A new year is a great time to re-energize yourself, set goals, and make plans on how you will tackle food storage and emergency preparedness this year. My weekly preparedness challenges will help you along the way. Though they are weekly, you can work on them anytime during the month or year.
Our first preparedness challenge for January is to create a preparedness game plan, budget for preparedness items and begin saving for emergencies.
Create a Preparedness Game Plan
- Write a preparedness game plan statement such as: “Our family will put together 72-hour kits, store emergency water and gather a 3-month supply of pantry food storage by the end of this year. We will add some long-term food storage along the way. We will buy a wheat grinder and a generator by the end of 2025.”
- Discuss who will buy food storage, take food storage inventories, grind the wheat, bake the bread, research food storage, buy emergency supplies, add 72-hour kit supplies, or plant your vegetable garden. Sounds a bit like the story, “The Little Red Hen.”
- It’s not uncommon for one family member to be more interested in emergency preparedness than another.
- Do your best to make this a family game plan. In our case, my husband works full-time, but has time to research camping supplies and build anything we need. I do the shopping and our daughter puts food away.
“Of course, we can store our own reserves of food, water, and savings. But equally crucial is our need to fill our personal spiritual storehouses with faith, truth, and testimony.” April 2020, General Conference
President Russell M. Nelson
BUDGET FOR PREPAREDNESS ITEMS
How much you budget for monthly preparedness items depends on your family size, income, and home storage space.
- It will take several years to work on this, so don’t fret. They key is to begin.
- Perhaps start with a $10 weekly budget for food storage and a $25 monthly budget for emergency supplies. You will be blessed no matter what you choose.
BEGIN SAVING FOR EMERGENCIES
Put aside money for emergencies such as job loss, natural disasters, and long-term illness. In the pamphlet All Is Safely Gathered In: Family Home Storage, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints encourage church members to have a financial reserve. Even saving a few coins is a beginning.
- Write down how much you want to save and begin today!
Once you create a preparedness game plan, budget for preparedness items, and begin saving for emergencies, you will have begun your preparedness adventure.
Best wishes and look for the good today,
Valerie Albrechtsen
The Food Storage Organizer
Purchase my food storage and emergency preparedness items in my Etsy shop.
Hi Valerie, I am glad I found your page. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and tips. You have everything in a way that is easy to understand and follow. Thank you so much! God bless you.
Bless you for doing this year after year. We used up a lot of our food storage this past year and have been grateful to have it. I need to almost start over. Thank you.
You are welcome!