Food Storage Here We Go!

So this rambling post started as a Facebook status update and then I switched to the blog and just started pouring out everything in my brain. I'm sorry for the grammar and formatting, but I just had to get it out there.

Apparently the slow and cheap way of getting my 3 month food storage was not panning out  (been "trying" for 5 years now) so I decided that with all the extra hours I'm working we can afford to do the quick and easy way. So I ordered several preconfigured packages from a couple different companies: Shelf Reliance, Augason Farms, and Wise Food Supply for some variety of contents. At least this way I will have something and can start learning to use it and learn what we like and use and then build our year supply from what I learn. It works out to about 1088 calories per day, which I know is a little low (though I know the kids consume far less than this, I'm dividing calories equally between us all). I'd prefer 1500 cals per person minimum, but with the produce we get from the garden year round  I think that would make up the difference. And this is if we had to rely SOLELY on what was in the food storage. I usually keep a month+ worth of typical canned goods in my pantry at any given time. So I feel comfortable calling this my 3 month supply.

Lucky for Lowla, her dog food has a best by date of about a year after packaging, so I picked up a 3 month supply for her also. Don't forget your pets need to eat too!

Next month I will be focusing on water storage. After all, water is pretty essential and none of that dry food is gonna taste that great if it can't be reconstituted and cooked. I've got my eyes on the Super Tanker. I'd like to get two but I think we'll start with one and see how that works out. 250 gals would be less than a gallon per person per day for 3 months - for our family of 4-not including the dog's needs, which is not acceptable. I think it's a good idea to also have portable, more convenient water, so I plan to also stock up on bottled water and some 5 gal containers as well. I've been wanting to get some rain barrels for a while too. Emergency water for human consumption if needed, but mostly for sustaining the garden in drought and no city water is available or it is contaminated.

Month after will be non perishables(toiletries) and accessories (wheat grinder, potable drinking hoses) and organization tools for rotating and storing stock.

I'm not sure why recently it is really striking me to get my stuff in order, it may have a lot to do with my recent calling to be the Relief Society Secretary, but in any case I know the Lord is providing very well for us financially right now, and though we've been paying down our mortgage dramatically, I think putting our food supply in order is a good use of funds. Today may be high, but tomorrow who knows, better prepared than not.

To many, myself included, this just seemed like a daunting task that would take forever to accomplish and if you need to do it the cheapest way, then yes it will take a lot of time and planning. I don't think it is communicated very well that you don't HAVE to do it the slow and cheap way and that you're not a bad person if you choose to take the short cuts. What's important is that you feel you are adequately prepared to self sustain your family in any situation: daily interruptions (like when our neighborhood lost water for half a day and then was on boil notice for a week in case of contaminated supply), job loss, health complications, local disaster, national disaster, global disaster. Heck, I think this is great insurance for "I can't get to the store today but we are out of eggs and I need to bake a cake...oh hello dehydrated eggs, thanks for saving me!" or "I've been on the couch horribly sick all day but my family needs dinner and my husband is working late. Hi there MRE, I'm so glad you're here to feed my children in 15 minutes."

Whatever the case, I never want to feel like I have to rely on someone else, or the government, to take care of me and my family if I am perfectly able to do it myself. They always say to save for a rainy day, and usually we think of money, but if the day ever came that food was more valuable than money, I want to make sure my bank is full.

If you haven't started yours, go to a site now and just order a sample pack if that's all you can. The rest will follow. Don't sit longer thinking of doing it tomorrow or waiting to be better organized. I testify your desire and interest will strengthen after you take the first step of doing.

Respect for Your Elders

I've been thinking about this post for a while but I couldn't decide if it made me seem too crotchety old lady, but I think I'm gonna be there at some point anyway so I figure what the hey. Growing up when I was introduced to an adult who was a member of the Church, they would refer to themselves or whomever was introducing them would say this is Brother or Sister LastName. That was then how I would always address that person. Adults would address each other or kids by their first names or Brother or Sister LastName.

In my Singles and Married Ward at BYU we all referred to each other by our first names because we were all peers and adults. When we moved back to Texas, I still referred to all the people I knew as a kid as Brother or Sister LastName. It was just too weird to try calling them by their first name even though it seemed acceptable to do so since I was now an adult.

I don't know if it's just our ward or if it is a growing trend among young families in LDS culture (or maybe everywhere?), but just about everyone I encounter introduces me as Mrs. Melanie to their kids. It just seems weird to me. I mean even if we weren't members of the same church I could see it a little more acceptable. I always remember as a kid, if that adult was not a member of the church they were still Mr. or Ms. LastName. The only adults I ever remember calling by their first name were family members, like Aunt Mandy or Uncle Mike or very close family friends, who were practically family, Ms. Crystal.

Maybe it's just me, but I'd still rather people introduce me to kids as Mrs. Masten or Sister Masten. I will typically introduce and refer to myself or others in that traditional manner. Aunt Mel(anie) suits me just fine for family and close friends.

So am I just being lame about this or is there really a decline in traditional respect in the addressing of elders among children? Adults to blame, they're teaching the kids that way. I mean what happens when they become teenagers and they just drop the title all together. I definitely think that can get disrespectful fast.

Yeah, I'm old fashioned like that!

All Tied Up

Just about every newly packaged item these days is somehow secured with twisty ties. Not like one or two but it seems like fifty! Just about every time that I clean the floors or clear off the counter, I find at least 5 of these things. Short black ones, long white ones, sometimes clear. They just seem to be everywhere. I used to just pick them up and collect them in a sandwich bag thinking they might be useful at some point. I've stopped doing that and just throw them away now, every time I see them. I don't think we buy that much stuff to where they are constantly coming into the house so I'm going to conclude that they are breeding. They're in the kitchen on the counters, in the living room on the floors, in the play room, even in the bathrooms. They're particularly populous around the TV console. Ironically, when Brandon takes a twisty tie off the bread bag, it is inevitably lost forever. Right about the time either one of us is looking for a twisty tie, none can be found. Maybe they're a sub species of roaches. Better a twisty tie infestation than a roach one.