Short Term Storage is Easy

Short term food storage can be changed to whatever works best, for you, right now.
Some simple ideas

• "Build a small supply of food that is part of your normal, daily diet. One way to do this is to purchase a few extra items each week to build a one-week supply of food. Then you can gradually increase your supply until it is sufficient for three months. These items should be rotated regularly to avoid spoilage." link
• a monitored, stocked pantry and freezer from planning ahead when typical meal items were on sale.
• the portion of your long-term storage that you are using in order to rotate it.
• a combination of the above
• Start with (one month, then) three months, then 6 months.
• Don't forget the water storage.
• Store, don't Hoard.
  

Ideas for improving your short term storage plan:

• keep track of what you actually do eat.
• If you don't know, then make a list of "acceptable", "cheaper", and "cheap! stock up prices" for everything.
  
• Teach your family to be prudent and smart; Tell them the steps you are taking before they are usually a part of it.
  
• Don't eat it just because it is there. create and live in a budget/plan.
• Save containers as you empty them. I use empty baking soda cans for spices; ice cream buckets for flour, sugar, pancake mixes etc. This makes using your long term storage more accessible for rotation without constantly exposing it.
  
• Start a garden, eat fresh and process your own food.
  
• Learn to cook more from scratch - make your own mixes, soups.
• Teach your kids, in 'olden' days, they were helping, including neatly, as soon as they could reach.
  
• Find local sources (in emergencies of any type the stuff from furthest away often is gone first)
• Read the ingredients in every product you buy. (educate yourself even if you don't use it yet.)
• Add in your household needs, simplifying them when you can, such as soaps.

Use your Short term Storage as training to improve your long term storage.
Consciously, make more choices instead of reacting to the easiest.
By becoming more aware, we often are unknowingly improving our diet and budgeting. As soon as we are aware of a new area to improve, then things just got easier - again!
With practice, the previously daunting ideas become routine.
Food storage and frugality (and all these related concepts) are Gospel Principles and so Gospel blessing apply. For your efforts, You Will be Blessed!