Are you Stocking Up or Preparing for an Emergency? Support Thread - Page 5

[A&A]

canned butter:

http://www.mredepot.com/servlet/the-...-butter/Detail

[A&A]

And canned coffee:

http://www.mredepot.com/servlet/the-...d-Costa/Detail

[A&A]

But somehow canned cottage cheese sounds really gross.

http://www.mredepot.com/servlet/the-...Cheeses/Detail

[aihcalappa]

Originally Posted by A&A

But somehow canned cottage cheese sounds really gross.

http://www.mredepot.com/servlet/the-...Cheeses/Detail

[velochic]

During the Great Depression, rendered lard was used in place of butter and it can be canned.

I buy lard from the Amish. It's refrigerated because it's not hydrogenated like the shelf-stable stuff you buy in the grocery store. The grocery store hydrogenated lard I use to make lye soap.

[Ianthe]

Originally Posted by Krisis

Well for those of you in Salt Lake County (Hi Lizzie! ) we've got a winter storm warning issued for all weekend. I packed all my winter clothes when we moved here. Luckily we got all our stuff shipped to us and we're moving it to a storage unit tomorrow, so I can unpack my sweaters!! :

winter storm is for all of wasatch front.. I heard it on the weatherband of my new radio/flashlight I got last night! (For those who want to know how I like it.. so far I really like it. It is really small, so it won't take up much space. The LED light is really bright. and the radio stations come in clear.)

[JTA Mom]

Originally Posted by velochic

During the Great Depression, rendered lard was used in place of butter and it can be canned.

I buy lard from the Amish. It's refrigerated because it's not hydrogenated like the shelf-stable stuff you buy in the grocery store. The grocery store hydrogenated lard I use to make lye soap.

Velochic, can you share your lye soap recipe?

Ami

[lacysmommy]

Loving these threads!

We've been using up our food storage and it's down really low But I managed to cut my grocery bill down to about $50/month while DH has been between jobs. He's working now, but it looks like next week is the last week until he can get another job. This economy sucks.

We still have plenty of rice and a lot of wheat. Probably 80 lbs rice, 50 lbs. wheat (I would like about 500 though), and about 10-20 lbs of other grains. I also have about 100 lbs of beans. Today we harvested about 30 lbs of potatoes from our garden. I also canned about 20 quarts of applesauce this summer, and about 20 of other fruits. Plus lots and lots and lots of jam. If anything, jam makes for an inexpensive gift that is almost always appreciated! I have 12 lbs of shortning but I will be switching to lard when the shortning gets low. I will be canning that when I make it. I have a ton of tomatoes I need to pick and I'm not sure what I'll be doing with them. Most of them are green, so I'm hoping they ripen so I can can them. I probably have 20 pounds of pasta, 10 pounds of chocolate for baking (but I need at least 20-- I am Swiss, after all), and about 1/3 of a deer in our freezer. We're on WIC and I was able to get half the milk powdered, since we only drink half of what we are alloted a month anyway. Considering how much we've gone through in the last several months, I'm feeling pretty stocked up in a lot of areas, but I'd like a lot more yeast and wheat. As long as I can make bread, we'll eat.

On the to do list:

Fix chainsaw
Finish harvest
Pick apples from neighbor's house
split rounds of wood
stack wood
clean up backyard and get everything ready for winter
till gardens
plant overwintering garden veggies
mushroom picking
catch and smoke salmon, and can it

[velochic]

Originally Posted by JTA Mom

Velochic, can you share your lye soap recipe?

Ami

I'd made soap with my dad (he taught me) and I finally did it myself. Well, with him watching. I copied this from one of my other posts in another thread:
-----------------------
6lbs. of lard
1 can of Red Devil Lye (I get this at my hardware store, but it's a country general store and I've heard getting pure lye in cities is hard because it's a meth ingredient)
2.5 pints of cold water

-Add the lye to the cold water (do not add the water to the lye!)
-The water will heat up through a chemical process, when it is warm, not hot, add it to the lard and stir it to melt the fat.
-When it's cool, pour it into a wooden box.
-This soap get hard, so make sure you don't let it cool too much before you cut it. Let it cool overnight and viola!

There are some gotchas. The first step... mind that one. Make sure your utensils and pot are safe for lye (Dad has an enamel pot he uses). They cannot be used for cooking afterward. Lye is dangerous, so use gloves. If you want to add a scent, like rose water or scented oil, do it after the lard is melted, but before the soap gets too stiff.

[StacyL]

Speaking of milk....

I have a large can of powdered whole milk in my stash, and I just bought a few boxes of Parmalot whole milk that were on deep discount the other day. I noticed on the side of the Parmalot box it says:

Storm Watch:

Stock up on our milk products for those unexpected storms that keep you indoors. This is especially useful for the elderly.

I wanted to add that previous to the recent events of the world, I have never had a stocked pantry. I always had only about a week's worth of food in the house, and I went to the store once a week. It is these events which brought me to the notion that it would be prudent to have a supply for an emergency. The same thing goes for cash. Prior to last Friday, when I first read there could be a banking holiday, I never had more than $50-$100 on me at any time. I feel much safer now to have a few weeks expenses in cash on hand.

I just wanted to say that I'm not doing these things because I think I'm going to somehow "ride out the apocalypse" but merely because it doesn't take much of a circumstance (watermain break, winter storm, flood, power loss) to constitute an emergency that could instantly cause some serious discomfort. I also wanted to add that the food I am stocking up oare the shelf-stable things that I already eat anyway, and they will get cycled through and eaten according to their expiration date, so nothing will ever be wasted, nor am I "hoarding" anything.

My much bigger concern is having to evacuate and a Go Bag scenario. As we have seen recently, many Americans have been put into this situation (Ike, Katrina, midwest floods) and that is the one I wouldn't want to be caught unprepared for.

[Krisis]

Yay! I found our 72 hour kits! I should probably make one for Toby too though.

I bought a pair of very warm, waterproof snowboots today. Someone on the other threads recommended the Sorel brand, and that's the kind I got. I would have paid full price ($150!) but then I checked eBay and got a brand new pair for only $50! Which is still a lot, but it's already snowing and I want some boots fast!

We put a bunch of stuff for sale up on craigslist today and I am going to use the money we make to buy some more storage stuffs. I want to get some more rice and more fruit and vegetables. I wish I knew how to can, and also that it didn't scare me so bad!!

[dubfam]

Originally Posted by LizzyQ

winter storm is for all of wasatch front.. I heard it on the weatherband of my new radio/flashlight I got last night! (For those who want to know how I like it.. so far I really like it. It is really small, so it won't take up much space. The LED light is really bright. and the radio stations come in clear.)

That was quick!

How easy is it to charge it with the crank? Does it take forever? That is great that the light is bright and the tuner works well.
I think I am going to order one soon. I would love to stick in in a BOB (if I ever get one packed!!)

Speaking of Go Bags/Bug Out Bags...is anyone else having a hard time packing them? It is really tough for me to process the idea that we could be in a situation where we have to evacuate. Packing a BOB makes it seem so much more real. Like I am willing it to happen (even thought I don;t REALLY think that)
When I was planning my homebirths I could never bring myself to pack a "just in case" hospital bag.
AAcckk! What is my problem? I will really WISH I had a bag ready if we had to leave quickly for any reason.
Is anyone else struggling with this?

[aihcalappa]

Originally Posted by dubfam

Speaking of Go Bags/Bug Out Bags...is anyone else having a hard time packing them? It is really tough for me to process the idea that we could be in a situation where we have to evacuate. Packing a BOB makes it seem so much more real. Like I am willing it to happen (even thought I don;t REALLY think that)

AAcckk! What is my problem? I will really WISH I had a bag ready if we had to leave quickly for any reason.
Is anyone else struggling with this?

I am struggling with this too. I guess we just need to tell ourselves that being prepared for an emergency is not giving it permission to happen. Remember, it's better to have it and never need it, than need it and not have it.

[Ianthe]

I've started puting one together... it's just a small suitcase plus a back-pack picnic set I'm putting a bit of cash in both, and a change of clothes in the suitcase for the 3 of us, and the picnic set will have ready eat meals and granola bars plus flashlight/radio, oh and a few bottles of water. I'll add to it as time goes.. what else should go in it?

[StacyL]

I've been contemplating my Go-Bag for an evacuation scenario.

I have a large canvas duffel bag (they call it a "body bag") that I want to keep in my hall closet by the front door. In that I will put a change of clothes and shoes for everyone, toiletry kit, diapers, baby sling, large ziploc of dogfood for the dog, small bottles of water, meal replacement bars, a few cans of food, can opener, cash and a folder with our important papers/ID.

In my laundry room I have a rectangular laundry basket loaded with all my camping/survival-type gear: camp stove, propane bottle, 2 mess kits, 4 silverware kits, waterproof matches/flint kit, batteries, hand-crank radio/flashlight, a hands-free headlamp, camp axe, folding camp shovel, can-opener, camp coffee pot, coffee filters (for filtering water - not coffee!), tarp, and rain ponchos.

Next to that I have a cardboard box of food - mostly all eat-straight-from-the-can type stuff.

I am hoping that if an evacuation scenario occurred, it would be a drive-away one. Then I could grab the duffel bag, the laundry basket of gear, the box of food, a 5-gal. water bottle, my 5-gal. gas can, and be on the road without too much stress or having to think about what to get. I've thought about putting a written checklist of the items to take in the duffel bag to look at in the event I had to go to help remind me lest I am not thinking clearly in the moment.

Now, if it was a walk-away-on-foot evacuation, I would only be able to take the duffel bag.

[UUMom]

Originally Posted by dubfam

Speaking of Go Bags/Bug Out Bags...is anyone else having a hard time packing them? It is really tough for me to process the idea that we could be in a situation where we have to evacuate. Packing a BOB makes it seem so much more real. Like I am willing it to happen (even thought I don;t REALLY think that)
W?

My issue is that I have 10 gazillion videos & DVDs of my kids' lives. I can't carry them all.

Some people think food/passports/water/cash/gold/chocolate. All I can think of is HowCuteTheyWereAsInfants.

Seriously. We have friends who lost nearly everything in a CA fire a few years ago. Their beloved family home burned to the ground. Before they left they had to push their animals out of their barns ahead of the fire & smoke so they c ould try and save themselves As for material things, they managed to grab their hard drive, their photos, some art.

A few months later, a couple of horses were retrieved (chip your animals, poeple) but that's all. Nearly everything they owned was lost.

[Satori]

Originally Posted by UUMom

My issue is that I have 10 gazillion videos & DVDs of my kids' lives. I can't carry them all.

Some people think food/passports/water/cash/gold/chocolate. All I can think of is HowCuteTheyWereAsInfants.

Seriously. We have friends who lost nearly everything in a CA fire a few years ago. Their beloved family home burned to the ground. Before they left they had to push their animals out of their barns ahead of the fire & smoke so they c ould try and save themselves As for material things, they managed to grab their hard drive, their photos, some art.

A few months later, a couple of horses were retrieved (chip your animals, poeple) but that's all. Nearly everything they owned was lost.

Easy solution, make copies and bury them in a time capsule type thing in the back yard. Even if everything is burned to the ground whats 6 ft deep should be ok assuming you don't bury it near tree roots. Assume at some point you will return to retrieve your items.

[Jenivere]

I feel a a lot better after today. All three kids have new tennis shoes. My friend gave my toddler some snow boots and the girls have new dress shoes. My four year old got five pairs of pants, four warm shirts, a dress and a skirt and top from DI. She needed clothing more than anyone since most shirts were getting to short or were summery and her pants were either too short or worn out at the knees. So everyone now has appropriate shoes that should last for quite some time. I need to patch a bunch of jeans for my son and my husband. We also picked up two nice warm twin sized blankets for my oldest two for 4.00 each from the DI. I got a pair of jeans and a long sleeved shirt.

So except for the blankets none of that is really stocking up but knowing that we may not be able to afford such things soon, I am glad to know we have them now and that we can at least make it through the winter clothing and shoe wise.

[runes]

Originally Posted by UUMom

My issue is that I have 10 gazillion videos & DVDs of my kids' lives. I can't carry them all.

Some people think food/passports/water/cash/gold/chocolate. All I can think of is HowCuteTheyWereAsInfants.

Seriously. We have friends who lost nearly everything in a CA fire a few years ago. Their beloved family home burned to the ground. Before they left they had to push their animals out of their barns ahead of the fire & smoke so they c ould try and save themselves As for material things, they managed to grab their hard drive, their photos, some art.

A few months later, a couple of horses were retrieved (chip your animals, poeple) but that's all. Nearly everything they owned was lost.

Can you get an external hard drive and transfer them all to that? Ours is 500 gb and is the size of a large hardcover book, and it cost about $120. You might even find one cheap on craigslist.

[A&A]

Here is a reason for a GO-BAG:

http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=6013755




Also, I found (online) a left-handed manual can opener. I can't tell you how happy that makes me! : Previously I've been stuck with the electric can opener because I can't, for the life of me, use a right-handed can opener.