May Challenge – Kick Murphy out.

A lot of folks are living on tighter budgets these days. I have written a couple of times about putting away a little extra food in case times get a little tougher or if you encounter an unexpected bill that has to be paid and might cut into your normal monthly budget. You know how it is with Murphy’s Law, if things can go wrong they will. I don’t know about you, but when Murphy comes to visit, I like to get rid of him as quickly as possible. Most folks visit their local grocery store about once a week to stock up on their weekly groceries. Some live close enough that they go several times a week just to keep everything as fresh as possible. I have a real simple challenge for all of you for the month of May. Every week during May I would like for you purchase just a little extra food, enough for each member of your family to eat three meals for one day. Still not sure what to store? Here is a list of a few items that store well and my family will eat:

Breakfast: Box of just add water pancake mix and a Bottle of pancake syrup
Lunch: A couple of cans of tuna or chicken, a Jar of relish, a Jar of Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip, and a Box of crackers
Supper: Jar of Spaghetti sauce and a Box of Spaghetti or Macaroni

Remember, what works for me may not work for you. Look at my list and if you see something you don’t like, just substitute your favorite items. That is half of the "Store what you eat and Eat what you store" philosophy. If sometime in the next week or so you have a cookout and reach in the fridge to get a jar of relish or Mayo and find that there is only a spoonful left in the jar, just smile to yourself and remember that storing food does have it’s benefits when you grab your stored jar out of the pantry. If a few friends drop by at supper time and you only fixed enough or your family, how about stretching supper out with a quick Macaroni salad. A couple of cups of cooked Macaroni with a can of chicken, a little Mayonnaise, and a diced bell pepper could make what you had already planned for supper stretch twice as far. Not all of life’s emergencies are real disasters. By being ready for some of the small ones, you are also prepared for some of the larger ones. Don’t forget to add the items you took from storage to your grocery list and buy two the next time you are at the store. (Go back and re-read my copy canning post).

Start with small baby steps. Just a little extra each week. Now at the end of May you should have four or five days worth of food stored up. If you happen to have used any of the items you stored, and you use the copy canning technique of replacing each of your stored items with two others, you will probably have a full week’s supply of food storage saved up without spending a lot of extra money at any one time. Doesn’t the idea of providing a week’s extra security for your family sound easy and make you feel better?

Your feedback is important to me. Let me know what you think of my blog. You can email me at larrygriffin@carolina.rr.com or drop in for a visit on Facebook. I am always happy to share your ideas with others and hopefully answer some of your questions. By working together we can build happier, more secure, and more self sufficient lives for our families.