The world is crazy right now. Food shortages, increasing prices, uncertainty. You may be wanting to prepare more, but not knowing where to start. I am going to share with you my systems and lists I have established to feel more peace as a prepared homemaker..
‘Are you a prepper?’
Me before 2020…‘Prepper? Noooooo, preppers are crazy people who hoard food, buy too much, hide under the ground, and never come out into society.’
Me before 2020…confidently having zero pantry, and bought ‘what I needed, when I needed it’.
Me in 2020…the world is in chaos and closing down. I am asking Winston to hurry home from work so I can make a dash to the grocery store with all the other panic buyers before the world shuts down. Spending so much money on BASICS to make sure I could feed and take care of my family. This is a true story 🙃
People change. Life changes you.
Am I a prepper? At this point I would not claim to be, no. However I think if 2020 taught us anything, it’s that life can be sooo uncertain, and to expect the unexpected. It also taught me how utterly not self-sustainable we were as a family, and I was as a homemaker. How underprepared we were for ANYTHING.
Where am I currently today? Not claiming to be a prepper, but calling myself a prepared homemaker.
I’m a believer in Christ. I have peace despite an uncertain world. But I also want to be able to take care of my family. I am also on a homesteading journey, and it’s a lot of work cooking most every meal at home and trying to grow and raise some of my own food. But it’s WORTH IT. I am the keeper of my home, and I am cooking, baking, cleaning, serving, preparing, making, and doing. Just the way I feel called to! I love having a fully stocked pantry that I can run to and grab from when I need something. Having a well stocked pantry not only gives me peace of mind that I have what I need when the unexpected comes my way, it also just helps me! Less grocery store trips = more time to be doing more important things.
Below I will share my system, tips and tricks, and finally my lists that I like to keep on hand.
Disclaimer
I don’t claim to have the ‘right way’ when it comes to pantry and food storage. I’ve been on a two year learning journey myself. And I don’t claim to have ‘arrived’ either. There are so many ways that you can provide for your family. So many different convictions, budgets, and styles of storage. I’m just going to share what’s been working for my family and what I’ve learned the past couple of years. My hope is that somewhere in this post you will find something insightful that benefits your family.
Creating a more prepared pantry
Where to start?
Start by setting a clear goal based on what you (or you and your spouse) feel are needs for your family.
Is your goal to cook from home more? Or maybe you’re trying to build a more prepared pantry?
Do you want to build up a stockpile of long-term food storage? Or maybe you just want to have a better pantry full of food so you’re not making constant trips to the store for little things.
Hardcore preppers will sometimes plan ahead to have food stored for six months, a year, or ten years. And if that’s your goal – great!
My current pantry system
I like to keep two types of storage systems in my home. It’s what makes sense for our little family, and what I like to do as a homemaker and keeper of my home. I have:
- A working pantry in my kitchen. This is containers of baking supplies and food storage that I am using regularly and expires sooner.
- A longer term storage pantry. This is my bulk food storage – the storage for all the things I keep plenty of on hand.
Throughout each month we eat through and use everything as usual, and then at the beginning of each month I take stock of what we have used up, and begin by restocking those things. I then shop a weekly smaller grocery trip for fresh fruits and veggies, dairy, all the things that don’t keep long term, and for an occasional need that I don’t have.
How to know what to buy?
The majority of what you buy to keep in your bulk pantries should be WHAT YOU WILL EAT. I can’t stress this enough. To create doable, logical food storage, buying extra of what you already eat and store makes sense. And you can simply begin your extra storage by buying a bit extra every time you shop. Do you like canned black beans? Buy four instead of two this week. Do you eat a lot of rice, or bake a lot of bread? Grab an extra bag each time you shop for it. Simple little steps can build up a good sized pantry while avoiding feeling overwhelmed. This is the way I have built my pantry, and my budget has not been large. It’s doable!
What about an emergency or super-long-term storage?
Depending on your budget and your personal convictions, you may feel the need to keep even LONGER term food storage. Things you don’t normally eat, or an ‘emergency food storage’. For example, you can buy prepared emergency food kits which are solely for the purpose of sustaining you and your family in an emergency. I am not going to say that having a separate ‘emergency food’ storage is completely out of the question for us, but so far in my pantry journey it hasn’t been in my budget, or been a high priority to plan that far in advance. Maybe someday.
Buying and Storing Food in bulk
I realize buying a lot of food storage is going to be hard on some budgets. I am/was there. One thing that’s helped my healthy living/pantry storage be a bit more affordable is to buy in bulk. A lot of times bulk food is much more affordable when you break it down to cost per pound, even though you’re paying more up front. And when you also take into account less trips to the grocery store, you are saving money and time there too.
Buying in bulk may occasionally take a bit of saving for the upfront cost, such as when I buy my meat in bulk. I bought 1/2 of a cow last fall (together with my sister), and while the upfront cost was more than the cost of buying a couple of pounds per week in my grocery trip, I ultimately saved SO MUCH, and the quality of meat is absolutely incredible. So much better than store-bought.
I don’t buy everything in bulk! Currently I buy my baking staples, meat, flour, oats, rice, sugar, and sometimes beans in bulk. All the things I use regularly. I also keep a lot of cans, extra fats, and spices on hand.
Where to shop for bulk food?
There are a variety of options for bulk food shopping. Costco is a great, somewhat local
place to start, and usually has a decent selection of organic options, which are what I look for. Azure standard is also a great option. Some online stores sell bulk food/bulk organic food. And a lot of times I shop the local Amish bulk food stores near me.
Caution
Quick note.. there are SOME things that should not be stored in bulk for long periods of time. Foods that are higher in oils will go bad much quicker – think brown rice, nuts, ground wheat flour, etc. But keep in mind, this is for long term storage. If you are wanting to keep some food items for a year or so, and monitor them to make sure they are staying fresh before use, go for it! I still try to store a lot of healthy food, since that’s predominantly what we eat.
Rodents
Be careful when storing your food long term that it is in totes/containers or buckets that are not able to be gotten into by rodents.
Humidity
This can affect your storage also. I struggle with my storage being in my laundry room, since the humidity can be much higher. But it’s my only space I have in my small house, so I just keep a hygrometer in there to monitor the humidity level.
Bugs
You have to be careful with bugs getting into your storage. Once they get in, they can multiply and spread to all your food, so it’s important to make sure you are keeping tabs on that. An easy way to do this is to freeze your pasta or flour etc as it comes home from the store for 3-4 days. Bring it out and let it completely thaw and dry, and then store as usual. This will ensure that any bugs that may have been in there die. Or you can also store your larger bulk foods in airtight buckets with oxygen absorbers, which will also not allow bugs to survive.
My Storage
Currently I am storing my working pantry items in small glass containers that are easily moved around my kitchen. My bulk inventory of those items I keep in my long term store in totes, 5 gallon buckets with Gamma lids, or Mylar bags to help with longevity and humidity. I also store things in mason jars. Another thing I’ve tried to do lately is to store all my pasta boxes in totes to hopefully have an extra layer of protection for longevity, and to protect from bugs.
Space to store food
ALSO…space. Space can be so tricky. I currently live in an 1100 square foot house, which is…small. Not a lot of storage space. I do not currently have a root cellar or basement (although it is in the plans if we are here for a while), and space is just scarce here. So I make do 🤷🏼♀️ I find space where I can! I get creative. I’ve even seen a fellow homemaker store bulk food under her bed. It might not be optimal? But if you’re passionate about it – you can find a way!
Things I keep on hand in my Pantry
Grains
- Quick and Regular Oats. I keep about 25-50 pounds of quick oats on hand, as those are the oats we eat the most. I store them in my 5 gallon buckets with a Gamma lid. I also keep some regular oats on hand, for baking or other needs.
- Popcorn. We use a air popper for our popcorn, since it’s much healthier to eat then processed microwave. I keep kernels on hand for that.
- Long grain rice.
- Quinoa/brown rice. I store a small amount of these, since they expire much fasting then white/long grain.
- Someday I hope to have wheat berries and a mill to grind them into flour. Of all the grains wheat berries store well for YEARS. And are a much better option if you for long term storage….. one thing at a time. 😉
Baking supplies
- White flour. I keep a large amount of organic white flour on hand. I do SO much baking, so it’s important to me to have a large amount of flour on hand. I have a large majority in Mylar bags, because of the ever changing humidity of my laundry room I wanted to do a little extra to help my long term storage stay successful I’m there. And flour can be sensitive to humidity. I almost always have at least 50 lbs of flour on hand currently.
- Wheat flour. I also keep organic wheat flour on hand. Most of my recipes I use at least half wheat flour, for nutritional value. Wheat flour does not last as along as white, because of the higher oil content so I don’t store as much on hand.
- Corn meal. I don’t have this in bulk, but I keep it in my pantry to make my own cast iron corn bread.
- Baking powder
- Baking soda. I keep larger amounts of soda on hand, becuase it can be used for cleaning and air purifying, in addition to baking.
- Cocoa powder
- Salt. The majority of what I use is Pink Himalayan salt, but I also keep some regular iodized salt on hand as well, in storage.
- Vanilla
- Cornstarch
- Yeast. I try to keep plenty of yeast on hand. I bake my own bread multiple times a week, so this is an important for me to keep.
- Sourdough starter. I know you’ve probably seen the rise of people taking on sourdough starters, and bread etc. BUT. There IS good reason for it. Your sourdough starter is something that can last forever! Generations. And is a yeast that can be created with simply flour and water. So it’s a powerful tool to keep on hand, not only for cooking and baking, but to have for an emergency backup. I keep mine in my fridge, and pull it out occasionally to feed, or if I want to bake with it.
Sugar
- Honey. Raw, local Honey is my main source of sweetener is my recipes, and baking. So I like to keep a good amount on hand when i can.
- Maple syrup. This is also a great natural sugar sweetener that I use.
- White granulated sugar. I actually keep a decent amount on hand. In pantry storage, or 5 gallon bucket with a Mylar. I don’t use it very often in my home, but it is something that is cheap, and easy to keep, and can be used in a variety of ways in your home if needed.
- Organic raw sugar. Generally if I am baking/cooking and using regular sugar this is what I use. A lot of times in a combination with honey. So I keep this on hand.
- Brown sugar.
- Powdered sugar.
- Molasses. To make my own bbq sauce. (So easy! Maybe I’ll share the recipe sometime.)
Fats
- Olive oil. I do use olive oil a lot on recipes. There is talk about olive oil’s smoke point, but I prefer it in recipes currently that I don’t have to cook super hot. Just do your own research and figure out what you’re comfortable with.
- Avocado oil. Better for you then olive oil, but also more expensive.
- Coconut oil. I keep a good amount of this on hand. It’s so good for you. And so versatile. But I also don’t love when my cooking and baked goods taste like coconut, so I don’t use it as often in my recipes as id like.
- Butter. I like to keep a good amount in my freezer of just regular, butter. On backup. Since I do so much cooking/baking at home. When I can I do try to buy grass fed butter for our family, usually weekly though, as it’s much more pricey per pound. But SO GOOD for you!
Herbs and spices
I like to always make sure I have spices on hand, and some back up. We do so much of our weekly eating in the home and it’s just so nice to have this variety. I feel like I can grab most any recipe and make what I want wirh these, without having to make a trip to the store.
- Parsley (my personal favorite to cook with)
- Basil
- Thyme
- Rosemary
- Chili powder
- Cumin
- Paprika
- Oregano
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Black pepper
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Cloves
- Allspice
- Ginger
- Taco season (I also make my own)
Canned food
Canned food is of course not the healthiest for you, BUT.. I like to always keep a decent amount on hand for the ‘in case’ situations, or for busy times/convenience. I always try to buy organic if I can, just to try to get the *best* option when eating canned food. But not everything canned in my cupboard (and pantry) is organic. It’s just not feasible for our budget. Pick and choose, and add where you can.
I like to keep on hand a decent supply of:
- Canned beans. Usually black, kidney, pinto, garbanzo.
- Tomato’s. Sauce, diced, and paste. I make my own spaghetti sauce a lot of the time, so I keep plenty on hand.
- Veggies. Green beans, and corn are usually my main veggie.
- Evaporated milk
- Sweetened condensed milk.
- Cream of soups. Not great for you (🥴), but we also live real life, and I use them sometimes.
- Canned meat. Usually tuna, chicken salmon, and sardines. We don’t really eat much canned meat, but occasionally, and I like these for ‘just in case’.
- Soups. I personally hate canned soup.. I think they taste gross. But again.. this one is a ‘just in case’ item for me to have.
Other pantry staples
- Spaghetti sauce
- Pasta. Usually different kinds, spaghetti, regular organic wheat pastas, Mac and cheese.
- Ketchup
- Vinegar. I clean with this, I keep at least a couple jugs on hand.
- Protein powder
- Peanut butter
- Protein bars
- Granola bars
- Nuts
- Deep freezer full of meat. 1/4 of a cow, and I buy a bunch of whole chicken breasts and keep in my deep freeze. I then have chicken and bones for bone broth.
Non-food pantry items
I am going to share some things I keep in my ‘pantry’ to feel prepared that aren’t actually food. I won’t go into huge detail, maybe save this for another time. But since these things are in my pantry areas too, I wanted to include them.
- First aid kit
- Batteries. AA, AAA, C.
- Flashlights.
- Matches
- Lighters
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Beeswax candles
- Bulk Toilet paper
- Bulk paper towels
- Some extra personal care items.
- Supplements. This is a post for another time when I can go into more depth on everything I buy and from where, but I do keep a large majority of supplements in my pantry on hand. Zinc, Vitamin C and D, probiotics (life 9), lypospheric C, elderberries, colloidal silver, pain medicine of different variates for adults and kids, allergy medicine, activated charcoal, echinacea, beta glucan, and a variety of some other supplements that I’ve had on hand for a little while now.
Conclusion
Does creating a prepared pantry overwhelm you?
Ok, so you made it all the way through, and you happen to glance at your pantry, and maybe you don’t have stored enough to make you feel at peace. Then you look at the list again, and now you’re really feeling overwhelmed.
Don’t be!
It’s taken me two intentional years to get where I am now, and my budget did NOT afford to just go out and buy everything right at once. So what did I do? Each month I pick a couple items to stock up, it doesn’t have to be huge! It might even just be 3 extra bags of flour, and 2 containers of baking soda one month. The next month stock up on your oats, maybe some canned beans. Now you’re starting your storage. Slowly you will see your storage grow.
Then at some point you’ll feel that peace come knowing you are a homemaker, in a home that is prepared. You can serve your family, or take care of your community. Less trips to the grocery store, and more peace of mind when life comes at you in crazy ways.
What are some things you like to keep stocked up in your pantry? Tell me below!
