About the middle of last year (2011) I told my husband I needed more room for food and that he needed to “build me a pantry!” At first he looked at me a little oddly, then he said, “Well, I guess I could put some shelves up in that first bedroom.” I was thrilled because we rarely have anyone sleep in that room and there was an empty wall.
He sprang into action pretty quickly and now we have an entire wall that I have enjoyed filling up with canned goods and paper products and water, etc. Feeling very good about our progress. I was aiming for a three months supply and I am getting close.
With the noticeable rise in food prices, I was a little worried about being able to afford to fill our new pantry. But as I have really dedicated my heart and pocket-book to getting this done, I find a little extra every trip I make to the store. I target the “bag your own” stores such as Aldi and Sav a Lot to stock up on canned goods. Their brands are excellent. I watch for buy-one-get-one sales and use coupons as often as I can.
These are all simple, common sense things to do; I know that; but here’s THE thing: Only one other time in my life have I had food storage in my home and that was 40 years ago. I am serious about it and feeling it in my gut that I need to do this. I am determined.
Preparedness Pro has nudged me along and I am thankful. I don’t make it burden or drain on my budget. I just do what I can when I can. And I am doing it!
L. H. FL
23 Comments
Barbara Tarleton Underwood · April 3, 2012 at 8:57 pm
Well done. Love it when a plan comes together.
Mary Brotherton · April 5, 2012 at 2:31 am
Atta girl!
Derek M. · April 3, 2012 at 9:47 pm
Vote for Preppers Outreach Contest
Mary Brotherton · April 5, 2012 at 2:37 am
How exactly do we vote?Is leaving a comment the same as a vote?
Linda Flaming · April 3, 2012 at 9:52 pm
That is one of my goals for this summer. I have room in my basement for a nice pantry, but my son has filled it with clutter. I am going to empty it out and get some more shelving down there and start filling them up! I had a good start on it one time, but then my husband was in a bad motorcycle accident and we lost our bread winner, so we ended up having to eat everything I had saved. Now we are starting from scratch again.
Carl · April 3, 2012 at 10:36 pm
You sound a lot like me when I was stationed in Hawaii back in ’93-’95 and would deploy for 3 months at a time. I would stock the pantry for my wife so she didn’t need much of anything except milk, fresh meat, eggs, n bread. 4 months of canned n dry goods, diapers, infamil formula, T/P n so forth. !st trip she thought I was nuts. Second trip rolled around she was like”what are you waiting on, an invitation?” I haven’t changed much since then.
charles lawyer · April 4, 2012 at 2:22 am
preparedness pro is awesome and i do the same thing, buy a little each week 2 get prepared 4 anything.
BJ Cunningham · April 4, 2012 at 4:53 am
Very inspiring. It’s so easy to get completely overwhelmed when you think about all the stuff you *could* do to prep; but your article shows how even small steps to saving money and getting prepared add up.
Jane · April 4, 2012 at 11:46 am
I am very encouraged and excited to know that others are building their own pantries. I took the spare bedroom downstairs and put in shelving. I LOVE MY PANTRY! I have three months worth of food, basic essentials and medical products to weather any storm that may come my way. Storing the essentials saves time, money and energy.
Connie Doyle · April 4, 2012 at 10:33 pm
We have run out of pantry space too, and now are taking over a spare bedroom.
sheri · April 5, 2012 at 12:43 am
way to go mom…..i will be over to shop later! so proud of you
Suzan Wilson · April 5, 2012 at 2:07 am
Hey, that’s my mom who wrote this article 🙂 She is a hard worker. Good job, mom!
Debi · April 5, 2012 at 3:07 am
Preparedness begins where we’re at, and sometimes you have to get creative about how to maximize your space. Way to go, and keep stocking those shelves!
Laurel Price · April 5, 2012 at 5:56 am
Nice job! Does your husband hire out? I could always use more shelves.
Teresa · April 5, 2012 at 11:35 am
Nice Job!
Kathy Russell · April 5, 2012 at 5:17 pm
Way to “do it”!
Kathy Russell · April 5, 2012 at 5:17 pm
Never too late to start…
Kathy Russell · April 5, 2012 at 5:18 pm
I’d love to see pictures…
Kathy Russell · April 5, 2012 at 5:19 pm
Had never thought of using an inside extra bedroom, or other room…nice!
Kathy Russell · April 5, 2012 at 5:20 pm
Does the pantry have doors?
Mary Brotherton · April 5, 2012 at 11:41 pm
I’d like to know a few things. What are your plans for when the pantry is filled? How long until you fill it? What was the first thing you placed on the shelves? If you could prepare with only one product, what would that be? How many different products do you think you have on the shelves? I still think it’s a brilliant idea to have made a special pantry for preparing. Good job!
sharon · April 6, 2012 at 5:10 pm
i lived in a small apt. with literally no storage. so i put book shelves along a wall in my bedroom and stacked them too. as they were filled with food and supplies it started looking tacky and was visible to anyone at the door. so i put up sheets for curtains that matched my room and hid the whole thing! my kids and i called it the “pochyclips closet”
Debi · April 12, 2012 at 10:55 pm
You can only accomplish the overwhelming task of getting prepared one step at a time. You do this one can, one pack of toilet paper and one bag of rice at a time.
Comments are closed.