Monday Message

(Ezra Taft Benson, October 1973)
“The revelation to store food may be as essential to our temporal salvation today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah.”

I think about all the preparation it must have taken and elephant pies to have to clean up, oh dear! :p

But really, Heavenly Father warned Noah and Noah followed faithfully tending to every need. How are we doing on our storage?

Are we not living in uncertain times?

It was not so long ago that our ancestors lived their lives in hard and uncertain times. We need to follow their example.  They put food away for the lean times. How did we get away from that? Is it from the ease of getting what we need? You can just walk in the store and there you go, you don't even need to prepare it either.

Lots of people are one check away from having no job.

Health problems are lurking the older we get. 

How long could you manage with just what you have in house??

It is hard for us to think nothing could possibly go wrong. We live in a different time. Oh, we live in a different time, alright, but more can go wrong… do you have house insurance? Why?

Just think that the Venezuelan people probably thought nothing could go wrong… I saw them say that the average weight loss for the people there is 25 lbs. That is sad, in this day no one should have this happen.

Stocking up is easier than it sounds. What do you eat? Stock it as you can.

I am a huge believer in canning, as you well know. Whether you have a garden or not, it is such an important skill. You would want to start collecting items to be able to can. 

Pressure canners - your grandma may have one and may be done canning and would love to pass it down, or you can find a used one. I like the one that doesn’t use a rubber gasket but I have one with a rubber gasket, you just need to replace it every couple years and if you get one used have them tested at your local hardware. If they can’t do it then check with your county extension.

You can also replace the gauge works. I paid fifteen dollars when I last got this replaced on mine.

You will need lids and rings. I try to get those when I get groceries. I will pick these up all year round but eventually I only need lids, the rings are reusable.

Jars - I have put up signs at the library that I was looking for free canning jars. I have gotten them from freecycle, yard sales and people downsizing.

Haunt your yard sales, thrift shops etc. The steamer canner pictured here was three dollars at a yard sale and had never been out of the box - they usually run about thirty dollars.

You can also use a water bath canner.

Why do I think this is huge? As long as you have your equipment you will be able to can your food and having reusable jars are more sustainable. Canning is a frugal skill to learn.

Other things you should be looking for are dehydrators. If you go to a farmers market or grow your own, this is the item to have. You will now be able to dry your leftover produce like the last five grapes or those apples that no one will eat.

This brings me to free food, when you are cleaning celery don’t throw those cast offs. Wash and dry them on a plate if you have no dehydrator. Same with grating rinds from oranges and lemons and limes. I call these things free food. I bet you can think of others.

Vacuum sealers also help to store food. I have gotten several at yard sales and Goodwill. This helps store dry items (also uses canning jars).

Gathering dry goods you need like popcorn, oats, pasta and grains the frugal way I do that I have mentioned before. But I will go to bakeries and get their food buckets and I washed and dried them completely. This is an inexpensive way to put in bulk.

I put bay leaves in the buckets that have grains like flours, rice, wheat, pasta etc.

This is a frugal way to start getting things in.

So no matter your finances you can accomplish what you desire.

Keep reminding yourself why you're doing it.

REMEMBER: Never set your buckets directly on concrete floors put wood down first!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32aT4UmQJWY - I love these gals

https://thrivinghomeblog.com/2013/10/incredibly-easy-crock-pot-cinnamon-apples/ - don’t throw out those apples left in the bag.

I dehydrate them for oatmeal or granola or apple crisp, yes, from dried apples. Put on your frugal hat and think how to be more frugal with the food that we spend hard earned money to get.

So now you have several ways to get started, do the best you can.