Vote in our poll: What do you want to learn?

A few days ago we asked a question on our Facebook fan page “What aspects of food storage / preparedness would you like to learn more about?” (If you aren’t already following our page, make sure to click “like” while you are there).

We got a lot of great responses and we thought we would make a fun post and poll about it so that more people could get involved. We have copied all of the responses below and if it is something we have covered on the blog (or we have an easy answer to) we have answered it with links if necessary.

If it’s something we haven’t covered much yet, we have added it our Facebook poll and YOU can vote on what you are most interested in learning about.

See What People Asked About, And Our Responses

Step by step instructions on how to store food in mylar bags.
Added to poll

Other ways to store food-like other types of containers or bags.
Added to poll

How to do it on a strict budget and I mean strict.
Try our page on Budgeting/Frugality, lots of great tips and links there.
Also, Top Ten Tips For Emergency Preparedness Tips on a Budget

I need a good, easy way to learn to inventory what I have stored already, what I buy and what I still need. Then how to mark them off when I use them.
This post covers two options for doing inventory, our free spreadsheets and also a software program that you can buy.

Our biggest problem is we are finding members of our family have food allergies such as dairy and wheat and nuts.
Added to poll. We are trying to get some help to write some posts about this topic!

How long a canned item or frozen item is good for.
Added to poll. There are a lot of different recommendations on this topic, in general most people agree that one year is safe for home canned goods. However, many people say that they are edible much longer than that. I think the nutritional value goes down significantly as it gets older though. Hope that helps a bit. As for frozen, we will have to do some research on that!

How you would get a supply of the medicines that you have to take!
Oh boy, we just covered this topic last week on the blog. Check out this post.

I love recipes using food storage… I want to be using my storage rather than just storing it. So, what do I do with all these different TVPs I have??? ♥
We have tons of recipes posted under our “Recipes” tab
We also recently put together an entire free Shelf Stable Recipe Book
Shelf Reliance has lots of food storage recipes on their Recipes page

I also would like to see more ways to store water that don’t cost a ton. I would also like to see a little more on first aid supplies. What the must haves are when it comes to first aid stuff. First aid stuff is very much an important part of Food Storage even if it isn’t food. In a disaster or an emergency it would be good to be prepared.
Adding first aid info to poll, great idea.
For water storage, you can store in juice or pop bottles (ask neighbors for their used ones if you don’t drink these yourself).

Low energy preservation ideas or how to preserve without all the work of canning and freezing.
You can dehydrate foods in a Sun Oven which is fairly light on the work and doesn’t use any energy. Otherwise you would probably just want to buy dehydrated or freeze dried foods if you don’t have the time/energy/desire to preserve on your own.

I need to even really get started. I like the idea of being able to use what you have… it is easier to be able to rotate as you go. Couponing, strict budget, …I have started a garden, but I think I need to change out how I have it done.
If you are just getting started, make sure to sign up for our Babystep Checklists. They will walk you through the whole process in little “doable” steps.
See above recommendations for doing food storage on a budget.

Rodent proofing even your 3 month supply, stuff like cereal, cake mixes, mac and cheese, so hard to do it all!
Adding to poll.

I would love a simple non-computer way to do inventory since I have no computers in my food storage area or kitchen.
Check out the PDF versions of our two calculators. They might help!

Food allergies would also be wonderful.
Added to poll.

Protein products….and how to preserve them
Added to poll. But also check out our Canning page, we have done tutorials on canning chicken and beef.

I am probably the last person to not know how to cook this way, but I would love to learn a lot more about duch oven cooking. I am so not a camper and have never used one before and would love to learn. You do the greatest videos and I would love to see one on Dutch oven cooking.
Added to poll. But also make sure to check back in early June as we are going to be doing a really fun Summer Cooking Adventures project. I think you will like it!

Creative places to store all that food!
Small Spaces Storage Solutions is a must-read for you.

Cooking!
Added to poll. Although see the above comments on “recipe” options.

Homemade mixes that you can store with recipes to use them.
Added to poll.

Vegetarian stuff.
Added to poll.

Also, how to know when to toss something. For instance, I have some pumpkin in cans with a best buy date of April 2010. Does that just mean it won’t have as much flavor now, or would it have actually spoiled? Obviously I wouldn’t want anyone to get sick, but I’d also hate to waste something that was just fine.
Added to poll.

I want to know how to use it without electricity or fuel sources if it comes down to that.
Added to poll. But, watch for our Powerless Cooking Class to be posted online soon, as well as our Summer Cooking Adventures project.

I’d like information on first aid and how to get a supply of my prescription meds. I’m so lost when it comes to first aid it’s not even funny.
Added to poll. And see above comments on medicines.

I’d like to hear some suggestions for MILITARY families who move so frequently and have to deal with different home floor plans and storage, heat, humidity, local rodents, etc. There is a learning-power-curve region by region/country by country.
Added to poll.

Alternative cooking methods & gluten-free baking!
Added to poll.

I need a wheat grinder and to learn how to make bread
We LOVE the WonderMill (either electric or hand grinder, both are awesome).
Try this post on making bread, you can practice with whole wheat flour until you get a grinder.

How to store food in hot climates without a basement; like central California when it hits 110+ degrees in the summer.
Added to poll.

Alternative cooking/heating methods. We are unemployed and can’t spend very much on appliances.
Added to poll. See above comments about more info on this coming up soon!

We live in central ca too and it can get over 100 in summer, I can only keep food in house at 80-85 degrees, is that still Ok? I know it shortens shelf life but by how much. For those who move often, storing in buckets is…
Added to poll.

Budget stuff… “Strict” budget stuff. How to build some stuff you can’t buy… like a dehydrator or solar cooker or a rocket stove.
Added to poll. Lots more tutorials coming up soon!

Oh… wait! Book reviews! 😀
Added to poll. But we HAVE done a few book reviews already 😉

Inventory. Being able to keep track, so nothing goes bad.
See above comments on inventory.

First aid – that’s our focus this month, but we’re having a hard time knowing what to get.
Added to poll.

I would love more info on dehydrating. We recently received a hand me down dehydrator and we are catching ourselves asking “now what?”
Added to poll. We have done a “little” on dehydrating and will add to our Dehydrating Page as we do more!

How to deal with dairy and egg allergy. Prescription and first-aid info.
Added to poll.

We are just starting to look at having a food storage…..but we don’t regularly consume processed food. Is there a way to prepare for an emergency with fresh/dehydrated or frozen food……or do you know of a link/website that may? Thanks!!! 🙂 Oh, yes… I’d also like to do more canning and dehydrating, and regarding canning, I’d like good recipes for low sugar jams and such.
Added to poll. But also, look at our Healthy Food Storage page for some ideas. Also browse through the Self Reliance section of our site for more on canning, dehydrating, etc.

I want to cook with fresh ingredients on a regular basis, because I feel that’s healthiest, but that runs counter to rotating your food storage.
See above comments.

Dutch oven cooking. Apple box cooking. More recipes and how to convert recipes to food storage recipes! Example-Lasagne-what about cheese, cottage cheese, etc…
Added to poll. And see above comments.

How to store cheese/meats.
Added to poll. See above comments on canning meats.

Storing in the closet
See above link for Small Spaces Storage Solutions.

Just got a Excalibur dehydrator…and wanting to know more!
Added to poll. See above comments also.

Gardening. Water storage that is inexpensive AND moveable.
For gardening check out our Gardening Page for links to lots of posts about it.
Also try the eBook our cousin developed. It is AWESOME for beginners
For moveable water storage we would recommend a water storage box kit. You can empty and flatten them when you move.

How to store sensibly when there are a few items you definitely want organic and/or local. Do you simply store what you think you’d eat in an emergency or try to store more of the more expensive item?
This is a personal question that I don’t think there is a set answer for. In general we recommend to store what your family eats so that you can take advantage of sales and you are rotating it into your daily cooking. If you can’t do that due to shelf life, cost, etc., it would make sense to store some “just add water” meals that could get you through a crisis but you would never plan on eating and rotating.

Just scheduling my time to do it needs work.
Check out our “excuses” post for some ideas on how to save or make time for food storage.

Need recipes to make main dish mixes from dehydrated food, to place in mylar & seal for easy meals.
Added to poll.

Vote in the poll, click the image below

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