This last week of December, your prep challenge is to take a complete food storage inventory. If your children are old enough, let them help. This inventory could take a few hours, so pause for treats or you may lose your helpers. Teach them that this is important your family.
How to Take a Complete Food Storage Inventory
- You want to move quickly with this tedious job, so grab a clipboard and pencil. I don’t use an app, laptop or tablet to take inventory, because they slow me down.
- Go to my FREE printables page and print the first one. It’s in English and Spanish. I’ve categorized food for you which will make this so much easier.
- Add more food items on the blank rows as needed.
For decades, the Lord’s prophets have urged us to store food, water, and financial reserves for a time of need. The current pandemic has reinforced the wisdom of that counsel. I urge you to take steps to be temporally prepared.
President Russell M. Nelson
COUNT IT UP
- Go through your home and count how much of each item you have. Next month, we will organize your food so it’s pretty, so don’t spend time doing that right now.
- Throw away old food or damaged cans. How do you know it’s old? Go to StillTasty.com.
- If you still have Latter-day Saint Potato Pearls, throw it away because it may be rancid.
- If your Latter-day Saint Dry Milk cans are more than 20 years, toss them out too.
- We’ve been counselled to put our houses in order, not become food hoarders. You’ll try to argue with me about throwing away food storage, but you throw food away every day in your kitchen, don’t you?
- We’ll take smaller inventories of your shelf-stable food each month with my prep challenges. But if you want to jot down a few goals, do it without the kids around.
As you take a complete food storage inventory, you’ll soon discover what your family doesn’t eat and what they do. You are on your way to managing your “home store.” I believe in you!
Best wishes and happy new year!
Valerie Albrechtsen
The Food Storage Organizer
Purchase my food storage and emergency preparedness items in my Etsy shop.
What does LT next to food items mean?
Foods that have been packaged to have a 20 to 30-year shelf life such as wheat, rice, and beans.
The printable inventory sheets have three columns – Type of food (Beverages, Meats, etc.), a check mark (for the number?), and the third symbol. What’s that column for and what is the symbol?
Thanks for all the encouragement and showing how easily this can be done…not that I’ve done most of the challenges. Merry Christmas and have a wonderful new year.
The check mark is where you write the total number of your items. The target is where you write your goal. 😁
Will you be starting this wonderful challenge over again this year 2021?
Yes! I will. Coming this. Working on my plan now.