I stopped by a cousin’s house today, I hadn’t seen him in over a year. It was good to touch base, we have a lot of common beliefs. He conceal-carries, is self-employed, has a problem with what is happening to our country, and doesn’t know how to get ready for it.

In particular, he didn’t know how to stock his pantry for eventual emergencies. Since he works in the construction industry, his paycheck has dwindled down to “just getting by”, so it’s not like he can go on a huge spending spree. And, like me, he doesn’t have or believe in having a credit card, whatever he purchases has to be done in small increments. He doesn’t believe he can set himself in a better position, food-wise.

As much as I hate to say this out loud, knowing he’ll probably read this, he is wrong. And here is how he, or anyone else in a poor financial situation, can get it done. Easily.

The method I suggested is called “copy canning”.

Copy canning is simply modifying one small aspect of your shopping, and changing one small portion of your food storage habits.

The change made while shopping is simple. When you buy an item you plan on using that week, simply purchase two of them. The alternative change for storage is to find another place to stock food other than where you are storing it now, and put the extra item there.

Let me break it down with the how and why.

Let’s say you are planning on buying a can of green beans. Instead of buying one can, pick up two. Its that simple. When you get home and start putting everything away, take the second can, and store it somewhere else. Use the can you put in your regular storage space, and the next time you need a can of green beans, put it on the shopping list like you normally would, being sure to not use the second can you purchased (unless there is an emergency of course).

The next time you go shopping and need to replace that can of green beans, again buy two

of them. When you get home, take both cans to your alternate spot, and remove the first can stored there and put it in your pantry. This is called “rotation”. This keeps your oldest items in the front to be used first.

Repeat this with the green beans until you feel you have enough to last you thirty days. Then do it with something else you eat regularly.

Every time you go shopping, you will be increasing your stored items by one. Do this with a few items every shopping trip, and in a very short time, you will have established a stockpile of extra food without breaking the bank or feeling like you are overspending to do it.

To recap,

• Buy what your normally would. There is no reason to purchase something you won’t eat.
• When you would normally purchase one, buy two. Keep in mind this works best on canned and boxed items. Buying two gallons of milk rarely works out with this method.
• Store the extra purchased item somewhere other than where you normally put your canned or boxed foods. This can be under a bed, in a closet, under a couch or some other place you don’t normally store food. You do this to keep it separate in your mind. If the spot where you keep your green beans has two cans, you will just use them both then go buy another can. If the spot is empty after using one can, you are mentally prepared to have to go buy another can to replace it.
• When replacing the used item, again buy an additional one (or two!). Take the newly purchased items to the alternative storage place, and put them there, and move the oldest item to the normal food storage place. This establishes a rotation routine to keep your oldest food in place to be used soonest, making your food system more efficient.

If you want to get even more thrifty in expanding your storage, start looking for sales on the items you already buy. BOGOs, or “Buy One, Get One Free”, are a great way to quickly expand your food storage. Coupons are another way. Many stores allow a manufacturer coupon and a store coupon to be used together on an item, increasing your savings. The “Ultimate” technique, and the one used by the Super Couponers, is to use all three together, BOGO, manufacturer coupon, and store coupon…saving as much as 100% of the item price.

But couponing is a topic for another article…..

EVERYONE should have extra food set aside, if for no other reason than to save the fuel in driving out for a single item you MUST  have for that meal. There are many times our extra has saved us in situations both small and large. Once established, your extra food storage becomes much like a small store stocked with thing you always use. It’s a great resource to have…

…just in case.

Peace,
db

Here is how strongly I feel about this being a part of your regular routine. If you are having issues understanding or getting started, contact me via email and I’ll walk you through the process personally. If you are local, I’ll even go shopping with you to step you through it if needed.

As always, please “like” FloridaHillbilly on Facebook, subscribe to my feed, and tell your friends! The more folks that start preparing themselves, the less likely they are to knock on your door to ask you for a can of green beans at two in the morning!