If you are new to the food storage idea, it might seem overwhelming. It's easy to think of lots of reasons why we can't get our food storage started; but we have to remind ourselves that ANY food item that is stored for later use is food storage. In that context, the canned vegetables and packages of pasta in your kitchen cupboard are part of your food storage.

As you begin to focus on your home storage, keep your storage in mind as you shop, clip coupons, and browse newspapers for sales. When you find tomato sauce on sale, stock up on enough for a month or two.

When canned vegetables are on sale, buy enough for a variety of canned goods in your storage. Pasta, oil, and beans keep well; so store enough for two or three months. As your pantry fills, you will begin to develop an idea of what you want to add to your storage, and you'll keep that in mind as you shop and plan your gardening.

When you begin to buy in bulk, you will need to plan ahead to make sure that you have all the containers and equipment you will need for your storage. Reusable containers can be a blessing for those who plan to continue their storage as a way of life.

You may be able to save money with your food storage by using "back to basics" techniques such as grinding your own grains, sprouting seeds, growing garden vegetables, home canning, etc. Whole grains store well for many years and can be purchased inexpensively in bulk.

If your family is not accustomed to eating whole-grain foods, you will need to increase the amount of whole-grains in your diet slowly to allow the body to adjust to the fiber increase. Whole dried herbs can also be purchased in bulk inexpensively. You can grind your herbs with a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle.

Examine the shelf life of food items your family uses. That will help you to estimate how much you can store.

Set a goal, devise a plan, and obtain the storage you desire. For example, you might begin with a goal to obtain a month's supply of food storage.

You might plan to purchase items such as staples, canned goods, dry milk, and pasta, making a chart of how much of each item you will need to store. As you make your grocery purchases over the next month, buy twice the amount you need of each item (one for this month's use, and another for next month's storage.)

Buying on sale, using coupons, and growing your own foods can help to reduce the initial cost of storing foods. You might have to make some adjustments to find money for your storage by cutting back on fast food, eating a "cheap" meal once a week, or fasting for one day a month or more and saving the money you would have spent on food for your storage.

You may examine your expenses and find other ways to trim your budget to allow for home storage; such as going out for entertainment one less time a month, giving your own haircuts instead of going to the salon, calling less long-distance, etc. After a few months of storing a month ahead and living off your storage, you will begin to see other ways in which you can obtain your food storage in greater bulk less expensively. You may devise a plan for a 3-month supply, a 6-month supply, a year's supply, etc. as your needs and means permit.

As your storage grows, finding storage space can be a challenge. If you are lucky enough to have a root cellar, basement, or spare room with temperature control, you are very blessed. If space is a problem, get creative. Build shelves, store under beds, use an unused corner of a room, store under decorative tables, or store behind couches and other furniture. If you truly have a desire to set aside home storage, there will be a place for your storage.

The MOST IMPORTANT thing you can know about food storage is that it is necessary to ROTATE your storage. That means that you use the container that's been stored the longest and replace it with newer stored containers behind the older ones.

If you are storing items that you never use, you are wasting space that could be used for food items you need. Food storage that spoils or lies untouched is garbage.