Yes, I'm a food storage geek!

I don't know what it is about working to build our family's food storage, but it truely excites me. I've always considered myself a 'Martha', maybe that is where this thrill comes from. I really do enjoy shopping, dry pack canning, orgainzing, gardening, canning and preserving the fruits and veggies from the gardens....anything that will help us achieve our year's supply of food and other items to that I will need to care for the family and home.
Yesterday I got the March issue of the Ensign. There are some fantastic articles in there on becoming self reliant. Yet, the ones I enjoyed the most were the ones on spiritual self reliance (maybe there is hope for me to become more 'Mary' like.)
I have some websites and blogs that I really like that focus on self reliance and giving ideas to slowly building a year supply of food. I thought that others may enjoy them too, so here they are:
http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/
http://www.funwithfoodstorage.net/
http://everydayfoodstorage.net/
http://mormonfoodstorage.blogspot.com/
http://preparedldsfamily.blogspot.com/
http://theprudenthomemaker.com/
http://myfoodstoragedeals.blogspot.com/
some of these I have recently found and haven't navigated very much, but they seem promising.

A lot of these have many recipes that use food storage. Yesterday I made homemade yogurt and it was amazingly quick and easy. (I've used another rather complicated recipe and it didn't turn out very well. So, I was excited to find another easier recipe as my children could live on yogurt and be very happy indeed.)

I have another favorite site that gives lots of ideas on using whole grain/whole foods, recipes, etc all at low cost. (low cost and free are some of my favorite words.)
http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/ most of the things I look at in this site are under the home management tab.

Sometimes it seem that obtaining a year supply is a neverending goal, much like doing the laundry, it's never really finished. You have to use it, rotate it and keep adding to it. Yet, I know this goal is a worthy one to have. I go to these websites for ideas and information to follow the prophet's counsel. I'm also encouraged by the words of the prophets themselves. One quote I like of Pres. Monson's is; "Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had their...supply of food.. and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have a least a year's supply of debt and are food-free."
I love how Pres. David O. McKay said 'Outwardly, every act seems to be directed toward the physical: re-making of dresses, canning fruits and vegetables, storing foodstuff, choosing of fertile fields for settlement--all seem strictly temporal, but permeating all these acts, inspiring and sanctifying them, is the element of spirituality. (see there is spirituality in 'Martha' like actions ;) Pres. Marion G. Romney tell us that self reliance in closely interrelated to our freedom to choose and act for ourselves, our ability to comply with the Lords commandments. How neat to see how the temporal is intertwined with the spiritual. Enough of my ramblings, I'm off to start seeds indoors for my spring garden...see you in the dirt pile in a few months.