new respect for preppers

The prepper mentality is no different than the gun ownership mentality:
“It’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.”

I would love if everyday was just sipping margaritas on the beach, but if shit were to happen, my life is still moving forward.
 
Hell I thought I was just be a prudent, savvy, New England shopper. When I stocked up on canned goods and non-perisables when they were on sale. I guess I'm actually a prepper and didn't even realize it Always Always buy 4 or 5 cans of something when it's a 2 for 1 special. I have beans, and veggies, pasta and tomato sauce in glass jars (NO metal cans for acidic stuff) canned tuna and canned chicken LOTS of Coffee and powdered creamer sugar and some additional odds and ends. Freezer is well stocked for maybe 3-4 weeks of basic 2 meals a day eating. I never figured out bread and I don't bake so making it isn't an option. OH I forgot the ever present extra large cans of Dinty Moore Beef Stew ( LOL) I hope to hell it doesn't come down to that for 3-4 days worth of nurishment!!! I have a power source that is good for maybe 1 week or 10 days if I do it right. To keep freezer and reefer running, after that It's MRE's for the duration . At least I won't need any toilet paper at that point!
 
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My freezer is always stocked with chicken, steak, pork and fish. About 30lbs of each. I have enough food for 5 people for a year.

I started this 7yrs ago, a couple of good friends on NES got me going with advice.
An extra $10/week while grocery shopping

The meat portions can be stretched by using them in large one pot soups or stews. Smaller meat portions but overall the meal will serve more people or the same number of peope for a longer time.
Pearled barley, pastas, beans, greens, cabbage, peas, lentils, corn, potatoes, tomatoes ( diced or stewed ) minced onions or fresh if you have them on hand all make great ingredients for good filling and nutritious soups.

Eat less, live longer.
 
My freezer is always stocked with chicken, steak, pork and fish. About 30lbs of each. I have enough food for 5 people for a year.

I started this 7yrs ago, a couple of good friends on NES got me going with advice.
An extra $10/week while grocery shopping

care to pass along some advice? :D
 
care to pass along some advice? :D

Even now it's not too late. Try to get a little extra every time you hit the store. Try other stores like Job Lots and Big Lots etc.
Try to build up a decent supply of tuna, chicken, canned goods, dry beans and split peas and rice. The down side now is lower availability and prices will start to go up. Fill the freezer with what you can find.

If you start now you will have something to work with in case the supply chain breaks down or for some reason you can't leave the house to get food.
 
Even now it's not too late. Try to get a little extra every time you hit the store. Try other stores like Job Lots and Big Lots etc.
Try to build up a decent supply of tuna, chicken, canned goods, dry beans and split peas and rice. The down side now is lower availability and prices will start to go up. Fill the freezer with what you can find.

If you start now you will have something to work with in case the supply chain breaks down or for some reason you can't leave the house to get food.
Perfect advice.
Don't go crazy gung-ho all at once. It's all about little bits and pieces here and there on a consistent basis. Consistency is the key. You're always prepping. If you can't keep a mental note of your stash, write it down and date it so you know exactly what you have.
And it's not all about food. How about random supplies:
-electric power/batteries, first aid, water storage and filtration, hygiene and sanitation, firestarting and heat, defense and hunting, etc.

Finally, there's nothing wrong with "getting high off your supply" (i.e. tapping into your stash). I actually recommend it since it encourages replenishing old items.
 
care to pass along some advice? :D
Eat what you store and store what you eat.
If you eat a box of Prince spaghetti every Wednesday, buy two boxes when you shop. Three cans of tuna a week? Buy four or 5.
Keep a journal to help keep track and rotate your stock just like the grocery store does. It doesn't make sense to buy 50 lbs of rice if you don't like rice. It will never get eaten and eventually you will throw it away.
 
i will never say a disparaging word again about preppers, you were warning us. [bow] didn't listen but i'm all ears now.
My wife has evolved over time. I started putting supplies away 10 years ago, and my wife mocked me and said the store is 5 minutes away. I said, what if the store is empty? She was also pretty ambivalent over my guns, then after watching 75% of the walking dead season one, she turned to me and said, I am glad you have those guns, it isn't the zombies you have to worry about, it is the people. A few years later she was the one looking into prepping and buying various long term storage food. It makes no sense to NOT have food put aside for any possibility, we don't live on farms any more and we are really on our own is the S does HTF, the guberment ain't a commin'!
 
A few inches below and 20 inches high.

That green 24 inch fencing will do it. Now if you have deer, that's another story.

A few inches is not nearly enough to keep fishers out.

If I use 2x10 or 2x12 to make raised beds, will they bother to burrow under that?

You need to be thinking more about what's coming in than who's getting out.
 
Finally, there's nothing wrong with "getting high off your supply" (i.e. tapping into your stash). I actually recommend it since it encourages replenishing old items.

Inventory rotation is critical! Dating your stash and moving the old to the front for consumption is always a good idea. I stock the new stuff in the back, so all my to be eaten product is up front.


.
 
Inventory rotation is critical! Dating your stash and moving the old to the front for consumption is always a good idea. I stock the new stuff in the back, so all my to be eaten product is up front.


.
I always write the expiration date on the front of the product with a Sharpie. Makes it easier.
 
Still good. Heat to rolling boil for 5 minutes and apply to sore spots.
Great for calluses...
Dogs love it too!
 
The prepper mentality is no different than the gun ownership mentality:
“It’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.”

I would love if everyday was just sipping margaritas on the beach, but if shit were to happen, my life is still moving forward.
We got a saying in the trade.. “I’d rather be looking at it than looking for it!!”
 
Inventory rotation is critical! Dating your stash and moving the old to the front for consumption is always a good idea. I stock the new stuff in the back, so all my to be eaten product is up front.


.
If you were to look in the kitchen cabinets you'd see these.
51ed7gtaB-L._AC_.jpg

FIFO Can Tracker Stores 54 cans.
 
I always write the expiration date on the front of the product with a Sharpie. Makes it easier.

What are you using as an "expiration date"??

The "best used by" date printed on a can is not a hard and fast rule to go by when deciding whether the contents will be useable later on.
Unless canned food is swelled, leaking or looks and smells bad upon opening it is edible.

The sharpie date should reflect the month/year it was put into your stock and that date used for rotation purposes.
 
Some breads freeze ok......thats one way.....

B&M makes brown bread with or without raisins.......


Its decent/edible....cut slices and treat like regular bread...mostly.....will toast up good

Been eating it off and on for 60 years.😊 We always took it camping and toasted it in a frying pan with a little butter......great with morning coffee at the campfire.
 
What are you using as an "expiration date"??

The "best used by" date printed on a can is not a hard and fast rule to go by when deciding whether the contents will be useable later on.
Unless canned food is swelled, leaking or looks and smells bad upon opening it is edible.

The sharpie date should reflect the month/year it was put into your stock and that date used for rotation purposes.
I realize you have an opinion on pretty much everything on this forum. I put the the expiration date that is on the product and let my conscience be my guide from there. Don’t be telling me that my date should be what Uzi2 decides it should be. Who made you the expert? Stay the f$&k out of my pantry with your sharpie.
 
I realize you have an opinion on pretty much everything on this forum. I put the the expiration date that is on the product and let my conscience be my guide from there. Don’t be telling me that my date should be what Uzi2 decides it should be. Who made you the expert? Stay the f$&k out of my pantry with your sharpie.

And I realize that you are pretty much one who cannot take advice from people who have been doing this longer than you've been alive.[thumbsup]
 
The "best used by" date printed on a can is not a hard and fast rule to go by when deciding whether the contents will be useable later on.
Same thing with medical supplies. Just because a 4x4 sterile gauze is expired, doesn't mean it's not sterile anymore. Same goes with medications: ibuprofen, antibiotics, etc. They don't lose potency with expiration. It's the biggest crock of shit geared to make medical facilities trash perfectly good items.
 
Same thing with medical supplies. Just because a 4x4 sterile gauze is expired, doesn't mean it's not sterile anymore. Same goes with medications: ibuprofen, antibiotics, etc. They don't lose potency with expiration. It's the biggest crock of shit geared to make medical facilities trash perfectly good items.
A study by Harvard found that 90% of the 100 drugs they tested were still found to be good to use 15 years after use by date.
 
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