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Friday, January 1, 2010

A resolution for the new year

I plan to become prepared for possible disasters. We have been informed of required furlough days at work (10 hours every month without pay or compensation). This will cut into my budget significantly. I read this article and recommitted to doing as the prophets have asked (and as Joseph did in Egypt) and will complete my storage this year. It will be challenging, of course, along with the pay cuts. But, as the woman in the story said, obedience brings blessings. Obviously this means more than wheat in the basement. We attend seminars in emergency planning at work and the number one advice for us there is to get our own homes in order. See Be Ready Utah. There is no way to supply the demand for an entire community in a disaster. There is no room to store for all as in ancient Egypt. But, if every home has a supply of food and other needs, we can survive and render assistance to others in need.

There are hundreds of sites to help. Here are a few: The church has an online food storage calculator here. More information on disaster planning and survival can be found here. Some bulk buying tips can be found here. Shelf life is listed here. Red Cross kits are here. Once you get going you will get lost in all the available helps and information from the Red Cross, FEMA, CDC, etc.

Out with the Old

When looking at Debbie Harman’s food storage recipes, consider your own supplies.

Often we are quick to assume that our unperishables are . . . unperishable. But many of those items sitting in your food storage will not last forever. Here are guidelines for when some of the basics need to be thrown out:

Pancake mix: 6-9 months

Crackers: 6 months

Pasta (without egg solids): 1 year

Cereals: 6-12 months (but they can go stale quickly if opened)

Plain white rice, in airtight container: 2 years

Popcorn: 1-2 years

Canned fruit: 12-18 months (unopened)

Baking powder and soda: 6 months (opened)

Flour: 6-8 months

Sugar: 2 years (indefinite if kept free of moisture)

Prepared cake, pudding, and biscuit mixes: 9-12 months

Shortening: 18 months (unopened)

Vanilla extract: 1 year (opened)

(Source: LDS Living)

2 comments:

  1. Two thought here. First your emegency survival planning needs to include the three G's God, guns and gold. God for the obvious reasons. guns to protect yourself and your supplies from those that would take it from you, and gold because your dollars will have no value soon. The gold is symbolic of anything you could trade for the things you need. Some of us believe in the near future ammunition will be worth as much as gold. The second thought here is don't tell everyone what you have. If they know you have it and they don't when it comes time to need it they might come after it. Hence the gun.

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  2. Great reminders! I need to re-stock our 72-hour kits. Clothes are surely outgrown and food is probably nasty by now! Great new years' resolution, by the way.

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