The panic will be over soon, hopefully not the holiday. So here is the deal. My job gives me off the last two weeks of December. Tomorrow is my last day of work for two weeks. I get paid twice a month on the 15th and the last day of the month. Normally not a big deal. However, in December this pay schedule gets screwed up because we close the last two weeks of December. They adjust the pay schedule, and this year I got paid on the 9th and the 16th. I don't get paid again until January 15th. (well the 13th because the 15th is a Sunday).
I am currently in the midst of scrambling to get last minute things for Christmas done. Scrambling to do my baking for my coworkers which I have to finish and bring in tomorrow. Scrambling to make my lists, lists of lists, etc. Scrambling to get my Christmas cards finished and mailed. Scrambling to get other items which need to be wrapped, packaged and mailed out to the post office. Scrambling to get last minute things done for the kids' last few days of school. Teacher gifts, friends' gifts, tests studied for, projects done, AHHHHH!!! Scramble scramble scramble. Oh and let's just complain about the house for a minute. Every time I come home from work the house looks worse then it did when I left. Breakfast dishes are still on the table, junk is everywhere, laundry tossed on the floor, oh and the bathrooms. Well we just won't go there. So I have to clean before I can do anything else.
Starting on Saturday life will be a bit easier. The school stuff for the kids will be done, the coworker baking will be done, the job will be done for two weeks and we can start to focus on the true meaning of the holidays: family, friends, time, and of course Jesus.
So the point of my post today and what it has to do with preparing. While preparing for the holidays I am also planning and preparing for a few weeks with no pay. We are heading into the lean times anyway with my husband's job winding down for the season. He usually takes most of January and February off which means less money in the bank for us. I try to plan ahead for this time by stocking the pantry and the freezer of food that we will eat. I also try to plan by stocking the bathrooms of toiletries so we don't have to run out and buy more shampoo or expensive items. I plan by stocking the paper towels, toilet paper, and cleaning items, laundry detergent, etc. now so we don't have to worry until March. This is almost like a test to see how much we consume in the next 2 1/2 months. Can I stock the house? What items do we run out of quickly? What items do we forget about stocking that we end up needing?
Have you ever tested your stock? Have you ever tested to see how long you could go? Have you ever tried to live for two weeks without going to the grocery store?
We know we will have to go to the grocery. But we only want to need milk, eggs, bread (if I don't make it), produce and fruit. We will have to purchase meat at some point probably mid January and then again in mid February. But we plan for this. We will also be menu planning!!! This is a big important thing for us to be able to use what we have and to be able to use it efficiently.
I will be making a big run to our Sam's Club for items this weekend and then hopefully we will be pretty much done with our spending for a while. On my list for Sam's Club is flour, sugar, toilet paper, paper towels, coffee, some spices we are low on, and oatmeal. These items will go into our food storage because I know we will go through our storage in the next few months. I will also be picking up a few more cans (20-25) of veggies from Target who has them on sale for $.49. This should last us a while.
I will keep you updated on our food storage and how it is faring. Will it hold up to the three month supply?
I would love to hear if you have tested your food storage and what you learned. Please leave me a comment.
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