Are you Stocking Up or Preparing for an Emergency? Support Thread - Page 9

[velochic]

Originally Posted by annethcz

Wow velo! You're good to go!

I hope so.

[StacyL]

Originally Posted by velochic

but here is a quick look at my basement pantry.

Wow! You have an AWESOME collection! Mine is not nearly that big, but I just started. I add a few items each time I go to the store.

I just got back from K-Mart. I got some canned meats that were on sale, (roast beef, corned beef) and some chicken broth that was on sale too.

I got a propane camp stove, to keep with my small propane grill, to cook in power outages. I got it on sale for $24.99.

Propane camp stove

Then I got this cool little contraption on sale for $3.50!

Sterno Single Burner Folding Emergency Camp Stove

It's flat and tiny and lightweight. I got it, along with a few sterno cans, to put it my Go Bag. I thought it would come in handy for an evacuation scenario, like Katrina - if you were stuck in some holding area, you would have a way to heat up a can of chili or something from your bag to feed your family.

[StacyL]

Check this out:

72-hour Emergency Food Kit

This would be good for a Go bag, since it requires only added water and is lightweight (no cans) and has a very long shelf life (5-7 years). Reviews say it tastes good too.

[velochic]

I love the mini BOB kits. Here's a link to one packed into an altoids tin. So cool!

http://www.fieldandstream.com/fields...225788,00.html

[MaryCeleste]

After seeing velochic's pantry (thanks for sharing!), I just wanted to make sure everyone is aware of the need to take precautions against animal pests. Rats and mice are a very real problem, and they can chew through any lightweight packaging. We discovered this the hard way at our old house, when they decided to have a party in our pantry. They were especially fond of the powdered goat's milk in foil pouches, and the TJ's raisins in plastic bags. Even the things they couldn't get into were contaminated with rodent feces and urine, which let me tell you was NOT fun at all. Once the critters had taken up residence, it took ages to get the last of them out of the house. We didn't use poison, but once you seal up their holes, they start to die and rot in the walls. We had to get a contractor to come and rip out part of the bathroom ceiling, and take out a decomposing rat family. I was pregnant and had a toddler at the time.

I'm sorry to have to talk about such a disgusting subject, but it's one that we should all be aware of.

Far better to keep them out in the first place. Because of this, our "deep storage" area only has food in metal cans, glass jars, plastic water and juice bottles, and heavy sealed plastic pails. Any other packaged food -- boxed, bagged, etc. -- is kept in plastic bins with secure lids. These bins are either stored outside in a detached shed, or (for more valuable or frequently-used items) in the main kitchen pantry, where I can keep an eye on them.


I'm not even going to get started on discussing Indian grain moths (aka pantry moths)... but will just say that if you ever buy or store bulk grains -- including large bags of rice from Asian groceries -- you should absolutely do a search for information on these critters, and take the recommended precautions. They're not health hazards in the same way that rats are, but they're very unpleasant, and really, really hard to get rid of.

[dancebaraka]

oh maryceleste! that's awful!!

[velochic]

Originally Posted by MaryCeleste

After seeing velochic's pantry (thanks for sharing!), I just wanted to make sure everyone is aware of the need to take precautions against animal pests.

Excellent point! (I'm sorry you had to deal with that, btw). I've been keeping this pantry for about 4 years now. We do get the occasional mouse... (note mouse trap in one of the pictures). You have to be aware of what is in your area of the "woods". Knocking on wood... we've never had issues with anything other than mice that ate our ramen once.

One point to make... ALWAYS wash your cans before opening them. Sometimes the lids fall into the food and you don't know what has been walking on top of them.

[katheek77]

I grew up in houses that always had stocked pantries/freezers, so, really, there was only a short time in my life (college, first job) where I didn't have the stocked pantry. However, I've gotten more serious about it in the past year. One caveat, though, is DH is in the military, so, we are somewhat uncertain as to how long we'll be in a certain place, so, we kind of go through cycles of stocking up, and then sort of waiting out the rumor mill to find out if he'll be PCS'ed...Anyway, here are pics of our pantry. It's nowhere near as impressive as Velo's...In addition to the whole "military move" factor, we live in a 2 bedroom, 825sqft apartment, with an 8x8 kitchen, so, I keep the "pantry" in the 2nd bedroom closet. I also have a shelf-case in the kitchen that I keep "opens" on (the open flours, beans, etc).

Pic 1
Pic 2

You can't see it in the pics, but to the right is about a foot of space between the shelves and the wall, and I keep cooking oils there, along with my canning pectins. The green rubbermaid holds flours in 5lb bags from Frontier. The blue rubbermaid holds more flour, along with some dehydrated veggies, dry milk, and dehydrated soup mixes from Frontier. The white boxes are dehydrated fruits/veggies from Just Tomatoes. I need to stock up still on more pasta, beans, and sugar.

[Ianthe]

I bought a little bit for our stockpile today- 20 oz TVP, 1 1/2 lbs flax seeds, a large jar of blackstrap molasses, and 12 packets of active dry yeast. Plus lots of frozen veggies, but I'll likely use those sooner than later

[aihcalappa]

Can anyone share some good ways to cook with TVP?

[aihcalappa]

Thanks everyone who shared pics of their pantries! Velo, that Altoid tin survival kit is so cool.

[BabyBearsMummy]

LOL everytime I head down stairs with the laundry past the box I started with the canadian governments recomendations I think oh I should really finish that but then again I have been super busy since I started it just surviving as I began before becoming a single mother.

[Ianthe]

Originally Posted by appalachia

Can anyone share some good ways to cook with TVP?

You rehydrate the TVP and use it in anything you would use ground beef- like spaghetti, chili, sloppy joes (It can't form patties though). It is super high in protein and has the same texture as ground beef.

[StacyL]

Originally Posted by MaryCeleste

After seeing velochic's pantry (thanks for sharing!), I just wanted to make sure everyone is aware of the need to take precautions against animal pests. Rats and mice are a very real problem, and they can chew through any lightweight packaging. We discovered this the hard way at our old house, when they decided to have a party in our pantry. They were especially fond of the powdered goat's milk in foil pouches, and the TJ's raisins in plastic bags. Even the things they couldn't get into were contaminated with rodent feces and urine, which let me tell you was NOT fun at all.

What a great piece of advice!

I am moving all of my lightweight packaging items (boxes, pouches, anything that could be chewed through) into some large plastic bins that have lids. I'm leaving all my cans and glass jar items as is on the shelf.

[Ianthe]

Originally Posted by StacyL

What a great piece of advice!

I am moving all of my lightweight packaging items (boxes, pouches, anything that could be chewed through) into some large plastic bins that have lids. I'm leaving all my cans and glass jar items as is on the shelf.

Me too!

[StacyL]

I've been thinking a lot about Go Bags, and really want to finish this as a project - really get myself squared away on this one front, yk?

I've seen people talk about backpacks for each family member, but I think that is too complicated for me, plus my children are too little. I want ONE bag that is large enough to hold everything I need for the family, but light enough for my dh to carry it should the scenario NOT be a drive-away-in-our-car evacuation.

My dh is active duty military officer, and he has this great bag that would be perfect, but this particular one is not really "ours" as he had it issued to him for some recent exercises and it has to be turned back in. But, guess what?

I found them on Ebay! :

They are large enough (36" long) to put a bunch of stuff in, obviously durable as they are military grade, and have padded shoulder straps for back carry, plus a handle for traditional hand carry. He could wear this, I could wear the smallest child, and the others could walk.

And they're cheap!

Army Duffel Bag

[velochic]

I have my father's from the Korean War. It's one of the bags that I use for our vehicle BOBs. They really are useful, but you cannot carry them for a long time. If I had to hike with this for any length of time, it would soon become too cumbersome. A good backpack is best for serious hiking out.

[LeighB]

Velochic- I couldn't get yours to load up for some reason.

Seeing the other pics, I def have a long way to go. I am so not as stocked up as I should be!

[CameronsMama]

Originally Posted by LeighB

Seeing the other pics, I def have a long way to go. I am so not as stocked up as I should be!

I know what you mean-my stockpile has grown, but it's nothing compared to the ones I've seen here! I'm in great shape for soaps, shampoos/conditioners, toothbrushes and pastes, that sort of stuff, and now I'm focusing more on the food.

[Jenivere]

I've added a lot in the past month but I don't come close to Velochics (except the massive amount of wheat mom and dad left behind). I'll have in the next little bit 100lbs oats, 25lbs white beans, 25lbs dry milk, 25lbs rice and 50lbs of sugar to can or put into 5gallon buckets. I will be canning the powdered milk as it will keep a lot longer that way. I use food grade 5gallon buckets with food grade liners to store bulk items that I use to quickly to bother canning. Sometime this week I will also have about 80lbs of apples and probably over a 100lbs of potatoes to can and some to store. I also have fresh winter squash from my garden I need to take care of. My husband doesn't want to do anymore canning but he's out of luck.