Check out the following infographic from FoodInsurance.com for some mistakes to avoid while preparing your pantry stockpiles and share your own mistakes in the comment section below to help others improve their preps!
You have your 1,000 pounds of wheat. Your 500 gallons of water and enough ammo to make Chuck Norris jealous but the question remains, are you truly prepared? Just because you’ve been prepping for twenty years doesn’t mean you haven’t made some mistakes along the way. It’s not enough to just have your emergency food storage, you have to be able to store it, eat it and even move it if things really get crazy.
Via Food Insurance
Not having enough cookies.
Chocolate chips- the Other staff of life!
How do you store 500 lbs of chocolate chips?
Food Saver!!
Only 200 more lbs. to go!!! 😉
I do dark chocolate bars (Dove) in large pickle jars with food saver suck. I’ve had some for 4 years and there is no difference in taste.
What will be worth more, Chocolate or 22 rounds?
do you have to ask???????
Get 50 pounds of green organic coffee beans!
Instant choclate pudding mix to go with your powdered milk!,
A salient example of the rabbis vetoing God’s Word:
http://mauricepinay.blogspot.com/2013/11/maimonides-and-rabbi-riskins-morality.html
“[My] comment is awaiting moderation”
Unless it’s dark chocolate, the 22 rounds are worth more.
I believe chocolate and .22lr rounds are both valuable.
Me too with chocolate bars…but I’m gonna have to glue the lids on if I want them to last!!!
That’s my problem too. My wife puts them on the top shelves but if I pull a chair over I can reach them.
I label my buckets as dog snacks, then lose them in the stacks. Hahaha
If the little woman is having a Menapausal attack and you really need her help with something, I’d say the chocolate. It can calm the beast in almost any person for a while. Stock up on plenty of “complete” brownie mix also.
Hey, we found that Hormel has started selling “Completes”; single serving, pre-cooked entrees for two bucks and change at Walmarket. They are in microwavable containers and have a year and a half “best used by” date.
We bought a few to try. The other morning i zapped a Bacon Breakfast Scramble, which has about two eggs and some roasted potatoes and bacon all mixed. It is 7.5 ounces and has 350 calories. High in sodium though at 900 mg., but darned good with some wheat toast and hot coffee before hitting the ole deer hunting stand.
Looking forward to trying the 7.5 oz chopped chicken barbecue for sandwiches. Once again, high in sodium, but what pre-cooked food isn’t? Solution. Drink plenty of water,ice tea, or coffee to help flush the sodium out.
pissinwiththewind,
We put up 20 of the snack size snicker bar bags after Holloween this year, we got for $1.88 a bag. Put them in a mylar bag and O2 eaters to see how long they will be good for. Storing the bucket in a cool dark place. We plan to open in 4 years and see if it’s any good. 🙂
We won’t know till we try. 😉
Also this weekend we are doing a bunch of scalloped potatoes, cake mixes and taco seasons the same way.
We learned a long time ago that can goods (from the store) like fruit and sauerkraut have to be rotated quickly. (thrown a bunch away after the cans bulged) 🙁
Have learned alot over the years and still practice to this day. Just glad that we still can. 🙂
Y’all enjoy the weekend. 🙂
hillbilly SC
THey are extremely unhealthy, with a lot of empty calories. I found the meals with dark sauce are good while the meals with light gravy are horrible.
Your first mistake is cooking food in a Microwave. Because Microwaves Zap the nutrition out of food and all you are left eating is the remaining fiber and filling. Thats why people are fat, they eat and eat, and they still crave more food nutrition, because the microwave robs the food of this nutrition. Do your research on this. You are better off learning how to preserve food by canning with pressure cooker. And this is way better than store bought canned food stuffed with mysterious chemicals and food coloring. I rarely use a microwave for anything these days. And once the grid goed down try eating that microwave food in an envelope. Ever read the ingreadients list on the Hormel Package? That should scare ya. Just saying… cheers.
Microwavable? You still use a microwave? I threw the microwave out years ago. I refuse to have one in the house. They do nothing but destroy all nutritional value in food and distort and ruin the molecular structure of that food you eat. The food goes in fine, but because the molecular shape has been changed the body has no way to expel those molecules once your body absorbs it. So if you’re fat, obese or overweight, it might just be because you’ve eaten microwaveable food your whole life. Your body has no way to expel the excess toxins you’ve injested for years. This is a probable cause of a lot of cancers too. It’s not what you ate, it’s how you changed the DNA/molecular shape in the preparation process that’s killing you and your family.
If you’re canning and preserving your food preps and you’re using a microwave for part of the process ….. It couldn’t really hurt to take 10 minutes to google how microwaves will destroy any nutritional value your preps might have had.
Throw your microwave out and get a life!!
The Hormel Completes can be frozen and the long shelf life only kicks in when the power is lost and they thaw.They are,essentially, MRE’s,and can be heated as such;i.e.boiling them,unopened,in a canteen cup of ditch or other non-potable water.Just wipe them off before opening.Those things are awesome
Nothing beats dehydrated for cost, calories/weight.
Hormel COmpletes are like a commercial MRE entree, like other effectively-canned food they can store 3 – 5 years (I’ve eaten older ones), but 350 calories is only a drop in the 2400 calories needed to maintain weight in moderate conditions–more if no heat in midwinter. These lack other items packed in MRE to increase calorie count to 1000–the crackers, jam, peanut butter, desert, candy.
I say effectively-canned because the plastic pouches or cups preserve food in the same way a can does–by sealing out bacteria/fungi, and relying on sterilization of contents.
DAMN..You’ve got the JUMP on us Girl…ONLY 200lbs left, I’m MIFFED! 😉
JOG….
Probably one of the best places for longer type storage of food and water that is temperature controlled is the old type of wine or storm cellar. The issue is always the water table that it never floods. A type of storm cellar connected to the house in someway is even better. Many old style bomb and fallout shelter are connected to the house’s basement in someway. These concrete bunkers are excellent for long term storage because usually the temperature is fairly cool and seldom cold all year long.
Another topic that someone could bring up would be ice house construction for preserving perishables. They have used ice houses in pioneer days all over the place. Areas that get snow during the winter have all they need to keep things cool for months. They use to use items such as hay as insultion. Syrofoam and the ground itself now could be used with an ice house and keep the snow and ice cold probably working until the next season when it fell again. I was reading how parabolic dishes can be used instead of heating from the Sun but at night to reflect heat back to the atmosphere and keep things cool. “Artificial” refrigeration would be something to look into for many people.
As for water, those Arrowhead or other bottled water have expired dates on them normally about 18 months to 2 years from when you buy them. I have used water that is over 3 years old and it is fine, taste a little stale but it didn’t harm me. When you look at just how much water you can get with a standard pallet of cases of bottled water, it ranges from 200-350 gallons. Those water cases can be stacked neatly into corners and with some heighth to them. What is nice about bottled water like this is that it is in individual bottles that you only use what you need when you need it, and the empty plastic bottles have much use in a post SHTF world.
I still say the best place for storing food are those super tough grocery store boxes that they ship fruit in. You can load about 75-100 cans of food into each box. There are very durable, they can be stacked on top of each other. I think most important is that they can be loaded quickly with dollies into a waiting truck to bug out. As you long as you rotate what is in these boxes occasionally these offer a really good and fast way of getting what you have out of Dodge rapidly if you have to. These boxes also are really good for concealing what you have to any “loose” eyes. Noramlly people don’t associate these fruit boxes with having anything in them but junk, not cans of food.
BI,
5 gallon military water cans (work well to and are easy to move about.
Youbcan stack them against a wall with ease.
Semper Fi 8541
Sorry about the typing fat fingers on a smart phone.
Semper Fi 8541
A handful at a time.
where there is a will, there is a way!
Beer….. hey don’t judge…. solves the wheat and water problem in one step…. just sayin…..PRAY, PREP, PLAN FORM TEAMS……and hide the beer……
I can live without chocolate. Never have craved it. Now, sweet tarts and gummie bears. Lovem! Getting my food saver very soon. Will be bagging chewy sweet tarts by the pound! My mouth is watering just typing this….no kidding!!
Those would seal well in mason jars using the jar sealer attachment.
Gummie bears turn into a one pound gummie bear when vac sealed in a jar.FYI
mmm gummy bears( specially the worms), now where you gonna be staying at? will work a garden for gummy worms in a shtf sit. have ammo and know how to use my small caliber rifles to take some big threats out, or just the tasty little critters tht happen to wonder about in thier happy haze. know construction and many other skills you may need. get them gummy worms sealed up and ready and you could have me as your live a round security gardener. lol mmm gummy worms.
My wife makes homemade gummy worms out of zucchini. They actually taste pretty good. Not like the real thing but dang close.
You are a god…. post that recipie please…. I have a truckload of zucchini. The zucchini plants tried to eat my house this year.
Wow JQP! All that for some gummy worms? I think I found my barter item 😉 I don’t can so I won’t have to worry about the “one pound gummy bear” but thank you Paranoid for the heads up, just in case I decided to learn. Sounds like I could probably get JQP to can for me if I needed to! 🙂 Your post made me laugh!
I’m glad I don’t eat much chocolate. Talk about a mess if you don’t have a cool place to keep it! Chocolate gives me heartburn so I stay away from it.
Gummies stick together after a while, and so do most hard candies (like lemon drops).
To avoid this, simply pour sugar into the jar after you fill it, making sure to get it all down in the cracks and spaces. Or layer… gummies, sugar, gummies, sugar.
As you remove the candies, the sugar will be a little flavored and makes a nice addition to tea.
NOT the original.
What is your game?
Forget the wheat. Store: corn, rye, and barley. Anyone that cannot figure out why, isn’t going to survive and be happy.
Paranoid, I’ve been prepping in one form or anther for almost 30 years, and I must confess that I do not know the issue about wheat. I have a selection of beans and also other grains, but still have lots of wheat.
Seems no one else is willing to display their ignorance. Please enlighten us.
Rye whiskey, rye whiskey, rye whiskey I cried, I must have rye whiskey or I surely will die. You don’t even know the song. I know several states you don’t live in. Poor guy. Makes you shake your head and wonder what the world is comming to.
I am making hard apple cider an easy project to do by the way.Got 2 gallons of it making right now,just take 100 percent apple cider that you bye from supermarket and white or golden suger,yeast and baloons and mix ingredints let set for a couple of weeks to fermint.
and M&Ms.
Stocked up on billions of M&Ms here – honestly, have you ever met an old M&M that wasn’t edible?
PuppyPrepper,
Had to laugh…
That reminded me of a story my best friends family told me one time about their dad.
He was the classic chocoholic, one day while walking into the living room, he looked down and saw a piece of chocolate on the floor (round like an m&m) Well he picks it up and pops it in his mouth. VERY quickly he spits it out as he sees the kids rabbit run across the floor. 🙂 🙂
From that point forward the family called them “Smart Pills”
because… after you eat one, you spit it out and say “That tastes likes SHIT.” See… your getting smarter already. 🙂
It’s great to remember friends that have passed and the smiles they gave us while they were here.
Y’all hug your love ones. 🙂
hillbilly SC
LOL, “smart pills”, that’s a good one Hillbilly sc.
That there’s funny, hillbilly!
A bowl of rabbit M&M’s on the coffee table would do well for unwelcome company !
More peaceful than buckshot but nearly as effective I’m thinking.
M&Ms, just another gift from WWII that keeps on giving…
Please note: I could do without the alarm clock!
B ought lots of “Movie” size boxes of M&M Peanuts after Halloween at 50% off. Removed from boxes (they are in a bag inside the box) and stored in pail.
I get the peanut because I like to think the ‘protein’ from the nut [i]somehow[/i] offsets the sugar in the chocolate and the candy shell!!! 😀
I have some twinkies I bought six years ago with and expeation date of Feb 2246. Can I eat them after that date……
Only with Coffee
DO NOT FORGET.. store plenty of vitamins and suppliments and herbs! Also store medicinal herb seeds available at http://www.mountainroseherbs.com and also bulk suppliments at http://www.purebulk.com get a capsule filling machine and empty capsules also! I use this on a daily basis it saves a ton of paper satans compared to the store bought and its organic. 00 size capsules are the biggest and best IMO. Learn how to make extracts and alcohol and store sugar and yeast! A pound of vaccum packed saf yeast is only 5 bux. Get sugar by the case or 50lb. bag and keep it dry. Tobbacco is worth its wieght in gold a 1lb. bag is about 18 bux and some cheap papers. You want tobbacco labeled pipe tobacco because it doesnt have the cig tax on it. Be sure to have plenty of canning jars and equipment to store your harvest and keep things bugproof. Make sure to order herbs in powder form because it’s a pain in the ass to grind them up. Also don’t forget pet food and livestock that can eat vegitation around your dwelling if need be. OK NOW FOR A FUN GAME! add comments below… YOU MIGHT BE A PREPPER IF…
you have a bookcase full of survival books…. you have more ammo than DHS….. your pickup has steel plates in the doors and rear…. you have 10 years of food and want more… your wife has a closet full of toilet paper… you never miss a case lot sale… the freeze dry guy knows you by name… you have more underground square footage than above ground… add your input 🙂
They call you compost man, you know all your chickens by name, harbor frieght is were you meet girls, even your mini van is all wheel drive, two wells because they should come in pairs, you have four generations of solor panels, you can tie knots better than captain Sig Hanson, you can out shoot your twenty year army infantry bother in law, your house is made out of steel shipping containors, Snap on tools has YOU on speed dial, there is a picture of you at the Glock factory as an honured customer, you can build a shelter out of a toothpick and a tomato plant and tape……
Excellent man!
Thanks Mac for the info-graphic. A real food failure is not making plans for the preparation and use of what you have stored. Instead of all that stored wheat consider lentils, assorted types of beans. A person needs a variety of foods. Methods/means of cooking what is stored must be considered. Understanding calorie density of what is stored is critical too. Finally plan, prep, rotation. Don’t forget those manual can openers; you don’t want to damage that valuable hunting knife.
{MM}
Excellent points on the nutrition aspect Mike.
Tess Pennington put together an excellent primer on this in the 52 Weeks to Preparedness.
This is the Carb chapter (35): http://readynutrition.com/resources/week-35-of-52-surviving-with-carbohydrates_27022012/
But for those interested, also check out:
chapter 33: Essential Fats and oils
Chapter 34: Essential Legumes
Chapter 36: SHTF sugars
Chapter 37: Essential baking needs
Definitely critical information — An SHTF diet will require high protein/carb intake in the right combinations for maximum performance.
It’s not just about packing buckets, but ensuring you have the RIGHT foods.
…not having an extra can opener when the one you usually use strips out on you sucks, but a P-38 will work too. I’ve opened cans with my multi-tool before, but it doesn’t hurt to spend $5 at the dollar store and get some extras.
Can your 8 yr old handle a P-38 if you were sick or gone?
I keep extra hand can openers as part of my preps. I’m currently concentrating on building up a freeze-dried component to my food storage but there’s only a few local sources for freeze-dried food in my area. I don’t want to take the risk of ordering a bunch of it online[OPSEC]. i’ve heard a story or two about how that can turn out for someone. P-38 will work in a pinch, but extra hand can openers never hurt and are cheap enough to put several in storage.
I am with ya braveheart – ordering online is kinda like sending up a flare.
But then i am posting here reguarly so opsec is blown .
Living on a farm has its way of lulling a guy into thinking food is at the ready.
Been thinking alot about biological “disasters” of late and am thinking hard on freeze dried storable food.
Any recomondatons from folks who have eaten any amount of this stuff is welcome .
+1 Hammer
You said what was going through my head!
KULA – are you in the way of fukashima radiation?
Be careful my friend .
hammerhead,
Try the Mountain house freeze dried pouches at Wally World. (they keep’em in the camping area)
About 6 to 7 bucks each, for a meal for 2. Not bad. 😉
Also our local Wally World started to stock freeze dried fruits in the fruit section near the can stuff. The mrs. loves this stuff. About 4 bucks a bag and now I have to hide it. 🙂
Y’all play nice.
hillbilly SC
Hammerhead,
Re freeze dried foods,
Stay away from pre made dishes,, some are ok, but is best to get raw materials for making up your own dishes,, variety in your meals may well be the simplest of pleasures that will go the farthest towards a little enjoyment and normalcy,
On sale this weekend at the Marketplace…
4-Person Survival Kit – $83.99 (reg. $144.99)
It includes a backpack with 8 water pouches, food bars, radio, 4 emergency sleeping bags, 4 ponchos w/ hoods, water purification tablets, first aid kit, and other items.
I am on my third Costco box of the freeze dried mountain house. 44 bux for 10 packets. Great for camping ( I like to stealth van) and for fast hot nutrition. The lasagne is my fav. They are not too bad alone, with some squirrel or grouse, etc they would be a great meal for shtf.
hammerhead,
You can order long term food storage (wheat, etc.) online and have it shipped to the store – for pick up there. (Have it shipped to a store in a different area for best opsec.) Walmart and Sam’s Club sell the Augason Farms food storage. Some Walmarts even sell some of these products right in the store, but not locally.
Costco sells the Thrive brand food storage.
I have used both these brands and the food was good. Hope this helps!
Hammerhead, I’ve sampled some of the Mountain House products and YUMMMMMMM. I’m going to get a few samples of Wise next. I don’t know about the other brands yet.
aren’t that many that have lived…from eating alot of that shit.
The human body was not built to eat that shit.
hammer H
ive eaten a little of it ,it aint the greatest but it will make a solid turd ,all the frz dried (or sealed #10 cans) i buy is staples ,ie. eggs ,butter ,cheese ,tomato ,oats ,cornmeal ,milk ,wheat ,flour, potato flakes ,peanut butter ,grnd beef ,grnd pork ,all this has a 20-30 yr shelf life ,i only have about 14 of the ready meal pouches and all them are in my bugout bag ,my beans ,rice ,pop corn and pasta are in 5 gal mylar in buckets , salt ,sugar ,and honey dont require any special att. other than keeping it dry
Thanks all , i gotta do some research this week.
I dont think stuffin a quart jar of canned chicken in a backpack would constitute a “bugout” plan. LOL
I will go to wallys world today , thanks again.
I paid cash and picked up most of my long-term food storage, but what things I did buy I had delivered to a friend’s business (my billing address is a PO Box). He has since went out of business and moved away so I can’t do that anymore, but he won’t be there if anyone shows up asking questions either.
I’ve carried a P-38 with the blade scotch taped down on my key ring for years and it’s sharp little blade has come in handy for more than just cans. There is also a workable can opener on the Swiss army knife I always have in my pocket. I also know how to open a can with just a spoon because knowledge is easier to hold onto.
PP, that can opener on the Swiss army knife does work in a pinch if you have nothing else on hand. I’ve had Swiss army knives since I was a kid. I swear by them. still carry one in my pocket to this day.
PP, I too also carry a P-38 on my key ring. Not too long ago I purchased the larger sized P-51 (100 ct bag)) from Sportsman Guide. Figured it would be a good barter item. The P-51 is also easier to use with a gloved hand.
i have ordered from honeyville farms when they run sales ,and the last time i ordered some frz dried meats ,the cases came with no markings on them ,posibly from complaints ,or maybe they did it on there own ,also we have a LDS canery about 75mi from us in davie fl, cheap prices ,but here’s the bad news for those of you who have not heard nov. the 1st they closed down about 88 of there cannenrys around the country leaving open only 12 ,siteing that they were having problems with the goverment ,somthing about having to come into complience because they were a food distributer (which is not true ) im guessing that big brother didnt like the fact that so many were able to get large amounts of dry goods at a good price and they were’nt able to have there finger in the pie ,hind site being what it is ,had i known when i first stared prepping ,i would of got most of my cache from the LDS ,by time i bought bulk ,paid for the buckets ,mylar and O2 absorbers it was the same money ,and the cases of #10 cans are easier to store ,but it is what it is , its all a learning prosses as you go ,and when i started i quickly adopted OP-SEC so i had no guides or input from anyone ,and the U-tube movment was fiarly new ,just a hand full of preppers on there ,also the last ime i was at the army surplus i bought a larger version of my p-38 ,little easier to use ,i dont have any chocalate ,but i do have 4 cases of apple slices i got from the LDS cannery that have a 30yr shelf life ,and some cases strawberrys’ ,banana’s ,and peanut butter from honeyville with a 20 yr shelf life ,so at least my oats wont be boring
Hey sixpack & braveheart , Check out ‘The Crazy Russian’ on U-Tube . He shows how to open a can on concrete ! Now I’ve opened a lot of cans with pocket knifes but I would have never thought of this !?? I guess if you’re in the woods, ya might wanna carry a brick for this !?? Or find a big semi-smooth rock ??……..mm
in the USMC 1965 using a p-38 they cool it takes 38 times to open a can of sea-rations sea-rats for short,,
I’ve kept a P38 on my key ring for about 25 years now, plus a couple extra stashed away.
Ditto here ARCO,
I don’t leave home with out it it’s Every day carry.
Semper Fi 8541
ditto.
ive had mine on my keychain for about that long to ,ive used it to skin wire in a pinch ,open packages ,and clean my finger nails
sixpack,
I picked up a 15-pack of P-38s at Amazon for about 5 bucks.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000RGWYO2/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1
If you haven’t a can opener, you can turn your can of goodies upside down and rub it on a flat piece of concrete or stone a bit, flip it right side up and squeeze the sides of the can, turning it as you go. Presto! The lid will pop right off.
“Game, SET and MATCH” Mac,
Remember as well, that ALL that we do, NOW will eventually RUN out; in the long term the neccessity is to BECOME re-adapted to Nature…a Natural way of Living, little else will KEEP you alive through time. As such then ACQUIRING ENOUGH to get one THROUGH that period of change is what is most needful…and a bit to spare as well!
FROM personal experience – LATELY – I can tell you that your protein consuumption will at LEAST quadruple, – PROTEIN is what the BODY re-builds itself with DAILY – when Life is a matter of WORK…Carbohydrates as well; Dessert is NOT an option when you are trying to BUILD and THINK…for the BRAIN is almost completely dependent pon the Sugar group, try THINKING when your sugar is LOW, tain’t happening Folks….
While I’m here, Mac…I ‘ucked-up’ earlier in replying to Thinker and BI in the previous forum…accidentally hit the send key BEFORE I had ‘identified’ a comment/reply thereto….I would ask that if that yet remains ‘in the que’ to have that posted when you can, the reply is ‘technical’ Brother…I’m not sure I could easily re-duplicate it…Thanks apriori…Adios All!
JOG
No can opener … go to you tube and watch the russian hacker open a can. Turn said can top down on a piece of standard concrete… rub back an forth real fast for about 20-30 seconds. Squeez can sides and the top pops right off.
Also a fantastic resource for pantry planning…
The Pantry Primer by Daisy Luther:
http://www.theorganicprepper.ca/the-pantry-primer-a-review-11122013
I have the house to myself for a few days. I normally take times like this to double check quantities of foodstuffs, medical supplies, treated gasoline, etc. I check expiration dates, and, in general, tidy things up a bit. I make sure vehicle maintenance is up to date. Anything found lacking is remedied by a shopping list and a trip to the store. I thought I was done until I read this article. I realized I need to dump, refill, and treat my stored water. Thanks for the timely reminder.
I’m just going to keep marking it with the date, and store up some more—there will be toilets to flush and stuff like that too. It don’t need to be too fresh to pour it down the toilet, and I’ve got plenty of more recent water stores.
That is the problem with prepping is that you don’t know what you lack until that time comes. The best thing to do is take a day or two and practice. Yes, that means using your solar lights, hand crank radio, and solo stove for cooking. Make it fun. You don’t want a divource over it.
Don’t be too sure about that last point.
I believe that I will have exactly what I was supposed to have when it happens…and my advice as usual…
“don’t go down without one helluva fight”
Did Pacificsource work for you?
lastman.
Not yet. I am looking to transfer my current health policy from company I work with to that of my own business.
Pacific Source will be one of my calls.
Thanks for advice.
“That is the problem with prepping is that you don’t know what you lack until that time comes.”
Absolutely….THAT is the reason that even ‘barter’ might be VERY “limited”…or non-existent EVEN, for a very long time after a ‘Fall’…for HOW will you KNOW for SURE that what you are about to ‘trade’ to someone else is NOT – truly – essential…at a later point? This is WHY modern ‘trade’ works NOW, it functions on a KNOWN schema…which is – currently – ‘predictable’…Just sayin here.
JOG
That is why every room in my house, the attic, the garage, the chicken house, the biddy house, and the green house are all full of stuff. Nothing has ever been thrown away since the house was built back in the 1930s. Tin wood heater, iron cookware, tools, reel-type mower, plow, assorted hardware, pipes, lumber, tons of stuff.
Most of the time now when I want to do a project, I find that I already have most of what I need.
My wife will ask me about tossing something, and I’ll say that we might need it later. I didn’t live through the depression, but I sure heard enough about it to know I don’t want to be caught short.
Howdy A!
Gee, a new strategy I hadn’t considered…the ‘stash it till it runs out the Windows’ strategy…I LIKE IT! As far as the Depression was concerned, “Ditto’, on all fronts; My Grand-Parents DID, and their tales are beyond merely ‘sobering’. So much of what we now take wholly for granted comes as a FUNCTION of a ‘developed society’, when that is gone…..so is everything else as well. I have over time taken the patterns for several piece of ‘clever’ furniture; you probably know the type I mean, those which very cleverly ‘fold’ to a minimum of space by virtue of a very good design, as well those are duplicatable without the neccessity for advanced machine tools. These are in my estimation, nearly as important as the many BOOKS which I have accrued over time, examples of, that is.
There are some VERY clever things that were done in ages long past, to be sure, and I cannot see having to reduplicate the ‘thought’ that went into those again and again. Keep on KEEPIN’ on Friend, the true utility of all such is now so very close…I wonder that this Christmass might well be ‘ideal’ time for those at the top to spring their “X-Mass Suprise” on us…the BIG ONE.
JOG
My dad grew up on a farm in the Great Depression and didn’t even have an outhouse. His family used the moss that grew on the trees for toilet paper! And on that happy note a good day to all.
cali girl
im guessing the moss didnt appreciate that
Chiggers love living in that moss and if you have never had chiggers, you have not lived or wish you hadn’t.
i thought about that to ,ive had chiggers on my lower hanging’s when i was a kid ,and that was just from playing in the oak tree’s ,and the cure aint fun ,fasted sure way to get rid of them is to pour rubbing alcohol on them ,now ifin your a guy and put alcohol on the hanging parts ,you know it dont feel good ,but it will get rid of the chiggers right now
My hubby was blessed to be the recipient of 60 years of assorted tools, metal working stuff, etc. we still have most of it,(updated the 50 yr old power tools with ones that had safety features) and the only things we still need are garden related stuff. I truly appreciate his family’s willingness to save stuff.
In that realm, where can you buy a hand-operated drill? I have shopped Ace, Home Depot, and other hardware stores, and NO ONE has them! Any help in that regard (online, ANYTHING) will be appreciated!
Keep looking up. and keep your powder dry.
i went to a tractor show in central fl ,and there was a guy there and he literaly had over a 100 of the hand operated drills i never seen so many im one place he was sellnig them for 50 cent a pc. and there was another guy there that had a table that had at least 50 hand egg beaters ,crazy place it was like every one that had cornered the market on useless stuff was there
I bought a “brace and bit” manual drill along with a complete assortment of bits at a yard sale for $15.00. The bits were the Russell-Jennings and a complete set. It was a good find. You’ve got to hit the yard sales.
Try here :
http://www.garrettwade.com/
All kinds of classical hand tools and other neat items!
Semper Fi 8541
Dr.,
Here are some links to a pretty good bit brace and a set of auger bits for it. The auger bits are hex-shank and can be placed in the three-jaw bit brace.
You’re correct in saying Lowe’s, Home Depot, etc. never have any kind of bit brace. They do have some pretty good planes, chisels, and hand saws, though. You might need those, as well, depending on the extent of your intentions to build stuff.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JRFJQO/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=26T21UPOWYKR0&coliid=I2FRH3P13H41KI
http://www.amazon.com/Robert-Larson-Swing-Brace-Chuck/dp/B000JRFJQO/ref=pd_bxgy_hi_img_y
I have a Stanley that I bought at a thrift store. There were two, and the better one was cheaper because it didn’t look as “antique.” I don’t have a battery operated drill, so I use the old egg-beater when I’m away from outlets.
try Lehman’s
May sound strange but I only go to the store every 6 weeks. I have done this for several years now and it helped tremendously with figuring out where there were gaps in my preps.
Kindle.
That is good point. Most times when I shop by myself I usually get what is on list. I need to get an extra something. That is, one time maybe buy an extra 10 packages of butter and put in freezer. Another time, maybe an extra 10 cans of chili.
Little by little.
Ugly,
Take your preps on a camping trip. Simulate a SHTF scenario to the best of your ability. It will give you an idea of where your prepper gaps are and ideas for improving.
HAHA – right wing , we did that this past summer.
MAJOR FAIL , got along ways to go.
The kids just dont get it , but we do the best we can.
Stayin put in a crisis is our best option , we are already blessed with plenty , but out in the woods , without all our stuff ? FAIL . LMAO , it was terrible.
Every one of these are an issue if your trying to bug out at all. That’s why I’m staying put. I have everything I need to survive right here. If it gets that ugly I’ll die where I’m at. I’m a bit too old to try and run from anything.
Wrong — you’re a bit too old to run from anything….?
I must ask, was there ever an age you ran from something?
No, I didn’t think so…..
No. It’s gotten me in trouble several times too.
Hey, coffee time. Check your email.
Checked, good buddy
Mistake #11
Never tell a fat guy where you hide the brownies.
#12
Don’t store large quantities of beer. Next thing you know, a tailgate party in Tulsa becomes a road trip to Flagstaff. (it’s embarrassing to call home for bus fare and not know what time zone you’re in)
#13
Some convenience foods store remarkably well. For instance, archaeologists have found spray-cheese-in-a-can dating to the time of King Arthur, And twinkies from the Triassic period. Both still tasted fine!
And mcdonalds food too… You could store a huge bag of dollar fries and burgers and have it made…
Also toilet paper…
🙂
Smokin’, you mean they both tasted THE SAME as they usually do…
As always, “Ha Ha Ha” Senor Smokin… 😉
Especially, number 12…
JOG
i dont know about the new twinkies, since they were bought out ,i had some in the pantry for about three weeks and they turned green
Heard some talk of “saw porn” the other day. After a couple years of looking I came across my “centerfold” at a sale Friday evening.
I managed to pick up the style of crosscut saw I had been looking for. It is a 54″ plain tooth one man saw in cherry shape (if you can really say that about a centerfold) with the extra handle to make it workable for two people.
The plain tooth saws are better suited for hardwood which is what we use around here. They also had 2 two man saws with the lance teeth best for soft wood.
I paid $18 for my saw and the two man saws went for $22 FOR BOTH. I should maybe have bought all of them.
I hope I never need to use them. I like my chainsaw.
JRS- “saw porn”. Only a true prepper could appreciate that! Gotta be careful though. Too much and you’ll never again be faithful to your trusty 14inch self-oiling Homelite. Granted, she aint much for show, and sometimes she’s hard to start… but, she was always there when you needed her. (And she never complained about those quickies when it was just a stray limb needed trimmed)
Make sure you get a tooth setter and some files for sharpening that baby,,
Just picked up a beautiful old saw-set at an auction for $2.00 I think maybe I was the only person there who knew what it was. I do need to buy a few more saw files, though.
You guys over there are lucky you can find that stuff, over here most of the old tools just rust away, salt air and humidity are not kind!
JRS, SO,
ROFLMAO
If I could I would give both of you ten thumbs up. I need to go to the garage and find something to caress.
Yeah, makes me want to bust out the tools, a cleaning rag and the oil can…I like to use my wrenches as mirrors on the off days…
Ok folks here is some real info for ya
FIRE safety.. I have saved my house and others
With this easy method
Will work against forest fire as well as the random
Molotove chucked on yer roof
Place multiple trashcans of water and dish soap mixed
On roof top use bailing wire down to inside house
When fire in near or on fire pull buckets down. This will
Drench most of the roof. Thus saving said needed preps
And the inside toilet for the lady folks 🙂
Or just put a metal roof on your house!
Good one, Kula
We still have barns around here
with the same metal roof they
have had for a century.
Ever been in a metal roofed barn
during a hail storm? Unbelievable.
I was in a house with a tin roof during Hurricane Donna in 1960. The acorns hitting the roof were incredibly loud.
Huh? Can’t hear ya!
Mine’s slate. Been there since 1948, never needed a lick of fixing.
Nina’os Lil Brother.
Dish Soap.
Like fire fighting foam. What is your Concentration ratio of water to soap.
That is a new one for me.
Ugly I agree but I would say try it for a weekend at least. You need menus and to learn cooking techniques with this new food and your family needs to get used to eating it. It does no good to have food that no one will eat. And cooking on a different fuel source will require practice.
There is a lot of talk about beans and grain but without veggies and fruit you won’t maintain health for long. And a basic diet will require more oil, spices and herbs for interest.
They’ll eat it if they get hungry enough. Period.
This entire strategy of prepping is one I DO NOT understand.
Store what you use every day.
Start in the morning as you get out of bed, make a list the first 30 minutes.
Uh, toilet paper, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, towels, washcloths, lotion.
I just covered the first 30 minutes..see??
Buy those replacements that weekend.
Tomorrow, the next 30 minutes..and stick to it and buy those replacements that weekend or when funds allow.
JayJay a homesteaders mentality would be to take that list of items and learn how to make them yourself, learning one item at a time. If you can’t make the item then figure out a way to achieve the same outcome with some kind of a substitute. You don’t have to use the substitute until the time comes but you do need to know how to make it.
Rick–I’m 63 and have over 6 years of food stored–don’t know how long stretching it out it will last..:-)
Supplies for years…other than that??
Nah–not worried.
But, I will say this. I’ll die and leave that for someone ’cause Gene and I are NOT leaving this property standing.
That’s just how it is, folks.
I like your orneriness, someone with that much spunk will survive.
Must be something about being 63, so am I. And I’m not leaving any way but feet first. All these others can bug out here or there. This is my home, and I’m staying. Someone has to thin out the garbage, if they come, It may as well be me. I never did think much of running, now I’m too old and I’d rather take a few with me.
I asked my Son in law last week to order 50 pounds of Ghiardelli Chocolate from his food supplier for me. If life is short, it must have choclolate!
They say a glass of wine a day is good for you. If you can stand one of the Gallo 1 Gal. wines, those 1 gal. glass jugs are good for water. Also as noted above those large glass pickle jars are good for beans rice etc…
Find yourself a restaurant and ask them nicely for any pickle or other large jars. Most of the time they just toss them anyway. It a joke at my house with the kids about what the hell they are going to do with all the damn jars after we’re gone.
Big fan of glass containers. Everything from six gallon carbouys to the standard Qt. canning jars. We got shit loads of em’.
My favorites, that i fish out of the glass recycling bin is the gallon wine jugs and half gallon liquor jugs with the metal lids. We find it fascinating that someone has a thing for expensive brandy and saves, on average, a half dozen bottles to dump at the same time. They never completely empty them and leave a good jigger in each. I usually wind up buzzing like a sack of flies when i start rinsing them out and drinking the left overs. Waste not want not.
The little woman laughed at me until i gave her a taste and she couldn’t believe how smooth tasting. She said, “wow that must be expensive stuff”. Ironically, the recycling bins are behind the town liquor store which is called ABC. All liquor sales, by the bottle, are only sold thru these in our state.
We went inside and she was blown away by the retail cost of the brandy. I reminded her of the times when the person that recycles their Gin bottles; about the same scenario as the brandy drinkers, saving them up until they have about half a dozen and throwing them in the bins with lids intact. Not just any Gin, the Bombay Sapphire at 42 bucks a bottle. Nice blue tinted glass that looks really good filled with beans and rice.
We have carbouys filled with wheat berries, cornmeal, and pintos. We also have a hand crank wheat grinder and plenty of yeast, powdered eggs, and canola oil. we do cycle out the oil, especially the olive oil. We have found that the oil keeps longer without turning rancid than the Crisco shortening and lard.
Pwtw:
I asked the owner of an olive oil plantation in Spain how long it will last and he said pretty much indefinitely. Canola oil not so much.
Thanks for the tip about the Bombay Sapphire gin bottles; we go through a lot of that stuff.
Thks. Gadabout.
I’ve gotten all kinds of different views on the longevity of cooking oils and such.
Good to hear from someone who should actually know about the olive oil. We use it for almost all our cooking except deep frying. i even use it in place of shortening when making my cornbread. It gives it a nice flavor with a hint of nuttiness.
I’ve replaced half the grease/fat from bacon or sausage for making breakfast gravy, with the olive oil. The little woman says it is actually better tasting. It definitely is better for you.
Most pickles and the like come in plastic jars now instead of glass and you cannot get the odor out with anything I have tried.
Food bank in the nearest city to me has a huge dehydrating operation and sells to the public. They have good stuff.
Hey, Texan, try vinegar; however strong you want and soak it overnight.
Works for me–I just cleaned a glass olive jar that I use to store dehydrated jalapenos in using one of the sealing canisters from Amazon.
You wanna taste something gooood? Try making a standard batch of fudge, but at the end before you pour, mix in one small pureed jalapeno, minus the seeds.
Go to the pizza shops, some of them get mushrooms in plastic buckets. I get them and lids for 50C. No oder and they keep things like sugar, super fab.
I live right next door to a restaurant. They set them out back just for me.
Mac,
This is OT. Many have speculated about what will cause the SHTF event, what type of event(s) it will be, if it will be multiple events happening together in a short period of time, when it will hit, where, etc. It dawned on me this morning that with the many negative events happening now the straw that breaks the camels back may well be implementation of Obamacare. I see on Drudge that many doctors are being dropped by insurance plans, people are losing their plans, now there is talk of delaying implementation, but even with the delay of implementation some states and numerous insurance companies have stated they will not go back and continue to offer current plans for a year until implementation does come about. Utter chaos is the way I see this health care debacle. Your thoughts?????
Howdy Wilson,
If I may here. A “David Korowicz”, previously a ‘Complex Systems Engineer, later an Economist, has produced a pdf file titled ‘Tradeoff.pgf’ which goes directly to that, as well another FAR more broad analyis of the whole…posted only several weeks ago. ‘Tradeoff’ is directed solely at the frailty of the JIT logistic system that ALL Humanity now depands upon – CRITICALLY – and it’s relation to the Financial World, that is just ‘Grim’…the later piece is ‘TERRIFYING’ in what it implies…succesive, concatenated ‘Failures’ that propagate THROUGHOUT all current systems, and sub-systems, at a ‘breath-taking’ speed…which by it’s very Nature accelerates continuously…all the way to it’s “conclusion”…FINALITY, that is. IMHO, this will come as a matter of the ‘Upper Crust’ having BADLY estimated just how far this can all be ‘pushed’…the system is nearing a tipping point now, there is little leeway left at this point, little ‘flexibility’ with which to respond….unlike say, the 1980’s…as the efforts of the FED to further ‘stroke the kitty’ fail moreso with each passing day. Anything – even relatively small events – can act now to push things beyond the point where the system will ACT – CAN ACT – to suppress the consequences….a positive feedback loop that DRIVES the system farther and farther from it’s center…from eqilibrium, NOT towards it.
THAT is what awaits, now almost as a certainty..the World is now all but wrecked, with little or no ‘resiliency’ with which to respond, no remaining ability to ‘heal’ itself….
“Hold on tight…it’ going to be a BUMPY RIDE….SOON.”
JOG
JOG,
I read that file for work it is required reading in DHS , as you said the Just in time delivery system is a ticking time bomb. People do not realize that there is very little reserve items in the supply line.
In engineering this is called a single point failure , one small disruption collapses the entire system.
That report is truely frightening on par with the EMP congressional report.
I do not understand why contingencies are not being implemented.
Semper Fi 8541
REPOSTED…
Howdy OW!…and NB and Wilson too!
@OW, Yep, my ASS is getting less and less able to handle the BUMPS anymore Friends….gettin’ OLD is HELL, ain’t it?
@ NB,
Fascinating…that someone, somewhere ‘In AUTHORITY’ has the ‘mental wattage’ to realize just what can happen…and tries to REACT to that before the fact…not AFTER! Startling information Friend, my Thanks, thusly. LAST year when David first penned that I went through it all brash and full of myself…and realized half-way through that he WAS WAY
OVER my head, as it were, thence, sometime after I had RE-READ that TWICE more – FULLY – all 78 pages of it…I actually began to grasp what he was describing, thereafter…. that’s when the final decision to LEAVE came to pass for us, our group, for what he detailed is PERMANENT, unrecoverable damage to the fabric of Society/ Civilization in less than 10 days following the onset of any MAJOR disruption in the system.
Frankly, that scared the SH_T out of me and all of MINE as well…all of whom are sufficiently well-favored mentally so as to be able to grasp what he there MEANT, some, even better than I myself!
The inherent ‘frailty’ of the Modern World as it is constructed is quite effectively concealed from any casual examination/view by it’s intrinsic complexity, it truly takes someone of Mr Korowicz caliber to ferret out the details such that they CAN be grasped by those for whom this is not a Profession; surely few – myself included – could EVER analyze something like that alone in ANY way at all, EVER!
As said, this was the ‘final straw’ for US, after that there was no longer any real doubt as to what the proper course of response was…but everyone chooses their own way, to be sure, at a time of their own choosing….
As far as to WHY there are no real “contingency plans”, tis simple Friend, ‘none we KNOW of’, Eh?…that said, the system is stressed beyond anything that anyone ever thought it might bear; there is NO BACK-UP anymore…in anything….for us, EXCEPT ourselves, that is. Have a good one Friend,
@ Wilson,
Yep Dat ONE FUNNY MAN!… Eh?! 😉
following on with your last bit ‘…and Your’n’ quoting Redford there I believe, “Jeremiah Johsson’, No?
A FUNNY movie, especially when he is met at his cabin by the Army Scouts…the interchange that follows is HILARIOUS!
JOG
Soon hell, JOG! My ass is coming off the seat
and my head is denting the roof right now.
Any rougher and my truck will have a sunroof.
damn that’s funny, LOL, watch your topknot
LINK ? ? ? ?
stay away from those .99 cent can openers, 1 or 2 you may get opened, before they fall apart..
their made in china,,, however my 2013-150cc china scooter is great i get 70MPG whith her and she goes 80 MPH
+1 to that. I figured it out by buying 3 of the junky imports that are all they sell at big box stores.
Finally got smart and bought two “Swingaway” (brand) hand operated openers at my local True Value Hardware. Nothing else comes close to a Swingaway. The original design was mounted on a wall on a hinge, so it could fold flat to be out of the way. Hence the name.
Self canned salted butter. Good for at least 5 years. That hand grinder for the wheat will give you a GOOD work out. Learning how to bake with it will produce quite a few bricks at first.
Especially learning how to bake with rustic wheat or oat or barley flour in a dutch oven!
Hint, get a big one! And a pizza stone that fits the bottom of it
Are you using regular store bought butter or adding more salt? Water bath or pressure canner? We can tons of veggies and will try canning a bunch of meat shortly. Never thought of canning butter. It is one of the things I would miss most as we eat a lot of potatoes and corn and beans.
Easy to do.
Directions on youtube.
I have 21 pints canned. Water bath canner.
Important: When canning meat let the canner cool slowly don’t vent it. You will blow the juice out of the jars.
PLEASE only pressure can meat. I have canned all sorts of meat, poultry, sausage, even bacon, but you have to use a pressure canner. Shelf life = indefinite, but only with a PRESSURE CANNER.
Having heirloom seeds is a great, but the experience gained from actually growing a garden is invaluable. LATER is not the time to learn to grow. Get started now if you haven’t already. EVERY meal, look at your plate, and if you don’t see at least one item you grew yourself on that plate, you have a problem….and it’s only gonna get worse as things go downhill.
Go out TODAY and start a garden…..if the weather is crappy cold, then figure out HOW you’re gonna grow in crappy cold weather after TSHTF….because the weather isn’t going to change. You can bet Murphy’s Law will kick in and the SWHTF right at the worst time of year. ( and if you live someplace you can’t grow things, like an apartment or HOA….QUIT MAKING EXCUSES….MOVE )
We just finished up our second greenhouse (20×36 unheated) to raise some cool weather crops all winter…brocolli, cabbage, carrots, lettuce, spinach, peas. Stored food is great, we have a lot, but fresh, renewable food is better.
Get started with small animals for protein….chickens and rabbits take a minimum of space and care. Learn to grow them, and learn to grow the food they eat as well. Bags of feed from the feed store may be a luxury some day. Then learn to butcher, cook, and preserve what you raise.
God help us.
Ah, it’s November, remember. Maybe you can garden on the latitude of Mexico, but not in most of the USA.
HOWEVER, you should emulate real farmers and have your ground plowed by now. Turn it over and let it rest all winter.
Tools – If there’s no fuel to be had, your spading fork is your rototiller. Get forks with a forged socket, not the stamped-and-wrapped kind.
Me, I’m using a Troy Horse rototiller until there’s no gas. Then I may simply keep slaves.
Year round baby!
Latitude 22!
Better yet, plant ground cover “tillage radish”. You can eat them, too. Gardens Alive has the seed for smaller backyard gardens. The ground cover keeps the soil erosion at bay and the tillage radish grows up to 12 inches long and help to aerate the soil. Leave it out there all winter. Then just till it under in the spring. As for eating the radish, they are quite good shredded into a salad or eaten sliced. Kind of spicey, but gooooood.
WINTER NUTRITION
You can still sprout seeds in winter/an apartment.
Sneer not as after shtf those sprouted seeds will be FRESH vits for the kids. Living off dried, and processed foods, even home canned or dehydrated is not how children were designed to grow and thrive, same for the elderly.
Seed sprouting is a task even a 5 year old can master with a bit of practice (mine did lol!). Working out which are tastiest, grow fastest etc is a great home school winter science project.
A supply of fresh, clean water is all that’s required. Sprout a variety of seeds over winter for maximum nutritional value.
Imho everyone should learn how to store the seeds of their summer harvest for NEXT years garden planting and this winters fresh food supplementation. Shops will be shut once shtf!
This site is UK based, but gives great information on HOW to seed save. The author even provides a free downloadable booklet to get you started http://realseeds.co.uk/seedsavinginfo.html
I really think seed saving is an under rated preppers skill, and one that will be in high demand POST shtf. Like most things, it seems easy till you try it. Then you discover there is an art and some things are trickier than others. e.g Squashes are tarts and will cross, soon as look at ya (inc with GMO stuff – be careful!). Carrot seeds are VERY tricky to store long term.
The other thing to do over winter is PLAN. This is the time to read about permaculture, forest gardens, square foot gardening. Think about how to plant other than in neat rows so the hungry hoards won’t spot FOOD to raid at first glance. Think about guerilla gardening and how to plant a few things AWAY from your home etc, etc. Walk around your neighborhood and see if there is ANYTHING you can forage as the winter progresses.
My old town had more crab apples,cherries,blackberries and mulberries than I could eat less than 5 mins walk from my home. Nettles are great nutrition and seem to survive almost anywhere. In an emergency these winter food sources you spot now, could just save your families life.
Being able to SHOW others how to find food when/where they least expect it could be a valuable skill after shtf. I’m prepared to do this for others, if only so it takes the pressure off my own stores and reduces suspicion as to what I have to eat at home once everyone is hungry.
We’ve just relocated, so I no longer know where to find wild food in an instant. This is my major over winter prepping task to get my local knowledge up to speed. Any idiot can find food in summer, and my gut tells me that to avoid riots the balloon will go up mid winter if the elite get their way.
HUGELKULTUR…and there is no limit to what can be done with it…look it up
I think one mistake is in throwing away some out of date items that could find more shelf life by processing and canning. Such as a 25 pound bag of pinto beans can be turned into 40 quart jars of some of the best canned beans you ever had. Rice can be added to vegetables and canned as a soup or stew. Same with meats that you’ve kept in the freezer. Pressure canned foods can have a shelf life of 20 plus years.
We can with tattler reusable plastic canning lids. They won’t rust if you store the jars in a damp basement or cellar. We also dehydrate lots of fruit and pack it in ziplocks or use the food saver
Hah! Why have I never seen those before !
They ad on survival blog, I use them.
Dry Food Item Shelf Life:
Wheat, White Rice, and Corn 30 years or more
Pinto Beans, Apple Slices, Macaroni 30 years
Rolled Oats, and Potato Flakes 30 years
Powdered Milk 20 years
Don’t forget to inventory your stash. After prepping for a couple decades, it finally dawned on wife and I after picking up 15 more packs of coffee that we had no idea what or how much we had so a couple years ago I set up a prep/cupboard/canning spreadsheet in excel. (Actually, it turned out we had over 55# of coffee), so we were able to quit wasting money buying more coffee. We inventoried everything we had (food; medical; essential bulk items like toilet paper) and listed all the item groups in the far left column sorted alphabetical. The top row was the heading: Items; yr/mo; bags/cases; totallbs; totalgal; QTS; Pints; #10cans; ITEM; AggregateTotals etc… For example, the left ITEM column might show multiple line items of Tomatoes because we might have 25 Qts from this year 12 QTS from 2 years ago and 15 Qts from last year we’d like to track how many we have left from each year and an aggregate total. Also under tomatoes we have separate line items for Tomato juice; Tomato/vegetable juice; Tomato sauce etc… It took us a couple weeks to inventory everything and enter it into the spreadsheet. We even added stuff like Medical items; Fuel/diesel; Fuel/gasoline; Fuel/2cyclMixture; Oil,Motor10w40 and Oil,MotorDiesel. The great thing about a spreadsheet is you can set it up so the row and column counts change when you add or remove an item so you always know at a glance how many items you have both line item and aggregate totals. How many pounds, quarts, pints, cases, buckets, gallons, #10cans, etc… When you think it’s final, format it so it will fit on one page width (either portrait or landscape), sort the columns in the item order and print it. Then you can review and manually update it when you want and update the electronic copy once every month or so. Ours is one page wide portrait and 5 pages long. I suppose it could be much longer but I’m not in the grocery/hardware store business and only need to track essential items otherwise it becomes counter-productive and it enslaves me or I abandon it instead of it being a useful tool. Just saying.
That coffee will be high-value trade goods.
I started with a spreadsheet as well until I finally got around to writing an Android app to track everything. Now I just push a button to see what’s about to expire. I have all these ideas rolling around in my head to link items to recipes, link things like herbs and oils to information about what they treat and how to use them, automatically calculate calories and nutrition information to see how long I could make it on what I have, etc.. Only so many hours in a day though. I do have to remind myself to periodically make a hard copy of the database though in case my Kindle suddenly becomes a paper weight.
You better watch putting your inventory of preps on an adroid app. I assume anything on my phone is being read by the N SA. Depending on your stash, they may send someone over to pay a visit when SHTF
what about water in old washed milk jugs?
Those are designed to biodegrade as are one gallon water bottles. The only thing we bought for Y2K were some gallons of water and they started leaking about six months later.
When I buy distilled water or other jugs of water, I store them in buckets that I get from the bakery in the grocery store. You can ask for free ones that had frosting in them. I’ve had a few gallons of water leak before, and it was quite a mess.
2 liters soda jugs are great for water storage if that’s all ya got.
Lighter than 5 gallon buckets too.
I’ve read not to use milk jugs for anything food storage related cuz the proteins change the plastic somehow…something about long chain polymers…but I do use them for other things…
Those thin milk and water jugs will last maybe a year at most. I drink a lot of V-8 juice, and have saved about 100 of those bottles. they’ll store liquids, grain, some forms of pasta, sugar, salt, etc. (But not flour!)
I keep four in my travelin’ van, filled only 3/4 full, so they won’t burst when they freeze. Keep 4 more in the freezer to help keep stuff cold when the power goes out. Crucial for me, as I am a diabetic and have to keep my insulin stash cool or it all goes bad.
IMHO don’t plan to rely on stored water for very long. Think about how much you use. How many gallons per year again?
BTW I like the canned V-8 for preps. In a steel can it should last for some years.
Good point, Rick.
We just went thru some stuff in the freezer to make room for some fresh venison (which I have yet to harvest due to horn hunting) and found a small venison roast and a bag of backstrap cubes from 2010 that had gotten overlooked. Still good because of proper packaging techniques. Not needing or wanting, to eat all that meat in a week, we cooked it all up and canned in pint jars. Will last another three years that way if needed to.
Note: the leaner the meat, the longer the shelf life before the fat particles start turning rancid.
I personally butcher and package by vacum sealing all meats. Removing as much fat as possible is the key. We make jerky out of the bulk of our venison and it will keep for years, if we keep the stuff from prying hands and teeth; and, with no worries about freezer going out or electricity outages.
When I started deer hunting in the seventies and had a meat processor handle everthing but the skinning; the rage of the time was deerburger and adding beef tallow (fat) to the ground venison. As we ate only about half before the next season began, we noticed a strong taste and bitterness to the burgers from the season before. It was years before we got the understanding and education that all frozen meats with fat attached should be eaten before the six month period of being frozen.
Before i knew better, i was told it was because of the acorns that the deer ate that caused the strong taste. That is true to a point, but there is a big difference from acorn fed deer taste and the strong bitter rancid fat taste.
Just sayin’.
PWTW
You should render the fat and can that. Fats and oils are essential parts of your diet.
Yea, you are right about being essential.
I just prefer to get the bulk of my oils and fats from Olive oils and nuts(not the mountain oyster kind). It keeps my cholesterol levels from going thru the roof.
Number 10 is not strictly correct.
Most hybrids have viable seed, although some are engineered to be sterile. They just don’t give you what you expect. In other words, if you save seeds from a hybrid tomato and then plant them, you will a few plants that are like the original hybrid, but more plants that have characteristics from the plants that were crossed to make the hybrid.
Because you are talking about multiple inherited characteristics, the odds of getting any plants at all like the hybrid parent are very slim. Some characteristics are dominant, and some aren’t. So you might end up with a dozen or more different plants. Of course, if you are patient, you can recreate the hybrid later.
Hybrid seeds might be good for the first year or two because they might be easier to grow or produce more, but heirloom is still the way to go for long term.
just today opened a can of fat-free refried beans. I know i bought those beans over 5 years ago. they were just like a fresh can.
One question…one site instructed that when storing rice in mylar bags, to use o2 absorbers,and seal tightly. another site recommended using diatomaceus (?sp)earth and O2 absorbers. I just stored this rice, and I only used O2 absorbers. Do I nead to redo it and use DE as well?
All advice welcome.
Diatomaceous earth (fossilized algae) acts like little razors that literally slice up pests. It’s in toothpaste among other things, but I don’t know of any commercial food storage companies that use it although some may. I packed 38 buckets in one day using dry ice to drive out most of the oxygen before dropping a couple O2 absorbers in each Mylar bag and sealing it up. I’m satisfied with my efforts and if you are too I wouldn’t redo everything.
Thanks. I was getting worried…..
Cannot answer your question, but can say that white rice stores 5 years or more just in the bag. IMHO if things keep going like they are, anything but ice cream and head lettuce will keep long enough.
It better come out good.
I spent the day making a brick of traditional cheddar cheese, it’s finally in the cheese press for a 12 hour pressing and then a 24 hour pressing. It will be about six months before I can sample this brick of cheese. When it’s all done it will only weigh about a pound and a half. I never made cheddar cheese before, it’s not hard to do, just time consuming. My goal is to make a total of four bricks of cheddar. It’s taken a long time but I think I’ve finally learned patience.
Howdy Rick!
I can’t HELP but notice that you Sir are very ‘Food Oriented’..and seem to possess a WEALTH of knowledge thereon. If my memory serves me here, I have heard you to detail Shrimp fishing, Hunting in Oregon, as well other things…Gee, would perhaps you be up to the notion of an ‘Adult ADOPTION’? Just kidding Brother, though truly you seem to be ‘with it’ quite well, stick with it, you’ll be needing that rather soon, we ALL will. Incidentally, how’s the weather down there…ours is near full Winter here thus far, though there is a distinct LACK of snowfall as yet, still, we are reaching -9 at night lately, Just curious Bro….
JOG
PS: While I’m here, for the Solar side of Life. The Penticton Flux passed 171 last night, that being the highest value recorded since November of 11. Further, this is not an isolated ‘one-off’ for the average of that, for this month, to DATE HAS actually, EXCEEDED the reigning figure set in November of 11 being seen at 153.3 whereas that for the previous high was only seen to reach to 153.1. therefor, BI, Thinker, NOW you have a REASON to be seeing these anomalous ‘Weather patterns’, that being a NET upswing of REAL magnitude of the average Solar irradiation reaching the Earth. Hence, we are NOW very ‘non-equilibrium’. As a last thought here, I attempted to answer you both yesterday..SIX times; it appears NONE made it through the ‘Net…NOT one, Just sayin’ here…perhaps someone is yet ‘monkeying around with the machinery’ behind the scenes, “Alphabet Soup’ maybe?
JOG
JOG the weather here on the wet side of Oregon has been mild. Some Oregon sunshine a little breezy but not cold.
JOG I do write about food and food processing, it is fall and it is the season. I’m not into guns, warrior training, survivalism or revolution and can’t contribute to those subjects. I’ve set up my property as a homestead and not a castle with a mote so I can’t contribute to tactical home defense. I do hunt, fish, garden, backpack, explore the local mountain forest and forage. I hunt with a recurve bow and a compound bow, I terrestrial navigate with a compass and paper map, those subjects never seem to come up. My expertise is in metal forming, tool and die design and manufacturing for punch presses and four slides using shop math, cad, manual and cnc machines. I can take a part from concept to prototype to production working with a sketch or a cad drawing . None of those subjects come up. I have opinions but that’s all they are and so food processing in a homesteading way, fishing and foraging are easy default subjects.
Howdy Rick!
I have lately been so ‘free-wheeling’ after the construction here was completed, SLEEP is now somerinmes DIFFICULT to catch! Thus, here I AM… 😉
“Intuition” is a ‘funny thing’, No?….Somewhere along the line, probably as an issue of the ‘attention to detail’ I see in your post – which HAS more than once caught my attention, frequently! – I thought to myelf, “Hmmmm, THIS ONE is On it!” Congratulations Friend, as sometimes I do here – and is occaisionally warranted, a SECOND time – AGAIN, “Well-Met, Brother”.
SUCH a ‘skill-set’! I AM well-impressed!!
The skills you mention are – IMHO – critical to what will be an ‘indescribable re-building’ process to come. I have efforted myself to HUNT – diligently, for YEARS now – to locate in the confines of this continent, a PLACE which affords the raw materials from which such could be done…so thus, in a word here, “Eureka!” which is a phrase from the Latin, a ‘specific’ phrase, look it up! …let that go for the nonce if you will, till later…
Mayhaps Thee and Me will meet someday – be assured, I would be DELIGHTED, whole-heartedly so! when the dust settles – if so, then we will HAVE MUCH to talk about, as well, TO DO! I have dwelt on the difficulties asociated with working in metal for long and long, a skill-set which I am only slightly competent in…that is a particlarly useful article to the ‘Instrumentality of Man’ to be sure, YET it requires a VERY specific skill set, No? Metals are INSANELY useful for all the reaaons which you are already aware of…and later, EVEN MORE SO. Just so…as an ‘aside’ here, I have “squirreled” away a large amount of material relating to the processing of silicates, “Glass’, which is a thing for which the RAW material exists EVERYWEHERE on Earth one looks, every beach, EVERYWHERE. The skills to process metal are not wholly dissimilar to thoae required to process THAT as well; both involve high temperature, controlled manipulation of the raw material, though the silicates require a different ‘forming’ process…’machining’ is not on the list, due to the brittle character of those. The reason for my interests there is simple: RATHER large, complex pieces can be formed with relative ease, which are VERY suitable for things like high-mass high-inertia “Pelton runners”…think here of a flywheel combined with a Pelton; the ‘spoons’ at least, which would be very long-lived in practice as the material is so abrasion resistant, as are most silicates…just a THOUGHT there…Gee, what WE could BUILD!! 😉
Perchance did you note my previous post wherein I mentioned the prior history of the ‘Rotary Engine’ Friend? I THINK that THAT would have a multitude of uses later…something which ONLY has 3 moving parts!…and 4 times the power-to-weight ratio of amy reciprocating ENGINE…”Well, I’ll BE Damned…” comes to mind almost immediately; such as THAT would be VERY ‘do-able’ (I think) for someone who had extensive metal-working skills, No? Just a thought there Brother…perhaps a GOOD one.
It is a shame that we cannot overtly SELECT those with whom we would be ‘Family’…there are !SEVERAL! here whom I would GLADLY do so with; persons of considerable skills, clear minds and DILIGENTt intent….all of which are – IMHO – the primary underlying drivers of an ‘AWAKENED MIND’…those here of that ‘mein’ know who they are…ASSUREDLY. I regard each of you – apriori – as ‘Human Treasures’, in time to come. Night will FALL completely ere too much time passes from this day forward…we all know this…do we not? Yet as the saying goes, “CHANCE FAVORS the prepared Mind….” so it is….I WILL see you – hopefully! – all of YOU, on the other side of Night once that is passed…what a gathering that will be!…OMG!; should ‘Higher Authority’ allow for such…as it often happens in the most implausible of ways, “The Hand of Providence is ever busy”…so it is!
Thus, I ABIDE in Hope and Faith, awaiting the day when the Light comes fully again…there is MUCH WORK to do on that Day….I will be THERE, ready and waiting for each of you, Secure and Settled….BE THERE my Friends, and be READY; Dawn will come, quite soon, for…
“I would not tell you this were it NOT so….”
As once written by a far better ‘writer’ than I…Amen
JOG
The fact that this discussion is ongoing begs the question, why aren’t the people responsible tried for treason?
Jesus was right, this is an evil world…but there are bright lights everywhere, brighter than stars, US…
I’ll say this….
IF YOU PREPPED UP. NEVER FEEL GUILTY OR WORRIED OR STUPID.
YOU EARNED YOUR PEACE OF MIND.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005DI2QTC/ref=as_li_tf_til?tag=glocodgui-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B005DI2QTC&adid=0Y350EGF0AYMV64Z8SY3&&ref-refURL=http%3A%2F%2Fglobalcodeguild.com%2FStore%2Ftabid%2F104%2FDefault.aspx
Avoid my disaster:
We had 24 x 5 gallon buckets of wheat, and one of rice. I am not into rice. I do have a lot of oats, and plenty of everything else too.
Developed severe gluten intolerance. Bye bye wheat. Thank God it happened now and I could get rice and #10 dried potatoes before TSHTF.
Talked to another prepper with 3,000 lbs of wheat and dealing hubby is now gluten intolerant! She is saving it for charity but same deal, has to stock up on other carbs now.
Stress can lead to irritable bowel syndrome, which can trigger gluten intolerance (or dried milk lactose problems). Diversify!!!
That wheat will be trade goods if TSHTF!
Same thing happened to me- no gluten/oats/dairy or potatoes- Our allergy, btw, is caused by a malfunctioning immune system, same w/ all allergies- inflamation,degenerative diseases and cancer all begin in the gut- where the immune system lives- it’s radically changed my life- and it’s expensive! I love Rice, now- topped w/ plenty of fermented kraut! So if anyone has an allergy, it means your immune system is whacked- it can manifest itself in many ways- migraines, hayfever, lupus, RA- a weaken immune system can’t fight cancer and sugar feeds cancer- …
I was wondering about wheat, really why would Jesus and the bible use it as a continuous theme if it was so toxic?
Come to find out 80 % of the US wheat comes from e one variety engineered in the 1950’s. referred to a midget red wheat.
While researching various hybrid wheat seed to try in my garden I found there are several varieties available that when made into bread with naturally occurring yeast, you can make bread that even people with gluten intolerance (Celiac disease) can eat. Good seed is incredibly expensive because it is being bought up by high end bakeries making non GMO bread and goodies for the rich.
Today’s GMO wheat combined with GMO yeast is just freaking toxic.
Been buying imported non GMO flour combined with hand ground hard white wheat and making my own bread. Damn it’s tasty and I suspect a lot healthier.
And the world got along for millennia grinding wheat on stones with a pestle. Cranked grinders are a modern invention.
I have actually ground corn on a 1000 year old stone grinder, all I can say is those people were in shape and skinny. Have two of them by my fireplace. NO way in hell am I going to do that again. Got a hand crank mill down stairs, it’s also a pain, but of a whole different order
While earthquakes of different magnitudes are not uncommon in Japan, the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster that triggered the core meltdowns of three reactors at the Fukushima plant has made every quake report in the region particularly alarming. As the world watches with apprehension at how Fukushima’s decommissioning work unfolds, prominent Japanese-Canadian scientist David Suzuki warned last week that another nearby earthquake of magnitude 7 or higher could trigger a serious nuclear catastrophe, decimating Japan and reaching the U.S. west coast. “If the fourth [reactor] goes under an earthquake and those rods are exposed, then it’s bye, bye, Japan and everybody on the west coast of North America should be evacuated. And if that isn’t terrifying, I don’t know what is,” Suzuki said. –RT News They Just had a 5.5 earthquake in japan!
Cheetos. Lots and lots of Cheetos.
A lot of great tips in that info graphic, and here’s a few more-
-RICE
Brown and wild rice varieties taste great and are good for you overall, but go rancid very quickly. Your average white rice when properly stored in a 5 gallon bucket, w/gamma seal lid (like the illustration)and O2 absorber will be good for many years. Gamma seal lids are marine rated (sea worthy) and very water and air tight.
You can even buy them at Home Depot or most anywhere online.
There are different types of rice- short grain, long grain and extra long grain. Basically the amount of starch and fluffiness is the difference in those.
If you want a white rice with real flavor, try Basmati or Jasmine rice. The Basmati has a nice nutty flavor to it and is easy to eat.
QUINOA-
This may be a surprise to many, but this tiny grain has more protein in it than beans! It is a vary small grain a lot smaller than barley. You can buy organic Quinoa at Sams/Costco in a 2-4 lb. heavy duty sealed plastic bag. Can add it to soups, or as a side dish with mushrooms. Try it, you may like it!
WATER-
They brought up the same info I have stated before as well. DO NOT store potable water in anything but plastics or glass rated for long term storage. Do NOT re-use milk jugs or juice containers, that’s trouble for sure. Why? Lactic acid from milk and fructose from juice can leach into the plastic containers (that are not meant for long term storage BTW)and no matter how many times you think you cleaned them…they are still not good enough. You can buy the blue 4 gallon water dispenser jugs at the club stores and even those are only ‘good’ for about a year. If you don’t have REAL purification and storage for your water…you best get going. It is the most important thing you can do.
-STORAGE
I already mentioned the importance of the 5 gallon bucket/ gamma seal lid combo. They are also perfect for transport (if by vehicle) as they are strong, sealed and weather tight. Even better if you mylar everything and then store in the buckets.
You need to have your preps in a cool dark place, with a fairly constant temperature as this only prolongs the shelf life of most anything, as long as you have humidity under control. You should also have things OFF the floor if in basement. One of my friends recently had the unpleasant experience of a sewer backup into their basement and guess where most of his things were stored? Eck. Heavy duty shelving like the wire rack NSF food wire shelving at the big box stores is perfect as the shelves are rated at 600lbs each and you can get things off the floor easily.
Another reason to relocate off the floor is dampness. Flours, grains, salt and sugar will readily absorb moisture from a concrete basement floor. What good is it to have a O2 absorber and top of the line buckets if you still allow them to soak up moisture? Remember the O2 absorbers are used to deplete oxygen…not moisture. Desiccant packs do that.
-DATES/INFORMATION
I include the dates/labels of everything. If you store in buckets, you can use white or yellow PVC tape (think electrical tape) as it is easy to write on and sticks to the INSIDE of the Gamma seal lids or buckets easily. You can put a label or info outside as well, but it does not hurt to label both inside and outside… just in case. I also cut the label from flour bags, grains, sugars etc…and place the cutout label in a quart sized Ziploc bag right in the bucket. This way, if you here of recall information or safety warnings down the road, you still have your information right down to lot number and can dbl.check your preps to see if they are affected.
I use sharpies to label my buckets.
Easily removed with nail polish remover or acetone.
The best price I’ve found for Gamma seal lids is from Baytec containers.
Uline Products have pails with screw top lids up to 6 gal capacity.
Many people overlook the smallest enemies. I have seen the damage insects, rats and mice can do on a farm or to stored food. A few chewed holes and the addition of some rat turds can turn an investment in survival into garbage.
If it’s packed in plastic it’s not safe. When I began an effort to buy my regular needs in bulk and rotate it for freshness. Protection from insects and rodents was a concern. So I picked up a steel utility cabinet from SAM’s club and taped a fine mesh metal screen over the vent holes with metallic duct tape.
In my storage area food is segregated, if a rat or insect could damage it, it goes into the steel cabinet, if it is already packaged rodent and insect proof, like canned goods, it just goes on the shelves.
For some long term storage food stuffs that came in all plastic containers, I went to Home Depot and picked up some steel duct work and converted it into insect and rodent proof containers to outer wrap my goodies with.
Remember in a disaster, the rodents and insects will be starving also, and will go to great lengths to get at your food, so store food where they can’t get at it, or they will surely find it and eat it first.
I wanted to add, I want to build some drawer trays to securely hold stuff that comes in jars. Not that I am in an area that is normally expecting earth quakes, but the image of all those bottles laying on the floor in a broken heap is disturbing, especially if it is a moment in time when they are needed most.
Drawer trays would also make it easier to load up in an evacuation as well as protect the goods in transit.
Let us not forget the lowly soybean. Soy milk and Tofu is quick and easy to make, so get some Epson Salts to curdle the soy protein.
IIRC, firm tofu is 35% protein, and as posted earlier, in a SHTF scenario, protein consumption is going to go waaaaay up.
Dried Soy beans stored correctly have shelf life of 1-2 years. Correctly dehydrated soy beans will last 8-10 years.
Dehydrated tofu can be stored long term, same for tofu jerky.
Swiss K31, It’s a target rifle disguised as a service rifle
I’m guilty – on at least one of these cautions. I ran out of cupboard space in the house, so I have cupboards and one of those gorilla steel racks in my garage and that’s where I store a lot of extra can goods. And, yes, it does tend to get warm in the garage during the hottest months of the summer.
The trouble is, unless I decide to turn a spare bedroom into a food storage pantry and keep the A/C on – what other choice do I have? I’ve always thought that if I were to ever sell my house and have one built from scratch – I’d make sure I had an over-sized pantry and also get a below-the-ground level basement dug out underneath the main house, and make sure it had plumbing, a shower, toilet, and a functional kitchen and sleeping arrangements included. But, right now – I just do not have the space available to keep all of my SHTF preps inside my house.
And, besides – if we ever do have a SHTF situation – there won’t be any A/C available, anyway. That’s why we all should be giving some serious thought to the idea of having a house with a good-sized basement – or, barring that, and if we have some acreage – we could consider having a separate underground cellar dug on our property and then we could use it to store our perishable supplies. That was how our ancestors managed to preserve ice and food back in the 1800s, and that method might be our best bet in the future – minus electricity.
BTW: Max – thanks for the information on water storage. I didn’t know that water stored in stainless steel containers could last 3 years. I have a couple of those blue plastic water barrels – one 30 gallon and one 15 gallon size. Since they are not ‘clear’ or translucent – do you think they might be able to store water for longer than the 6-12 months?
I would make sure your plastic barrels are food grade quality first and if you buy the right additives you can store your water for 5 years safely. you can buy them at any prep store or ammazon is good. i also keep a big berkely water filter to take any taste out or if by a slim chance there is any bacteria. IT can be used for even puddle water.
the reason for the limited storage is because of bacterial growth and leaching of chemicials fromt he storage contaner. in stainless if you stay up on the purification part, it last forever. serouisly, water has been on this planet for billions of years, its not bad yet. we are drinking what the dino’s pissed out millions of years ago.
NOT the original.
What is your game?
You have likely considered this, but I have attic storage which is VERY hot. Some things don’t care or it’s good for. I have stored TP in the Attic for 30 plus years, no harm, likewise; sugar, salt, paper towels, canning jars, corn starch. tin foil lots of my long term stuff. Saves a lot of better quality space.
whent he shit hits, i’ve heard a lot of you saying your going to start shooting people to defend yourselves. please use restraint. there are more people such as my self out there then you. we only have small area’s in which to store our very limited wares. we want to help you while we help ourselves. i will warn you i am peaceful untill provoked. so when you see them wandering people. dont shot us all, cause we can help. an as a warning, if your not polite to me, even if turning me down to help you so i can eat or have a safe place to nap for a few, then you should remember tht just cause we didnt have larger area’s or money to store massive amounts of food doesnt mean we dont have skills. i only have the space for a few bags of rice and some beans ( few weeks at most, i live in 100 sq ft home….) and for my 3 shtf rifles. only have enough room for one ammo can . but i will tell you every round will hit and where its aimed at. so when being rude to those trying to survive, it would benifit you to know most of us are good people, just poor and barley scraping by as it is now. would you really wanna kill a guy tht could give you security music stories construction planning and labor, water purifications, plant and animal skills, navigation, medical care and many many other sought after skills in a post shtf world? the evil people will have large groups, wouldn’t it make sence to have one for the good? i hear a lot about how your all gonna go away to the country with your huge stores of food and kill any one tht comes close. bad idea. shoot at me and i know you have something worth defending, i would rather you be polite and turn me down to walk away. then anger me to sit and take you out one by one as my primal urge to eat gets stronger and stronger. so please have restraint when aquiring targets in a shtf situation. some of us will be more help to you alive then dead…
keep preppin
NOT the original.
What is your game?
100 square foot home?thats a 10 foot by 10 foot area
The one thing i never heard of is number 7 the oxygen in the freeze dried food. i prefer freeze dried for long storage living in southwest florida and if the air conditioning goes off for good we are in trouble for we don’t have basements. I was told freeze dried would still be good to eat but not 25 to 30 years without cool air but they last 5 to 10 without it. that at least is better than can goods or other alternatives. where i live heat is my big enemy.
I have a lot of faith in the long term storage of chocolate. I came across a bag of Easter candy this year that was from 2007. To my surprise, it tasted pretty darn good. Only the chocolate had dried out a bit and cracked in some places.
What’s wrong with water in old 2 liters or gallon jugs? Keep it away from any chemicals, out of sunlight and leave enough room in the jug to be able to shake it when you have to re-oxygenate with fresh air.
Glass nothing, you may get some moss but you can still use it with a few drops of bleach or iodine. The problem with them is rusting caps. Most plastic, the jugs, like milk jugs are not designed to last. They will get brittle and break. some will give you a very bad aftertaste.
2nd Attempted REPOST…
DOUBLE DAMN TOR!!…
Howdy AAJ,
Ummmm, the litany of things that MIGHT occur thereafter is LONG…especially where ‘milk’ has EVER been involved. Suffice it to say that IF one is PRESSED – without alternative – then fine…but NOT when other MORE effective and safe alternatives are available. IF one is DETERMINED to do so, then attend this: use a cleaning solution which contains all three of these…and naturally, WATER, as well; Borax, Dawn dishwashing detergeant and Chlorox bleach. BLEACH kills, Dawn WASHES (and dissolves’ Lipids!!) and the BORAX leaves a small, non-harmful residue (we actually REQUIRE trace AMOUNTS Of THAT OR WE CANNOT process CALCIUM…as ‘Calcium Boro-Glucanate’ which is the ONLY thing we CAN use, ‘compounded’ by the liver…) which INHIBITS fungal growth post-facto..as well as BOOSTING the effectiveness of the detergeant quite a bit…ANY H2O based detergeant, that is.
I recommend the following – if my memory here serves me – “SAFH2OUV” simply look that up on Google, you’ll get to the manufacturers site instanter. THERE, you have access to the products that are available; ALL include the in-built capacity to DIRECTLY filter and thereafter STERILIZE with HARD UV…UVB…14 watts thereof, as it is known, the stuff that BURNS your skin so very badly out in the open, the STUFF that gives you skin cancer ater a while. As it happens….THAT is ideal for a variety of situations, naturally all of those for whom SOME electricity is available, and as it happens, BOTH 12Volt and standard line voltage kits are there found. I DID have one of those installed in my ‘RV’ ere I ‘sashayed off the stage…’ and found the quality to be EXCELLENT, both the water treated (filtered TWICE, first through ‘ceramic’ and then ‘activated charcoal’ filtration…then UV’d) and the unit construction as well. A shame I had to get RID of that…
😉
JOG
DO NOT FORGET the antibiotics
You can bet Typhoid and other bad things will be running rampant and in a SHTF (not able to shower every day) enviroment the smallest cut can and will turn into a major infection in an unclean world, SO do not spend thousands of dollars on preps and NOT have any antibiotics. You can find them on ebay under fish or Aquarium antiboitics. I am NO doctor and I am NOT giving any medical advice this is just my opinion, but it’s my understanding you will need Penicillin, Doxycycline and Ciprofloxacone. Bag them up and put them in your freezer until it quits or you need them. For more info check the internet for directions and what these are for.
Good Luck and remember
Tick Tock, Tick Tock
Get your immunizations up to date. Far better not to get typhoid etc
Howdy TPI,
Indeed, also, here a NON-DOCTOR, AND NOT offering ‘medical advice’! Please note the following; a common veterinary presecripotion for another member of the ‘-floxacin’ family is that of ‘Enrofloxacin’ which is QUITE strong, the BIG BROTHER of ‘Cipro’ as it were. THAT is not something that a ‘younger’ would well-tolerate…connective tissue ‘problems’ would arise, but an ADULT – fully-formed – could ‘get away with’ that…
As it happens, I had an accidental ‘run-in’ with such some while back, to the tune of an accidental injection of about a cc and a half while administering that to a VERY uncooperative canine…the side-effects are somewhat ‘STRONGER’ than would be common with the “HUMAN-approved” veriety…to say the LEAST! Yet, that will act with GREAT effectiveness against a HOST of pathogenic organsims…just sayin here…’field expediency’ sometimes dictates ‘non-standard approaches, Yes?
JOG
Just found this….pretty cool for hot water in grid down….sustainable practice and benefits your food growing efforts
www dot realfarmacy dot com/no-fire-required-500-showers-heated-by-one-small-compost-pile/
They had a “rocket stove” built out of cinder blocks, didn’t know cinder blocks could withstand that kind of heat. Loved the video on the alcohol fired can stove as well. Making he of those for my get home bag.
I think chickens are very important. You can move them, eat them, eat their eggs, use their waste for your garden, and use their feathers to keep you warm in a pinch. In spite of this many chickens will love you. Chickens can produce up to 200 eggs a year. Making chickens and their eggs a tradable commodity.
Without chickens you will not be able to make your cookies, omlets, chicken noodle soup, egg noodles, cakes, pancakes or what ever.
6-12 months for water bottle storage?
Half the time the bottles have been on the shelf in the store for that long.
A bit extreme, no?
I bought 1500 one gallon water jugs about two years ago. I have them stacked into 3 towers using plywood and cinder blocks. The plastic never breaks down. Once in awhile I take one and use it for drinking water. It’s just as good now as the day I bought it.
One food mistake is buying massive amounts of bulk food and giving no thought to how you’ll prepare it and how much of that you can eat before you can’t stand it anymore.
There’s one issue I have not seen raised in this discussion: the harmful chemicals that leach out of plastic containers into the food — and water — stored in direct contact with them. BPA (do a quick Google search) is only one of the literally thousands of chemical compounds used in formulating plastics, so buying “BPA-free” containers is just a minor fix. This transfer of toxins is accelerated with rise in temperature.
Think about bottled water … small quantity of water — a solvent — in direct contact with plastic … stored (often) in high-temperature garages, attics and kitchen closets. Ditto for canned soda, soda or juice in plastic bottles, ketchup in squeeze bottles …
BPA and other plasticizers are used to seal the inside of metal cans, and they are also present in shrink-wrap, zipper-lock bags, and plastic bags from factory-prepped food.
Best containers: Glass jars with canning lids
Next-best: Cloth or paper sacks, protected inside metal storage buckets
Third-best: Foodgrade plastic containers
There is some evidence to suggest that “Gulf War Syndrome” that afflicted so many vets of the 1990-91 Iraq/Kuwait conflict may have been triggered or made worse by the plasticizers inside soda — particularly diet sodas (the artificial sweeteners break down in high temps to form, among other delightful things, formaldehyde (embalming fluid). Pepsi and Coke, with all the right intentions, shipped thousands of pallets of soft drinks to the field, where I remember seeing them bake in the sun on hot tarmac runways for days at a time.
Just another issue to consider in the not-so-simple process of choosing what and how to store supplies for the day we know is coming!
Once again do not forget the usefulness of a water bed mattress. I have had a queen size stored since y2k and can fill it quickly and easily.
It is possible to eat whaet without the wheat grinder. All you need to do is put it in water and wait a few hours. The seeds will swell up and become chewable. In order to consume them this way, you don’t need heat, just water.
Bread is much nicer, but to make it, you will need
1) A working oven with fuel.
2) A wheat grinder. Operating it is hard work. You will spend a lot of calories doing it.
Hybrid seeds are an OK investment. They are typically cheaper and will yield a better harvest than hairloom seeds. However you will not be able to produce a new generation of good seeds from them. This problem becomes relevant only when you run out of your original seeds, which is 1-2 years into the crisis. By that time the situation around you would have stabilized to something: the number of people whe need to eat has been reduced dramatically by hunger, violance and immigration; now you are either recieving food for your work from your local warlord, or seeds are distributed as part of UN aid by Bangladeshi peacekeepers.
I think sugar is one of the best things you can stockpile. It can store for decades in normal air as long as you keep insects and rodents out. During a prolinged crisis you will be able to trade it for other things.
Microwave does not do significantly more damage to food nutrition than other cooking — in fact it does LESS damage because it heats food faster, meaning the total time at temperature is less. More heat-labile nutrients are retained if food is gently microwaved.
BUT
A microwave must NOT be relied on during a disaster because it presumes available electric power in quantity. Microwave requires at least a kilowatt. Many small inverters will not run one. One must have other ways to heat food, or cook, or be ready to eat cold stuff right out of the cans….
i made a solar oven out of glass that ppl next door left when they moved