I recently finished building this ark. It took about 14 weeks to build. Some weeks I was able to build a lot. Other weeks saw little or no building going on. Some pieces are large, like the floor plates. Other pieces are very small, like the caps on single knobs. Most pieces are somewhere in between.
Building this ark would not have been possible without the aid of the instruction manual. Looking at the 28 bags of 976 pieces, I would have had little idea where to begin. The animals would have been fairly easy but the ark would have looked very different without the aid of the manual.
Building this “Lego” ark is just like building your own ark of home storage. It will take weeks (and months and even years) to build. Some weeks you will be able to add a lot to your storage. Other weeks you will add little or nothing. Some additions will be a substantial base for your storage such as cases or buckets of long-term storage food. Other additions may only be a box of salt or a bar of soap. Just as the different size pieces are important to my “Lego” ark, each of the pieces you build your ark with, large or small, are also important.
Building your “ark” successfully also requires a plan just like the instruction manual that came with this ark. The difference is that you are the one that needs to write the manual. You don’t need to do it alone, though. There are worksheets and recommendations that will help you and your family decide on the framework for your ark. The nice thing is you get to decide what it looks like – what color it is, whether it’s plain or fancy, whether it’s large or small – and what is going to be put into it. Your manual should include a list of what you need to build your “ark” just as my instruction manual had a page with pictures and the amounts of the pieces included. Your manual should also include a plan for obtaining the pieces while mine came in the purchased kit. By having a plan, or a “manual,” you automatically set goals to build and fill your ark, piece by piece, until your ark is completed and filled.
Don’t forget that Noah put food and supplies on his ark so that they could be used. He didn’t wait until the sun came out again. He used it every day.
BYU has one approach to food storage found here https://brightspotcdn.byu.edu/b1/4d/75fc449e4ce9843daa701f69faa4/an-approach-to-longer-term-food-storage.SEPT2019.pdf
If you would like any of the following documents to help you write your “ark” building manual, email theark@simplyprepared.com and request specific documents:
Basic Principles of Food Storage
A Month’s Supply
One Month Supply of Shelf-Stable Grocery Store Purchased Foods
Three-Month Supply Worksheet
A Three-Month Supply for $5 a Week
Basic Food Storage Worksheet
A Year’s Supply of Basic Food for $5 a Week
Determining Food Storage Using Prepackaged Home Storage Center Products
Using a Rotating Menu Plan to Determine a Nutritionally Balanced Supply of Food
Short Term Storage Methods
Long Term Storage Methods
