Last month, my Mom went to a friends house and came home with a couple hundred dollars worth of food storage for FREE! Why? Because they were throwing their entire year supply of food storage out to the dumpster?
Hundreds of dollars into the garbage. So, I asked why? Why are you throwing your entire life savings worth of food into the trash? Answer:
We have been moving this food storage from house to house for over 50 years. We are moving again, and since we haven’t used our food storage for 50 years, we decided to save space and energy by throwing it in the dumpster.
Now, you couldn’t see my face at the time, but I was flabbergasted! Seriously, I’m talking about powdered eggs, spinach, honey, butter, all kinds of food storage (not just wheat, rice and beans). I have to add a note… yes this food storage was over 50 years old, but 75% of it was STILL GOOD!
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The real reason they were tossing hundreds of dollars into the trash was because they built their food storage without a plan in place. So, to keep you from wasting money, time, effort and space, I’m going to give you the top 3 planning food storage mistakes
First off, I’ve gotta congratulate you on planning our food storage. There are any people out there who just start to buy cans that they eat often, or purchase items that are on sale. Although this may seem like a good way to save money on food storage, you most likely end up loosing money.
Top 3 Planning Food Storage Mistakes
Now, as you can tell from my true story above, having a plan for your food storage will save you much more than money.
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1. Not picking recipes your family eats.
Food storage isn’t just buying an extra can here or there when you go shopping. It’s specifically buying food from a recipe plan, a recipe that your family already eats, loves and enjoys.
If you eat a healthy, fresh diet, then you need to pick recipes that follow those guidelines. There are plenty of ways to have fresh vegetables in your food storage such as canning them yourself, dehydrating them or freeze dried (did you know you can freeze dry your own food?) <————–INSERT AFFILIATE
Start your food storage plan by picking recipes you know your family already eats and loves. Here are 7 tips for picking food storage meals.
2. Not having a plan for rotating your food storage.
You need to keep in mind, before you start shopping, how you will be rotating your food storage.
Food storage is typically a combination of different types of food, canned, home canned, dehydrated, freeze dried, and frozen. When you know what you will be storing, you can have a plan to rotate your food storage. Rotating your food storage allows you to save money, and space… instead of just dumping it in the trash when you move. Here are some examples:
- Store bought canned food- I will rotate these with first in first out
and use them in my monthly meals.
- Home canned food- I will put new bottles on the left, and take old bottles from the right. When fresh is out of season, I’ll use these in my cooking taking from right.
- Freeze dried food- Store bought freeze dried food will last up to 30 years. This doesn’t save you money when you eat and use it on a regular basis. Keep these in the back of closests or other places that are difficult to use because you’ll only waste money if you rotate them into your cooking.
- Home dehydrated/freeze dried food- Depending on how you store them, these can last from 3-10 years. Plan on using them when fresh is out of season to save you money. Then replenish when your garden produces or you can get fresh for a good price.
and use them in my monthly meals.3. Forgetting to keep it simple.
I have found so many clients who put in intricate difficult meals into their food storage. Yes food storage CAN taste good, but it doesn’t have to be extravagant meals. Here is an example:
- Spaghetti- typically is served with garlic bread, meat balls, and a salad. For your food storage, just plan on noodles and sauce. If you have the money, add in freeze dried meat, and if you love to bake, add in garlic bread. Trust me, you’ll be grateful for the plan spaghetti over nothing.
- Baked potatoes- Plan on potato flakes and a can of chili. To spice it up for your every day cooking add in sour cream, cheese and all your other favorite toppings. If you have the money, then go ahead and add powdered sour cream and freeze dried cheese to your storage, but if not, don’t worry about it. Keeping it simple will allow you to keep building and not get overwhelmed.
Keep your food storage recipes simple, then when you use those recipes in your meal plans, you can spice them up with other toppings and sides. 
In conclusion
Please, do not start buying random food storage supplies without having a plan first. I can’t not tell you how many people have told ME that they wish they had a plan at first. Take a look at these top 3 planning food storage mistakes before you start building.
If you need help building a food storage plan, you can check out my post 5 Steps to Start your Food Storage. Also, if you have tired to start a plan but just get overwhelmed or run out of time, then I’ve got custom food storage plans. I walk you in the process of picking recipes, then do the hard work for you by converting recipes into shelf stable ingredients, creating shopping lists including buying/savings tips for each ingredient. You can check out my custom food storage plans here.
For more information to dig in deeper into food storage read more about .
What step on your on in planning your food storage?
Further Reading:
3 Mistakes People Make Buying Food Storage
5 Steps to Start Your Food Storage
Emergency Food Storage Explained
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This post contains affiliate links. Read my affiliate link disclosure here