If you were to ask me what is the number one key to keeping your food in good order I would likely put on a conical rice hat, squint my eyes, and in an Asian accent say, "rotation, rotation, rotation." (Are you picturing this?)
It is a good feeling to have made a menu for your three month and years supplies. It feels good to have purchased that last can to fit those menus. It is tempting to give a big sigh of relief and feel like you are "done". It is kind of the same feeling (I guess) like when you're "done" having children. But unlike children, food needs to be rotated. Rotating children does nothing for their accessibility on a shelf :) .
Canned food has a shelf-life of about 2 years. The CDC has posted on their website that cans can last longer under favorable conditions (40-60 degrees, cool dry place) http://www.bt.cdc.gov/
If you keep your canned goods near a furnace, or refrigerator that lets heat out or in a room that is hot, your canned goods may not even last to the expiration date. So a place that has favorable conditions will save you a lot of money in the long run. Also, dented cans make for a quicker spoilage. There is nothing wrong with moving dented cans to the side when you are picking them out at the store. Your hard earned money is worth the extra effort.
Here are two articles that address some of these issues:
There are automatic rotation shelves available if you choose to purchase them.
I really don't have the space for some of these, so I just put the new cans in the back and pluck from the "old" ones.
It makes my heart sink when I hear someone say, "Oh, we've had this wheat for 30 years. We have never needed to use it, so we just took it to the dump." Ahhhh! What a waste! Unfortunately I've heard that more than once. It is wise for us to learn how to use this wheat and other stores. Rotation helps us to be thrifty with the means we have been given.
Excuse me while I don my conical rice hat again...(squinting eyes) "Confucius say... If you save the green mountain, you will not worry about having no firewood to burn" (Ok, Confucius didn't really say that, but it is an old Chinese proverb). To me that means if you are a wise steward of your blessings, it will always be there to back you up when you need it. That can be associated with SO many things!
%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#
One last thing...I figured out the coolest thing the other day. I knew that lavender oil was a pest deterrent...but I had never tried it this way before. We have a little cat that adopted us a few months ago. She had those little ear mites that hang out on their ears and that itch like mad. I took a drop of lavender oil and rubbed it on both of her ears and got on with my day. By the end of the day they were ALL gone! I just thought I'd share!
No comments:
Post a Comment