Here are some shots of our nifty food storage for your viewing pleasure.Our 14 year old's queen mattress is actually floating on 32 cases of dry goods. (She never vacuumed under there anyway.)Those 32 cases equal almost HALF of the recommended amount of long-term food storage, based on the numbers found on providentliving.org, for a family of five adults, for one year. Are you surprised? I was. Used to think that if I wanted to be completely compliant with the suggestions from the First Presidency, I'd have to build onto the back of my house. Not so! Food storage takes less space that we may think. But Lizzie doesn't care so much about any of that. She's just happy that the custom made rumba dust ruffle disguises the Prophet's eatable insurance plan.
The small storage closets that flank her attic bedroom are also packed with the remaining balance of our food storage cases. You can see how I've placed light weight furniture, that's easy to move, in front of the food storage closet doors. The attic family room has the same storage configuration and it's amazing to see how many boxes, each holding six #10 cans, may be stashed in the "not so big" spaces. The knee wall closets built under the roof's rafters may be odd geometrically but they capture space that's typically lost in homes.
Before I purchased our sectional I even had my upholsterer price a series of seat and back cushions with a separate kick pleated skirt that could be used to build my own covert seating arrangement atop cannery boxes. (They say the first step is to admit you have a problem.) So that's basically a confession, but I swear it would work if someone needed to get really creative!
Last of all, I'm sending you a shot of how I organize my kitchen cupboards. This is how I store, and actually use, my three-month supply. It's how I protect my investment. All the dry, canned, or bottled ingredients used in a specific "normal" family favorite recipe are stacked and group together on each shelf. This simplifies a significant portion of the daily routine. Have you ever had cupboards full of food and still not known what to cook for dinner? Organizing by recipe completely overcomes that problem.When I began to give food storage/provident living presentations in Nevada, audience members from the food and beverage industry informed me that what I awkwardly considered idiot proofing my kitchen, or quite possibly turning into some kind of food storage freak, was in fact the way restaurants are organized. Ding! Ding! Ding! Restaurants are in the business of providing food in THE most efficient manner every single day. AND SO AM I! Not having a wonderful storage pantry, in this old house (ahem), I had to reconsider the way I was using the limited space in my kitchen. The Belgian waffle iron, turkey platter, seasonal dishes, and extra goblets were all relocated to the basement so that my three-month food supply could be stored in the kitchen. With my food storage meals grouped and ready for production, meal prep became a no-brainer.
And that brings up something I feel is vital when we talk about food storage. Just as it says in Amos 3:7, provident living is a REVEALED SECRET. It's a better way of life! Having a viable food storage makes life easier because it saves money and time! Less of my effort is wasted on constantly re-designing or re-engineering my family's meals. I've figured it out once, I'm following a system, and I enjoy the freedom and clarity that affords. Who doesn't need more of that?
Thanks Liesa! Take a look at her blog, she has some great recipes up---I've tried a few myself.
