Prepping on a budget, can yield superior storage items; with a little work!

I got some beautiful multicolor cherry tomatoes, and decided to process them for later use.

They look pretty good:

They were cut into quarters, and dehydrated. There is enough water in them that it took about 30 hours to dry them enough to safely store. I store most of my dehydrated food in mason jars, because I can vacuum the Jars.

That came out nice:

This is after the air was pulled out. I use a refrigeration pump, and pull the vacuum to at least 28 inches of Mercury (29.92 inches is a perfect vacuum). This is enough to remove any remaining moisture, and effectively all the air in the jar. Once labeled, it will be moved into storage on the homestead.

This is how I bought these:

I grab deals when I see them, and these 2 pound containers were one dollar. I put 4 pounds of cherry tomatoes in this quart jar, so the dehydrator removed about two thirds of the volume. Prepping on a budget can be done, when you keep your eyes open; and get creative with what you purchase!