The Rule of 3 is a unique system, that allow you to build up a very well-round food storage in a simple and affordable way. The way it should be!

In 2017, my family and I lived in Houston, Texas when hurricane Harvey hit. New to a climate where these kind of things can happen, we weren’t as prepared as we would have liked to have been.

Harvey wreaked havoc on the greater Houston area, dropping 60+ inches of rain over just a couple days. There were homes destroyed, people stranded, gas shortages, and grocery stores were empty. Like, EMPTY. It was a very eye-opening time to see how quickly and drastically things can change.

One of the many side effects of a natural disaster (or global pandemic) is that shelves don’t get restocked overnight. Some items could be gone for days or weeks, which can be very disconcerting. Especially when you have little mouths to feed.

Why We Should Build Up a Food Storage:

1. Natural disasters
2. Global and economic disruptions
3. Temporarily job loss or sickness
4. Convenience. Having extra items at home when you are busy living life, haven’t grocery shopped and want to make dinner for your family without going out to eat is quite nice.
5. Giving. Having enough on hand puts you in a better position to love and serve your neighbors and friends.

Building Up Your Food Storage:

The Rule of 3! Using The Rule of 3 is a budget friendly way to build up your food storage, and will ensure you are building a well-rounded supply. Additionally, your food storage will be easy to rotate through, and will have varied expiration dates.

How To Use The Rule of 3:

Each time you are purchasing something for your food storage, buy 3! You can customize this to your budget, and use The Rule of 3 as often as you are able. Some examples could be buying 3 boxes of pancake mix one week, and 3 boxes of macaroni and cheese the following week. Whatever you are buying, purchase 3. Another application of The Rule of 3 would be buying a complete meal. Example: Pancake mix (item 1), syrup (item 2), and bacon (item 3). You could even take that a step further and buy 3 complete meals (above complete pancake breakfast meal x3). This is a simple, affordable, and sustainable method of building your food storage. You are in total control of the items you buy and the money you spend. Selecting an item or meal to buy in triplicate will build up your food storage in an incredible way.

When you begin using the Rule of 3 it might not look by much at first, but when steps are continually taken, no matter how small, you can cover some great distance. 

Food Storage Tip:

Use The Rule of 3 by batching meals for your short-term storage. For example, if you are making soup for dinner, double or triple the recipe and put the rest in the freezer to eat another day.