I've decided that I'll add some of my musings from my weekly emails I sent out to members of my church and others about food storage.  Most of it is the sales from the different grocery stores each week.  But, it's also a chance for me to communicate some preparedness thoughts.  This is last week's.

I'm going to delve into your personal lives. Do you have a year's supply of toilet paper? Have you ever tried to figure that out? I'm not sure if I want to tell y'all how much TP I have saved, but....my goal is to have a roll/day. I have 8 people in my family. All of whom are potty trained now. And there are 5 girls to boot. So, like I said, I've got a goal of having at least 1 roll per day in storage. Depending on how quickly we catch the 3 year from unrolling it all ....I may need less or more. :) TP takes up a lot of space, BUT the good thing is that it doesn't require a cold, dark storage place like your food. Though, I would be thoughtful about where I store it because little rodents like the soft cushiness of Charmin just like we do. If you have extra Rubbermaid containers that you can put it in, you can store it in the attic or up in the rafters of the garage. You can also squish it down to put more in a container. I have a roll of TP in each of our 72 hours kits that's been vacuum packed with our food saver. If you have other suggestions, please let me know.

One more thing personal...feminine supplies. Please store these things. Just take a little wander into the world where you have nothing for yourself (if you're a woman) or your daughters or anyone else that may need your help. Again, they take up some space, BUT just like the TP, they don't require special storage conditions. It would be my suggestion that you pick up an extra package each time you go to the store. Don't wait until you need them. If you get them on sale, it's not too much of an extra burden. Plus, Kotex always has coupons available to make a package of pads right around $1.50-$2.00. That's not that bad. You've got to have them anyway, just make it a habit to grab a box each time you're at the store. You'll be surprised at how quickly that adds up. I encourage the men that read this to please support your wives in this extra expense. It'll make for a much happier wife in the long run. This is also something you may wish to add to your 72 hours kits. I'd put them in a plastic bag.

I'll tell y'all a little about myself. One that I"m sure will make you mock me, BUT I can handle it. Everyone has to start some where with food storage. I was a single woman living in Charlottesville Va with my own house (own mortgage). I did not have any food storage at all. Nothing! I got a letter from my aunt that encouraged me to start saving water in 2 litre soda bottles. That's where I started. Well, more specifically, I started with a 2 litre soda bottle filled with water and a GIANT box of Tampax tampons from Sam's Club. And the rest is history. :) If I can do it, anyone can. Trust me.