Are you prepared?

[adaman04]

We had a great amount of food stored, but when I left my job (and couldn't find other work for several months) that storage was drained.

We have some now, but it's not what we used to have. But I guess that's what it's for, right?

We still have plenty of water and other supplies though.

Exactly right Joe. Most of us will encounter a situation like yours long before civil unrest and zombies in the streets.

With winter getting into swing, this is when I like to double check all my stuff and fill in the places I need to as I can. I'm working on bulk water storage as my next item.

Eat what you store, store what you eat. Rotate throughout the year and you'll have far less disappointment than when you are throwing away a whole case of something.

 

[tarditi]

Not nearly as prepared as I wish I was.


Not much room since I live in a 1200 sq ft apartment with my fiancée. When we are out of school and we get our own place I'll start stocking up.

Easier to store than you think - you don't need a warehouse, garage or anything - under bed storage, nooks & crannies in the closet, etc. can all be good places to squirrel away things. You can get bottled water, some canned goods and energy bars, on a budget, you can add a little bit to each trip to the grocery store to have a contingency stash... old soda bottles can be cleaned and filled with tap water for an emergency (there are all sorts of cheap and free prep ideas online).

I'm good for about 1.5 months (2 adults, 2 children) - I went through our pantries yesterday and casually told my wife we need to get to the 2 month threshold - she cheerfully agreed. We've got a good stock of canned goods and gear, but need to add more dry goods to the mix (beans, rice, oatmeal, etc.). Also, for Christmas, I'm planning on getting a food saver and food dehydrator for the family.

1 area people often neglect is water - a $20 waterbob is a great investment - basically a 200gallon bladder that sits in your bathtub - stores the water clean (from the tap) and keeps it from getting funky. Weighs about 1.5 pounds, we store ours in the cabinet under the sink in the bathroom. CheaperThanDirt also has a gravity filter kit - just need 2 containers and a drill to make a gravity filter good for hundreds of gallons. You can also pick up a pump filter for emergency duty. Of course there is always the option to boil or use purification tablets, or even bleach. I've had bleach-treated as well as iodine-treated water... tastes lousy. They are a backup for me over filtered options.

Try to keep preps in 4 categories:
1) Home emergency [short-term] (power outage, hurricane, etc.) - consumable supply based
2) Homestanding/homesteading [long term] - ability to process food/water
3) Transportable [vehicle] - may be quite limited
4) Carriage [person-packable] - very limited

Just my $.02

 

[dogboye]

theres over 200 bottles of oregons finest wines stored in the cellar....

Gotta have priorities. :thumbup:

Try to keep preps in 4 categories:
1) Home emergency [short-term] (power outage, hurricane, etc.) - consumable supply based
2) Homestanding/homesteading [long term] - ability to process food/water
3) Transportable [vehicle] - may be quite limited
4) Carriage [person-packable] - very limited

Just my $.02

That's good advice, IMO. And I've not seen it explained so succinctly before. Plus, portions of 4 can be part of 3, and of course part of 1, in the case of needing to exercise the second option.

I keep saying I want to get some MRE's, which would mainly be only for myself and my daughter. My wife can't eat ANUY of the MRE's, due to gluten intolerance. So i've been PLANNING (yeah, always "planning") to get some of the the gluten-free stuff from the Ready Store (I think it is) for her. As I mentioned earlier, we're pretty much covered for the bridge-time (short-term to early long-term) with just what we have stored and cycle through for daily use. And I forgot that we also have a substantial amount of rice stored that if it got too bad, we could eat rice for a long time. But we're pretty short on transportable food, especially man-portable.

 

[Mrs.Shotgunner11]

Dustin said it. Store ANYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE. Here are some pics of where we store and how things are organized.

Coat closet converted into a pantry. I use this one as my canned goods pantry:

Dry goods and condiments pantry. Yes, i have A LOT of condiments. If we have to eat something nasty at least we have spices to override the flavor.

My coffee table:

Nope not really

Under our bed:

This is what I store our rice in. They're about 50 at the pet store or the container store.

They hold about 50 lbs of dog food and I found out yesterday they hold about 80-90 lbs of rice each. I've spent quite a bit of money on them, but they will keep our rice fresh. I also save the containers from Sams Club. When you buy pretzels, animal crackers, cheese balls, ect they come in plastic containers with screw top lids. I use them for flour, sugar and pasta.

Everything under my bed is an extra case of all the canned veggies I have in my pantry. Plus some first aid supplies, canned dog food, some dried goods (stored in under the bed containers, and some #10 cans of freeze dried things and powdered milk. I also have 2 cases of MRE's in my bedroom closet.

 

[texastonydobbs]

Semi prepped on food & water but as long as I have ammo I will have food

 

[Mrs.Shotgunner11]

You're probably looking at my pictures thinking HOLY CRAP! THAT'S A LOT OF SNACKS. We have 3 small children. So cookies, chips, fruit snacks, CHEESE BALLS, ect are a must in our house. Someone last night in chat asked me about all the cereal and how htey would eat it w/o milk. Well I keep powdered milk AND my kids will eat dry cereal.

One thing I did learn during Ike is that as nice as it is to have bulk things, specifically #10 cans, they're a waste when you have a power outage. You can not keep the left overs cold. So if you're in an area prone to power outage and it's NOT from a snow storm think small cans. If you get power outages from snow storms utilize the cold outside to keep your goods cold. If your power should go out use your frozen foods first, so you don't lose your meats, ect. We decided to keep canning supplies on hand. If we had to cook bulk amounts of meats, ect we could make them into soups, stews and can them for later use. If you KNOW you're going to lose your power but KNOW it will be a short period you can place cases of bottled water in the freezer, all over the place, to freeze and help keep your food cold. If you're only goign to be a day or two you're better off NOT opening a deep freezer. If you have a deep freezer AND a fridge w/a freezer use what's in the fridge freezer FIRST. It will defrost faster then the deep freezer.

 

[texastonydobbs]

you store what your family eats ,nothing weird about that

 

[High Density]

I continually keep working on my survival pantry. I have been working on my bug out bag as well. I have been buying ammo every week.

 

[SemperParatus]

Every time we go shopping we buy an item or two for the purpose of storage. After a couple months it really adds up. We've got a hidden storage area under our stairs that we use.

And like TTD said, there's plenty of game around here, so I keep the ammo supply up as well.

 

[tarditi]

Gotta have priorities. :thumbup:



That's good advice, IMO. And I've not seen it explained so succinctly before. Plus, portions of 4 can be part of 3, and of course part of 1, in the case of needing to exercise the second option.

I keep saying I want to get some MRE's, which would mainly be only for myself and my daughter. My wife can't eat ANUY of the MRE's, due to gluten intolerance. So i've been PLANNING (yeah, always "planning") to get some of the the gluten-free stuff from the Ready Store (I think it is) for her. As I mentioned earlier, we're pretty much covered for the bridge-time (short-term to early long-term) with just what we have stored and cycle through for daily use. And I forgot that we also have a substantial amount of rice stored that if it got too bad, we could eat rice for a long time. But we're pretty short on transportable food, especially man-portable.

There are also humanitarian rations (harder to find) which are often available for special diets.

My recommendation is to make your own rations - you can dehydrate your own food (once you get the equipment and process) and control the recipe and quality.

I recently started making my own granola bars and the family LOVES them. They're also cheaper, per unit, than the store-bought and I can change up the recipe as I see fit. You can even find recipes for Clif bar knockoffs.

Things like honey, peanut butter, canned chicken, tuna, fruit are all good staples to have in your pantry. DON'T forget the condiments - hot sauce, salt, pepper, cinnamon, etc.

 

[ESEERATFAN]

We have about 3 months worth of food stored. We use it when needed and keep the supplies rotated.

Plenty of FA's and ammo on hand.

What I prep for most is power outages. Have a 7000 watt generator and 30 gals of fuel. Lots of candles, flashlights, headlamps and batteries on hand.

My house is located within a 300' of a firepond so water supply isn't a huge concern. I have several ways to purify the water if need be.

The biggest thing to do on my list now is to get my generator wired into the house so it will run my water and septic pumps as well as the boiler and lights etc. I have only been in this house since August, but it's a top priority to make me feel better about being prepared.

I've got an old Fisher Papa Bear woodstove in the family room that easily heats the whole house if I should have boiler issues.

Having another cord of wood delivered this week.


The little things get me though, for instance right now my chainsaw needs work. It always seems like putting those kind of things off come back to bite you in the ass.

 

[tarditi]

Sorry to keep chiming in - another GREAT source of food is the LDS Bishop's Pantry.
Many LDS churches have them open to the public (sometimes a reservation is required/requested). Part of their principles involve a goal of 1 year's worth of food stored (canned/jarred/dry goods) for a multitude of reasons, all resulting in a high level of resilience in the individual family.

Imagine if EVERY family in the USA had a stock of 1 year's worth of food - what would that landscape look like?

Anyhow, something to consider - I've got a group of friends here in NC that recently visited the local Bishop's Pantry in Greensboro - we're not LDS, but were respectful of their beliefs and appreciative of their service/outreach to the community.

 

[StoneColdChuckTX]

^ I've been wanting to try my hand at making granola bars.

Water, Food, Ammo, and Countryside. I'm ready to rock. Could use another freezer for game meat though. Need to put that on the list.

 

[cricketdave]

this is a good topic,

i have about 1 months food on hand, have my own well and if power is out for long there is an old windmill i can hook to pump it.

lots of ammo, and reloading gear and components for every caliber gun i own including shotguns.

transport, truck, trailers, polaris utility vehicle, diesel tractor, and after there isnt fuel horses.

land and seed for a garden if needed.

take it easy
cricket

 

[Expatriated]

Sorry to keep chiming in - another GREAT source of food is the LDS Bishop's Pantry.
Many LDS churches have them open to the public (sometimes a reservation is required/requested). Part of their principles involve a goal of 1 year's worth of food stored (canned/jarred/dry goods) for a multitude of reasons, all resulting in a high level of resilience in the individual family.

Imagine if EVERY family in the USA had a stock of 1 year's worth of food - what would that landscape look like?

Anyhow, something to consider - I've got a group of friends here in NC that recently visited the local Bishop's Pantry in Greensboro - we're not LDS, but were respectful of their beliefs and appreciative of their service/outreach to the community.

Although I haven't done it yet, my close friends purchase food at these facilities. They seem to be a great resource. I think each place is different but many have days where non-LDS can shop. Some also have facilities where you can bring your own food and use their canning process to seal up #10 cans full of rice, wheat, whatever you bring.

Mrs S--LOVE those rice containers. I am assuming the plastic is food grade? i.e., won't leak/leech the plastic into the food over long term? I know they are for dog food but I figure dog food doesn't have to be stored with quite the same standards as human food. I've been considering getting food grade 5 gallon buckets with mylar liners but I like your idea. A bit pricey but I really only need 1 or 2 for rice.

 

[hunter s thompson]

Excellent thread!! One thing that hasn't got a lot of mention is prescription medicines. I am sure every one who needs meds to stay alive (like BP or heart meds or insulin ) have already planned for a SHTF event, but you also need to consider the meds needed for "comfort" for example heartburn meds or meds for GERD. No matter how much wonderful food you have stored a good dose of heartburn could really make it hard to eat or even keep down. Many doctors should have no problem writing an extra prescription for meds like these even though you may have to pay for them out of pocket instead of getting insurance to pay for them .

 

[adaman04]

Been putting off buying a Waterbob. Ran out of excuses and ordered one. I'd also like to keep 2 55 gallon barrels of treating water in the shed.

Beyond canned food, I keep a case or two of MREs in my man cave and my stock of Mountain House I got on sale at WM earlier this year.

One thing I do, is I have a larger "boat bag" waterproof bag that I keep some food in. In a natural disaster wind, water, etc can ruin foods. Also nice in case I need to grab a decent supply of food at once.

Katie, I LOVE the coffee table idea. You're the coolest girl in the whole school.

Good thread, let's get some of these threads going again. Be like the forum of old!

 

[onado2000]

:thumbup:GREAT topic & IMO If the SHTF, panic & looting will occur. All that food is great to have but along with that prepare to have enough protection guarding against looters. Panic rooms, bunkers/secure areas & weapons supply should be part of preparedness, otherwise your food stash is booty for any aggressor. More reason to practice all skills and stock up on ammo (recently decreased in price). My wife hesitated & reluctantly accepted my firearms until the "Cheshire Home Invasion" occurred here in CT. She has since changed her tune.

 

[hoopster]

Among the many other things like water, batteries, ammo, kerosene, etc. I like to keep enough honey, powdered milk, and peanut butter to make plumpy nut. It's also good with some dry oats added. No cooking required and it's full of calories.

 

[CrimsonTideShooter]

Thanks for the ideas! I'll start this weekend.

Easier to store than you think - you don't need a warehouse, garage or anything - under bed storage, nooks & crannies in the closet, etc. can all be good places to squirrel away things. You can get bottled water, some canned goods and energy bars, on a budget, you can add a little bit to each trip to the grocery store to have a contingency stash... old soda bottles can be cleaned and filled with tap water for an emergency (there are all sorts of cheap and free prep ideas online).

I'm good for about 1.5 months (2 adults, 2 children) - I went through our pantries yesterday and casually told my wife we need to get to the 2 month threshold - she cheerfully agreed. We've got a good stock of canned goods and gear, but need to add more dry goods to the mix (beans, rice, oatmeal, etc.). Also, for Christmas, I'm planning on getting a food saver and food dehydrator for the family.

1 area people often neglect is water - a $20 waterbob is a great investment - basically a 200gallon bladder that sits in your bathtub - stores the water clean (from the tap) and keeps it from getting funky. Weighs about 1.5 pounds, we store ours in the cabinet under the sink in the bathroom. CheaperThanDirt also has a gravity filter kit - just need 2 containers and a drill to make a gravity filter good for hundreds of gallons. You can also pick up a pump filter for emergency duty. Of course there is always the option to boil or use purification tablets, or even bleach. I've had bleach-treated as well as iodine-treated water... tastes lousy. They are a backup for me over filtered options.

Try to keep preps in 4 categories:
1) Home emergency [short-term] (power outage, hurricane, etc.) - consumable supply based
2) Homestanding/homesteading [long term] - ability to process food/water
3) Transportable [vehicle] - may be quite limited
4) Carriage [person-packable] - very limited

Just my $.02