Mini Preparedness # 5

I was sharing my list with a friend last month and they asked - "What are you trying to do here? Have a resort during a disaster?  When we are suppose to fighting to survive?"  And I wonder if any of my readers believe the same.  Let me explain why I do the 'over kill' on what I stock.

It seems, when I look at the people that I am surrounded by and people on television, that they tend to have two situations that control them.  I should say that there are two major issues that seem to be the largest problems.  Hunger and illness.  I consider the lack of sleep to be an illness when someone can not sleep even when there is an opportunity to do so.  So, in my mind, why not avoid both of these situations?

Another thing that I consider when I am building my 'survivalist resort' is that most of the food items that I gather are foods that I buy on a regular basis.  It is not wasted items.  It is just 'extra' of what I stock.  The extra cost is only a temporary one.  If I were to be without income, I would be utilizing my stock and restock when the income returned.  So, 'Resort' - No.  'Comfortable' - Yes!

I also consider that there are children involved when it comes to my case.  The trauma that a child will suffer through some of the possible situations, could effect them for a life time.  I have always said that if you practice some of these survival techniques when camping or picnicking, a child will accept them with ease.  But we know that kids will pick up on the adult stress no matter how hard you attempt to hide it.  So, we are back to making a huge attempt to keep adults and children alike, comfortable.  A hungry human is not a happy human.

So here I have my next lists.  The first one is a totally optional type list.  Again, I find it necessary because of the children that could be involved with me.  It's all about the snacks when it comes to the kids.
And some who are just big size kids. And I am not sticking to the healthy plan here.  Chocolate is a must for some when it comes to relaxation. 

Again - planning for 10 people for 30 days. 

Snacks

100 granola bars - make it a combination of crunchy type and the
     soft, fruit type.  The crunchy kind can be removed from the box
     and preserved in a Food Saver bag; they will last for years.  The
     fruit kind are different.  I find that if you open the boxes and fill
     them til they are full, you can reduce the space taken.  Then you
     can seal them up to prolong the life by quite a bit.  Leave them in
     the box and stop the air removal just before it starts to squish
     the box.  Other wise you will have crumbs instead of bars.
Right here, you may be thinking - 100 bars!  That sounds like a lot.  It is only 10 boxes.  I not only have my stock, but I also have a few boxes on my shelf (that is another 30 bars) for the visiting kids.

40 small applesauce cups
40 small fruit cups
40 small jello cups
40 small pudding cups
40 small veggie cups - green beans are the best
40 small boxes of raisins and craisins
4 canned cheese.  I think this stuff is totally gross but it could be
     nice to have at these times.  It is an item that I take on vacation
     with my grand daughters (we do that often) and they find it
     entertaining and good.  They spend time making faces on Ritz
     Crackers before eating them.  They also use it with thin sliced
     ham, and not too bad on tortilla chips.   They have a pretty good
     shelf life.  Check cans before purchasing.
2 tubes or cans of frosting - this is one of the items that could be
     put on an 'entertainment' list.  Kids will enjoy making their own
     fun art on small pancakes, graham crackers, etc.  So, this is an
     optional item and geared toward the family with children.
1 package of graham crackers - to go with the frosting above and
     again geared towards the kids.  You can save these in a Food
     Saver bag by sucking the air out but stopping before they crumble
assortment of dry fruit - I make separate, small portions, and use
     the good ole' Food Saver to preserve them.  40 portions would
     be nice
hard candy - this can satisfy the hunger and even be soothing at
     times.  This is especially important if you have anyone who is
     diabetic or has hypoglycemia.  A tip - you will want to suck them
     into bags but don't put peppermint in with the fruit flavors.  If
     you do, everything will taste like mint.  Peppermint can sooth an
     upset stomach so do not shy away from that.  I have about 300
     assorted flavors and it takes up no space at all.
3 boxes of granola - this is an amazing item for many uses; not just
     a snack but to add to yogurt or cereal.  Wonderful just as a snack
     all by itself.  I remove the granola from the box and suck it into
     bags; this will last for years, but I will rotate it before that long.
     I   cut the bags a little large so that I can refill them and reuse
     for the next bag of granola.
2 boxes of cereal - yeah - this is great with milk for breakfast but if
     you get some Cheerios's, Fruit Loops, Captain Crunch or Honey
     Smacks, you will be able to use the Food Saver to preserve.  I
     take the bag of cereal out of the box, put a small slit in the inner
     bag and remove the air; stop the air removal just before the
     cereal crunches to crumbs.  A hand full of cereal will go a long
     ways when trying to hold a kid or adult off till dinner is ready.
Nuts - these can go bad pretty fast if you don't preserve them.  I
     get the individual bags when I see them on sale and stick them
     away.  I also have a few jars of different kinds of nuts.  It is not
     the easiest thing to do but I do have the entire jar in preserving
     bags.  I think that will expand the shelf life to twice the original.
60 little bags of gummy candy or fruit snacks - again, this is not as
     much as it sounds.  There are usually 12 packs to a box.  If you
     find them around a holiday, you may find a bag of 50 - 100 tiny
     bags in one big bag.  Bargain deal there.  Again - you need to use
     your Food Saver to keep these fresh.  They will last for years if
     stored in a cool, dry location.
Chocolate - and a good assortment of it.  I have the Hershey Mini
     assortment, small bags of M&Ms (like you get at Halloween),
     Tootsie Rolls and a package of the assorted tiny candy bars.
     All of these are sorted out into Food Saver bags and should be
     good for years, as long as they are in a cool, dry area.  I
     especially like the M&Ms; they are great as a reward for the kids
     who have completed chores or had a good behavior day.

Please be aware of anyone who may be around and allergic to nuts.  If there is any possibility of having that person in your group, do not open the nut items.  The last thing you want is a person having a bad reaction at a time like this.

Drinks are going to be so very important.  Everyone will need to be well hydrated.

Drinks

150 gallons of water - and that would be drinking water.  This not only
     sounds like a lot, it is.  I have a 30 gallon water heater and that is
     one of my major supplies of water.  As soon as I know there is
     going to be a water shortage, I will have the burners turned off
     on my water heater to avoid evaporation.  I have 60 gallons of
     water that is stored in 2 liter soda bottles.  These bottles last
     longer than any other that is available at not cost.  And they are
     sturdier than the gallon bottle that water comes in.  I have these
     bottles lined up along the wall in my garage and are not in the way
     at all.   Every Spring, I use these bottles to water my plants and
     then I refill them.  No waste and fresh enough to use in an
     emergency.  I drink distilled water so I keep about 20 gallons in
     stock daily.  
    If you add it up, you will see that I am still short water.  But, this
    is what I can easily store.  I may add another 10 gallons in the 2
    liter bottles, but after that I am not sure. I do have several
     gallons of other drinks in my daily stock.
    I will have my bath tub filled for cleaning purposes.  I do have a        few small containers that catch rain water.  I may have melting
     snow to help.  This is an area that I have to work on.  I believe
     I will do this with collected water outside.  If I can keep it
     sealed, it will be fine for drinking.  
Tang - I mentioned this in an earlier post.  Tang is great for adding
     a bit of vitamins to your daily intake.
Gatorade - I have the packets of powdered.  These will be a great
     additive.  Also consider other powdered drink additives.
10 One liter bottles of Smart Water.  This I use often and keep
     rotated.  There are electrolytes so if you have someone not
     feeling well, this is a great water to have.
1 bottle of Pedialyte.  Rotate this item.  No better drink to get a
    person rehydrated.
20 bottles of flavored carbonated water.  This is purely optional but
     I enjoy this drink and use it to mix with juices so I always have
     this in my rotating stock.
50  or more, small boxes or cans of juice.  Again, this is optional but
     does contain some of the vitamins that you want on a daily basis.
     I have a combination of V-8 Juice, fruit juices and V8 Fusion.
     These are on my pantry shelf and used and rotated on a regular
     basis.
Coffee, tea, hot chocolate packets and that kind of drink I have already put on the breakfast list.

That is pretty much what I have stored, in these category.  Your list will depend on your family and personal needs.

One big tip here -
I shop the discount stores for all my items.  They seem to have the freshest of items.  I also dig to the back of the shelf to get the items with the best expiration dates.  Beware of paying too much when  building your stock.  A good example is applesauce.  I love those cute little tubes of fruit for the little kids.  When you are traveling they are great since they can handle them all by them selves if needed.  But, there is a great cost difference.  I compared them and found this - The four pack of applesauce has a total of 16 ounces, for $1.00 at the Dollar General store.  The squeeze pouch of apple fruit was $1.25 for two tubes, with a total of 7 ounces, at the same store.  So, tubes are cute but small cups are priced right.

Mini Preparedness # 4

In Mini Preparedness #3, I made a list of the main meal type items that I keep in stock for my plan;  that would be  10 people for 30 days.  As mentioned in the past, that is all I can handle planning for at this time.  Tho it may not be perfect, it is better than doing nothing because I can't afford to stock up, or because I just can't fathom a larger degree of preparation.

I only made a list of main proteins, and now it is time to add in all the sides that will keep us fed, content and easy to save and store.  One of the most important things to remember when you are stocking up on these items is expiration dates.  Items that have moisture in them will be the first to go bad.  Think about that when making your own list.  Also, dried items are easily sucked into a plastic bag, with a Food Saver, that will help and greatly expand they longevity.  More about the Food Saver later.

Here's a bit of the list that I have for my 'side dishes', for 10 people x 30 days.

4 pounds of instant mashed potatoes - this makes about 35 cups of
     potatoes.  This is one of those items that take very little cook
     time, saving fuel.  I may consider obtaining another 4 pounds.
     You can make potato pancakes from these for a nice change.
     In their dry form, you can  preserve them with you Food Saver
     and they will last for years and take up very little space.
4 pounds of minute (or quick) rice.  I have this in a variety of white,
     brown and speciality rices.  Quick cooking makes it easy and
     saves your fuel supply.  Rice will  be great alone and with many
     additives.  I will, eventually, add some great recipes that you can
     make from the items on my list.  Once again, perfect for the
     Food Saver and will last for years.
40 packages of ramen noodles.  If it didn't take up so much space, I
     would have 4 times this amount.  Great in so many ways and can be
     saved for years.
10 boxes of stove top type stuffing mix.  This takes up a lot of space
     if left in the box.  I remove the contents, cut the instructions off
     the boxes, and put the contents of many boxes in a bag for saving.
     What a great and filling little side dish.
6 pounds of pasta.  I buy the smaller sizes of noodles since they are
     the quickest to cook.  Suck these into the bags for preservation
     that will last years.
8 cans or jars of pasta sauce.  For obvious uses.
50 cans or jars of vegetables.  I get a variety to satisfy everyone.
     these are on my shelves and use and replenished on a regular
     basis.
50 cans or jars of fruit.  The lack of fresh fruits will be pretty
     depressing so this is really important.  The kids will especially
     appreciate these items.

15 packets of powdered sauces.  With just a little water and heat,
     you can have sauces to add to your pasta for a more complete
     meal.
15 packets of powdered gravys.  Again, just a little water and heat
     and you can transform something boring to something delicious.
15 packets of powdered cheese sauce.  You can imagine how many
     uses you have for this.  Pasta to eggs to meats - and more.

Well, there you have it.  That is just the basics.  I have a number of other items that are tucked away just for the variety. When I find bargains on other side items, I pick them up, so long as the expiration is reasonable*.  Another important fact to remember here is to only get items that you can use within the expiration time, even if there is not an emergency reason to use them.  I share my items with my kids and rotate items out every summer to keep things fresh.

I feel a bit over whelmed with the lists that I share.  And there are many more to do.  I have drinks, snacks, spices, tools, medications - you know what I mean.  But, these are all items that will never be a waste if you rotate them in your daily supply properly.  Check back soon for more info.

* I can not stress enough how important it is to be totally aware of expiration dates.  Many dates are pretty bogus but some really mean what they say.  No one wants to waste their money on items that will end up in the garbage.  Spend the time, while in the store, to read the dates.  Reach to the back of the shelves to find the freshest items.  Check a variety of brands; some have a longer shelf life than others.  Also, consider ordering on line for larger packages that are reasonably priced and, since they are sold nation wide, they may be fresher from the start.

National Preparedness Month part 3

     Again from the site TheSurvivalistBlog.net, I found just a portion of an article, done by  Judy S, that I thought would be a good reality check on what could become our future.  Here's what she wrote -

Cooking on the grill or camp stove is fun! Yeah, for a few days. Maybe even a couple of weeks. But every day? For months, maybe years? Not so much. Aha, you say, WE have a wood stove and we have actually cooked meals on it. It was great! But how long will it be before filling that wood box, cleaning out those ashes and starting that fire becomes a chore? How long before merely providing a family with a couple of hot meals each day becomes a full-time job in a kitchen that is sweltering in the summer and has ice on the water bucket in the winter? Hmm, that takes some of the romance out of it.

That lovely garden out back is quite nice. When your stockpiled canned goods are gone can you feed your family from that produce until the next harvest? Really? What if there’s a drought or a hail storm or a big wind that rips it all out of the ground? What if the deer eat it all up? How many hours will you have to devote to do the work that will be necessary just to keep food on your table? Gardening won’t be a relaxing hobby. It will be a matter of thriving or starving. Do you have the skills and the stamina?

But I can hunt and fish, you say. Do you bring home the “bacon” every time you go into the woods or to your favorite fishin’ hole to drown a worm? Do you know when not to hunt? When it’s breeding season? When the youngsters are dependent on their mothers for survival – gotta have that next generation growing big and strong for your future larder. Do you know how to preserve those fish or that venison when pressure canning and freezing are no longer options?

     I personally don't believe in living in a paranoid state, but do believe in being prepared for the short term disaster.  I can handle that frame of mind.   The thoughts that Judy S. shares here are very much within my range of considering.  What do you think?