Tip #3: Plan Your Use Of The Pantry

 

A key idea in this guide is that you should carefully plan how you are going to use your food store as you create it.  A common mistake is simply to pack in as much long-lasting food into a space as possible, close the door and assume that, in the event of an emergency, you will be able to use it.

 

For a variety of reasons, this is likely not to be the case, and you will be left with a lot of food that you are unable to eat and is simply useless.  For this reason, the best prepper's pantries are always those which are created with a detailed plan of how they are going to be used.

 

An important part of this plan is knowing when you are going to consume each of your resources.  This involves developing a phased schedule for each item.  Once you know this, you can optimize the efficiency of your pantry by storing goods in the correct order.  Knowing you only need access to the food you will use next allows much more to be packed into a specific space.  A plan such as this also means you will be able to store foods you will use together next to each other and know which foods require particular preparation. 

 

If you carefully consider how you will use the food in an emergency situation, it will avoid the scenario of finding that you have food that you are unable to use.  A common mistake is to stock up on large amounts of raw grains, without considering how exactly they are to be used to produce meals and the specialist equipment it requires. 

 

Rather than thinking of your preppers pantry as simply an inert store, conceptualize it as a tool that you will use in an emergency. True prepping cannot be reduced to simply stocking up with food.  Instead, it is about being prepared for action and being able to use the tools that you have at your disposal.

 

A key idea is to organize your pantry for the short, medium and long-term.  It is a simple division, but can be really useful in helping you plan for using your food store. If we take the 12 month period and divide it into three phases, we are looking at a short-term of up to the first month, a medium-term, which takes you for around a further six months, and a long-term store, which will last you a year and possibly longer.