Home and Food Storage - Why Look At It?

by G.D. Palmer

Is there a difference between home storage and food storage?  The answer to that simple question can be equally simple.  "No."  It can also be quite wrong.  It depends upon what meaning is applied to the question itself.  If storage is viewed as just the finding of a place in which something might be placed, then really there is very little difference.  It is nothing more than a storage place in the home, perhaps a shelf or a cupboard or whatever the case might be.  If, on the other hand, food storage is looked upon as a program, then a differentiation is possible.

For many this is the case.  Food storage comprises not only the placement of the food, but also the purchasing, the preparation and the processing.  And all of that requires planning.  This, in turn, can include gardening or the frequenting of farmers' markets in seasonal times of plenty.  It can involve budgeting for bulk purchases so that money spent now can translate into greater savings later on.  It means deciding whether food is to be placed into temporary storage so that use can be made of it within a few hours or within a few days, or whether something of longer duration is the goal to be sought.  Consideration might be given to possible emergencies - unemployment, electrical failure, or disruption in transportation or delivery.  It could even involve the desire to have on hand easily prepared, lightweight, spoilage resistant meals for camping, hiking, or boating.  It will likely mean deciding what "tools" need to be on hand to enable an implementation of such plans.  Is a dehydrator needed?  What about blenders, or juicers, or grinders or canning equipment?  There is so much that can be involved - or so little, depending upon the end results being sought.

If the goals are long term in nature, then food storage is more often than not a part of a home storage program.  Home storage, then, could very well encompass food storage, but commonly goes beyond that.  In fact, it could encompass anything and everything that one might wish to include in a purchasing and storage plan.  Cleaning supplies, school supplies, toilet paper, and workshop tools as well as food could all be included here.  For those thinking possible emergency needs, water purifiers, flashlights, batteries, and portable radios are some of the items that could come under consideration.  Thus, when it comes to planning, preparation and budgeting home storage really does take in it all - including food storage which is likely to be one of its components.

The important thing to remember is that if you really do want to save money, save time, and save worry then some sort of home storage and food storage programs need to be put into place.  The old saying is true.  "If you fail to prepare, then you are preparing to fail."