Emergency Preparedness (year's supply of food, 72 hour kit)

Various Sources ^ | 9/15/2001

[RnMomof7]

Thank you for your tips..When I did the Y2K thing I filled and froze pop bottles (soda for the uninformed:>)If you lose your power those pop bottles will turn your freeze into a cooler for food storage for a few days..

[Utah Girl]

Before I started my own food storage, I looked at it as this big pile of food I had to collect and store. It was totally overwhelming. But I just started picking up stuff every time I went to the grocery story. After 15 years of this, I've really learned to use the stuff that I buy and rotate through it. It has become a habit. I know I did a big push in 1999 to be ready for 2000, so I know what you mean though. Now that I have the basics, it's nice to be able to buy a case of that fancy fruit cocktail that has mango and guava in it. I'll look at Costco too see what delicacies they have. Like chocolate (Nutella in the jar is a great item to have around.)

[blam]

Coffee filters are something good to have on hand, they're cheap and can be used for anything from coffee to gasoline, water and etc.

[Utah Girl]

What a great idea to freeze pop bottles. I do have some extra room in my freezer, I think I'll do that on Monday.

[Utah Girl]

I do have about a 5 year supply of coffee filters on hand. I use them for everything, even though I don't drink coffee. Thanks for the suggestion!

[Lonesome]

It would require a heat source to get the water boiling. A stove, hot-plate, or just torching a pile of leaves in the back yard would do.

Lonesome

[Utah Girl]

Duct tape and black sheeting. I'm picking some up on Monday, I'll put it on my list. The solar idea is fantastic. I also have a couple of Dutch ovens and charcoal to cook with, as well as an outdoor barbeque grill with propane. However, we can't store much propane here, but it is a good idea to have a bit around.

[MHGinTN]

Here's a suggestion for guns and ammo ... I'm sure others will add to this.

A good 12 ga pump shotgun, with #2 or # 4 shot shells (50 count, can be good hunting weapon as well as personal defense) and at least a dozen slug shells, is first. Additionally, one should have at least one revolver, six-shot, .38 or higher caliber and no less than 50 rounds of ammo (300 is more like it though); alternately, a good condition 1911A .45 semi-auto and hydra shok ammo is good ... nothing like a flying saucer winging toward a perp! It never hurts to have on .22 rifle (in expensive and good for small people and small game) around. Learning how to shoot, clean and store these weapons is a must FOR EVERYONE in the household! Guns can be used to kill, but that should be YOUR discretion, not a perps.

[Utah Girl]

The most successful canning lesson we had was the one for chocolate storage. All the women in the ward went crazy ordering chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, cocoa powder, etc. Chocolate is an essential item in food storage. ;-)

My mom bought a case of chocolate chips several years ago when my youngest brother was in high school. She opened the case and made a batch of cookies and rotated through it like she should have. Only when she went to get them the fourth time, all the bags were empty. My brother was eating them as snacks, but very carefully blowing up the empty bags and taping them shut and putting them back in the box. He did end up contributing a case of chocolate chips to food storage that year.

[blam]

I'll assure you, I did learn a lot of things not to buy during the y2k thing. I ran out of most stuff but still have about two month's worth of coffee left. Also, I still have all the stuff required to grow (seed, fertlizer, pesticides)all my own food and all the equipment to process and store it. PS....The dogs ate all the spam, canned beef and etc. I ate all the tuna.

[andysandmikesmom]

Thanks so much for this list....it is very informative, and I have bookmarked it for further study...

[Utah Girl]

Wow, thanks for the info. A friend of mine almost has me talked into buying a gun. He wants someone to go to target practice with.

[summer]

Wow, great post! Thanks for the flag, MHGinTN! And, Utah Girl, terrific work! RJayneJ, please note! :)

[Nita Nupress]

"M.A.H."

Thanks. I was about to mail you if I couldn't remember after a few minutes! Nice seeing you around again!

[Nita Nupress]

The dogs ate all the spam,

Good riddance!

[RobFromGa]

Great post, Utah Girl. I think all Americans would be well-served to think about how to best plan for the immediate future. I know your post has opened my eyes.

Do you have any estimated costs of what the total monthly investment is to fund these purchases for General Storage and 72hr kit that you would be willing to share with us?

We should all think of it as self-insurance, instead of paying premiums we invest in a safety net of commodities and foods. Saved for a short winter storm that we hope never appears but we must prepared for...

Please add me to your 'ping' list for future useful posts such as this one. FReegards,

[JRandomFreeper]

no less than 50 rounds of ammo (300 is more like it though);

For one trip to the range maybe.

Ammo is like everything else. If you buy a box of 50 for $14.95 at the range, you can probably get 500 for $80 mail order off of the internet. Buy in bulk. It lasts better than TP.

/john

[gcruse]

Oregon is mighty nice this time of year....

[Epona]

As far as money supplies go, it won't do any good if the dollar is worthless. Bible prophesy speaks of a time when they will throw money in the streets because it is worthless. I would suggest any money be in silver or gold currencies, which will be of some value while the paper will be worthless possibly. Of course it could be used as TP if you haven't stocked enough:)

[JRandomFreeper]

Do you have any estimated costs of what the total monthly investment is to fund these purchases for General Storage

If you do as UG suggests, you actually wind up spending less for groceries. If tuna is on sale, and you eat it, buy extra. You are cost averaging. When you have your larder complete, you find yourself only buying the stuff that's on sale. From personal experience, I save 20% over what I would have paid if I had bought everything at premium price.

/john