If you don't stockpile for disasters why? - Page 5

[WeasleyMum]

Originally Posted by milletpuff

I applaud anyone with the self-discipline to stockpile chocolate and wine and leave it there till the disaster comes

I can't stockpile anything like chocolate, because it gets eaten RIGHT AWAY. I tried once a few months ago with Ben&Jerry's, it went on sale for just a few dollars a pint! Way cheaper than usual. So I bought several pints, thinking I'd have a freezer stash... Yeah right. I ate that icecream in less time than one could imagine.

In general I don't stockpile much, first because I'm pretty disorganized-- my household is chaotic and there are many things that need adressing. I'm doing well just to have enough groceries in the house to make dinner, I don't plan ahead very well. Second, I'm pretty new to these ideas of the End of Oil, the Long Emergency, whatever you want to call it, the EOTWAWKI. I only kind of stumbled across all that over the summer, and I'm still in the processing stage, not the OMG MUST PLANT WHEAT IN THE FRONT YARD SO WE DON'T STARVE stage.

I am starting to make a few changes, more for general comfort than anything else. After running out of toilet paper a fair few times, I try to stay 2-3 12-packs ahead of that scenario-- also can buy it on sale that way. I'm starting to always have enough jarred spaghetti sauce and dried pasta to be several meals ahead, my freezer is full (mostly meats, veggies, and homemade meals), but I'm nowhere near what anybody would call "all stocked up".

To answer some PP's ideas that it's "bad karma" to be well-supplied, or that it somehow indicates a bad outlook: I don't get it. I mean, let's take something like toilet paper. If I have a one-month supply of the stuff waiting in my laundry room (that I replenish religiously as it gets used up), how does that make bad karma? Now let's say that EVERYBODY on my street-- no, in my city-- has a backup supply of toilet paper. Is that somehow bad for the town's mentality, our outlook? I don't see it. I think that could be applied to most things. Having a freezer/fridge/pantry full of food, a tank full of gas, a closet full of quilts or blankets, these things don't spell bad karma or a doom-and-gloom mentality to me. I'd personally, probably, feel more relaxed knowing that I was just that much more prepared for whatever life chucks our way. Kind of like having that savings account at the bank (the what-if-we-lose-our-jobs-and-can't-pay-the-mortgage! account), except in food, paper goods, or whatever.

I mean yeah, as Choli just said, we are adaptable and flexible-- if we had to go a day without TP we'd survive. But why not plan ahead a bit instead, so that maybe we didn't have to?

[choli]

Originally Posted by WeasleyMum

To answer some PP's ideas that it's "bad karma" to be well-supplied, or that it somehow indicates a bad outlook: I don't get it.

I didn't say it was bad karma to be well supplied. I said it's better karma to contribute more to the food bank.


I strongly believe that it's better karma to give to others than to "stockpile" or hoard for myself.

[almadianna]

i do stockpile but not like for end of the world stuff... we do it every year in the beginning of hurricane season and we eat it all after the end of hurricane season.

we live in texas and have had 3 major hurricanes/tropical storms hit us in the last 10 years (rita, allison, and now Ike) so it has been quite helpful. because of my stockpiling we were able to eat very well for the 2 weeks that we didnt have electriity.. we ate warm food, healthy meals, and didnt have a single MRE.

But like i said above I dont stockpile like 300 pounds of toilet paper or anything like that.. the most that i have is that i buy meat through a farm and I (at the most right after delivery) have around 70 pounds worth of meat in my deep freeze... other than that it is usually a few boxes of stuff here and there.

[dolcedaze]

I didn't, for years, because it didn't seem to make financial sense. I've never bought into the absent paycheck scenario, because in those cases the money would do us a lot more good stashed in the the bank than previously spent on things we might or might not need. We've never lived in an area where natural disasters would last more than a few days.

Now I've started, out of frugality and not preparedness. I keep a supply of coupons for things we do use or that give overage, then use them to buy a year's worth of items on sale for free. I have a large pantry completely stuffed with free food. We have the space and it saves us thousands of dollars, so I no longer had a reason not to do it.

[WeasleyMum]

Originally Posted by choli

I didn't say it was bad karma to be well supplied. I said it's better karma to contribute more to the food bank.


I strongly believe that it's better karma to give to others than to "stockpile" or hoard for myself.

OK, that's a good point, and I may be guilty of skimming and/or mixing up posts (). But they are hardly mutually exclusive activities, either.

[whalemilk]

Even if I wanted to, where would I put it? There's four of us and three cats in an urban apartment with two tiny bedrooms and a miniscule kitchen. I wouldn't say it's cramped but let's say the ambiance is very...European. Very Ikea. We store stuff under the beds, the closets are stacked, the tiny freezer is arranged just so only to hold a month's worth of broth and chicken breasts...and we don't *have* a lot of things! Any extra "stuff" we had got sold this summer when we hit our personal financial crisis. Unless I started piling cases of canned goods on the floor and just walking over them, I don't have anywhere to put a year's worth of food even if I for some reason thought that was a sane idea.

So speaking of elitism, one thing that bothers me about this whole concept is it pretty much requires you to be a North American space hog to start with. You need a certain amount of square footage in your home to stockpile, you need a house with its own yard (and not an apartment or condo) to have a "sustenance" garden, and you absolutely must have a car to haul the vats of ketchup and pinto beans home from Sam's Club and Costco. And if you're thinking of raising chickens or shooting game, that requires you to live a little further out and drive everywhere, and to have a little more space...for all the pioneer fantasizing I see, NONE of this scheming is really sustainable.

And who am I, I am no Army sharp shooter, hell I was raised Quaker. I'm some fat housewife with bad hips, and if the hoardes of hungry, angry men came to our door I and my two very small daughters would be toast, albeit after my skinny nerd husband put up a valiant effort at defending us. To anyone who isn't already higher on the totem pole, or married to someone who is, this whole idea of steeling ourselves against anarchy and deprivation by stockpiling is a sad, sad joke.

[the_lissa]

Good points. There are so many reasons why peoel are against stockpiling, and it has nothing to do with being a cool kid. I think it is harmful.

[dancebaraka]

I am hanging out in both sides' threads... for the record, I can see all sides to this.

For myself, I want to cultivate integration of ideas, and not "either-or" thinking. KWIM? Anyone??

For what it's worth, we *are* prepping for a financial depression. I am not stockpiling food beyond a month, though. We are downsizing, living within our means, paying off all debts, etc. etc.

Oh yeah... and ditto the wine and chocolate. 2-3 cases of 2-buck chuck is on my shopping list. No matter what happens, I'll be festive!

[Scribe]

I've been following and thinking about this thread for awhile now, and have finally come up with the reasons why I don't stockpile:

1. I don't really believe anything horrible is going to happen, and if it does, I don't really believe that anything I can buy up now and save in my house is going to help.

2. Stockpiling does feel like hording to me, and doesn't seem generous or community-spirited.

3. I believe very strongly in not giving myself license to worry unnecessarily, and too much focus on what could happen ends up being just that.

[slsurface]

Originally Posted by avengingophelia

3. I believe very strongly in not giving myself license to worry unnecessarily, and too much focus on what could happen ends up being just that.

How very zen! Well said.

[grniys]

Originally Posted by choli

I didn't say it was bad karma to be well supplied. I said it's better karma to contribute more to the food bank.


I strongly believe that it's better karma to give to others than to "stockpile" or hoard for myself.

I needed that reminder. Not on the food issue though (I don't keep much in stock in my pantry... just enough to get us by if we're short grocery money sometime). I just bought some new, better sewing stuff and wasn't sure what to do with my old stuff. I was just going to keep it around in case I ever needed it... but I most likely won't.

I absolutely agree with the karma thing. Thanks for the reminder.

[tinybutterfly]

I haven't had a chance to read all the replies yet. We don't stockpile, but I do want to get our emergency kit together after letting it slide for several years and would also like to put away about three months worth of stuff in the pantry and a regular sized freezer ( the kind attached to our fridge) for winter. Also would rather pay lower prices if I can now if prices do go up pretty soon. Stocking up, but not stockpiling.

We live where there are tornadoes, floods, winter weather some years, we had some earthquake activity this year AND the edge of Ike came through and caused issues this year. Who says the midwest is boring.

[georgia]

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Thanks!

[be11ydancer]

I haven't read all the replies but there are reasons other than the world ending to stockpile essential supplies.

If DH (sole income earner) suddenly became disabled or worse, there would be enough food to last us a while.

When we have all become ill in the past and no one could get to the store, we had enough food.

When my dad lost his job last month, they were able to live off the large amounts of dehydrated everything that they had been buying over the years. This helped them tremendously, and a lot of it tasted really good.

And I don't like going to the grocery store more often than I have to so it's better to buy 6 jars of peanut butter at once than to buy one every week.

When a work crew was replacing water lines recently and the water was shut off, it sure was nice to have bottles of water available. I just wash out the cranberry juice bottles and refill them with water and put in the back of a closet. It's no trouble really.

That said, I don't have any fuel storage in case of a power outage. But I did make a simple campfire pit in the backyard and could easily use it to cook with if necessary. If the power went out and was expected to be out for a long while, I'd just start cooking all the meat that's in the deep freeze... probably have a big bbq or something.

[velochic]

I do stockpile and I thought I'd just say something about the psychology of it.

When people are faced with tough times, they often feel powerless to do anything about it. Nature, work lay offs, the economy... none of these things can we control. But keeping our family fed and safe *IS* something we can control. Part of stockpiling is knowing that for a given period of time we *are* in control of making life easier for our families. Women are natural nurturers. Protecting our young is part of our nature. That is why I prepare for disasters both natural and man-made. Nature compels me to.

I agree that just going out and buying $1000 worth of food you may or may not eat is foolish. Stocking up in a panic is irrational. You *will* waste in that case. That's why I have been preparing in the fat years (several) for the lean. And I have worked on my self-sufficiency skills, too. Learning how to be a good gardener, preserving and purchasing seeds, knowing how to preserve food even in an emergency (and buying the tools to do so), learning back-to-basics skills that will allow us to continue when others don't know what to do. It's all part of the process... it's not just buying more food. The bottom line is that you have to know how to live sustainably in the case of a major disaster or depression. The large stockpile of food allows you to get your ducks in the proverbial row as you gear up to live in sustainability mode. If nothing happens, a prudent prepper will have made sure that nothing goes to waste. They will have their rotation system set up and document expiry dates and plan their daily consumption around that. Over the years I have saved at least $5,000 in groceries alone by stocking up. And only 1 time has anything gone to waste... 4 cartons of UHT milk went over the expiry before we could use them.

[kijip]

I agree with everyone who says the sky is not falling. I am not particularly worried about the economy just now.

But I have a long term stock of food and supplies. And I garden on a tiny urban lot, we have chickens with another family and I own/use things like a pressure canner.

The assumption that everyone who is interested in stockpiling and self sufficiency is living in fear of economic collapse is incorrect. All of the people I know IRL who do this are super community minded and none are especially scared about social and economic collapse.

[Juliacat]

I guess I get discouraged reading things like "you'll need 3 gallons of water per person per day." Assuming 3 days, WHERE THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO STORE 9 GALLONS OF WATER?!?!?!?!? There's barely enough room in our house for US!

I'd probably be more likely to stockpile if I knew what kind of disaster we were going to be dealing with!

[fek&fuzz]

Originally Posted by Juliacat

I guess I get discouraged reading things like "you'll need 3 gallons of water per person per day." Assuming 3 days, WHERE THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO STORE 9 GALLONS OF WATER?!?!?!?!? There's barely enough room in our house for US!

I'd probably be more likely to stockpile if I knew what kind of disaster we were going to be dealing with!

It's only one gallon of water per person per day. You can store it under beds, backs of closets, cabinets. Get creative.

Do you have any weather issues in your area that cause power outages? Hurricanes, storms, tornadoes, floods, etc? We have some bad winter storms, and we've had alerts where we've had to boil water for a day or two due to a water main issue. It was nice to have a few gallons on hand for that.

You don't have to be stockpiling for the end of the world. Just getting a few things to have on hand in the event of a storm, power outage, water issue, etc.

[Mama Dragon]

Originally Posted by fek&fuzz

It's only one gallon of water per person per day. You can store it under beds, backs of closets, cabinets. Get creative.

Do you have any weather issues in your area that cause power outages? Hurricanes, storms, tornadoes, floods, etc? We have some bad winter storms, and we've had alerts where we've had to boil water for a day or two due to a water main issue. It was nice to have a few gallons on hand for that.

You don't have to be stockpiling for the end of the world. Just getting a few things to have on hand in the event of a storm, power outage, water issue, etc.

I thought it was 3? For bathing, drinking, cooking? 1 gallon wouldn't last long I think?

[lacysmommy]

Having water on hand is VERY IMPORTANT, even if you don't store anything else. Even just a couple gallons for the unexpected. I didn't think we needed it, because we live close to a large water source, have bleach and a water purifier (we're campers), and we pay our water bill. But our water main broke one day and I didn't have any water on hand to flush toilets, wash hands, or even drink. It took a couple days to fix it, so we didn't have water for a while. With two kids, it is very difficult to not have water on hand. It is a major PITA to go down a couple blocks to the lake to retrieve it, so that's really only a viable solution in a true emergency situation (thinking earthquake for us). I think you can also use the water in your water heater as water storage, but I'm not sure how you do that. I now know better and will be stocking up on water as soon as I can! I'm planning on getting a couple of the slim packs-- they have a spout and hold about 3-4 gallons. I will probably get 4 of them and store them in our carport or the storage shed out back.