Great Water Storage Solution

Water is the number one concern in an emergency situation. If you don't have water, you are severely handicapped as to how long you and your family can survive. You can NEVER have too much water stored. This has long been a concern for many families, especially those that don't have a basement. I just discovered this solution and wanted to share it with everyone. It's a product called Surewater. It is a water storage system that is set up similar to your hot water heater in your house. It holds 275 gallons of water and only takes up 7 sq. ft. of space. It has two spigots on the tank--one to fill and one to drain. This makes for easy rotation of the water. The price is reasonable, too. Please check out this ingenious product and see if it isn't a solution for your water storage needs.

Rotating and Checking Your Food Storage

So, you're working on having a year's supply. The planning doesn't stop there. Is it labeled with the canning date? Have you rotated it? How long is powdered milk good for? Is there a national recall on the case of tomatoes you bought? These and many other questions are things you need to think about when dealing with your food storage--the 3-month supply and the long term storage.

Recently, thanks Millie Meyer of Newnan Ward, I was made aware of a national food recall on canned green beans and garbanzo beans in "large institutional-sized containers, weighing approximately six and a half pounds. UDAF inspectors have found none of the products on store shelves in Utah, but because the product distribution spans the past five years, and the large size of the cans, it is possible some of the canned beans may be in long-term food storage pantries." Now, I checked, Georgia is not affected by this recall, but it made me think...what has been affected and what don't we know about? Check out consumer information from the FDA here.

Botulism and Salmonella are two of the most common reasons for recalls (Read more about Botulism and Salmonella). However, there are several factors that you need to keep in mind when checking and rotating your food storage. Look at the "Best by" or "Expires by" dates on store purchased items and make sure you use them in the alotted time. As far as storage and rotation, there are two types of foods--rotatable and indefinite.

Indefinite/Longer term foods are:

• Wheat
• White Rice
• Dry Beans
• Honey (needs to be stored in plastic, NOT metal)
• Sugars
• Salt
• Distilled Water
• Baking Soda
• Jell-O & Puddings (Although, the Jell-O company does recommend using by the date stamped on the box)
• Dried Fruits and Vegetables
• Dried Eggs
• Soap

Rotatable Foods are:

• Dry Milk
• Canned goods
• Frozen foods
• Home dried foods
• Vitamins
• Peanut butter
• Fats & Oils (they go rancid)
• Brown rice (1-year)--Should be stored in your freezer and can not be canned
• Ground or cracked grain
• Dry yeast (Also store in the freezer)
• Pasta

When storing and rotating your food storage, keep the following rules in mind:

1. Store what you eat--If you store things that you don't eat, it won't get rotated and you'll have wasted time and money.


2. The best storage conditions are cool & dry--Georgia doesn't have the best storage conditions for long term food storage, but a basement or disbursed through your house is probably your best bet.


3. Eat what you store--Incorporate what you've stored into your every day diet. Use it or lose it--at least with the rotatable food stuffs.


4. Send it with your kids--When your kids get married or move out into homes of thier own, send their portion of food storage with them to start their new family. You don't need it--they do.

When it comes down to it, food storage is an art. There are a lot of nuances that are involved in keeping and maintaining your year's supply. I think this intimidates a lot of people. It really shouldn't, though. Use common sense, don't store items you don't eat on a regular basis, and eat what you store and you should be fine.

Here are some "neat reads" on the subject of Food Storage:

• 7 Major Mistakes in Food Storage by Vicki Tate


• Food Storage Guide: How Long is Too Long?


• How Long Will Products Last?


• Using Your Food Storage


• Cooking with Food Storage