Thanks for all of the interest in my Food Storage Binder! There are a lot of ways to organize a binder like this, so customize your own binder once you’ve got a feel for how you’ll use it. Here is how I organize mine:
First I bought a cute 2” binder online (it even has my name on it), chose some divider tabs, and got started. Here are the tabs that I chose to include:
Recipes
This section I divided by type, i.e. Appetizers, Pasta Dishes, Breads, etc. I keep all of my recipes in vinyl sheet protectors. These protect them from splashes and spills. I use full page ones for recipes I printed from my computer and divided ones for recipe cards. (I still have recipe cards that my grandmother wrote!)
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| Keep favorite food storage recipes in your binder. |
Food Storage Inventory
I always keep a hard-copy inventory of my food storage. If the power goes out I can still plan meals without going through all of my storage. I can also keep track of what might need to be added. This section is divided by food type: Fruits, Dairy, Grains, Meats, and so on.
Menus
I try to plan menus using recipes with some of the same ingredients. This way I won’t have too many different cans open at the same time. This one is divided by Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Holidays.
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| Plan menus, shopping lists, and recipes to try. |
Recipes to Try
When I Replace a new recipe or I want to convert a current recipe I put it in this section for my next recipe test day.
Shopping List
When I Replace an item that has worked well in recipes, or something that my family really likes, I add it to my shopping list along with any other items that I may have used with it in a specific recipe. I also keep my current Emergency Essentials catalog here. If something that I need to replace is on sale I will buy it in bulk.
This little binder has been a big help in keeping my food storage organized. Everything that I need is always in one place.
When you are making your Food Storage Binder, remember to be creative and have fun! Good luck!
--Dawn
12 comments
Nancy
I need to do this – thanks for the article!
millenniumfly
Food storage recipes are definitely useful to have. Readers may be interested in a food storage database of several hundred recipes. The best part is it's all free!
Judy
I have kept a food storage binder & a seperate recipe binder for years. The very first page in the front of my food storage binder is a 'scratch page'. Every time I use something, I list it on this page. When I make my shopping lists, I look there to see what I need & how much.
Anonymous
Awesome ideas!
Anonymous
I love the idea of making a binder ! I have created three big binders so far,as I keep finding ideas on food storage, recipes, gardening,first aid, homemade cleaning recipes, sewing and different ways to save money.We already keep an inventory of what we use and it really does help.It feels much more organized that way. I also liked Bridget's ideas of subsections in her comments !
bridget
I started out with a large binder and I had several sections: food, garden, water, family, misc. It now seems that I have outgrown my binder and need to add subsections to the food: solar recipes, dutch oven recipes….
Thanks for sharing the idea of keeping a running inventory of what you have on hand— that is one that I need to incorporate in my list.
Marcia
I have started my binder, but it is a little lacking. I need to work on it.
Elizabeth a.k.a Liz
I really need to work on that! Thanks for the ideas!
Jennifer
My family has found out that food storage is useful, too, when money is running a bit tight. My husband's work at his employer tends to run extremely heave or extremely light. It's benefited us greatly to stock up while it's heavy, because the lighter times tend to kick our butt financially.
Brendan Newman
I used to think that storing up emergency food was only for tinfoil hat wearing lunatics, but these days it looks like the only sensible thing to do! The government should work to constantly improve emergency food programs, but American citizens should take it upon themselves to store food and water for their families during an emergency. There's a good article about how to start your own food storage program very easily here:
http://www.martiallawusa.com/wp/?p=37
Definitely something to take a look at if you are worried about a natural disaster or social upheaval interrupting the food supply.
lfhpueblo
I've actually been thinking of making one, now I have no excuses.
Vicky B
Excellent ideas here. Thanks