived there for years.

I agree, you should only store items in the 3 months supply that you use so that you avoid spoilage. I use enough olive oil where I dont have a problem. But, shortning does store much longer, as much as five years. But it is worse for you. So, store what you use!

I didnt know there were bugs in flour - YIKES!

[cjcampbell]

I have to agree about the olive oil. I am reaching the point where I use only olive oil, if I can help it. No butter or margarine or shortening or vegetable oil at all. There are some things you simply cannot store for a year. Fresh fruit and vegetables should be the most important part of your diet, for example, but they do not necessarily store well even in a root cellar. I would be hard pressed to claim that powdered milk is nutritionally equivalent to fresh milk, too.

That said, we should store what we can. There may come a time when the only things available will be canned fruits and vegetables and powdered milk.

[Iggy]

I used the powdered milk in bread. I don't like the texture of bread made with just water. But I'll be darned if I am going to buy a 1/2 gal or quart of milk just for 1 cup of milk. You don't even have to mix the water and powdered milk in advance. Add the dry milk with your flour and your liquid in with the liquid.

I have even used olive oil in making bread. If I am making soft bread sticks, then I use not only the olive oil, but I just may add some herbs too.

I used to live in Oregon-South Lincoln County, for nearly 30 years. Before that I lived in Seattle. Now I live in Pinal County Arizona.

[Guest Username-Removed]

I dont drink a lot of milk, but about once a week I have a craving for cereal of some kind.

I usually keep 4 boxes of the dry milk in individual envelopes. These keep for a very long time - more than a year. The individual packets make one quart of of non-fat milk and it is vitamin fortified (A&D). I too use that for making bread. Also, I store those one quart boxes Soymilk. They keep about a year or longer and when you buy them in bulk, are pretty inexpensive and store at room temperature until you open them. They stay in the frig after they are opened for about 7-10 days.

[WANDERER]

I'm looking for recipes for dried beans, lentils and such. I know,store what you eat...but with the drought and all, time to change my habits. Getting the hang of 3 month planning.

I don't think we have that kind of shortening here.

Er LOL we do: USA FOODS Australia American Candy & American Groceries - USA Foods Australia

[Iggy]

I'm looking for recipes for dried beans, lentils and such. I know,store what you eat...but with the drought and all, time to change my habits. Getting the hang of 3 month planning.

I don't think we have that kind of shortening here.

Er LOL we do: USA FOODS Australia American Candy & American Groceries - USA Foods Australia

I really like this receipe site: All recipes – complete resource for recipes and cooking tips I have never been disappointed with any receipe that I have tried from here.

[amightyfortress]

I just wanted to make a comment about storing and using from your food storage.

I had 4 bottles of Vegetable oil stored- large bottles. Got them on sale;) Thought that was a good deal. Well, I don't use very much veg oil- and the one bottle that was opened went rancid:sick:. I tossed the bottle and then I figured why open another large bottle? I found families at church who will use the oil up faster than I did. So- don't store sizes that you can not use up before the contents go bad.

I no longer store veg oil as I just do not use it. I use olive oil, and I buy it on sale in the smaller bottles. For my bread I use Veg Shortening. This seems to keep forever in the cupboard. Haven't had it ever go rancid on me.

I used to make a lot of bread, and rather than buy whole milk to use, I used powdered milk. Again, the large box went bad on me before I could use it up. It also got bugs in it.

The reason I got the large box was it was cheaper by the ounce. Well, it ended up costing me more because I threw away over half a box.

I now buy the smaller boxes and then I seal them with my seal a meal:D. Keeps the bugs out. I only have two small boxes- I now store cans of evaporated milk. Less liquid to reconstitute (1/2 and 1/2) and the opened can will last nearly a month in the fridge! I only use milk to cook with, as we no longer drink milk.

Anything that is packaged in paper-cardboard can get bugs in it. Rice a Roni, cereal, mac and cheese, flour, sugar, etc. Seal it in an airtight container, or vacuum seal a meal the unopened box.

Don't store your cans that are pop-tops on their sides. The seal can weaken and the food go bad, spill all over or even explode in the cupboard. Store them with the pop-top on the top.

When you replace your canned goods, pull all the old ones to the front and put your new cans in the back. Do it just like the grocery stores do. I go one step further, I write the date purchased on the top of every can with a Sharpie. 26Jan08 That way I know when I bought it. If I have cans in there for more than a year - I use them up and don't buy any new. Say like cans of mackerel. Got a real good buy on them, or so I thought. $0.50 a can. We don't like mackerel. Love canned salmon, but not mackerel. Bleah- spit-spit-spit!

I gave the 5 cans to the local animal shelter. They will mix it all up and feed it to the cats.

Did you go nuts and buy 4 or 5 bags of flour when it was on sale? Still have them all? Put them in your freezer if you have the room. When you open a bag, transfer it to an airtight container and then using a wire whisk stir the flour. Get air into it. When you measure out the flour, sift it first then measure it. Freezing it is a good way to store 1 and 5 lb bags and it also kills any bugs that may in it. Pretty much ALL flour has bugs in it. Sometimes the larvae just hasn't hatched out. Don't get all upset over it. You bake the flour, cook it, that takes care of the bugs and their larvae. Well you have just added to your families protein consumption. Don't sweat it.

Salt will last for eons as long as it does not get wet. I generally buy salt by the bag. But I am having a real hard time finding table salt by the 5 pound bag around here. So I buy it by the container, then open them up and store them in my airtight canister.

In my salt shakers I put about a teaspoon of rice and then the salt. It keeps the moisture out of the salt and it also keeps me from over salting foods. I hear the shake, shake, shake and am happy. Learned this trick from Mom. Grandma used to taste the food cooking on the stove and then add salt. Well Grandma was losing her ability to taste and she was adding more and more salt. When she ruined a stock pot full of bean soup, and we had to toss out 9/10 of it, that is when we got rid of the clear glass salt shaker, got the metal ones and filled it with rice. The salt shaker we used to season with was put in the cupboard, the metal salt shaker with rice only was left on the stove. She would shake away, taste, and think she had seasoned the food. Living on the Oregon coast, my spice jars always glumped up. This is from the moisture in the air. I just added rice to all of my spices. I would make little rice bags from tea bag material. (get from a Food Co-op or an herbalist) Works great.

You might like to check out my other post on how I keep my one-year supply rotated using 12 big Rubbermaid containers (one for each month of the year). It's easy, it keeps everything rotated, and you don't end up eating too much of one item too quickly.

Then you don't have to date-mark or rotate cans anymore :)

[Abraham]

Remember not to put salt in a #10 can, it causes oxidation which is a nice way to say 'rust'.

I have a CD with 1100 pages of Preparedness Stuff from our Fair, if you want me to e-mail you the files I can do that. It has 3 DO (Dutch Oven Cook Books) 2 Preparedness Manuals, Water storage, Solar, etc., etc.

Abraham

[pam]

Iggy what is the storage time for Olive Oil verses vegetable oil? I don't use that much vegetable oil to store it.

[Iggy]

Iggy what is the storage time for Olive Oil verses vegetable oil? I don't use that much vegetable oil to store it.

So far I haven't had any olive oil go rancid on me. I have been using from a 1/2 gal jug and it is still good.Opened the jug about 7 months ago. Had the jug in my cupboard for over a year. Kept the open jug in my cupboard. I don't refrigerate it, as it tends to get thick. So when I make Italian dressing, I keep the dressing in the cupboard too. The longer the dressing sits at room temp, the better the flavor gets.

I buy bottles of Olive Oil when they are on sale. So right now I have 10 bottles of different brands, all are 10 oz to 21 oz in size. All cost under $4.00 a bottle. 4 of those bottles were close outs and marked 90% off!!! (got them for $4 each) Love the flavor of them too.

Do any of you like Soy Sauce? Back when I was married to 1st husband, who just happened to be 1/2 Japanese, we used Soy Sauce like some people use salt and ketchup. I bought it by the 5 gallon tin. We didn't like the flavor of it when it was first opened. As a matter of fact we didn't like the flavor until it had set for about 4 months. So- I would buy the 5 gallon tins in advance. Open them - break the airtight seal - and let them 'ferment' or 'cure' longer before we used them. The longer the soy sauce set, the better the flavor got.

Now- I have tried many different brands of Soy Sauce and there was only two that 1st husband and myself liked and would use. Kikkoman is one, and I have forgotten the name of the the other. His mother (full Japanese) got it for us from a specialty store in Aloha OR.

So, if you are not really fond of Soy Sauce. Go buy a small bottle. Open it, recap it, and place in your cupboard. In 4 or 6 months, bring it out and try it again. After 'fermenting' or 'curing' a bit longer- you just might like the flavor. I am of British (mostly)& Norwegian decent and I love Soy Sauce on: Stir Fry's, Vegetables, Fried Eggs, Rice, Fried Rice, Pork Chops, Hamburgers, Top Raman, Chicken. Use it instead of salt and some spices. Mix some in mayonnaise or sour cream for a meat and vegetable dip. I use a soy sauce dispenser bottle, the lid has two dispenser holes that are never sealed tight. So that allows air in to help 'ferment/cure' the soy sauce also.

[Guest Username-Removed]

Iggy what is the storage time for Olive Oil verses vegetable oil? I don't use that much vegetable oil to store it.

Pam,

I did a little research for you on the web and this is the information that I have for you regarding the shelf life of olive oil.

It has a 4-6 month shelf life after the bottle is opened. However, if its sealed and unopened, it can last up to 1 year. Things that decrease the shelf life are light and heat. Combine that with an opened bottle and you'll have bad olive oil in no time!

Mark

[pam]

Pam,

I did a little research for you on the web and this is the information that I have for you regarding the shelf life of olive oil.

It has a 4-6 month shelf life after the bottle is opened. However, if its sealed and unopened, it can last up to 1 year. Things that decrease the shelf life are light and heat. Combine that with an opened bottle and you'll have bad olive oil in no time!

Mark

So would vegetable oil have a shorter shelf life?

[Guest Username-Removed]

Here is all the research that I found from various resources on the web ....

Vegetable Oil:

Unopened: 6 months

Opened: 1-3 months

Crisco Shortning:

Unopened: 2 years

Opened: 6 months

Olive Oil:

Unopened: 1 year

Opened: 4-6 months

[pam]

Here is all the research that I found from various resources on the web ....

Vegetable Oil:

Unopened: 6 months

Opened: 1-3 months

Crisco Shortning:

Unopened: 2 years

Opened: 6 months

Olive Oil:

Unopened: 1 year

Opened: 4-6 months

Wow thanks Word. That's awesome.

[Rebky]

Can we freeze Vegetable/Canola/Olive Oils? Good Suggestions Iggy! I just started freezing my flour actually. Bugs... oh my!!!

I am looking for a good rotation system presently myself. I like Iggy's writing the date you bought it on top of wet packed cans from the grocery store. But for my #10 cans of flour/oats/apples and so forth I found a decent solution. It's going to take up space. The tubs are a good idea but they sound as frustrating to me as my boxes from the cannery that we keep trying to rotate new to the bottom old to the top and whats left in this box yadda yadda.

Here's the Shelf-Reliance rotating shelves I think I'm going to purchase:

Shelf Reliance

[Guest Username-Removed]

Shelf Reliance has a pretty nice system. I've seen their vids and been to their website several times. For many, thats a real nice way to automattically rotate your canned food. Ironically, they are located less than a mile away from where I live and I have yet to visit their showroom.

One thing to keep in mind .... a three month supply IS WHAT YOU USE on a regular basis (according to the church). Items that are longer storage than 3 months, include grains like wheat rice and beans - to keep us alive in a major calamity.

[Rebky]

You are right there!?! Hey, you should visit the showroom and help me convince my husband it is the way to go! I've yet to convince him to BUILD me a system to get the boxes rotating efficiently. He's not the one frustrated with the boxes or worried about rotating them so.... I don't mind taking matters into my own hands LOL

I have a huge pantry for my 3 month supply and we use it and rotate it and keep it up. I just want the shelves for my l #10 canned supply of bulk foods.

You didn't answer if we can freeze oil...do you know? I got a jug of canola oil and told my son to take it to the basement where it was cool and dark. He put it in the FREEZER! LOL So I am hoping that is not going to affect the molecular balance of the oil.

[Guest Username-Removed]

You are right there!?! Hey, you should visit the showroom and help me convince my husband it is the way to go! I've yet to convince him to BUILD me a system to get the boxes rotating efficiently. He's not the one frustrated with the boxes or worried about rotating them so.... I don't mind taking matters into my own hands LOL

I have a huge pantry for my 3 month supply and we use it and rotate it and keep it up. I just want the shelves for my l #10 canned supply of bulk foods.

You didn't answer if we can freeze oil...do you know? I got a jug of canola oil and told my son to take it to the basement where it was cool and dark. He put it in the FREEZER! LOL So I am hoping that is not going to affect the molecular balance of the oil.

As far as olive oil, I did some research and did find that you can freeze olive oil which does not harm it, and does preserve its nutritional value and flavor. Although my research is not as complete with Canola oil, another website did mention that any cooking oil can be frozen which can make them last up to 3-5 years!!! Also, oils actually shrink when you freeze them, so you dont need to worry about freezing the oil in a glass container. So - give your son a gold star and paste it on his forehead!

Yes, I am right there - only about a mile away from Shelf Reliance.

[Rebky]

Getting out the gold stars....

So I was talking to my husband about the shelves, he was right here when I posted that last post to you. HIS idea is to get PVC pipe, large enough for a #10 can to slip down thru. Opening at the top, opening at the bottom and just let them be stacked along the wall. Load at the top and take out from the bottom. I wonder if all the cans resting on top of 'bottom can' would be to heavy for bottom can to easily slip out should I send oil freezing son down to grab me something. Does he win? Is his frugal idea just as good or better than my costly efficient one? I wonder what size of PVC pipe that would even be.

Oh... and btw Shelf Reliance called me today because I was getting ready to order them. They wondered why I stopped. I am still trying to convince hubby BECAUSE they are on sale right now $75.00 off with free shipping and handling which makes them $374.00. In case anyone is interested. They are just down the road and you don't have them?! They look PERFECT to me. Just what I imagined in my head. *sigh