Julie's New Years Food Storage Resolutions

So people keep telling me it’s 2013 but I barely believe it. I started out 2012 sick, and pregnant and moving into a new house. If you’re thinking you’re reading the same post from Monday you aren’t. Both Jodi and I had babies and moved last year. Starting out 2013 with a fresh slate (and not having morning sickness) feels invigorating. In 2012, I felt happy to just survive. This year I’m excited to make some progress and learn new things.

GOAL #1: FINISH ALL BUCKET FOODS EXCEPT WHEAT

After several years now of eating my food storage, I think I’ve figured out my style. I don’t really like big buckets of things. I find them hard to open and I always spill stuff out of them. I also have a hard time sending one of my boys down to get food out of a bucket. If I tell my 5 year old to go grab a #10 can of something, he can manage that, but pulling food out of a bucket is harder. (I’m not lazy, I’m teaching my kids to work….riiiight?!) So I want to eat up all the foods that are in buckets except for the wheat, and then get those foods in #10 cans from now on. We use wheat fast enough that storing them in #10 cans wouldn’t be as economical, or practical. I just keep a bucket in my pantry.

Next Steps:
I’m going to inventory what I have in buckets and make a plan for using them. I know off hand I have quite a bit of 9 grain cereal, 16 bean soup mix, and black beans. I need to figure out a good way to use 9 grain cereal… I don’t like eating it as cereal. I’ve tried. I give up.

GOAL #2: GARDEN PLAN

So PLEASE don’t read my last year’s resolutions, because this is just a repeat. I failed terribly at the gardening thing. Pregnancy number 3 took a TOLL on me ok! Since we moved into this new house I have been wanting to do a good garden plan for outside. I’m kind of a little OCD so I think I’m afraid of doing it wrong, or regretting the choices I make. Two years ago I had a garden at my mom’s and that was good practice, but this year I really want to have my own that I will love, and use.

Next Steps:
I think I need to lock myself in a room with about 50 books and websites and really figure this out. No that is overwhelming! I’m going to talk to a few of my friends who garden and make a plan that I can expand on in the future, but maintain for now. I seriously have nothing started, so this is going to be a BIG project. First, the snow needs to melt… but I can do some planning in my warm cozy house at least.

GOAL #3: FIX MY #10 PANTRY CAN PROBLEM

The bottom of my pantry is a little bit of a problem. It’s a huge space but there’s no real use for it. My whole pantry is a little bit silly actually. Its really narrow and deep. I don’t think a cook designed it, but whatever. So I want to figure out a way to put my #10 cans of food up and have them usable. Up until a couple weeks ago they were just obnoxiously stacked in there and I had to sort through them all to find anything. Just 2 weeks ago, I had a BRILLIANT idea of writing what they were on the tops and that has helped, but I think they are scratching my floor and they are still just floating in there.

Next Steps:
I have already looked into rotating shelves that are narrow, but even those are a teeny bit too wide. I think I might have to get something built, or something. I have a lot of #10 cans of veggies in there (the fruits and grains are somewhere else) so I need to figure out how to best use the space.

Did you see Jodi’s food storage resolutions earlier this week? Feel free to come share some of YOURS over on our Facebook page. We’ve had lots of great comments already!