Week 52 Last week of the year!

FOOD STORAGE BUYING GUIDE PER WEEK (52 Week Plan) - 



Week 1: NUTS Drug stores have Christmas sales. 2 lbs per person. Dry roasted ones store the best. Freeze bagged ones.


Week 2: CLEANING SUPPLIES Detergent 156 loads per person, Bleach 1gallon per person, Cleanser.


Week 3: MEDICINE CHEST Feminine Products, Pepto Bismal, Vicks, Cough Drops, Cough Syrup, Tylenol, Calamine Lotion, Kaopectate, Ipecac, Sunscreen Dispose of all outdated medications.


Week 4: FIRST AID SUPPLIES Band-Aids, Antibiotic Ointment, Ace Bandages, Steri-strips, etc.


Week 5: PERSONAL PRODUCTS Soap, Deodorant, toilet paper at least one roll per week. Shampoo, lotion, hand soap, 15 per person etc.


Week 6: PEANUT BUTTER 10 lbs per person (stores for a year or more)


Week 7: SOLID SHORTENING less expensive than oil. 12 lbs per person. Be sure and rotate. Will last several years.


Week 8: JUICES Avoid watered products. Get 100% juice. (lemon, orange, pineapple etc.)


Week 9: PERSONAL GROOMING Toothpaste, floss (important) razors, shaving cream. Consider your family needs. (you can always brush with baking soda)


Week 10: MIXES Cakes, pancakes, muffins, Bisquick etc. Bisquick stores best in the freezer or it gets bugs. You need an annual total of 300 lbs of grain products per person


Week 11: SPICES AND HERBS Think of what you use most often. Salt (NOT Plain you need the iodized kind) pepper, cinnamon, bay leaves. Look for bargains.


Week 12: RICE Secure 10, 15, 20 lbs. White stores best but is not as nutritious. I find brown gets bugs. Counts towards grain total.


Week 13: FIRST AID Gauze patches, swabs, cotton balls, first aid tape etc. Old fashioned Kotex is good for wounds. Sanitary napkins with adhesive do not store well.


Week 14: PASTA 5 lbs. Get other kinds besides spaghetti. I have found that spaghetti does not store well. Counts towards grain total.


Week 15: DRY MILK 40 oz. will make 5 gallons . Get what you family needs. 100 lbs per person per year. Stores well.


Week 16: SEWING KIT Thread, pins, needles, buttons (cut off of old clothes) snaps, zippers, tape measure, scissors. Consider your family's needs.


Week 17: READY DINNERS Ravioli, Pasta, Oriental, Boxed, Canned, Frozen. Buy what your family will eat.


Week 18: FLOUR 50 lbs per person (put in freezer or it will get bugs) Be sure and rotate. Counts towards grain requirement.


Week 19: SOUP Dry or canned soup, don't forget crackers.


Week 20: JELLO Jello gelatin and Pudding Mixes


Week 21: GARDEN SEEDS Radishes are great in an emergency. They grow fast, full of vitamins and minerals, and full of water. Buy locally if you haven't ordered yet. Here is an address of seed company that will send you there catalog free if you send a self addressed envelope with a couple of stamps. Territorial Seeds P.O. Box 157 Cottage Grove Ore. 97424 They have the kind of seed you can store. Or check out http://www.johnnyseeds.com.


Week 22: SAFETY WEEK A length of cord or twine. Light rope. Flashlight and batteries, (dated)


Week 23: CHEESE Whole 5 lbs, or grate and freeze for casseroles or soup.


Week 24: PAPER PRODUCTS Paper towels, Aluminum foil, garbage bags, freezer bags, etc.


Week 25: CONDIMENTS Mustard, catsup, mayo, relish, Worcestershire.


Week 26: BEDDING Watch for White Sales. Buy a new thermo blanket.


Week 27: JAMS AND JELLIES Sure-Jell, Certo, Parafin, etc. Or buy the jams and jellies. Be sure you have supply of canning jars. Not large mouth, and lids and seals.


Week 28: WATER Fill those water jugs. Use plain Clorox not fresh scent.


Week 29: CANNED MILK Look in Dec. 1989 Ensign for ideas for use. 100 lbs per person.


Week 30: CANNED GOODS Be sure and rotate. We like sardines (small ones). They are rich in protein and cheap.


Week 31: SCHOOL SUPPLIES Back to School Sales. Paper , pencils, journals, envelopes, postage stamps, etc. (Great Stocking Stuffers)


Week 32: STAPLES Baking powder, soda, corn starch, Baking Soda, 2 lbs per person of each item except soda. Buy 3 lbs per person.


Week 33: TOMATOES Juice, whole, sauce, paste, Salsa. Buy or make it. Counts as part of vegetables.


Week 34: CANNED FRUIT 80 quarts per person. Buy or can it yourself.


Week 35: SUGAR 100 lbs per person. Buy an extra 25 lbs.


Week 36: VEGETABLES 150 lbs per person per year. Can or freeze from garden or purchased fresh, or buy canned.


Week 37: BEANS Dry bean, peas, legumes, 100 lbs per person.


Week 38: SWEETNERS Honey, Karo, Molasses, etc. Counts towards sugars.


Week 39: CANNED MEATS Tuna (be sure and rotate) Spam, dried beef, go for 10 cans.


Week 40: IODIZED SALT 10 or more canisters. It seasons & preserves. In a pinch it can be used as a toothpaste or de-icer. Get canning salt for canning.


Week 41: VINEGAR l (or more) gallons. It is a great cleaner too. For cleaning you need white.


Week 42: CANNED SOUP Buy soup when it is on sale. Soup counts towards vegetables.


Week 43: APPLES Do something with all those apples. Pie, applesauce, juice, canned apples with sugar are good. 


Week 44: HARD CANDY On sale after Halloween. Leftovers will make a good addition to your 72 hour emergency kits.


Week 45: VITAMINS 365 vitamins per person. Get extra C and calcium with Vitamin D.


Week 46: TREATS FOR BAKING Cocoa, coconut (gets old) nuts ( store in fridge gets rancid) chocolate chips.


Week 47: GRAINS Rolled Oats, Corn Meal (In fridge) Cream of wheat. (Rotate this, does not store). Counts as a grain. There is an oats you can buy at health food store that does store. I think it is scotch oats. Check and see.


Week 48: SUGARS Brown and white, powdered. 100 lbs per person total.

Week 49: OILS Vegetable and olive oils. Get a good quality. 12 lbs per person.


Week 50: CANDLES AND MATCHES Put in a sturdy box (preferably fireproof) and in a cool place you can locate in dark.


Week 51: POPCORN Go for big twelve pound bags. Counts toward grains.


Week 52: Merry Christmas You have given yourself a great gift of security

Week 50 & 51 Candles Matches and Popcorn

Week 50: CANDLES AND MATCHES Put in a sturdy box (preferably fireproof) and in a cool place you can locate in dark.

We have our matches and candles stored in a #10 can.  We did this years ago so that they would be stored in a water proof place. We have some lighters stored in a dark spot in the garage so that if by chance they should leak they won't help anything or anyone.  Watch for the sales after the first of the year so that you can get a good deal on the 60 hour candle.  Be sure and keep those stored in a dark dry area.  

Week 51: POPCORN Go for big twelve pound bags. Counts toward grains.


We also have several #10 cans of popcorn stored.  My husband can never understand why I wanted popcorn in our food storage.  Now after my research I can tell him one of the important reasons to have popcorn stored.  - it's counted as one of our grains!  It's a sweet grain!  There are so many ways to incorporate popcorn into your meal it's great!  One way is to grind the popcorn into small small partials and add it to your corn meal.  Makes it sooo yummy!  


Thought I would share this yummy popcorn treat with you all!

Sweet Chex Mix (or a.k.a. Popcorn and Whatever You Want Mix)

6 cups Chex cereal
6 cups popped popcorn
2 cups pretzels
1 cup honey roasted peanuts
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup corn syrup
¼ cup butter
½ teaspoon vanilla

Cook together ½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup corn syrup, ¼ cup butter.  Cook over medium heat just until it boils – add vanilla.  Pour over Chex mix and mix everything together and make sure that everything is well coated.  Spread out on a cookie sheet and put in oven for 10-15 minutes on 350 degrees.

I like it best if you have salted and buttered the popped popcorn first.  If I decide to leave the Chex and pretzels out and just use the popcorn, I then substitute more popcorn with the same measured amounts (cup for cup) as the deleted items.  Adding the mixed nuts and the Peanut M&M’s were a really big hit.

When it comes to popcorn don’t limit yourself to the good old popped 

Have a wonderful holiday!  I have missed being at church the last several weeks.  Between being out of town and being sick I haven't been able to enjoy the Christmas music.  I have missed it and seeing all of you!  

Week 48 and Week 49

Week 48: SUGARS Brown and white, powdered. 100 lbs per person total.


This is a great time of year for buying sugar, with all the sales on baking goods stock up and store those sugars.

Sugars and Long Term Food Storage

There are several types of sugar that are suitable for long term storage.  Sugar is particularly sensitive to moisture so it is critical to keep it dry.  Aside from that it’s important to store it with the usual guidelines:  Cool, Dark, and Dry.  Sugar has an indefinite shelf life, though some folks say to use it within two years.  Microbes can’t grow in it and it doesn’t mold or anything.  Good stuff!

Granulated Sugar

This is what you see all over the place at the store and is the cornerstone of your storage plan.  It won’t spoil and if you store it dry and cool it will store forever and a day.  If you happen to get it wet it will cake up and get all hard and crusty.  Never fear!  Just smash it up again and voila, you’re in good shape!

Powdered Sugar

This is good stuff and a cornerstone for icing, frosting, and the like.  It’s actually the exact same stuff as granulated sugar which has been ground even finer.  Sometimes the refinery adds corn starch to prevent caking.  The biggest problem with powdered sugar is that it absorbs water.  If you let moisture in, it will cake up and you won’t be able to get it back to then fine powdery condition you’re used to.  Life goes on.  Since you now know it’s the same stuff as granulated sugar, just use it for that instead!

Brown Sugar

It’s basically granulated sugar with molasses and a bit of caramel coloring.  It comes in Dark and Light variants.  Dark has more molasses and thus a darker color and a stronger flavor.  Brown sugar is different from other sugars in that it is supposed to be moist.    That means you can’t dry it out.  Best bet is to store it the same as other sugar.

Week 49: OILS Vegetable and olive oils. Get a good quality. 12 lbs per person.

Fats and Oils

• Salad Dressings can be store bought and stored, or you can make your own oil and vinegar-based, or mayonnaise-based dressings with items you have on hand in your food storage. Be aware of expiration dates on store bought salad dressings.
• Cooking Oil such as canola, or vegetable oil can be used in most bread recipes. Unless they have been specially treated, *unopened* cooking oils have a shelf life of about a year.
• Shortening has a longer shelf life than oils, it is reasonable to expect an unopened metal can of shortening to have a shelf life of eight to ten years if kept reasonably cool, particularly if it has preservatives in it.
• Mayonnaise can be used in baked dishes, pasta salads, salad dressings, and much more. Although it isn’t necessary to sustain life, it sure makes things taste better. Mayonnaise has a shelf life of 2-3 months.
• Peanut Butter provides protein and monounsaturated fats (the good fat). Peanut butter has a shelf life of 6-9 months.  (taken from foodstoragemadeeasy.com)

Have a great rest of the week!  I am off to Disneyland on Friday with my cheerleaders!