"i just need a simple list!"

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oddly enough, i've had like 3 or 4 people tell me this week that they are wanting to start their food storage, or have put it on hold for a little while and don't know how to get back into it. someone told me that if they just had a "simple list" to get it going, it would be way easier.

so... it's not really a simple answer, but i'll tell you my opinion, for whatever it's worth. the church guidelines at this point are:

(1) store water, 14 gallons per person,

(2) get 3-months of food,

(3) save a "reasonable" amount of money, and

(4) then work on your "longer-term" (year) supply.

so.... the one that's easy to check off your list is water. it's easy to buy the water, count it and know if you have the recommended about. remember babies, elderly and pets will need more.

and for your three-month supply, really the best thing is to store what your family eats. i know that sounds so broad, and this was overwhelming for me when i started, but here is a list of the regular things i stock up on and make sure to include in my 3-month supply (this is totally just to get you brainstorming and thinking of what you and your kids would eat, if it's not helpful for you, ignore it):

• cereal - i personally would be completely content to eat cereal for breakfast lunch and dinner every day, so this is easy to store and i'm always happy to have it


• side note: since we do eat a lot of cereal, i'm also going to stock up on morning moo powdered milk on the next order (probably june or july when we'll do it again)


• canned fruit - we don't normally eat canned fruit, b/c i always buy fresh, but i don't mind it, and i certainly would be happy to eat it if i couldn't get to the store for fresh.


• crackers, fruit snacks goldfish, granola bars, graham crackers, raisins, teddy grahams ("kid snacks") -- these often go on sale and then i stock up b/c my kid eats them every day


• spaghetti sauce


• tomato sauce and paste


• canned tuna


• certain kinds of canned soup that we like


• pasta


• bbq sauce, ketchup, salad dressing


• sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, chocolate chips (i buy at costco in 7 lb bags, it lasts forever, and you never know when you'll have a chocolate emergency!)


• cooking spray


• macaroni and cheese


• canned chicken (which is a total turn-off, but i have found like 3 or 4 recipes where i've tried subbing canned chicken for chicken breast and it's close enough, so i figure it's a good protein to have on hand just in case


• flour


• salsa


• peanut butter


• rice


• ramen noodlesand


• i'm positive there's tons more, but that's what i can think of off the top of my head...

i also recently got a deep freeze and have been able to stock up on bread, meats and frozen vegetables (as i find canned vegetables to be an abomination).

i also personally hate beans, so i don't store them. but i know that these are a good item to store as they are versatile, cheap, easy to store and a good source of protein. ditto for canned chili.

as for your long-term supply - like your grains and stuff (all the "cannery" type things), i don't really know what would be the most important yet. i'm pretty much at the beginning of my food storage learning, so i haven't gotten there yet (i figure it's step 4, so i'm not beating myself up that i haven't quite gotten there yet).

this is a really great and thorough blog and has a spreadsheet of items you would probably want to include in your long-term storage and a calculator of how much inventory you need. here is the link.

what items do you stock up on in your regular rotation?