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!

2012 brought a lot of changes to my family … at the beginning of the year we welcomed Baby #4 into our family … and at the end of the year we moved into a new home. Both things brought us a lot of joy and happiness, and also a lot of stress and chaos. I’m excited for a fresh start in 2013 and have lots of plans for things I want to accomplish.

Aside from the typical resolutions (lose the rest of my baby weight now that she is turning ONE, get myself organized and on a housecleaning schedule, etc.) I also have a few specific food storage goals that are important to me.

GOAL #1: ORGANIZE MY PANTRY

In my old house we used a coat closet in the hall as a pantry, and eventually added a cupboard unit into the kitchen that I packed with food as well. I have a huge pantry in my new house and I am so excited to use it, organize it, and pack it to the gills. The problem is I’ve been having “pantry paralysis” because I want to make it just perfect. Half my food is in boxes on the floor, the other half is just shoved in haphazardly, and a ton of what I want to keep in there is still in my basement or I need to re-stock up on. It’s a PROBLEM!

Next Steps:
I’m going to start by putting all my cans into my Shelf Reliance shelves (love these for rotation!). Then put everything else on the kitchen counter and use some of the tips from our Facebook friends to figure out how to put it all back in in a way that makes sense. Wish me luck! I’m hoping to have this done and restocked by the end of January (I depleted quite a bit in anticipation of moving).

  

GOAL #2: TRY NEW FOOD STORAGE RECIPES WEEKLY

I am GREAT at being able to turn almost any recipe into a “food storage recipe”. However, a lot of my regular meals don’t include many of the long term food storage foods. I love using my food storage for the cost savings and health benefits and of course for ROTATION, so I want to make it a big goal this year to be better at that. I’m starting with an “easy” goal of one new recipe a week that focuses on grains or legumes. I’ll definitely be sharing the results of this goal!

Next Steps:
I have a TON of food storage books that I’ve been collecting. I’m going to pull them out and start putting sticky notes on recipes I want to try, then as I do my weekly meal planning session I can easily find one or two and incorporate into my plan. Since they are food storage recipes I “SHOULD” have all the ingredients on hand so no additional groceries necessary

GOAL #3: SET UP MY FOOD STORAGE ROOM

Since you follow our blog, you probably know that I wouldn’t move into a house that didn’t have a great food storage room Problem is there is a lot of work to be done with this room. They left a bunch of wood in there that needs to be ripped out, then I have to get all my shelving put in, decide how to organize my water storage, put the food on the shelves, and RESTOCK since I had been eating all my food and not buying anything new for about 6 months. I’m overwhelmed! Again, I want this to be amazing and useful and efficient, so I have a hard time starting on it until I know I can do it right. Our family has grown since I last did a big inventory so I think I have a lot to add to my long term storage. Babysteps right???

Next Steps:
Once my upstairs pantry is finished, I’ll get my sweet husband to help me with the “mechanical” parts of the food storage room. It is a cold storage so it needs a door put on it to keep the cold in and the heat out. Once I get my shelving systems in I can make a plan for where I want what items. Then I’ll get everything onto shelves so I can do my inventory. Then I’ll stock up as my budget and time allow. I’m hoping to get pretty squared away by springtime.

    

GOAL #4: BECOME MORE SELF RELIANT

One of the main reasons we moved is because we wanted to have a bigger yard. We experimented with having backyard chickens and have done some square foot gardening as well. I just LOVE being able to grow and preserve my own foods and this year my goal is to expand on those skills and do it on a larger scale. I am excited to make plans while the weather is still chilly and implement them in the spring. One new thing we are going to try is growing our own meat chickens, oh and we’re finally going to get fruit trees, hurray! Wish me luck!

Next Steps:
We need to make a layout of our new backyard and where we are planning to put everything. We are also setting aside money each month to help pay for some of the initial costs. I’m starting to research the fruit tree varieties in my area to decide what we want to get. My husband and I are fighting about whether to do traditional garden beds or multiple raised beds again. This is a HUGE project so I may not have everything set for this year, but I know for sure I will get my fruit trees and bushes in.

Stay tuned later this week for Julie’s food storage resolutions, and feel free to come share some of YOURS over on our Facebook page. We’ve had lots of great comments already!