Starting A New LTFS On A Budget

 

A big life change and cross country move into a darling tiny home on a small lot in a 55+ community in the mountains required a lot of downsizing in order for me to be able to successfully accomplish this goal.  That included the complete obliteration of my two year long term food storage system (LTFS).  I literally gave it all away and believe me when I say, it hurt, a lot.  The big question once I got here was would I build a new one and before I was even settled in I knew the answer.  Yes!

 

I was able to bring the dehydrated and freeze dried foods

As the summer was winding down and we headed into fall I was already working on a new plan and a strategy.  The first thing I did was to sit down with the spreadsheet I had made up for tracking the inventory of my old LTFS and reconfigure it for my current lifestyle.  The most important question one should ask is who are you stockpiling for?  Me,

 

Slowly I am beginning to add items like those
2 big jars of peanut butter behind the cocoa powder

The next thing I did was go through the spreadsheet and eliminate everything I personally do not want to eat and anything that wasn’t a necessity.  Next I determined how much of each item I will need to store in order to feed myself for six months.  I decided to do this in baby steps for several reasons.  One, I don’t have the space in this home I had in my last one.  Two, I don’t want this process to have a big impact on my budget. Three, I don’t want to acquire too much and risk food waste.  Four, I want the time to make wise decisions about what I am stockpiling and how much I am paying for it.

 

I made this spreadsheet to help me plan and track my inventory

I even got some freebies!

In the past I have talked about all the reasons why I have one, not the least of which is simply to be prepared for any unexpected situation that may arise.  Inclement weather and power outages, unforeseen financial situations such as car or home repairs, a sudden loss of income, there are many reasons to be better prepared.  Having a LTFS system in place has allowed me to be able to successfully retire early and combat the rise in grocery prices we’ve been seeing.  It also gives me great peace of mind.

The cloth storage cubes I bought at Dollar Tree can safely
hold lighter items like dehydrated potatoes, pasta and baking mixes 

My first LTFS did not happen overnight.  I began in 2020, during the pandemic, after witnessing seemingly normal people act anything but normal as grocery store shelves were cleared and fights broke out while people panic shopped.  I decided right then and there to take steps to insure and protect my family.  Now that my children are grown and I’m an empty nester I still see the value in keeping and maintain a LTFS in my retirement years.  I just don’t need to feed a family or prepare to feed anyone else, but myself right now.

 

I used the other cube for extra household items, toiletries, etc.

I have begun by making a detailed list for my new LTFS with just the basics.  Safeway had a sale on canned tomatoes so I purchased six cans in a variety that I could use to make pasta sauce, soups and chili.  I then added a two pound bag of rice, a two pound bag of pinto beans, a one pound bag of black beans and a pound of dry pasta.  The FREE table at the club house offered me the opportunity to add another two pound bag of pinto beans, another can of diced tomatoes, a can of green beans and a package of powdered milk.  Next I added ten pounds of flour – 5# of all purpose flour and 5# of whole wheat flour that I keep in my freezer, two boxes of Jiffy corn muffin mix, another pound of pasta, two forty ounce jars of peanut butter – one creamy and one crunchy and a pound of lard.  I know this doesn’t sound like a lot of food right now, but it’s a start.

 

I had room to pack the TP and Kleenex supply - Thank goodness! 😂

Moving forward I will be adding items to my regular shopping cart to add to my six month stockpile and updating my spreadsheet as I do.  I want to add another pound of black beans, more canned goods, some dry potatoes and a bit more pasta, as well as some more beef and chicken to the new freezer  and plenty of frozen vegetables to the new refrigerator so I will be working on that next.  Once I’ve accomplished my six month plan I will begin again and work on extending my LTFS to a one year supply.

 

I'm adding things a little bit at a time as part of my regular shops

The biggest thing for me when I initially began my LTFS plan was to realize I don’t eat as much as I thought I did and to scale my needs accordingly.  With that in mind I don’t think it will take me long to complete the six month plan as we head into winter.  In fact, I feel confident I’ll be working on my one year plan soon enough.  By steadily working on it each week as I do my regular grocery shopping I’m sure I’ll be back on track and stocked up in no time.  Is this way of stockpiling and preparing something you think you could do right now?