HOW MUCH
Ideas on how much food storage one person may need can be found on my 3-Month Food Storage Supply Plan. These are just suggested amounts. You don’t have to store a year’s supply of everything. There are many factors in how much to store including your finances and home size.
My 3-month food storage plan has food you regularly keep in your pantry. But I also added some long-term foods if you know how to use them. I keep a 3-month supply of many items, a 6-month supply of others, and a year’s supply long-term dried foods.
Over time, I’ve learned the food shelf life of various items. And you will too. Some of us know more about buying nail polish than buying food, but if you can master nail poilish, you can master food storage as well. 🙂
Look over the suggested list. Multiply the amounts of all the adults in your family and perhaps divide numbers for small children. If the end result sounds like too much food for you, then adjust it.
As you decide on your items, list typical sizes you normally buy each item instead of mine. A detailed explanation of these inventory worksheets can be found at this post. Don’t get bogged down with making your list perfect. Just list the basic shelf-stable foods you cook with everyday now. Over time as you experiment with your food storage menus (more on that later) you will come up with other items to stock up on. I’m very practical with my list, meaning I don’t store things like tomato powder or #10 cans of baking powder. But I do store 15 oz. cans of diced tomatoes and 10 oz. containers of baking powder.
SPACE
Perhaps you can only store a 1 or 3-month supply because you live in a small home. That’s ok. No one should judge you. Over time you will discover new places you had never thought of to put food. Check out my Pinterest Boards to see various food storage shelves and rooms others have used.
My Monthly Emergency Prep Lists may be a good place to start. Don’t sweat it. Just get out a calculator and begin! You may already have items on your shelves and they just need to be organized.
Jump in the water. You CAN do it!
USEFUL POSTS
- My Video About The LDS 4-Step Approach to Home Storage
Food Storage One Bite at A Time - Various Approaches to Doing Food Storage
3-Month Food Storage: 90 Menu Ideas - Food Storage Inventory Worksheet.pdf
Food Storage Inventory Worksheet.xlsx - Home Storage Inventory Worksheet.pdf
Home Storage Inventory Worksheet.xlsx