How I Plan a Year's Worth of Preserving Without Getting Overwhelmed | Episode 511
Pioneering Today Podcast - Homesteading in a Modern World
Melissa K Norris
4.8 • 974 Ratings
🗓️ 22 May 2026
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Every spring, I sit down and plan out our entire food preservation year so harvest season doesn't completely take over my life. After more than 25 years of preserving food, I've learned that the key isn't preserving everything… It's preserving the foods we actually eat in ways that work for our schedule and lifestyle.
In this episode, I'm walking you through exactly how I plan our preserving season, how I avoid overwhelm during peak harvest months, and the practical system I use to decide what's worth preserving and what's not.
If you've ever found yourself drowning in tomatoes in August, staring at jars you never use, or feeling burned out by canning season, this episode is for you. 💛
In This Episode
🍅 Why reactive preserving leads to stress and waste
🫙 How I do a pantry inventory every spring
📓 Why writing down your preserving goals matters
🥒 The foods I preserve most for our family
🌱 How our family's eating habits have changed over the years
🗓️ How I map out preserving season month-by-month
⏰ My "small pocket" method for preserving with a busy schedule
🫐 Which foods freeze beautifully before preserving
🥬 How I decide the best preservation method for each crop
👩🌾 Why preserving with community makes everything easier
Resources Mentioned
📘 Grab the bundle from this week's podcast sponsor, Homestead Living. It includes my book, Everything Worth Preserving, Jill Winger's Old Fashioned On Purpose Planner and Carolyn Thomases book, Freeze Drying the Harvest, all for just $89.99 (including FREE shipping!): https://homesteadliving.com/seasonal-food-strategy-subscriber-offer-2026/
🥒 Pickled Asparagus Recipe: https://melissaknorris.com/best-pickled-asparagus-easy-canning-recipe/
🍅 Fermented Salsa Recipe: https://melissaknorris.com/fermented-salsa/
🥒 Garlic Dill Pickles Recipe: https://melissaknorris.com/best-homemade-pickles-recipe/
🥒 Bread and Butter Pickles Recipe: https://melissaknorris.com/pioneering-today-bread-butter-refrigerator-pickle-recipe/
🌿 Rhubarb Strawberry Jam Recipe: https://melissaknorris.com/pioneering-today-how-to-make-strawberry-rhubarb-jam/
🥔 Root Cellaring in the Ground Tutorial: https://melissaknorris.com/how-to-harvest-and-store-potatoes/
🫘 Leather Britches Green Beans Tutorial: https://melissaknorris.com/leather-britches-green-beans/
Scripture Mentioned
📖 Luke 10:5-7 (AMP)
You can grab all the resources and remedies mentioned in this episode here: https://melissaknorris.com/511
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hey, pioneers, welcome back. So every spring, I plan how I'm going to be preserving a |
| 0:11.3 | year's worth of food without it taking over my life or having those days, especially in |
| 0:18.4 | August where it seems everything is coming in at the same time, |
| 0:21.3 | it's kind of like this pinnacle of the harvest and feeling overwhelmed. |
| 0:26.1 | Because there had definitely been times in my life where I was like, I've got all of this produce, |
| 0:31.9 | all of this bounty. |
| 0:33.5 | And yet there's just, I can't deal with all of it, which can be a good problem to have, |
| 0:39.3 | but it is still a problem. |
| 0:43.3 | And then there were years, I know many of you who have been preserving food for any amount of time can relate, |
| 0:48.3 | that you end up having all of these jars left over of certain things. |
| 0:55.4 | And you're like, hmm, maybe I didn't need 20 jars of zucchini relish because we only used |
| 1:03.9 | one. |
| 1:06.1 | So what I want to share with you today is a very practical plan that you can adapt for you and your |
| 1:13.5 | family on my preserving year. So what it actually looks like right now at the time of this recording |
| 1:19.1 | in spring and how that goes out throughout the rest of the year, because with now going on 26 plus |
| 1:26.7 | years of trial and error has taught me about being very strategic, |
| 1:34.8 | using a plan and pacing through the produce as it comes in so that I'm not completely overwhelmed by it. |
| 1:50.0 | So the first mistake that I see a lot of people making is it's the reactive approach. It's oh goodness, you know, the zucchini's on, the cucumbers are on, the green beans, the tomatoes, |
| 1:55.0 | the corn, whatever it is. |
| 1:58.0 | Here it is, it's all ready and then scrambling, figuring out what to do with it |
| 2:03.1 | before it starts to go bad, or you sit there and kind of ignore it or you wait too long, |
| 2:09.1 | and then it all goes bad anyways. So there have been times where I've been like, okay, |
... |
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