5 Can Plan

The name of the game right now seems to be working on keeping the grocery, supply, and gas budgets as low as possible and becoming as self-sufficient as you can be. One of the best ways to do this is to ensure you have stocked up on food and supplies, especially on any essential items you regularly use. You never know what life will throw at you and having at least a small stock up of the things you regularly use can help give you the time to process and plan, and hopefully carry you through those times of need. Just like the adage, “One is none, two is one, and three is where you want to be.”

Canned goods can beat the stock market.

Stocking up can help save you money, especially during high inflation times like this. A favorite food item of ours we found this last spring was $1 per can, and two days later, the same item went up to $1.08 per can. Today, it is $1.36 per can. That is a 36% increase in three short months. The joke this year has been that if you want to beat the stock market you should buy a can of green beans (or any other canned food items) as even in a good year, you would be hard-pressed to find those kinds of returns in the stock market. Some items will also rotate when they go on sale, so if you buy extras when they are on sale, that could help get you by for a period until hopefully, that item can go on sale again. This can be a great way to save money.

Easy Stock-Up Methods

Stocking up and maintaining a stock of food and supplies takes time and effort. It can seem like a constant chore of trying to think of what you need, how you will fit it into your budget, how to store the items so they will last the longest, and where you will store them. Having a shopping method for stocking up can ease some of this stress. Below are a few methods I’ve learned about. Please let us know if you have any others.

• Buy one (for now) Get one (for later) - This is the method I’ve mostly been using. (When I need to buy one of an item, I will go ahead and buy two [or 3 depending on my budget] and store the extra). This is a great way to work on increasing your stock-ups as it ensures you are buying the items you will use.

• Half and Half - This is another method I’ve done. (When I’m halfway out of something, I will go ahead and buy another, and then when I’m out of my first, I will buy another and repeat.) This is a slower, but still effective way to stock up without having as big of a hit to your budget.

• 5 Can Plan - I heard this from Patara from Appalachia’s Homestead, and I was excited to share this other simple way to think about stocking up. This is when you buy 5 extra cans (or other shelf-stable items) every time you go shopping for groceries and/or supplies. This could also be done with any number that works best for you. If you want to do more (i.e., 10 Can Plan) you can, or if you need to decrease the amount because you had a lot of extra expenses that week or month, you can use a lower number. The goal is not to give up, but to continue to work on becoming more self-sufficient and saving money on your groceries and supplies, even if that is done more slowly. So, did you buy your 5 cans today?

Check out my Printables for free printable stock-up lists.

Pantry Meal Kits/Shelf Stable Meals

When deciding what to buy, think of your favorite recipes and see if any of them can be made with shelf-stable ingredients. This can help you start thinking of what you could use in your extended pantry or long-term storage. You can then, occasionally, work some of these items/recipes into your meal plans helping to ensure your items get rotated preventing anything from expiring.

Check out Pantry Meal Kits / Shelf Stable Meals page for shelf-stable recipe ideas to help you create an emergency pantry for your home. Let me know if you have any questions or find any errors, and please share any other shelf-stable recipes you may have.

She’s In Her Apron has a great video on 1 Month Shelf Stable Food For Less Than $150, Small Space Solutions!

8/5/2022 Update - Here is another great video from She’s In Her Apron featuring more pantry meal kit ideas. I love the idea of packaging everything together for super easy meals. This could also be a wonderful idea to give or donate easy meals to anyone in need.

Stock-Up Tips

• Check the expiration dates, especially before you purchase them. You want to ensure the items will last the length of time you need them to. It is never fun to have something expire on your shelves wasting your hard-earned money.

• Rotate your stock by placing newly bought items toward the back and bringing forward any items that will expire the soonest. Again, this can help prevent items from expiring on your shelves.

• Be creative with organizing. It can sometimes be a challenge to find room for these extra items. They say older houses used to have larger pantries and smaller closets and that houses nowadays have smaller pantries and larger closets. Prioritize what is important. Sometimes, the tops of closets and/or totes under beds can work well for storage. I have even heard of people raising beds a little to make room for some of these items. Remember to avoid excessive heat and moisture as that can affect how long items will store, and make sure they are kid, pet, and pest-proof.

• Divide what you are focusing on into sections:

• Working pantry - Here you should have anywhere between one to two weeks or even one month's worth of food. This is usually kept in your kitchen as it is the food you use every day or will use immediately. After you have the amount you feel comfortable with here in your working pantry then move to the next step.

• Extended pantry (mid to long-term pantry) - This is where you will keep extras of the common, every day, shelf-stable items you use. This can be anywhere from one, three, six, or even twelve months’ worth, and is used as your personal warehouse where you will shop first to replace items in your working pantry before you go to the store shopping for more to replace your extended pantry items. Having this extended pantry can also be used as a way to save money because if something goes on sale, you can stock up on extras to get you by for a while and then wait to buy or stock up on more when they go on sale again.

• Long-term pantry & freeze-dried/dehydrated foods - This is anything that you will store long-term (anything longer than one year). Be sure to do your research on how to properly store these items so you do not waste any money. They say to focus on having a 9-month to 1-year stock of food, water, and medication supply before looking into freeze-dried foods.

  (If planning to store items for longer term, I recommend looking into vacuum sealing and using oxygen absorbers.)

Here are a few links that could be helpful if you are looking to store items for long term:

USDA – How long can you keep canned goods?

FoodKeeper App - Food and Beverage storage information for the best freshness and quality

US Emergency Supply – Storage Life Of Dry Foods

Check out Lessons of 2020 page for more information or ideas about stocking up and/or becoming more self-sufficient. Let us know if you have any other recommendations or information to share.

We are all learning together!