By Marie C. Ricks

Why Food and Home Storage?

Food and home storage is the purchase, storage, and rotation of regularly-used food and non-food items (those which can sit on a shelf for a decent period of time) to facilitate better use of time, energy, and money. Just think, once you have found a good brand, a good size, and decent price on a type of food, say peanut butter, why not buy enough to last your family for a whole year? Think what would happen if you made an inventory of all your food and non-food supplies, decided how much you might need for a whole year, and one big shopping trip to price foods and paper products, and another to purchase them. It is more work focused in a shorter period of time, but then less work for the whole rest of the year.

It is wonderful to “shop” by going to the cupboard any time you run out of a item, instead of having to drive to the store, go in, choose the kind, brand, and size plus wonder if you are getting a good price, wait in line, go through the check stand, and return home, all the time thinking there must be a better way.

What Food and Other Items Can I Store?

Any food that you purchase regularly that sits upon your shelf for a month or more probably has a life span of at least one year. Most foods have a date on them of “Best Purchased By” and are good for some time past that date. Packaging processes and preservatives keep the food in good shape on your shelf at home just as they have been kept in the warehouses and on the grocery store shelves. Therefore, storing the foods you regularly eat might be a very good place to start.

Non-food items which you purchase at a variety store can usually be safely stored for a year, maybe two, and sometimes three. So why not have a good supply of band aids, toothpaste, deodorant, toilet paper, and paper towels by taking an inventory, shopping for the best prices, and then making one big shopping trip a year and forget about the decisions, the lines, and the time you regularly spend shopping for necessities?

How Do I Inventory My Current Food and Non-food Supplies?

Prepare a simple, lined inventory sheet with columns for item, brand, size, number of items on hand, number of items to buy, anticipated cost each, total cost. You will also need three more empty columns whose use will be explained shortly. Now, go from cupboard to cupboard, listing the name, brand (if desired), size, and number of items for each kind of food and non-food items you regularly use.

The first time you do an inventory, you will have to “guess-timate” the number of items you will need for a year. But if you regularly use one can of green beans per week, 50 cans will probably get you through the year nicely. If you use up one box of kleenex a month, twelve boxes will be your purchase target.

After you have indicated the details for the items you have on hand, you add to the list any items for which you might wish to have a better supply but are missing from your cupboards at this time. Then decide how many you will need for a year’s supply. Add the price you anticipate paying for each item, and the total anticipated cost. You are now ready to shop!

Where Do I Shop?

The first time you do your storage shopping, you will be shopping rather blindly. The most effective way to make sure you are getting the best available prices is to “cherry pick.” This means you will be in charge of which purchases you make at which store. You will probably need an afternoon or evening without distractions to visit your favorite three stores. These names are written at the top of the last three columns of your inventory sheets.

Using a clipboard for support, you go up and down the aisles of these three stores pricing the food and non-food items you are interested in. At this point you make no purchases, just price the food and the non-food items on your list.

Once you have returned home, go through your sheets and circle the price which is lowest for each item. Then compare these prices to those anticipated prices you have listed on your inventory. If you have found a store with the item at or below the price you anticipated you are set. If not, you will have to decide if you are willing to buy at the lowest price you have found or wait for a good sale. In any case, tomorrow you will be busy.

How Can I Be Sure To Get the Best Prices?

Return to the same three stores where you did your price comparing and “cherry pick.” This means, of course, purchasing those items at the first store which turned out to be lowest in price, those items at the second store which were lowest in price there, and then finishing off your project with a final trip to the third store.

How Do I Date, Store and Rotate the Food?

When you get home from your shopping trip, you have three remaining things to do. 1) Date stamp all the items. This can be done with a permanent marker or a date stamp. It is best to date each item where the date can easily be seen.

2) Find a place to store the items. If possible, try to make all your purchases in sealed boxes for these are easiest to put away in closets and under beds. However, flats of cans can also be stacked neatly and are easier to slip into the small places. Experience has shown it is best not to worry about where you will put the items you have purchased until you get home because places always seem to appear once the shopping is done.

And finally, 3) Complete your inventory information. This information will prove vital when you purchase food and home storage items again next year. It will be easier the second time around and you will be more comfortable with the whole process, plus you will be more convinced having food and sundries stored at home is better than anything you may have done before.

How Do I Complete My Records So It Is Easier Next Time?

It is important to write down how many of each item was purchased, the price that was paid, and the total purchase price for all the purchased items. This gives you a good idea of the amount of money you will need one year from now to make a similar purchase. When you inventory next year, you will probably have a few items left and will have run out of others. Make adjustments on your new inventory sheets accordingly and go for it.

What Are the Long Term Advantages of Such a Plan?

There are so many advantages to such a storage plan it is hard to completely appreciate until you have done it. Once you have shopped this way for a year or two, you will wonder how you ever shopped so inconsistently and confusedly before. You will always seem to have on hand the food and sundries you need, you shop less often, you spend much less time in the store, you make many decisions once a year instead of weekly, and your whole system of handling your food and sundries supply seems to be in control instead of at the mercy of the nearest store.

In addition, you have a new level of security. If things went sour or bad in your personal life, if your income dropped or ceased for a period of time, there would be food in your house to supplement your regularly purchased fresh foods and your family would eat well for some time to come. You will also have toilet paper and shampoo and toothpaste.

Try the plan; you will love it! Remember to squirrel away food today is to feast tomorrow! To stock up on your sundries is to worry less and have a lot more time! Good luck! Having food and home storage is a great way to live!

Marie C. Ricks is a motivational speaker and the author of the House of Order Handbook and other home management materials. She will soon be publishing a new book, Project Organization, Quick and Easy Ways to Organize Your Life with Shadow Mountain Press. See www.shadowmountain.com for details. To order her products, offer comments or suggestions, go to www.houseoforder.com. © Marie Calder Ricks/House of Order.