Continued from the old “Today’s Flu Prep series.
Previous threads can be found at the following links:
Todays Flu Prep IX
Part VIII
Part VII
Part VI
Part V
Part IV
Part III
Part II
Part I
Okay I’ll start. I can’t beleive we are up to X already!
So today I was sorting through some preps (great deal at my grocery store on canned soups) and decided I’m not buying any more beans! I don’t care how cheap or nutritious they are, no more! I can totally see food fatigue in my future.
Worked with Wiki friend Mike to get the Wiki data base set up. That’s definitely a flu prep.
Thanks Melanie and Mike for keepimg up the good work--- Today I went to Walmart and spent 178 dollars---wow. I am a little behind in my prepping for I have spent a month doing other things. Now back to prepping I did let my can goods too low I have to watch that. For some reason I am feeling a little uneasy right now, just a feeling so I am back on prepping big time. We are at the point of having to rearranging this stuff. I am still finding new places to put it. Finding places to put it is the hard part.
I’m feeling uneasy today too. Did a $238.32 walmart run, mostly canned goods, whole evap.milk abd buttermilk, gravies, pie fillings, freezer flours…Have backed off on food prepping for past month but felt big need to buff up supplies today. Home depot - outside lighting, gas can/syphon and pump attachment/light bulbs/small hose to fill water storage barrels in basement from washing machine spigot… I think the Thailand quarantine is under my skin even though reports are negative for bf. Anyone else feel pressured to improve stock after learning about those 30 or so symptomatic people?
LauraB - Of the (app)100 cans I bought today, not a single one contains even a single bean!
We’re ordering the canner now, and will got get the supplies for raised garden beds when that’s done. We need to get a hand pump and bung wrench too. Who names these things…”bung” how weird. That would be a fun word to say after six or seven glasses of wine.
Orlandopreppie - when I got our bung wrench, my youngest asked if he was ‘allowed to say that word”! It is a bit suspicious sounding, isn’t it?
six more 5 gal gas cans from sportsmansguide.com $14, swiss, used but in great shape
Ok, went back and looked at IX to see if my questions were answered. Thanks everybody.
I will pick up acryllic containers today for the flour, that will fit into the freezer. I just took out some pumpkin seeds I stored for one of my parrots. It keeps the moths down. Nothing short of land to air missile will kill a palmetto bug. I have a side by side so there’s no way to stuff in a 25 pound bag of flour. It looks kind of like stuffing me into the MRI machine! Oh what a hoot that is! Seriously, I don’t have a palmetto bug around, I hope. There were plenty on Merritt Island, where I grew up. Big roaches with wings. They crunch too. God, I haven’t been able to stuff a date since.
Lisa, I would have ROFL when he said that. I’ll let you know how it sounds after those six or seven glasses of wine.
MAV, I just came back from a long “vacation”, and I noticed at least TEN red five gallon cans laying by the side of various highways, interstates, and byways. I wasn’t driving, but I wanted to stop as most of them looked new. I think, they were still very red and down here in Florida anything that’s red fades fast. I’d never seen that before, it was spread out over two and a half weeks too. Somethings going on.
One more thing, I may try to vacuum seal a bag of flour with a paper towel “capping” it. It worked for rice. I’ve had some preps need to be revacuumed because of “sharp” food. Dog food, cat food, rice, etc. It seems to put a little cut in the bags…and they’re the food saver bags too! Boy, that doesn’t make me happy as they’re pricey.
Well the best laid plans of mice and men …
I thought I had all the shopping done for a bit then go to put away and rearrange all the preps that I had gotten over the last couple of days. Well … discovered that there is no point in trying to push in one more can or box and it is back to reorganizing. Ugh!!! I just did THAT!
I still have a couple of cabinets in the kitchen that I keep the “good” dishes and holiday dishes and glasses in. I figured what the heck, I’ll go tomorrow and pick up a couple of storage boxes and get them out of the kitchen since I only use them once or twice a year … that will give me a couple of more cabinets to put things in. But that means that I’m now a day “behinder” in getting the house cleaned up. You can only move cans and boxes so many times around a room before you realize you really DO need to find a home for them. <grin>
I bought 10 more gallons of water … glory knows where I’ll find room for that. But hey, I’d rather trip on it in the short term than go thirsty in the long run. I’ve a few more areas that I think I can exploit for space … but the kids are beginning to wonder where they are going to find food next. <grin>
I buy flour in 5# bags, then vacuum seal, then freeze. Sooo easy and no mess. Seems to suck all the air right out of the paper bag. That flour is like a brick. Though I realize the flour is costing a little more in the 5# size.
I got my canning supplies today! I’m returning to my Earth Mother phase and going to can whatever fruits and veg that are in season around here.
Texas Rose - I’m from West Texas. All these people keep talking about “rain” so I looked it up in the dictionary. It’s that “wet stuff” right?
One other category I’m adding to my preps are office supplies. I realized that during an emergency, I don’t want to run to a store for a mouse or a keyboard or cartridges. So I’m putting some of these things aside gradually. Hopefully the internet will survive so people can work from home and communicate with each other.
Day 2 of our Prep Test:
Today’s menu:
Major prep chores for the day:
How things are going thus far:
Well, since our hypothetical SIP includes the idea that if the power goes out it won’t go out immediately, I am still able to use what I have in the frig and freezer and will continue to do so until it runs out for the month. I’ll use the meat that I still have in the freezer to make the cheeseburgers for supper rather with a package of ranch salad mix for flavor. I’ll use what I need to out of the frig as well … but I foresee that before the end of the month both freezer and fridge will be close, if not completely empty.
The meal plan hasn’t had a glitch in it yet. We haven’t cheated and its business as usual … at least thus far.
I am already noticing items that I need to do more stocking of. When you can just zip to the store if you run out, you might over look things.
Last week I bought 2 more clothes drying racks from Target and hung 2 1/2 loads of laundry on three racks and a bunch of hangers. Problem one was deciding if the towels were dry enough to put away in this humidity. They are still hanging. Problem two is the ease of hanging a load of machine washed and SPUN clothing/linens. The racks aren’t all that sturdy, it seems to me. Things that have been hand wrung will be so much heavier. I found an old wringer at a second-hand store that has to be cleaned up and a place found to clamp it, but even then the clothes will be heavy. I guess the racks can’t be filled up, both because of the weight and the air circulation needed to dry such wet things. Oh, no, I just realized that the stuff will be DRIPPING on the floor. More plastic sheeting, I guess.
jane – at 11:22
Let ‘em drip outside or on the porch/lanai. If it is raining you probably won’t be doing laundry anyway.
Kathy in FL – at 10:50
Go to this website for printer cartridges, they have the best prices I have found and I’ve been using their cartridges for several years with no proble3ms at all.
Lisa in Southern Maine – at 17:57
even more questionable when you consider that what it is used on is a “bung hole”. LOL
EOD – at 11:40
<sigh> Wouldn’t you know it? They don’t carry our model.
Prepping has been on hold since early June, although I lurk here daily for inspiration and ideas. Had to save my money for both unexpected and upcoming expenses. Property taxes and car insurance are due soon and the hot water heater died after 20 years of faithful service. It’s been torture to want to continue buying supplies but not being able to. Now I can finally resume and am making lists for Honeyville Grain and Wal-Mart.
This morning I went to the local Food Lion grocery store for soft drinks and salad mix and discovered that every department had clearance items that the store was going to discontinue stocking. Instead of 10 minutes I spent two hours in the store, carefully checking every shelf. I ended up spending $110, including enough no-water-needed soup to last a month. It’s a relief to be back in preparing mode!
The old water heater can be a 40? gallon storage tank with a little creativity and hose connections. I’ve got an old one in the basement I’m working on.
Also thought about how handy wire coat hangars can be, right there next to duct tape
Wrenna -
Every time I think I’ll take a break from prepping, for one reason or another, I read something on the FluWiki that kicks me right back into prep mode. Happened just yesterday.
Today’s prep: one monster large rechargeable handheld flashlight/spotlight, purchased at Sam’s Club for ~$29. It has a 130W automotive driving light for a bulb, and two 6V SLA batteries (in series) to power it. It is 14″ long; the front lens is 9″ in diameter; and it weighs about 8 pounds. It also has a 3-LED “auxiliary light” built into the handle. It can be charged from 120VAC or 12VDC, and has a 12VDC outlet of its own, for powering other devices.
It was obviously designed to appeal to some testosterone-laden young hunter or camper (“Hey, Bubba, looka here!” Wwhhoooom! “Hahaha! Got’cha!”), but I hope to be able to use the 3-LED auxiliary light as a VERY long-running light, to be able to use the 12VDC outlet to power my CPAP machine for a few hours if needed, and to be able to use the main light as a tactical light if needed if I choose to open our front door at night. I have other, more mundane, flashlights to use for ordinary purposes. I could not find the light at Sam’s Club’s web site, but a similar, newer, model can be seen at the importer’s web site here. That model has two 100-watt bulbs and I presume that you could probably aim that light at a pot of beans and rice and cook dinner with it.
I’m out of prepping funds at the moment…all funds, really, since dh completed his PhD last week & passed his defense (yay!!) but his job doesn’t start until August. At this point, we’re not completely sure how to cover the mortgage on Monday, sigh.
I’ve managed to get up to 2–3 months’ worth for our family of six; not too bad considering I’ve had to do it $10 at a time. But while that seemed alright a month or two ago…well, if not OK at least better than where we’d been…I’ve really got that edgy feeling right now, too, and am very much wanting to get us up to 6 months sooner than later. But there’s nothing I can do at the moment about buying any preps. I’m trying to find other ways to prep so I don’t go crazy.
I’m working instead on rearranging the house to accomodate a higher quantity of preps. Kathy in FL, Northstar, & other homeschoolers, I thought of you. The closet in our dining room has been our school closet and works soooo well that way but I’m beginning to redistribute items to shelving in the garage that don’t get used as often (all the craft stuff has already been moved out ~ no small task, lol). The top shelf in the school section is now powdered milk, eggs, and potatos. ;o)
I moved small kitchen appliances out to the garage yesterday, too, to leave more room for food in the AC (a garage in TX heat is not the ideal storage spot). Today’s job is to try and figure out how to get shelves into the front coat closet that will support all the canned goods and then find a place in the garage for the coats.
The 14 mo old, from her playpen vantage point, is alternately looking confused and laughing at Mommy’s trips back and forth as I redistribute the household goods. ;o)
“…powdered milk, eggs, and potatos”
Potatoes, duh.
EOD at 11:43 - I’m laughing and will not share that information with youngest child! wiki gets dirty!
Orlandopreppie – at 17:54 We need to get a hand pump and bung wrench too. Who names these things…”bung” how weird.
OK, I’ll morph into one of my other roles, as a member of the International Grammar Police: “bung” comes from the Middle English bunge, from Middle Dutch bonge, from Late Latin puncta, meaning “hole.” Alas, that won’t make it any easier to explain the word to your snickering children, since puncta comes from Latin feminine past participle of pungere, meaning “to prick.”
<sigh> … better just tell your children it comes from an old Middle English word and leave it at that…
ROFLMAO!
Refreshed backpack contents. Two pair superlight, quick-dry undies, microfiber towel, new rain poncho, set of 4 small carabiners, nylon cord and LED micro-headlight. I also drove all around my neighborhood (downtown area) and made note of locations of 24hr payphones and what payment they took. I may make up flyers and distribute them thru the civic assn. Also, I found some “devices” at Lowe’s that look like they could be quite handy for all sorts of things. They’re plastic alligator clamps with a hole at the opposite end for threading tie-down cord. They’re for holding tarps down and are found right next to the tarps. They’re $0.97 each. I may go get some along with the $12 double pack of assorted length bungees.
Dennis in Colorado – at 16:10 - As noted elsewhere, at least in my area Sportsman’s Warehouse carries the drum siphon pump (and I think also the bung wrench), as well as smaller (30 gal) closed-head plastic drums
I got a bung wrench on ebay for $5 and I think shipping was $5.
“Rain”? What’s “rain”? We haven’t seen any wet stuff in so long that we’re about ready to go into stage 1 drought restrictions in my area(Hill Country west of San Antonio).
I was driving to Castroville the other day on a back road and the cornfields were in really bad shape. The peach crop up in Fredericksburg is nonexistent. The cattle people are concerned because they’re going to have to go to hay because the pastures are bone dry and pretty much grassless.
I read somewhere to watch the price of hay and that will give you an idea of the price of beef in a few months. Might behoove people to look into going as meatless as possible(Got to dig out my old “Diet for a Small Planet” book).
Anon 1851 was me. I forgot to sign in. <sigh>
Kathy in FL — regarding printer cartridges. You might consider checking Laser Monks at this link http://tinyurl.com/6u7q8 They have great products and really ARE monks, making money for their monastery!
Dennis in Colorado - That is by far the very best language lesson I have ever received! Thank you!
Welp… this end of Texas has gotten “plenty” of rain! Finally drying out after nearly 3 weeks of rain, rain, rain. Grass in one part of my patio was chest high… sprigs of pasture grass. That got us to thinking, about yard maintenance (& bug control.) We bought an enormous container of round-up type stuff, as a prep. (Those sprigs of pasture grass are pesty.) Also, dug 2 kiddie swimming pools out of a neighbors trash… gonna call them “container gardens.”
This last week we decided to have the septic system cleaned, and the guy messed something up. Turned into a major headache. Got somebody else out. That guy gave us some really good how-to tips, and tips on the system (like the extended clean out valve we have… how to make it more efficient. And, the clean out valve by the kitchen, not the grease trap.) Also, the well had been making a “noise” so we decided to have it get a check up. The well guy gave us some tips, too. One thing, we can get a bigger tank. It is now on our “prep dream list.” Really glad to have those two things “in order.”
My husband has been looking for a place to relocate his office, in the country as opposed to Houston. We think we found someplace today! It is on 2 1/2 acres and has capability of a welding shop, mechanic shop, chemical lab, equipment storage and seperate office space. I am hoping and praying this works out! It also has capacity for his crew to live and work off of the property.
All this has been like a 2-ton weight lifted off our shoulders.
All of the rain we had resulted in an ant invasion (& misquito.) Ants were invading the house, and nothing seemed to get rid of them. Finally, Bengal sprayed into the window casings (& every crack I could find) killed them. They are still a mess in the yard, and we are still trying to figure out how to manage that problem. I would hate to have to deal with this type situation and have no way to get “treatment.” I have put up ant baits, boric acid, and bug spray… but not Bengal. Decided it is another “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” scenario. Rethinking that, and plan on having a variety of stuff on hand.
EnoughAlready – at 21:42
Yep, all the rain we’ve been getting … finally, our afternoon shower patterns are coming back … has given us a few critters problems as well.
We’ve got a bad problem in our county now with a non-native species of roach … two of them actually. The Asian and the German. They have no natural predators and are hard as the dickens to kill as a lot of them are resistent to the normal, run-of-the-mill bug controls. About the only way to truly deal with them is to step on them or break their breeding cycle which requires some heavy duty chemicals. <sigh>
While surfing Flu Wiki, my wife and I were discussing life and death.
I told her, “Just so you know, I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug.”
She promptly got up, unplugged the computer and threw out all my RWFK.
:-O
Kathy--- for years we have kept our dog food outside next to the storage shed in a big steel cabinet. We have never had any vermit problems. After this rain, roaches (water kind) and ants were working alive in the dog food. We thought we had it sealed and secured. Thank goodness we haven’t prepped dog food. We are now seriously thinking about burying a container (plastic garbage can with locking lid) partially under ground with a mulched mound surrounding it… sort of like a make-shift root cellar. Even though water is a problem because of where we live, we think if we put straw around the container when we bury it we may get away with it. I don’t think anything else will work. Heck, I have had racoons open latched garbage cans!
BTW, my cats love to “play” with roaches… as much as mice! We haven’t had roaches inside, thank goodness! But they are working alive outside! Those german roaches are a nightmare! They are attracted to wallpaper (& the glue), magazines, newspapers and all kinds of things. I once moved into a house that was so invested with them they even got into my microwave control panel. It took months to rid those things! Didn’t “notice” them when we purchased the house… but sure didn’t take long after we moved in to discover them! ugggh.
Give your lady a hug, boy.
Tall in MS - LOL!!!
We lived one place that had water roaches that were fairly good sized. The roaches would walk along the ceiling until they realized gravity still worked and would hit the floor with an audible whack. That would draw the resident cat over and he would play kitchen hockey with the roach puck until the roaches died. Then the cat would leave them for me to clean up(of course).
Re: roaches - never, never, never bring used cardboard boxes into or near your home. They love the glue and if the box has ever held food, like those you can get from the grocery store, the odds are high they already contain egg capsules.
EnoughAlready – at 22:19 “We thought we had it sealed and secured. Thank goodness we haven’t prepped dog food. We are now seriously thinking about burying a container (plastic garbage can with locking lid) partially under ground with a mulched mound surrounding it…”
Mice, rats, and racoons will go right through the plastic. You might want to consider a metal can, with a coating of roofing pitch on the outside to slow the rusting problem. Bolt two hasps onto it to keep the racoons out.
Yesterday I got started on a rainwater capture system. Discovered that my local Ace Hardware has 55-gallon steel ($70) and 30-gallon plastic (Dr. Pepper) drums ($17). I went for the 30-gallon. A plastic “Flex-a-Spout” will direct the water over to the drum. It was a challenge to figure out how to get the water from the rectangular opening of the Flex-a-Spout into the much smaller, round opening of the drum.
The Ace Hardware Man was very helpful and I ended up with a PVC downspout that mates the gutter on one end and is round on the other end, plus another, round, PVC item that will fit into the opening in the drum. Only problem is the second PVC thing is smaller than the first one. So I’m trying stuffing the space between them with weatherstripping.
I’m more than a little skeptical that this joint is going to hold together in the hard rains that we get.
Pat in AZ – at 09:59 - I hadn’t thought to check Ace Hardware for drums - thanks for the tip. $17 for a 30-gal plastic drum sounds like a real deal.
For dog food—get a vittle vault. Kind of spendy, but has a spin on lid, and so far (here in AZ in the middle of the summer) critter proof.
Mari, yeah, I hadn’t expected Ace to have them — I went in just to ask, figuring they could suggest where to go, and was shocked to find they actually carry them. Plus the guy probably spent 45 minutes with me figuring out how to put the system together.
Decided to splurge and get a butane 1 burner stove (already have dual coleman propane stove, 18 magic heat cans (glycol),outdoor oven & stove (wood or charcoal) bags of charcoal, wood fireplace (various cast iron pots and pans)(have to pick up free firewood), barbecue with natural gas BUT felt I could use butane in well ventilated area(near kitchen window since restaurants use them at tables should be okay) so at least in winter most cooking can be done inside. Also picked up 18 cans of butane. I’m thinking I’ll boil things on butane and once boiled remove to magic heat cans (6 hours each) to stretch fuel. I’ll save fireplace for baking or anything requiring lengthy cooking. It seems as long as I have heating and cooking I feel under control. I’ve prepped items to carry us for probably a year. Still think of things almost everyday. I spend time trying to visualize us being SIP for months.
I worked on prepping the freezer today.
2 big pots of homemade chili Made 6 meat loaves Parboiled 24 bell peppers (love ‘em) Cooked 10lbs extra lean ground beef & drained 24 meat balls
After everything cooled I vacuum sealed and stacked in freezer. Next week I plan to add more meats, lots of vegetables, and ice cream.. I seldom eat meat but I’ll have it on hand ‘just in case’.
Garden tomatoes will be ready next week..I wash, dry, put them in zip lock bags and place them right in the freezer..some I parboil first.
Got to mow the lawn now…I let my lawncare provider go after reading that the virus can easily be passed. Just one gram of manure on a boot, clothing, or piece of equipment can contain enough of the virus to infect a million birds.
He has many clients and could be mowing lawns near or on a poultry farm for all I know. Am I being too paranoid?
Canned goods & water for 3 months - $$$$ Small portable generator - $$$ Disposable face masks & gloves - $$ Having peace of mind knowing that I’ve prepped as well as possible - PRICELESS!
Day 3 of our Prep Test:
Today’s menu:
Major prep chores for the day:
How things are going thus far:
Big thing I’ve been doing is where possible, getting rid of excess packaging and putting like items into see-through storage containers. Walmart has some good ones … I buy them out almost every time I get more … that are about 2 quarts capacity each. Two of these are just under $2 (US). They are squarish and stack wonderfully well … and fit perfectly on the two shelving units that I’ve purchased.
We just went out and bought the supplies we needed to make four 4×4 raised garden beds. Husband is mowing the lawn now so we can go out and figure out where to put these. With the Florida cow pasture grass/roots, it’s easier for us to build it up than dig in it. Pressure canner is on order, since I didn’t see the post telling me Ace would order w/o shipping. I’ll go to our local Ace and see if they have barrels…it’s kind of small so I don’t know if they’ll have them. Thanks for the tip!
I came across a source for can meats (beef, ground beef, chicken, turkey). The cans are 28 oz (1.75 lbs ) and a case (twelve cans) appears to be the minimum order.
I am not associated with this company, just wanted to pass along another resource.
EastTN - Just curious. I get 10 oz cans of Swanson canned chicken for about $3.00 each. That is cheaper than what looks like an equivalent product from them in a bigger can. What is the advantage to using this product rather than the stuff I can get at my local supermarket?
My thought is I am prepping for 6 people and one of the 28 oz can is would be just about the right size. The other thing is that I have found no canned “ground beef” I guess that is what caught my attention, just an alternative to the canned swanson chicken and other meats that I have now. You are definitly right on price, I was looking at some variety.
People talking about roach problems reminds me of an old remedy to get rid of them. Mix equal parts of baking soda and granulated sugar together and put in old jar lids where you’ve seen roaches. I’m told this works really well and is non-toxic. If anyone tries this please post your results.
I get 10oz cans of chicken and 12oz cans of roast beef at Aldi’s. That size is just right for a non-SIP meal for two. My plan is to have lots of these in reserve to add to rice mixes, fried rice, rice-and-whatever, etc. to make a meal for 4 in case we have to SIP.
The recommended serving size is certainly not what we are use to, but am planning my preps on the suggested serving size. This is mainly a planning tool, just so I know where I am on the amounts and quatities. Am hovering around the 8 month mark with food preps, at the suggested serving size, in reality, it will be more like 6–7 months I believe. At least during the first couple of weeks I expect the meals to be larger, then will decrease as the people become more adjusted to the situation and SIP.
EastTN - Just a suggestion- put a supply of your treats and sweets deep away. The early days of SIP, people will be foraging for snacks like times are normal.. They can (I know I can) gnaw through a great deal of your 8 month supply in the first couple of weeks. Then they get grumpy. Then they blame you.
EastTN @ 15:21--The company that you link to is a secondary marketer of the product. You can buy the product much cheaper directly from the supplier at www.brinkmanfarms.com. $40 cheaper for case of beef, $25 cheaper for chicken. Also, can mix and match cans w/in case. I have no affilitation with the supplier, just have ordered from them several times with generally good results (product is great IMO, some small irritation with dented cans via FedEx, but again, small irritation, as I ordered twice more).
Eccles @ 15:45--I agree, considerably more expensive than supermarket canned meat, even when ordering direct from the source. I found the canned beef, pork, white meat turkey, and ground beef to be worth it in terms of the extra money. My family will actually eat them under normal conditions, so it’s easy to rotate. Also, getting a canned ground beef was a big plus. I did not think that the chicken was any better than a national brand like Tyson or Sweet Sue that I could get at Wally’s. If anyone is thinking about ordering these, do note that unless they specifically state, these are not meats in gravy, just meats in their own juices.
Thanks galt - You just saved me some $$$
Eccles - thanks for the advice on hiding the sweets, treats and snacks. Rice and beans front and center :)
Perhaps SPAM balls dipped in Hershey syrup on toothpicks will make a tasty treat?
I have cases of #10 can fruit, every couple of weeks open one and let everyone enjoy themselves. Also a couple of cases of #10 can Chili, will give everyone a good second helping, plus provides the nightly entertainment (lol).
I have alot of hard candy saved and some chocolate (which nobody has gotten into - a miracle), but last minute prep list includes much more of that stuff, but no spam balls!!!
Day 4 of our Prep Test:
Today’s menu:
Major prep chores for the day:
How things are going thus far:
EastTN – at 16:32
I know what you mean about larger families. I have a family of 7 and those small cans don’t go far. I’m canning my own ground beef … have a pressure canner to do it.
Do you have a neighbor or family member that has a pressure canner? You might want to say that you are just trying something you heard about and then can some ground beef yourself. You brown it and drain it prior to the canning process. Pack it in jars with beef broth. Its saving me a ton of money.
And at Big Lots I got lucky and found a lot of Sloppy Joe mix with ground beef in that metallic like packaging for shelf storage. Each pkg only covers about 2 buns or 1 bun generously … but there were 4 pkgs per box. I picked a few up just to add variety.
Took my two small birds to get their nails and wings clipped and picked up another 25 pounds of seed for them, and two toys for the big one. Big bird gets one toy now, and one toy “in storage”. Trust me, you do not want to SIP with a bored Cockatoo. I’ll vacuum seal and freeze for three days…tomorrow. Rained a lot today, and right after we put the raised vegetable garden wood next to the house. Have not be able to assemble yet. In addition, my effort to placate DH’s ego backfired. I KNEW not to get treated lumber because of chemicals, but to avoid a fight I caved. Instructions very clearly say not to use treated lumber. He’ll never question me again. Now I think I’ll have to wrap the inside of the boxes in plastic. We already had it cut, so can’t return it.
For those of you who are planning to wear full PPE if TSHTF….when I get back from vacation, I’ll post what was said by the two young men who worked on my new house for 2 hours in PPE during mold redediation!! I think a lot of folks will be surprised….
Orlandopreppie – at 02:54
You have lots more self control than I do! Kudo’s to your girlie! LOL
Orlandopreppie, that wood isn’t a kind that you can use to reinforce doors and windows after TSHTF , or repair stairs? Or keep non-food supplies off the concrete floor in the basement? (Or is it something you don’t want in the house at all?) It wouldn’t be wasteful to get the right kind if you found another use for the treated wood.
Galt, re Brinkmanfarms meat products
I wanted to know about shelf life of their products, and sent an email and got an response right away, which is a good sign.
They said 6–7 years and after that I am on my own.
If I can get 6–7 years on canned meat, that is a good prep.
Orlandopreppie – at 18:51 We just went out and bought the supplies we needed to make four 4×4 raised garden beds.
What supplies do you need- would love to have them but dh not interested so it’s on me…
Another cart full to the brim at Aldi’s last night. Several cases of canned goods, more powdered milk and flour, another bucket of beans and another tub of rice, and I replenished the snack foods that were used up while on vacation.
Anyone eat the canned meats from Brinkman farms? How is it?
Grace: Rn 09:48 Yeah what Grace said.
Grace RN @ 9:48 I posted my experience with the Brinkman Farms meats at 16:06 yesterday (this thread). I like them. Personally, I found them to be much better than spam or the canned DAK hams. Good selection of meats. I found the soups to be good too, just harder for me to justify the expense on their soups, given that I can get plenty of good canned soups at my local grocery. I really wasn’t crazy about their chicken, but your mileage may vary.
NJ Jeeper—I agree, customer service quite good. When I have ordered in the past, orders by noon EST Thurs. arrived at my house by Tues or Weds of the following week.
No affilitation with the company, although I will say in this day of Wally’s, I like to see a smaller, family-owned business do well.
Orlandopreppie – at 02:54
That is one of my great dilemnas. My sweet free-range Amazon(Fiona)…presently sitting on my head, needs her nails clipped monthly and I drive her to a vet who specializes in birds. She requires two people to get the job done. What am I going to do when sheltering-in-place? Guess I could wear leather all the time. ;-)
Also, she loves those dog squeak toys that keep making noise once you squeeze them. She attacks them and gets great exercise doing so. Audubon makes various cloth birds that sound like chickadees, grosbeak, etc. that keep vocalizing. Wild Oats used to carry them. Baby rattles are great too!
Also, a friend of mine said the other day that the very toxic chemicals (arsenic?) are no longer used in the treated wood. He was having to decide on wood for replacing a porch. (He decided against the treated wood after-all though.)
I agree with > jane – at 08:51 <. Get the untreated wood and let your DH find an outside use for the other. Just flatter him into submission. It used to work for me occasionally with one beau or another. :)
Also those chemicals in the wood could be hazardous to your birds!!!!!
Day 5 of our Prep Test:
Today’s menu:
Major prep chores for the day:
How things are going thus far:
Kathy in FL — thank you for your posts of your momth-long SIP trial!
We just returned from a 2 week driving vacation and the fridge and freezer were pretty bare. I held off on going grocery shopping over the weekend until it was payday (yesterday) and we lived fine off of the pantry; my husband did go to the store for fresh milk and bananas. This week it has been very hot, poor air quality and so on, I don’t want to take the kids to the store or even to drive.
I thought about it, and decided we will make this week a “surprise” SIP trial (at least a “pantry” trial, I’m not worried about utilities, etc. at this point yet.) I have plenty of food in the pantry but a lot of gaps and holes, no fresh milk, eggs, fruit etc. I wasn’t planning on this, but exactly this situation could happen with no warning, so there you are!
Immediately after making this decision (an letting DH know about it) I looked at my “full” basmenet pantry again with sinking heart and loss of appetite. Beans, canned meats, bleah. We have a serious lack of fruit of any kind. Our camping trip plus frequent lunches with kid friends here have depleted my supply of “fun lunch foods”.
But, I know how to cook and improvise, and fortunatley EVERYONE in my family enjoys eating beans. Can’t imagine what I’d do without that blessing.
Anyhow, just wanted to thank you for your inspiration to try this NOW, not at some future time when I’m more prepared, this will be a better test.
Wow! Lots of sympathy with the doorknob husband situation huh? He really is a good guy, just got no man-training growing up. I’m just lucky he’s on board with this or there would be problems. For those that don’t know, DH is disabled (multiple amputee) of fingers and feets/leg tissue from hot water burns sustained in abusive childhood. Thank God for Shriner’s Burn Hospital in Boston. They saved his life. He was inpatient there for 18 months.
Jane - We live in Florida, so we don’t have a basement (it’s called the water table)to use wood in, and because we’re in Florida we already have pre-cut plywood for each window and door. It’s also 2×10×4 cut, so too heavy to attach to a door. I could build an ark though!
Grace - The whole idea came to me in the shower while on vacation. Then I came home and find out there’s a book on it called “Square Foot Gardening”! Just backs up my opinion that there is a universal stream of creativity out there that, at times, we can all tap into. Anyway, you just get wood planks (can be one inch thick, by six inches wide, and cut four feet long). We got 10 inch wide stuff so we can grow carrots better. They already have stuff like that pre-cut at Lowes and Home Depot. Then you nail them together to make a box (like a whelping box for puppies). We got corner brackets to screw in since the wood is so heavy. Then you put down landscape screen wherever you want to put them (cheaper at Sams), put your box down on it, and then fill it up with soil or a combo of growing stuff. Leave a 3 foot aisle between boxes. It is so simple. And it’s made for folks like us, disabled and out of shape! The books author likes to have a grid seperating each square foot, you can use almost anything…we’ll use twine. Using this method you can really grow some stuff! Earlier on the original thread there was a link, but you can probably find it by Googling “Square Foot Gardening”.
Bird Dog- My Umbrella (Mak) is the same way. I have a large yellow concrete perch that keeps them needle-point free, and I put his new toy where he HAS to stand on it. You know what I’m talking about by needle point right? How can anything biological GET that sharp? Also, I can trim his some when he’s in his cage, hanging on the side. I just walk up confidently (you know what I mean!) and snip a couple before he knows what to do. Also, DH is not working so money is really tight (I’m a teacher) so purchasing the wood a second time isn’t possible. By free range, are you saying she doesn’t use a cage?
Getting ready to go pick up said book, and stop at Ace. I have four more weekdays to use before teachers report back. Got to make good use of time.
Orlandopreppie, could you paint the inside surface with something that would seal it? Actually, I guess you’d have to paint the edges, too, at least, so it wouldn’t peel off. Kilz, maybe? Rustoleum?
Orlandopreppie – at 13:33
LOL… needle-point is right! I have two of the concrete perches that she has to stand on when she’s eating in her cage before she goes to sleep but they don’t quite do the job. She sleeps in her covered cage at night (on and next to a hand towel for snuggling) but during the day I’ve placed drift wood to protrude from the cage which she sits on to watch the birdfeeder birds and the w. turkeys, deer, etc.
She also has an old opened cat carrier on my wood pile at another window with more protruding braches and a jungle jim hanging above it to play/rest on. When I say free-range I mean that she can fly(zoom is more like it) anywhere in the house until she’s put to bed. If I’m out she’s restricted to the living room with her toys and food etc..
Sorry …hey, this is a wiki forum regarding birds and prepping…right? As she’s often on my shoulder, hand, or head, I do need to figure out the nail problem. I rescued her 10 or 11 years ago so I am quite attached to the knuckle-head. I’ll try the cage trick but as you know Orlandopreppie, stange objets are *not* welcomed! :-)
Jane- excellent idea! I have some “shiny” paint, what’s it called???? that I painted baseboards with, it’s thick and ought to work. Thank you!
Bird-dog, I’ve hand raised Mak from hatchling, almost 15 years. At first I had a bright pink concrete perch but it never did anything! I don’t think it was textured enough (at all!). I was skeptical, but thought I’d try another one about two years ago. It’s yellow, and much more textured. It works. I limit “out” time, sadly, to an hour a day. Cockatoo’s are unlivable when spoiled. Let me stress, UNLIVABLE. If they don’t get what they want when they want it you can lose a finger or an eye (or an ear drum). I have the scars to prove it. So I have a “bird room”. It’s the north facing former guest room, has great windows to see everything, including me coming and going so they can tune up, a tv to play CMT (they love it), and I’ve got sound insulation on one wall. Mak is much happier now that he has two other birds to boss around, each in their own cages. I love hearing the little Quaker Parrot, Gimli, tell Mak to “be a good boy” when he starts yelling. It’s hilarious!
Got the BP cuff today. I had to order it since I wanted one with a gauge as opposed to a battery-operated readout because I didn’t want to have to worry about batteries going dead at an inopportune time.
Now I have to teach the husband how to take BPs, just in case he needs to do so at some point.
Texas Rose - I got one of those old fashioned BP monitors. I tried to learn on myself; I didn’t get the hang of it. I want to try it on my husband but he won’t likely have much patience if I’m fiddling around. Any hints to make it look like I know what I’m doing. He has high BP (monitored) and I have a digital one that I could use on him but it doesn’t work on him very well (even digital ones in hospital don’t work on him). I would like to learn.I got it at a medical supply store along with a stethoscope.Oh any hints on using the stethoscope for BP or lungs etc..
Went to the store for more prepping. Purchased 5 cases of water, 5 boxes of cereal, lots of lean cuisines (they were on sale)
How could I leave this out? I spent hours on the net and the phone comparing canned meat prices from 3 companies. I finally figured out the cheapest after factoring cost and shipping. One company stands out as the best buy. I ordered 4 cases of chicken, turkey, pork, and beef. Now I’m set for the winter! I have the name and phone number of the company upstairs and can post it it anyone is interested.
Prepping gal - here is a link that teaches about b/p monitoring. http://tinyurl.com/8xe4h I hope it helps.
Annie @ 19:52--please post. That sounds like great info!
Orlandopreppie – at 17:59
Good luck with your wood. I think that Jane’s idea should work. If you are still concerned you could call a local environmental agency, camp, or conservancy to be sure that the paint will restrict the chemicals from leeching into the soil and then into your vegetables, etc..
Now, this is probably TOTALLY inappropriate to post here so I’ll briefly connect it to the ‘prep for bird-flu’ mode:
ie., I know that I can count on my parrot to rip the throats and eyes out of anyone who tries to steal my preps. Like anon_22 and her new pup, you and your husbands’ and my households have ‘other’ means for protection. Who needs guns! lol
Now, back to gushing…
Awwwe that’s so sweet re. ‘the bird room’. You and your husband must have fun with your ‘guys’ and vice-versa. It breaks my heart that Fiona only has me and the dog…no bird buddies. She was born in the states in a hatchery so other than her archetypal memories/dreams/reflections and normal longings she hasn’t had other birds in mind (AFAIK)… to preen her and interact. Of course I scratch her head and under her wings and am with her almost constantly but I ain’t no bird, sigh…at least not a feathered one. She has rejected possible ‘friends’.
Hmmm, my furred and feathered housemates are a very spoiled lot but {>>so far!<<} have not acted out too terribly. I have been bitten inadvertantly on my face when something startled her at the beginnings of living with me. Nice big scars. Lol! Your crew have each other so probably don’t need to be madly flying around as much. Mine watches pbs kids tv half the day turned very low (I love Dinkers), or listens to Maine public radio, or AirAmerica radio (if she’s hanging out with me)… but her fav. sounds are celtic ballads, strathsby’s, and pipes. She bobs and sways and sings like the parrot in “the Parrots of Telegraph Hill” movie. Joy ‘o joy. And she laughs and laughs and laughs. I can just imagine overhearing Gimli tell Mak to ‘be a good boy’. OMG they are so sweet!
Ok, I’ll stop. :-) {thanks for the ‘perch/nail’ info too!}
Lisa in Southern Maine – at 19:56
(Hi Neighbor!) …That’s such a helpful site! Thanks
Just got back from the store, bought a tent for the house in winter to keep warm, was on sale. Yea! another 8 gallon water container in the camping section. More TP. pet food. spot light. water,more batteries and a large selection of personal care products. Now I have to unload the van but its so hot, i don’t wanna.
Strider – at 09:53/Jul 16 - Thanks Strider! Great input! I won’t have to bury this, right?
Jefiner – at 12:19 - Vittle vault, what is that? Thanks, in advance!
Orlandopreppie – at 18:51 - Pasture grass… uggggh! I have used round-up then put black plastic down, added mulch AND built up beds from there… and still that stuff comes up. I am beginning to think the birds bring in the seed. Surely this stuff isn’t that hardy. Somebody told me putting hay on top as mulch helps. I am gonna try it this fall, since this is turning into serious gardening.
Bronco Bill – at 08:25 - vacation???? HEY, he can’t do that! (can he) Who will be closing??? And, BTW, yeah… we wanna know what the young mold men had to say!
~Big Lots had these things (some sort of bungie deals) especially to use with tarps. They don’t have the usual hooks, but a ball on the ends. I had never seen these things before, and looked like they could be handy gizmoes. I bought several, and threw them into the “whatever” prep box.
~Big Lots also had those things you plug in to keep out mice, roaches, etc. I bought a package. So… anybody used these things? My kids are making fun of me. It sounds like a water drip. (And, the package came with 3 of the things. This is going to get annoying!) Maybe that’s how it kills (or whatever it does) to the critters… like chineese water torture! ;)-
annie please post the name and phone number. I have also been checking prices and was just getting ready to order thank you
Eccles – at 16:06
about those “sweets & treats”… I shamefully have to admit, I broke into my stash of Dove chocolates during some stressful moment. (I think it may have been about the time everything started breaking loose in Indonesia.) Sadly, somebody else will have to be in charge of chocolate around here… I can tell I am not going to be able to handle stress and monitoring of the chocolate! <pout>
Bought (2) 10 X 12 contractor grade, reflective silver tarps and 100′ nylon rope. I wanted to buy them when I looked at them Saturday but couldn’t quite reach the justification - just needed a second to that motion. (Thanks, Melanie). Tried a Dinty Moore shelf-stable microwave tray, roast beef and mashed potatoes. Not bad. I couldn’t find them at Walmart but did find at Walgreen’s.
Canned Meats - there are only two people at my house. Has anyone found a site offering smaller cans than 28 oz.?
check Petsmart for “vittle vault”. It is a squarish container with a spin on lid (omega?) and mine holds fifty pounds of dry kibble at a shot. I also found some nifty dog food containers at Big lots that have a pretty airtight seal with a latch for $8. I bought a bunch and store rice, beans etc. in them. Only one failure (pasta) and I think that was because there was an infested package in there. Now I freeze everything to kill off insects! I would freeze the dog food if I could!
Jefiner @ 22:03--have you had any trouble with freezing the pasta? I freeze rice but had always wondered if the pasta would get soggy or something as it thaws back out. Do you think that you could safely freeze stuff like the Kraft mac n cheese? Thanks.
EnoughAlready – at 22:51 ~Big Lots also had those things you plug in to keep out mice, roaches, etc. I bought a package. So… anybody used these things? My kids are making fun of me. It sounds like a water drip. (And, the package came with 3 of the things. This is going to get annoying!) Maybe that’s how it kills (or whatever it does) to the critters… like chineese water torture! ;)-
I tried em for mice before i went out and bought cats. I never had problems with mice chewing wires until I plugged those darn things in and the mice went crazy…they chewed thru the copper ice maker line, ( had a minor flood)the microwave plug also started having wiring problems in the house, It is an old house but, it was really crazy, had to get an electrician. I couldnt swear in a court of law that they drove the mice crazy, but I did swear a lot.
Thanks Jefiner! I bought a couple of those $8 containers, too! I use them for dry beans. (Went back to get some more, and they were sold out. at 3 different stores!) No way would they hold up outside (here)! I’ll check out Petsmart.
2beans @ 23:03 Awhile back another fluwikian recommended Werling and Sons. www.werlingandsons.com I haven’t used them, but they do have 14oz cans of meat as well as 28oz.
Galt:
Thank you. Just what I was looking for.
KimT – at 23:08
Good grief… I’ll take your word on it! Did yours sound like a slow water drip? I pulling the things out, I can’t afford to attract mice… and crazy mice at that! Thanks!
Bought a product called True Lemon (they make True Lime too). It is a lemon substitute that comes in a foil pack, there are 40 packs in a box. Thought it would be nice to use in tea,water,recipes or anywhere you would use lemons or limes but may not have them during SIP. They have a web site Truelemon.com, with info and recipes. In the ingredients are acorbic acid which is Vitamin C, lemon oil,etc. Would prevent scurvy AND get rid of that clorox taste! I found it a Wal-Mart. I also saw on the website that they will send a free sample…
More like a buzz
I just pulled them out of the wall… my kids snickering the whole time.
CashB--- lemon juice is also a disinfectant. When I go to restaurants, I stab my fork in lemon to make sure it is clean! Gosh, lemons have so many uses! When I can’t get dirt out from under my nails (gardening) lemon juice always cuts the crud in no time!
Lisa in Southern Maine – at 19:56
Thanks for the info on BP monitoring; I’ll give it a try.
Today it will only be 104 in North Texas and the last 2 days it was 107 degrees, I am wondering what we can do to stay alive in this kind of heat if we are SIP? Monday it was awful and August is our hottest month Oh Joy!
Should we getting salt tablets to take, like the days before a/c?
EnoughAlready – at 00:06
I had a terrible problem with mice a few years ago I think due to the occasional parrot food/grain/nuts on the floor near her cage. They may have even been going into her cage at night. For awhile I’d humanely catch them, collect them till I had a ‘family’ LOL… then drive them miles away across a bridge and let them go. (yes, I know that I’m crazy!). When I was no longer catching them often I bought some of those plug-in deals. I couldn’t hear them working/humming and did check to confirm(vet.,etc.) they would not interfere with my dogs, cats, and bird. Finally I unplugged them last winter and now I’m back to the catch ‘n release nonsense and will try to locate the old plug-ins and fire them up.
just my two cents…
Love Texas – at 14:02
After being stuck w/o any modern conviences, in the heat, and with bugs for a week after Hurricane Rita, I’ve made it a mission to prep for that… and still feel inadequately prepared nearly a year later! One thing I have done that helps ease my nerves is purchase an ice-maker. It makes 35 pounds of ice daily. What we found last year that having cold ice water made everything else tolerable. Even with that, we had to battle dehydration and heat exhaustion … and avoiding both… especially trying to avoid heat stroke. During the hottest parts of the day we slept, or remained as inert as possible. We were fortunate to be on a lake… so we plopped there! Having shade and water were paramount. Food just wasn’t an issue because our appetites were all but null. When we did eat, it was small amounts… and we made sure to eat highly salty foods… peanuts, crackers, soup. Which is why I suggest having small container foods in preps. We even gave the kids those popsicles in plastic tubes… thawed, but wet and tasty. The heat was just one of the factors we had to deal with, bugs were another!
Other threads have made suggestions like tarps, battery operated fans, spray mist bottles, light weight clothing.
By 9 am here, it is already too hot to do anything! The car is like an oven!
bird-dog – at 14:21
So, yours didn’t cause the mice to go crazy and eat wires? The brand I have are Sunbeam, well I did have… I gave them to my daughter last night. She lives in town… I live in the country. She doesn’t have problems with mice. My mice problems are periodic. This year have had more problems than usual. I figure it is due to drought conditions, then rain, plus several neighbors have done stuff to their land. Across the road a neighbor with over 500 acres cleared his land last spring… I figure busted up nests. Next to me about 7 acres were sold and cleared for cattle… again, figure busted up nests. Behind me, sort of, a neighbor decided to build a house… again clearing land and busting up nests, I assume. I too have a bird. But, never have had any signs of mice there… keep glue traps there and never catch anything there. Always seem to come in someplace in the kitchen. We can’t figure out where. We have put steel wool in every place we can find to stuff it into. There is no food sources, because I have everything secured. Water source is the only thing left… but they have that outside, so I doubt that is why they come in. I imagine it is a food and shelter venture. I couldn’t take the drip sound from those plug-ins… it was just so annoying. And, worrying it would make the mice go crazy and eat my wiring was not worth the headache! Also, when there is an extreme temperature change they seem to come in. Like I said, this year has been very problematic. Thanks for the input. I may try another brand if I can be convinced it won’t make them go crazy and eat my wiring! ;)-
EnoughAlready,
Hi… Oh boy, it’s going to take awhile to find them amidst my preps and junk. (Good reason to start cleaning out my non-prepped closets!) I did find one type though. It’s called a PestChaser made by Woodstream Co.(Victor). Here’s their website >>> http://tinyurl.com/kcff7. The other plug-ins are made by another company. When I find them I’ll post the name. I had never heard of the units causing a wire problem.
Good luck!!! and I hope you get a cool-down soon. :-(
Doh! did it again. ;-)
Enoughalready---thanks for the tips, I need to get battery operated fans,was your ice maker portable did you work it on a generator? Yes in this heat we will need lots of water. Making me rethink my plans.
Love Texas: How did the fudge turn out?
HBB—haven’t made it yet but I did buy the MC to put in it. We made home made ice cream peach and thought fudge would put me over the top. I am fat enough as it is!!
EnoughAlready – at 14:39 What brand and model of icemaker did you buy, and where did you get it?
EnoughAlready - I have been using a plug-in rodent repeller in basement and kitchen for about 6 months. Mice are gone and so are spiders, and unexpected but very pleasant effect. Purchased at Home Depot. Silent (no dripping sound). They don’t bother my dogs. Brand is Black & Decker. Cost - I don’t quite remember but I think less than $20.00 for pack of two. I have had great results and I wasn’t expecting them to work!
Bird-dog, glad you liked the b/p site.
Prepping Gal- Your local hospital should have a nurse educator who can give you a hands-on tutorial with the b/p monitoring. If not, then a nurse at your pcp’s office could probably be enlisted without too much difficulty. Good luck.
My most important prep today, my grandmother. I was on the phone with her last night and decided to hop in the car and spend the night with her. (They love that you know, even though I’m 42 and she’s 87 she made me breakfast). Anyway, we talked until 1 a.m. and she’s totally on board. I took her to my house to show her what I’ve got, and she’s ready to shop. We’ll start tomorrow. I offered to let her stay with us, but she will think about it first. I told her if she did stay with us we would be isolated from personal contact with ANY outsiders. I’m not sure she could do it, and I can’t risk infection. Anyway, that’s been my most important prep so far. Nanny! She can get the others to prep too.
Prepping Girl: I’ve been offline today and just read your question. I also see someone else was kind enough to respond. Thanks, Lisa in Southern Maine!
What Lisa said about finding someone to demonstrate and train you in listening for BPs is good. Taking BPs isn’t difficult but it takes a bit of practice to know how to place the cuff correctly to get an accurate reading and how to read the gauge while you listen.
$321.41 at BJs today. Don’t quite know what happened! This kind of “omg! How did I do that?” experience is a tad bit scary…Kind of like diarrhea of wallet and mind, not conducive to tight budget household…But boy are my preps looking good!
Orlandopreppie – at 20:11
That is so wonderful that you did that. I really can’t say enough how strongly your ataying over the night with her and showing her your preps hit me. Although I never knew my grandparents, I work with older folks often and know how they are in too many instances left out of the loop. That was so thoughtful of you and made more people, than you and your grandmother, grateful. Thanks for sharing your ‘prep for today’.
Lisa -
Yep. Been there, done that. You are not alone;)
EnoughAlready - Bought the plug-in repellers mostly because of spiders and bugs. Seem to work - wouldn’t know how to prove it though. Mine are silent - no problems. Bought them from a mail order source several years ago. “Pest Contro” is what they’re called.
Love Texas and EOD:
I don’t know the brand and model, it is stored right now… but, I will dig it out and let you know. I got it at COSTCO about a month and half ago for $150. It will run on generator. It is portable. My son-in-law has some converter that he thinks will also make it usable with car battery. I don’t know about that, but he is good at that kind of stuff, so at some point I am going to have him try it… and show me how to do it. and… let y’all know. After I bought mine, I went back 2 weeks later and there wasn’t even a single one left. The shelf was full… floor to top shelf … when I purchased mine. May be able to get it online via Costco.
Lisa in Southern Maine – at 19:45 and participate (bird dog?)
Thanks for the info. See what KimT said at 23:08… made the mice crazy, and ate her wires. That’s why I am asking about other people’s experience. KimT… what kind did you have?
Finally got the folks on board this week. I managed to tape the Osterholm oprah show and forced them to watch it while I was on vaction. He’s the only guy out there (publicly) who really paints an accurate picture of the risks , issues and impacts to the global economy. Right after they watched the show, Declan Butler’s “nature” article came out talking about the WHO withholding information and how many mutations have actually occured. That provided me with my “teachable moment” and now they’re plugged in. - thank goodness
I don’t remember what brand they were, and I cant prove that it made the mice crazy but shortly after plugging them in I started having mice chewing the elec cords plugged into outlets, the copper ice maker line, that was wierd. Then I started having wiring problems in the house, had the electrician baffeled. Maybe this should be a question for Eccles our resident elec guru to tell us if it is even possible for mice to be driven crazy by plug in devices. Could have been a coincidence.
Gprep0 – at 22:26 Good going! :)
EnoughAlready – at 22:25 yup, that was me…
Lisa in Southern Maine – at 21:27 LOL!!! I did a ‘run’ and bought 2 {more} 45 gal plastic Sterilite containers and other ‘stuff’. I had to do something as I practically can’t walk downstairs through my house due to the bags and bags of preps on the floor.Very very small house though. All of my Shaws {4}, Hannaford {3), Whole grocer (2), etc. cloth bags were full. Also today, I was rearranging boxes etc in the barn and I knocked down a wicker basket(empty) which knocked over an old plastic bottle(full) of lamp oil, which then cracked and emptied ALL over my charcoal bricquettes, cannisters of gasoline, a tarp and then drained onto the wooden floor. Guess I won’t be smoking in the barn anytime soon! What a mess. It was a bit frightening though…
A coincidence I don’t wanna replicate! My luck… would be your luck!! All I know is the drip sound was driving “me” crazy!!
I for sure think that animals can be driven crazy by noises. Our dog started having what I can only describe as “spells” ever since we turned on the central AC in early June. Our normally outgoing, laid-back furball has “spells” where he is turned into a quivering, panting, terrified animal with dilated pupils who hides under the furniture and tries to crawl under your feet, into the bed, wherever he can hide from his invisible demon (these incidents occur about every 2 days or so and last for a couple of hours). The vet has checked him out thoroughly (to the tune of over $200 worth of blood work, complete physical, etc) and pronounces him healthy. Odd thing was, the “spells” disappeared completely when we took him on vacation with us to our remote cabin for two weeks. Now that we’re back home, the spells have returned. When I told the vet’s receptionist that it was as though he was seeing ghosts or something that I couldn’t see, she (in a very serious manner) suggested that perhaps he WAS seeing something, and that maybe smudging the house with sage would help. Tried it, with no result on the dog (but my house smelled better). We are thinking that maybe there is some noise in the AC motor that he can hear but we can’t, since the problem suddenly occured at almost the exact time we turned it on. It’s way too hot now to turn off the AC and test our theory, I’m looking forward to some cooler weather to see if it helps. If not, I may have to call in an exorcist to help poor Ben.
I can’t believe the vet’s receptionist told you to smudge the house with sage. For ghosts. You certainly have an “affect” around your house on critters & electrical stuff. Doesn’t do this when the heater is on? Assume the AC unit is also heater unit. Maybe Tom DV could answer some of these animal effect questions! ;)
Had a doctor tell me to rub a potato on my grandsons wart, then bury it in the backyard. I asked what kind of potato. I mean there are lots of types of potatoes. I also questioned the burying it in the backyard. Why not toss it in the trash or over into a ditch. What difference did it make. What I was wanting from the doctor was for him to freeze it off. I felt like I had crossed a border when he gave me that hokey answer.
Was walking by the clothespins at the local hardware store… OH YEAH, CLOTHESPINS!!!
Galt – at 23:07 Jefiner @ 22:03—have you had any trouble with freezing the pasta? I freeze rice but had always wondered if the pasta would get soggy or something as it thaws back out. Do you think that you could safely freeze stuff like the Kraft mac n cheese? Thanks.
We shall see—the pasta was dry going in. when I take it out I am going to dump it out of the boxes and seal up in bags what is good. I was torqued that some of the pasta had critters in it, because this was the Barilla “high protein” pasta, with all those good omega 3′s in it, so I am going to try to save as much as I can. Even with the summer monsoons, we just don’t have the problem with moisture out here in AZ like you do back east. Just the pleasure of 115 degrees today . . .
recently acquired a food dehydrator via ebay for $15.+S&H. will be drying many fruits, meats, and veggies all summer from our CSA (community supported agriculture farm, highly recommended). plan to dry bananas, cherry tomatoes, zucchini/squash, onions, turkey etc.
admittedly am not up on preps for t.p. and cooking oils.
also filled large jars with millet and popcorn seeds this week. am aiming for more quinoa, rice, dried milk/eggs, seaweed, spices.
am making a point of becoming great friends with all of my neighbors. we’ve lived here almost a year and i’m thrilled to be surrounded by so many interesting, warm and intelligent people. just learned the neighbor across the street is an avid fisherman. as we live beside a stocked pond, this could be a very good thing.
oh, also, and not meaning to shift the thread’s discussion, i recently began my PH internship w/the dept of regional emergency preparedness. i was given several brochures to review and from which to decide what to be mailed. i find most of the brochures highly disturbing as they picture happy little groups of people standing in closes proximity and, while encouraging hand-washing etc, only encourage families to prepare for two weeks worth of food. upon inquiring why only two wks when we know each wave would likely last much longer i was told, “many people have trouble putting food on the table each day, let along two weeks. we don’t wanna overwhelm anyone.”
i’m all about overwhelming them. y’know, let’s get people the facts and let em make their own decisions because, in an actual event, they *will* be overwhelmed.
the other part of my internship involves planning for the elderly and disabled. very interesting stuff. on my colleagues desk was a gigantic text on plan for large-scale distribution of antibiotics. hmm…
Jefiner @ 00:06--I hear you. It was 97 hear today with heat index well over 100. Humidity around 70%. Being outside is like being force fed sticky, semi-liquid hot air. We are in a drought but the air literally drips, go figure. Good luck on the pasta. Please post if the results are good. Galt
Posie – at 00:23 - i’m all about overwhelming them. y’know, let’s get people the facts and let em make their own decisions because, in an actual event, they *will* be overwhelmed.
Good point! But I do think that too many people are making the decision, already, to ignore prepping even a little. It’s just more y2k and duct tape.
Oh, and the anonymous – at 23:55, was me. For some reason, my Author field keeps going back and forth from Reader to empty. Anyone know why that happens?
Kim - do you have a carbon monoxide detector? If not…you may want to spend the $10 and see if your dog is trying to warn you of something. They have sniffers’s 1,000 times better than ours, he may be reacting to what he smells. Or hears, maybe a decibel meter or something to measure high frequency noise? I have total faith in my animals built on experience. I hope you solve this for your dogs sake!
Bird Dog, sorry you didn’t get to know your grandparents. This grandmother has been a major force in my life. Amazing woman. I’d share, but then I’d have to share! I’ve decided to totally sound proof the bird room as a prep so I can better sell her on the idea of staying here. I don’t think she could handle the cooking on her own. There’s only one thing worse than a Cockatoo scream and that’s a Cockatoo scream when you’re wearing a hearing aid!
Reader – at 01:51 For some reason, my Author field keeps going back and forth from Reader to empty. Anyone know why that happens?
That happens to me at home, because of the firewall software I have there. If I open another browser window and then close it, my softward deletes ALL active cookies, including the one setting my author name for fluwiki. Here at work, our firewall is on the server and local cookies are allowed, so I don’t have that problem.
We’re been living out of pantry supplies only this week for prep and it hasn’t been going well. Family especially husband (basically supportive) are getting grumpy, don’t see the point, etc. I’m persevering because I want to spend the next month sending most of my food budget to pay off the last of the credit card debt.
What I’m learning so far from living out of pantry only is (1) I need MORE COOKING OIL and (2) my picky-eating family is going to be a real problem. (-:
Meanwhile I did manage to find a very cheap 5-day cooler, and a dehydrator at the thrift store for $6. They had all sorts of pressure canners for sale there too but I’m nervous to buy any used; I don’t know enough about them to know if something important is missing. I’m looking into taking first aid classes as well, as part of my overall prep plan — thanks for listening, no one around here wants to hear anything about this.
---Lisa in Southern Maine – at 21:27 $321.41 at BJs today.…Kind of like diarrhea of wallet and mind..---
LOL Lisa, I made a Wally run today to the tune of $270, and managed to find room for it all when I got home. I need to organize everything so I can start to rotate my oldest stock better than I am. I find I use the what I just purchased just because it was easier to get to. I keep a notebook with a list of everything we have.
I think the real thing I am “behind” on is TP!
Days 6 and 7 of our Prep Test:
Things that were on the menu:
Major prep chores for the day:
How things are going thus far:
Love Texas – at 14:02
People in heat like that generally take a siesta during the hottest part of the day. They are up before sunlight and stay up past sunset to take advantage of the cooler times.
Takes some getting used to but we camped in Texas, down by the Mexican border, during July … it actually is quite doable. But watch out … all the creepy crawly critters figured that out long time ago so you’ll be sharing those times with them if you are out of doors.
“be prepared to do some quick additional preserving …. either by dehydrating (we are looking at getting a generator) or canning.”
Make sure to stash plenty of canning jar lids and rings away where you won’t use them up during the regular canning season.
Average Concerned Mom – at 09:11
I hear you … “what’s the point” question irritated me a tad, especially as it came from hubby who is “on board” with prepping. Finally told him, (1) him wanting to eat frosted flakes for dinner wasn’t exactly the healthiest thing and didn’t jive with the fact that he used to complain that I was cooking “healthy enough” and (2) he may bring in the majority of the money but I’m the one he gripes at when he looks at the grocery bill so he could suck it up and eat what we’ve agreed to spend, which means he eats what I can find on sale and that means eating what is in the pantry.
I was a little testy that night as having a 2 year old dragon living with you doesn’t lend itself to a lot of extra patience on some days. <grin>
Pointing out the realities of how much something costs multiplied by how many times he wants to eat it multiplied by how much he eats at each setting sort of gave him a reality check. He works a lot … I mean 6 or 7 days a week outside the house for 10 and 12+ hour days most of the time … property management is a bear of a business … so I try and accomodate as much of his comfort as I can. But it gets to the point sometimes you just have to stop them and say look … here is the way it is. You want “x” but only allow for “y” and the reality is really “z” … you’re simply going to have to compromise. Rough, but we always work it out … but I have to remember to make compromises too. Being on the front line of the household prepping gives me a better feel for the reality of the situation. He is too business working in the “here and now” to always get it.
Hillbilly Bill – at 09:56
I always keep extra of that stuff around. Usually I have about an extra 2 dozen jars and lids of various sizes but I think I’ll have to make get a bigger spread on that. And definitely will stock up on more lids for using the jars in the future.
How long are you supposed to “freeze” rice? Do you have to vaccuum package it after or can you just store it?
okcinder -
I think freezing the rice for 3 days will kill any bugs.
I vacuum seal the rice I buy, then put it in the freezer - and it stays in the freezer (unless I need the freezer space later on for foods that must be frozen). Just my method:)
OKCinder - I just fill up either 1 qt or 2 qt canning jars full, lid them loosely, shake them to pack the ric down, fill to nearly the top, then lid tightly and freeze for about 3 days.
Of course, I have only been storing rice this way for about 6 months, but so far, nothing is crawling around in the jars I have put up. I think the freezing is the key, everything else will pretty much work one ay or another.
I have those 6 gallon rigid containers for water. Given that even a thunderstorm can knock out the power for a few days, I’m thinking I ought to fill them with water. Will water keep? And for how long? Should I add a bit of bleach?
Good question okcinder. I have been slowly building preps and made first rice purchase yesterday. I put it in the frezeer and I believe from other comments on the FW that 2–3 days will kill any eggs etc in the rice. My follow on question is similar to yours as to how to handle it upon removal from freezer. I expect that there will be moisture via condensation that will develop on the package (12 lb plastic bag of Uncle Bens white rice). Can anyone comment to any potential risk of mold etc from this condensation? I do not have any plastic pails or oxygen absorbers yet so I don’t know what to do with the rice…leave it in the freezer, store in rubbermaid container etc. I eventually plan to place in food grade pails. When I get to this stage, can I leave in the manufacturers plastic packaging or should it be transferred to something else?
analyst4mkts – at 10:58
After you remove the bags of rice from the freezer, let it come up to room temperature and then dry the bags carefully. This may take several hours, I usually let it sit on dishtowels on the kitchen counter overnight. Then, pack as you see fit. Since I am not using food grade containers, I packed the bagged rice into freezer bags, squeezed out the excess air and loaded it into my buckets (emptied kitty litter). I like the idea of leaving it in the manufacturers packaging so that if a rodent or other critter chews into the bucket, I might not have to throw it all out.
Kim, could your dog be hearing something about to go wrong in the A/C? Is it the same dog and same A/C as last year?
Hillbilly Bill – at 11:08 Thanks HB… I will give it a shot (minus the kitty litter part) I figure that as I build supply some should be packed with maximizing shelf life as long as possible with oxygen absorbers etc. The bulk of my preps will be rotated canned goods, medium sized bags of rice, pasta etc. My wife is not totally on board yet. She is sympathetic to the point where budget gets strained and preping interferes with anything in the family plans. I have been able to build up the basic water in flats, canned goods, flashlights etc (even a small number of masks etc) but I cringe when I think of what I still need to acquire and what she will say when discovers what I have already snuck into the house (headlamps, sterno, collapable water jugs, flints, matches, rubber gloves, meds etc etc.)
A few nights ago I was using a rubber hammer to put a lid tightly on a 5 gallon food storage bucket. DW asked how to get the lid off in case something happened to me. I showed her the “zip strip” around the lid and demostrated how to use the special “wrench” to loosen the lid so it would come off. She then asked what I had packed into the bucket and I told her it contained 34lbs of dry navy beans. She said, “It will be a hell of a long time before I have much interest in opening that bucket.”
analyst4mkts -
Then again, she may surprise you. On several occasions I have expected my DH to get irritated with some of my preps, (although he is basically on board) but he never has. Bottom line (I think), for him, is that he does realize the time may come when we’ll truly need these things and when you compare the cost to other types of insurance, it really pales in comparison. Fact is, most of what I’ve prepped will be used, one way or another. The cost of things that might never be used is pretty insignificant. I’ll gamble ;)
Hillbilly Bill, do you see anything wrong with the idea of packing away an assortment of foods in one barrel? I wonder if they affect each other with odors, outgassing, ? I haven’t started to fill my buckets, but I’m planning to put rice, beans and lentils (and maybe a box of salt) in the same bucket, so I don’t have to deal with lids multiple times.
Hillbilly Bill – at 11:35 Thanks for the laugh!! I’m afraid my wife and kids would have the same response…As yet no beans in the house yet.
OKbirdwatcher – at 11:37 She did surprise me recently. For my birthday, I received a crank flashlight and a crank radio (considers them toys for me). Luckily she didn’t discover that I purchased two-pack of crank flashlights at BJs the week before. Deep down, I think she is comforted to know that I am looking out for her and the kids but she just doesn’t believe that the pandemic will ever hit in our lifetime.
I lived on a humid, hot desert island for almost 3 years. We made do. Their was no potable water. All water had to be treated. No fresh veggies that were not grown with …uummm… human fertilizer. Parasites were a problem. Powered milk was our only option. No TV. No phones. No holidays with the folks. This sounds bad and while I would not want to do it again, I loved it! One of my kids was born there! Everything we got was “buggie”. After several weeks or months on ships bringing it over- it was bad. If there was a long shoreman problems or a typhoon the ship would be delayed even longer. We learned to have a little extra on hand. We froze the bags to kill the critters, sifted it and ate it. By the time we left we no longer sifted. We figured hey, what’s a little extra protein… Now I would be mortified- but at the time… We froze cereal, chips, cheese, pretty much everything. We never had a problem with condensation or having to dry anything off. Of course we ate it right away. Chips, cereal remained crispy after freezing. Processed foods remained just like they were made to be. (cheese texture did get grainy) Fresh or close to nature foods were the problem for us. (Lettuce just does not freeze well;-). I must admit it doesn’t taste all that great after freezing either. Whole head Romaine seems to hold up the best.) Anyway, analyst4mkts, I would think that a wipe off of the package with paper towels might be in order after freezing but after leaving it out on the counter for a few hours any moisture should dissapate. When we got a box of cocoa we just let the chunchy bits (bugs) float to the top and scoop them off.
As for water, if you are getting your water from a good source like the tap and putting it in soda bottles I would not add any bleach yet. The water will be fine for months. One thing we did was to wash off the local produce in clorox water. Just 3 or 4 drops of clorox and rinsh veggies. They had a fresh taste. Another tip is if you do have to put bleach in your water let it sit for 12 to 24 hours in an open container to let the clorox evaporate and then whip it or pour between 2 containers to put a little oxygen back into it. The water won’t taste as flat. We’ll get used to a lot of things we thought we couldn’t. Prep on.
jane – at 11:42
I think as long as you package like items in bags you shouldn’t have any problems. That is a novel idea and may solve some of my situations where the container size I have doesn’t fit the amount of what I want to put away. For instance, what is the sense of a 5 gallon bucket of egg noodles?
This opener makes life a lot easier.
For those with kids, I am amazed at the volme of craft/activity material we are blowing through this summer - AND we’ve been busy, so it’s not like my two non-crafy boys are doing macrame all day long! I can’t imagine how much we’d go through if we are at home for weeks on end. Thank goodness Back-to-school sales start soon so I can re-stock our supplies of pens, paper, etc. We also need lots more books not that my middle one is reading more on his own (just turned 6). If the S doesn’t HTF they will make great x-mas or rainy day surprises.
Honeyville has a sale (10% off) on eggs & milk through 7/23 am. DISCOUNT CODE: EGGTIME
Thanks, Mari! I was just about to place another order.
PBQ…thanks for sharing. Someone who’s been there and done that is worth a million “book” ideas. If you don’t mind me asking, where were you?? Just curious.
analyst4mkts…I wish my husband were as concerned as you. Your wife should be grateful! But then, if there were two in the family who were as obsessed as us…we’d probably just drive each other crazy. My husband allows me to buy as much as I want. He never says a word. I can’t complain!
PBQ…If you can think of anything else to share about your experience that would help us prepare..Please do! I’m on my way to freeze all the cereal! By the way, through freezing of chips and cereal, were you able to extend shelf life?
Went to Costco today. They had Fruit Source (24 bars) on sale $4.00 off; I eat these as a recovery food right after working out so I was very happy and now have about 14 cases. Also I stocked up on jars of Gourmet Antipasta- I think because of the good ingredients - lots of vege’s plus tuna they would be a good snack. I use to make it but the price here was reasonable (Canada). Also got some Vel Fruit & Nut Bars (24 to a case as well). Just read a good write up in the newspaper about them. I usually buy a more expensive nut bar (twice the price) which is worth it because of quality but Vel bars will be a nice addition as well.
I did not realize that you have to freeze rice. I have been freezing flour, but not rice. I store my grains and rice in galvanized trash cans and thought that was enough. I have a huge amount of rice and wonder if I could get away without freezing? I can’t get my mind around the thought of freezing all that rice!
bird-dog - I just read your 22:52 post from yesterday and I’m laughing so hard, though I truly empathize with the cleanup you had to do from one wicker basket falling. Are you Irish? I am, and your experience certainly rates as an Irish momment! I’m still smiling. Thanks! And no playing with matches in the barn.
Enough-Already - Your vet gave you an old Irish superstitious ‘charm’. I’ve never heard of this in the US. Potatoe burying, in certain placement, buried at certain depth, using 3 potatoes, can also be used to curse someone or an entire family! Be careful of this vet, and whatever you do, don’t let him know you found his suggestion to be bizarre…and keep an eye out for any newly dug areas in your backyard! :)
Annie at 16:04, Thanks for asking. I lived on Okinawa, right after reversion back to Japan. Interesting place. Yep, The stuff I learned is quite valuable to me today. I feel like I have a step up on things like water treatment. And isolation issues. Which BTW were many. It was such a great learning experience though I missed my falks and the States terribly.
Uh, that was supposed to be folks- not falks.
For those of y’all that use a belnder to process fodd and are concerned about the wear and tear on the blender, I will post this LINK. It is the second and bigger of such blenders I have seen. This one looks like it oughta handle just about anything you want to process in it.
:-)
That’s blender and process food!
«Still waiting for that Mavis Beacon refund »
Seacoast – at 17:55 I’m not sure, but I don’t think its absolutely necessary to freeze rice or other foods to kill pests and eggs, the bugs aren’t toxic, just gross. On the other hand, you mentioned that you are using galvanized trash cans to store your grains in, again, I’m not sure but I think the material used for galvanization contains toxic chemicals and you might want to think about switching to a food grade plastic or stainless steel bin. I used to have a link that mentioned something about galvanization, I’ll see if I can find it to post, unless someone else knows for sure.
According to the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services Agency for Toxic Substances, galvanization involves zinc and zinc is a toxic metal and should not be used for food storage, here is a link: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp60-c1.pdf
Eccles – at 06:55
I sent that link to my tailgating-crazy boss as a joke and I think he is going to buy one…
knowall – at 07:23
Thanks for the link…very interesting! I’ve been stashing extra rice and beans for neighbors, in an enormous galvanized container. The food is in its original packaging. I’ve also always kept my wild animal food in these containers. I think that I’ll talk to the guys at the feed store about it.
My big prep yesterday was buying a new cell phone! The one that I’ve been using is at least 10 to 15 years old and I’ve never even text-messaged on it: doubt that I could. I had resisted as my monthly charge was only 19.95. I decided to upgrade to be able to email, t. message, read/see CNN and C-SPN, the weather, etc. and I had a coupon that was to expire tomorrow. As I also have trouble with hand strength I can use the Blue-tooth thingy in my ear and not have to hold the phone at all. I feel that if/when TSHTF (for any reason), I’ll have more of a chance to call out/communicate. I also had to remind myself that I’ve spent more on a solar panel which I may *never* use, I don’t(didn’t) have access to cable news and weather, and it will be more efficient by holding a charge longer and getting better reception(?). It still FEELS like a frivolous action but ‘guess I’ll get over it as I have with all my other BIG preps. Yikes <G>.
I hope no one minds if I try again. I’ve tried looking in the wiki for info, but I must be blind. Someone, please answer me! I have those 6 gallon rigid containers for water. Given that even a thunderstorm can knock out the power for a few days, I’m thinking I ought to fill them with water. Will water keep? And for how long? Should I add a bit of bleach?
Another Rice Question
Can anyone tell me how many cups of cooked rice is produced by a pound of dry uncooked rice? I am trying to determine how much rice to store and the directions always refer to cups and I am buying by the pound. I hate to admit it but I haven’t cooked regular rice in years having converted to “boil in a bag” long ago for my everyday cooking. During SIP, I figure at max to consume 1 cup per person per day…any more than that will probably not occur until there is nothing left but rice & beans.
Karina @ 9:06 I don’t know about a 6-gallon container, but I am using cleaned 2-liter soda bottles and have quite a few gallons stored that way without problem. They have been fine over the course of six months. I put 2–3 drops of plain clorox in each (although from what I’ve read more recently, it probably wasn’t necessary since our county water here is chlorinated). Not sure if the larger, 6-gallon containers would be more likely to grow stuff in the water. Red cross has some good materials on treating water for storage. Also, try Will’s book on the Wiki side. I think it is under preparedness guides.
analyst4mkts @ 9:09--about 6 cups per pound, I believe. Galt
Thanks Galt
“nothing left but rice & beans”
Anytime I see anything that can be used to flavor either of these two items, I buy it if I have the money.
I plan to hide away some extra high calorie, high fat foods like canned pasta and ravioli and ready-to-eat soups to supplement the rice and beans. Whether that will be successful or not remains to be seen.
Hillbilly Bill @ 9:40 Me too, on the seasoning. Couple of things that I’ve found recently that were really good and not very expensive were MOJO seasoning for beans (in the Hispanic section of my supermarket) and packets of seasoning mixes called Wiley’s Healthy Southern Classics in the produce section of my Wally’s (the peas/beans seasoning is really good but a little salty, half a pack will season a pound). Love the mojo.
Galt: I’ll look for those. I have a fair supply of fried rice mix packages from Sunbird and of course the usual collection of chicken and beef flavor packages and gravy mixes.
What I would really like to find is a canned pork product in a serving size that would flavor one pot of navy beans. Something about the size of a can of Spam or Treat that is salt pork, or something very similar. I used to get canned bacon may years ago, but it came in huge cans. I guess I could can my own salt pork in pint jars.
Seacoast and Knowall, rice and beans stored in plastic baggies, either Foodsaver or Ziploc, then piled in a galvanized trash can should be safe from mice, I hope. I don’t know whether the zinc in the can would migrate into the food. Why should it? In a cool damp basement, wouldn’t it be inert? The pdf Knowall linked us to talked about zinc dust and industrial processes, but I didn’t get the idea that it evaporated into the air. Maybe 2 layers of baggies would be safer? I know that trashbag liners would be bad because they often contain insecticides, we’ve been told.
jane - each person has to make their own decision about the risks associated with certain toxins in food containers and food storage. The issue with the zinc in galvanized metal and plastic baggies is that plastic baggies are porous, so molecules of zinc will leach into the bag and come in contact with your food. Exactly how much zinc gets in and how much you will ingest is unknown because there aren’t enough studies on long-term food storage to give us a good estimate. However, zinc, in large amounts is toxic and causes liver damage at worst, nausea and skin and stomach irritation at least. In my opinion, it would be better to find a food grade plastic or stainless steel bin rather than use the galvanized metal, however, other people may not consider the risk worth switching if they’ve already made the investment in galvanized metal.
Hillbilly Bill @ 10:04--I have looked everywhere for the canned bacon. I’m not sure that it exists in any size can in the US anymore. We got some of the “Hormel real crumbled bacon” 4oz for use as ham flavor for beans. Plastic ziplock bag container. No refrigeration until opened. About a year expiration date. Also got the Goya brand ham flavored concentrate in the Mexican food section. I’d be the first to agree that neither solution is a nice ham hock, but desperate times call for desperate measures….;>
If anyone out there does have a US source for the canned bacon, please post! Thanks.
knowall – at 10:46
It really is an individual decision. Someone long ago on this forum castigated me for storing rice in kitty litter buckets even though I leave the rice in the original packaging and also pack those bags into ziplock freezer bags before putting them into the fastidiously cleaned buckets. I figure my body absorbs LOTS more kitty litter just maintaining the litter boxes in our house than will ever leach through those plastic bags.
Hillbilly Bill, as long as you check yourself regularly for “clumps” I think you’ll be fine :)
knowall – at 11:14
LOL :-).
Galt and Hillbilly Bill - Canned Bacon
Rytway Foods produces precooked canned bacon bits for foodservice industry in 1 and 5 pound cans. I don’t know if they sell direct to consumers. I have not personnelly tried their product. I think they are based in Minnesota. Here is contact info: phone# 952–469–1417 email: sales_foods@rytwayfoods.com
Canned raw bacon (irradiated) was available in the ‘60s but the FDA banned it in ‘68.
analyst4mkts – at 09:09 Another Rice Question: Can anyone tell me how many cups of cooked rice is produced by a pound of dry uncooked rice?
On one of my smaller packages of rice [8 oz] it says “1/3 cup dry = 1 cup cooked” and that makes sense when you consider that every cup of dry rice is cooked with 2 cups of water. Therefore 1 cup dry should be close to 3 cups cooked [give or take] Where there might be an issue is how much rice each eater considers to be a “serving,” which is how I tend to calculate rice when I buy it. Generally, 8 oz will come out to between 3–4 servings for us and that is because my DH is a big rice eater, so your mileage may very.
Just realized I may need to expand on my answer since it doesn’t answer your question in the way it was asked. 8 oz = 1 1/3 cups roughly, so 1 lb = 6 2/3 cups cooked. Then that needs to be divided into how much each person considers a serving for them, as mentioned above.
CORRECTION! [really need another cup of coffee!] 1 lb dry = 2 2/3 cup cooked. Where is Kathy in Fl when we need her? LOL
SECOND CORRECTION!! While my measurements are correct, I keep not getting the final answer correct. 8 oz = 1 1/3 DRY, which should equal 4 cups cooked! Then a lb = 2 2/3 dry should equal 8 cups cooked. Phew! not a good math day for me. From my own experience, I tend to see these cooked totals as rather on the high side, so would suggest you take them as between 3–4 cups [8 oz] and 6–8 cups [lb].
MAinVA – at 12:21 Thanks for the clarifications…your first correction had me worried!!
analyst4mkts—thanks for the info on the bacon!
I live in TX and went to Walmart today and they had on an endcap Tyson Premium Chuck Chicken Breast for $2.00 a can. Regular price was $2.78. I bought 5 cases ( 12 in a case) and when I checked out the girl charged me $2.00 for the case instead of $24. I killed me to be honest today and tell her that it was a CAN and not a CASE!!!!
I came home and compared it to the large can of Members Mark CHicken from Sams and it is cheaper than Sams. Now I think I may have to go back and buy some more. This is one thing the kiddos will eat for sure.
knowall - Thanks for the info, I can tell you I was worried about bugs (which don’t seem so bad right now) I thought that galvanized steel cans would be ok. I got the idea from a thread a few months back from a contributor whose mother-in-law was a Mormon and she stored all of her flour, rice and such in those cans. It never occurred to me that that nice Mormon family may glow-in-the-dark! I left everything in the bags they came in so at least it is not all loose. ‘I will think about this…tomorrow…tomorrow is brand new day with no mistakes in it.’ Anne of Green Gables
Does anyone know if parboiled makes any differnece with bugs in the rice?
Hillbilly Bill - Like you, I wanted to spice up things with a little flavor. I have bought Hormel Real Bacon Bits. I thought I could keep them longer by not opening them and keeping them in the fridge, the same as peanut butter, to keep from going rancid. I also am trying the 50% less fat bits because there is less fat and that could cut down on the bits going rancid. They taste great in eggs, beans, salad, on potatoes and wonderful in many different kinds of soup. I am also buying the fake kind just for the flavor and they will probably lst longer.
Today…mylar bags, O2 absorbers, vaccum sealer…will now clean out overpacked freezer by storing flours/rices into mylar…feels tedious and I haven’t started yet, but I’ve put this off for long enough. Wish me luck. I hate mundane tasks!
Today I found boxes of Diamond strike-anywhere matches, in both sizes, at Ace Hardware. They also had a 5-gal.-bucket lid lifter, holders for single-edged razor blades, and retractable/snap-worn-edge-off box cutters, which I’ve been looking for everywhere. And my Foodsaver jar sealers came. Also went to Walmart and got 2 more 7-gal. water jugs, white towels, dark Dove chocolate, dried ginger (half the grocerystore price), a pocket diamond knife/fishhook/serratedknife sharpener, lightsticks, and a second small LED lantern. An ethnic grocery had a can of Croatian seasoning (Walmart had 3 dented cans of it too) called Vegeta- it’s a combination of dried vegetables and salt, sugar, and MSG-“Gourmet seasoning and soup mix”.
One hunt failed-my Walmart only had 47% hypochlorite pool chemicals, no 62%.
Jane, Let me know if you have trouble getting your regular sized foodSaver lid to work. I have discovered a trick and will pass it on.
Nemo, pass it on—I haven’t been able to get it to work either—
Lipton COLD brew iced tea bags. No heating water to brew, tastes as good, not sure about same health benefits.(antioxidants)
Nemo, me too!
CashB
That stuff is a find. I live on iced tea.
jane – at 18:30 “One hunt failed-my Walmart only had 47% hypochlorite pool chemicals, no 62%. “
Is that a really big deal? As long as the 47% doesn’t have any unwanted bad stuff, just calculate how much more is needed to get to the final percentage you want in your solution. It isn’t that hard, just first term algebra stuff.
Do they have a decaf version of the cold brew iced tea? I, too, love iced tea but can only drink small quantities of it early in the day. Anything after noon and I’d be awake all night. I like the flavor of Crystal Light Decaf Ice Tea … but suspect it doesn’t have any close relationship to real tea leaves.
LOVE the Wiley’s bean seasoning packs and also his greens seasoning.{turnips,collards,kale,etc.}
Dennis,
I’ll look. I “need” the caffeine so never paid attention.
Dennis, I really don’t know about the decaf… Melanie??
Sorry, Melanie is quick on the draw!!
HBB, I bought a can of spam that has big letters on the can that says BACON. The small print says, “made with real hormel bacon.” I haven’t tried it yet, but I thought it might fit the bill!! I got it at Wal-Mart. Hope this helps.
seacoast and CashB: Thanks for the tips, all of those will be good additions to my preps.
My pastor gave me a $50 check to go shopping for the church food pantry! We are also taking up a special collection the last Sunday of this month. I’m going to enjoy seeing how much food I can get with the money.
The question with the 47% chlorine in the pool treatment is, what else is in there, as well as is it killing the critters. It’s fifteen percent more of “other ingredients” that we’d be drinking. Maybe it’s too risky, and I should just buy more liquid bleach and keep getting more until it’s time to SIP.
Jane…don’t stock up on beaach too much yet. After a few months it loses its strength. One article I read says that if the bleach is older, increase the amount of bleach in the water. I find this confusing, because how do you know how old it is? I’ve started dating it when I buy it. This is one item I have on my list in my purse to buy lots of when I get the first hint that BF is here.
Made a trip to Sams tonight with DH. Made good progress on supplies! 10 cases of water (32 bottle size), 4 bottles of alcohol, 4 cans of Lysol, 3 boxes of instant oatmeal (total of 150 packs), soups, benedril, bouillon for clear liquid diet, a metal rolling shelving unit that many have talked about on the forum, case of peaches.
Husband and I finally got a call from local bottling company that we can have two barrel’s. They had to talk it over because they were concerned people would store gasoline in it! (Who in the hell can afford 110 gallons of gas now?) Anyway, we picked them up. Now we have one new one and two used. The used were cleaned out with some type of citrus cleaner that really is pungent. I plan to sit it in the Florida sun for a few days, then use boiling water as a rinse to clean it. My question is, do you think they will be safe to store drinking water in or should we use it for gray water?
Also today took grandmother to Sams and she spent $570 buying preps for herself! She’s close to being 3 months prepped from one trip! I am so proud of her. Even got her to get her own vacuum sealer to seal up the first 50 pounds of rice I made her buy. Rice is cheaper at her Sams (11.04) versus mine across town (11.48). I’m not going to quibble over 44 cents. DH will take her to get a new barrel next week, found them in town for $42 including tax. Not bad for 55 gallons. Actually she said “I’ll take three” when I told her about them! We are really pushing her to stay with us. I do not believe she could do all the extra work required to survive, or the isolation, during pandemic. She’s 87 and things are already going downhill. I told her plainly “I don’t want to lose you this way”. She’s a great lady.
Where is you purchase the new barrel. I’ve looked everywhere in our area and everyone acts like I’m crazy.
I purchased it from a company in town, I believe I Googled “water barrel”“Orlando” and it gave me options. What town do you live in? I’ll help you find it now!
Southern Maryland
Annie, I need a town in Southern Maryland. I used to live in Montgomery County but don’t think that would help.
I live in Calvert County. You could use Huntingtown, Sunderland, or Prince Frederick.
Annie, not much in your area but I found some that should be able to help. 1. Barrel Art Baltimore Ave, Laurel, MD, 301–498–4418. 2. Abbey Drum CO, 1440 Chesapeake Avenue Baltimore, MD, 410–355–3111. That’s a good start, even though you’ll have to drive. I’ll watch the boards to see if you have any luck.
Orlando - I am in love! With my new vacum seasler that is! I bought one yesterday at Costco and started using it right away on all the meat I bought there. It is great! Costco has such good prices on meat and everyone raves about teh quality but the packages were always too big for us. There have been so many times I’ve lost meat, or suffered through a tough steak, because it had been in those lousy plastic wraps from the grocery store. My bill was ghastly between the vacuum, meat and other stuff I needed, but I LOVE looking at my freezer full of meat! DH thought I was nuts until I showed him all the pistachios I sealed for him (he could eat a pound a day if I let him!). You should feel really good that you got your grannie to prep. One life saved. And she sounds like wonderful person!
For anyone with a vacum sealer - I assuming that it doesn’t help keep foods FOREVER. Am I merely keeping things fresh, or potentially extending shelf life as well?
annie – at 00:00
I’ve got two big jugs of extra-strength (6.25%) Clorox that I bought 6 months ago. I don’t see how the bleach can lose it’s strength if it has never been opened. Even after opening, the reduction in concentration would be gradual and an extra drop or two would make up the difference. Any arguments to the contrary? I’m just trying to keep some prepping details as simple as possible. There are more than enough complex issues.
Hillbilly Bill - I did some research on shelf life of bleach (and also hydrogen peroxide) here is a letter I found from the manufacturer of Clorox Bleach (link posted below):
Thank you for asking about the shelf life of Ultra regular CLOROX liquid bleach.
When bleach and water are mixed together to create a cleaning or disinfecting solution, the solution is only good for 24 hours. The temperature of the water does not affect the cleaning or disinfecting abilities of the solution. After the 24 hours, the solution begins to lose needed disinfecting properties. Therefore, it is recommended that for disinfecting purposes, the solution is made fresh daily.
Our bottles do not have an expiration date, however, they do have a production date. Once you understand how to read the production date, you can decipher the shelf life of the bottle. Please look below for a chart explaining our production codes.
CODE PLANT YEAR DATE MD21002 MD2 1= 2001 002nd day of year A90288 A9 0= 2000 288th day of year
We recommend storing our bleach at room temperatures. It can be stored for about 6 months at temperatures between 50 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. After this time, bleach will be begin to degrade at a rate of 20% each year until totally degraded to salt and water. Storing at temperatures much higher than 70 degrees Fahrenheit could cause the bleach to lose its effectiveness and degrade more rapidly. However, if you require 6% sodium hypochlorite, you should change your supply every 3 months.
I hope this information is helpful. Again, thank you for giving me this opportunity to discuss our product.
Sincerely, Mary Brylinski Product Specialist
MEB/cl 3463673A http://www.med.cornell.edu/ehs/faq/biological_safety.htm
knowall – at 08:07
Thanks! That is the first definite information I have ever seen about the subject. I figure I am good at least for another year with what I have. Some products have expiration dates (like isopropyl alcohol) because once they are opened, they lose concentration VERY slightly, and therefore for medical purposes they need to be rotated. In home use you wouldn’t even care about such an infintesimal change.
Sounds like Clorox deteriorates faster, but still is useful for quite some time.
Here’s something that just occured to me. How many people have fish tanks? I totally neglected the issue of supplying power for the air pumps and lights for the tanks. Maybe this does not seem like a very important point to many, but letting the fish die to us would be the same as letting our dogs and cats starve to death. I used my Kill-A-Watt meter and found out that the air pump only uses 5 watts, but when the lights are turned on the consumption jumps to 65W. We only have the lights on for a short time each morning when the fish are fed. Our varieties do not require a heater in the tank. I will be doing some measurements to see what is required to provide this power on a daily basis. One more thing to add to the mix.
It’s nice to know the rate at which Chlorox degrades. Now I can adjust how much I mix to compensate for degradation.
Days 8 and 9 of our Prep Test:
Things that were on the menu:
Major prep chores for the day:
How things are going thus far:
MAinVA – at 12:14
LOL! Kathy in FL had to take an unscheduled business trip and ran into her own food problems. <grin> I will be planning a more road friendly menu for some prep items and putting them in a separate storage container … it will keep me from having to ransack my cabinets and containers and then facing the disaster when I come home. <argh!> We weren’t even gone 24 hours but I was beat and the last thing I was going to do at midnight was clean up the mess I had made at 5 that morning. Instead got to do it this morning … at the same time I was trying to cook breakfast for 7 starving people. I’ll know better next time.
Here is a good link for “how many cups to a pound” of various items.
A pound of white rice gives you roughly 6 cups of COOKED rice. Brown and wild rices seem to be lower in the “cooked” amount, nothing wrong with experimenting though.
Kathy in FL — Thanks for the link. I’ve printed it out to go into the notebook with all of your recipes that I’ve also collected and printed. This will be very helpful. It also explains why I felt that the 1/3 dry = 1 cup cooked felt low to me since we only use brown rice. I’m so glad this question was asked since it is helping me to also look at my preps in a whole new light.
Since this is the Prep thread, thought I’d comment that I’d pretty much felt as if we had enough put away for SIP for several months. We were saving the rest of the budget for the “topping off run.” Well, yesterday we both felt strongly that it was time to make another rather big buy [Walmart AND Sam’s and nearly 2 1/2 hrs of shopping!!] Now THAT’S interesting since the bird flu news has been rather light the last few weeks. We may have felt compelled [no other word for it] to do this because of other factors — Middle East, potential weather, natural disasters and/or power problems vis-a-vis Queens. I always trust my intuition, even if it takes a week or more for me to find out the “why” behind it. And this was clearly that kind of thing.
Dehydrated seven pounds of ground beef. Assembled my personal bug out bag for the car. In the backpack: 12 oz of survival water, powerbars, flashlight, leatherman, whistle, waterproof matches, small toilet kit with mini toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, hand sanitizer, wipes (hygiene, yanno!) tiny radio/earbuds w/ extra batteries, water bladder (empty),Brita waterbottle w/ 1 extra filter, duct tape, 50 ft of cord, leather gloves, hiking shoes, socks, unders, one T shirt, one pair shorts. Space blanket, fleece blanket, hat, sunglasses, first aid kit, pistol cleaning kit, pistol with extra mag, one box ammo, ziplog bags, large trash bags, thumb drive with personal information, $100 in tens and fives. I managed to get this all to fit into a medium size black backpack with some room left over, so if y’all think I missed anything, let me know :-)
Any medications? fever, painkillers, rashes, etc.
I’ve have a Mioxx water purifier with testing kit to pick up water from any clean looking source.
Good list. I have my stuff but haven’t actually assembled it. Good idea but for me the last thing I want to do is be on the go so it’s probably why I avoid assembling my BOB.
Jefiner,
That’s a fabulous BOB list. Consider making a Wiki page for it on the front side.
I’d recommend more cash, however.
First aid kit has 100 ibuprofen and 100 benadryl tabs, the usual bandages in all sizes, plus a product called Brave Soldier ointment—best stuff ever. I discovered it at a mountain bike race when I crashed and got a nasty dose of road (trail??) rash. It is an antibiotic ointment with a few herbals mixed in, especially tea tree oil. Works better than any other ointment out there, and some of my patients use it as well on wounds. Everything just seems to heal faster. I do have a sweetwater filter in the big BOB that we keep for the house, but I had some of these Brita bottles lying around. They specifically state that the filters are not antimicrobial, but until I get some $$ for another sweetwater, it will have to do. I don’t plan on using it to drink pond water! LOL. Also thinking about adding a box of no-doze to the list as well.
Melanie—
How much more money? And I will try to put together a wiki page—never done it before, so if I screw up, please bear with!
HillBilly Bill – at 08:22 We had a fish tank when 2 hurricanes hit. We used a battery powered aireator that they use a lot of times on boats to keep the bait live. It worked great since we had enough batteries to keep it going for 2 weeks. You can find them at Outdoor World type stores and I’m sure even in Wally World type stores in their boating/fishing departments. With bf SIP and no power though, you’d have to rely on batteries for them.
Jefiner,
You’re a wiki virgin! Use the sandbox to practice until you feel comfortable. I’m code-phobic and I managed to “get it” in about 15 minutes.
I’m BOBBING a grand and I got no income. I may need several nights in a hotel and restaurant food before I can get to my SIP and I may not be able to find a Motel Six, I may need to stay in some expensive places. I may need auto repair and I don’t have a credit card. I may need to hire somebody to do something for me and have to be in the cash economy.
I have it hidden around the house in places where thieves will never look so don’t google me, bad guys.
I’m also prepping barterables.
Today’s prep: one very minor one — two bottles (100 tabs each) of diphenydramine HCl (generic for Benadryl®). Useful for cold/allergy symptoms and as a mild sleep aid. Also often helps me breath easier through my nose, when using my CPAP machine.
Today was more cellar clean up. Tomorrow will be getting the clean-up out. Back is pretty sore right now, but glad to be seeing results finally from this really huge project. Reminded of security again tonight, when unaskedfor visitor rolled into driveway with car lights out. Spotlighted them and let the dogs out. They took off. Rural ares can be tempting in the isolated darkness. Goodnight all.
Here’s the theory behind the BOB for newbies.
The wikipedia article is a good one! Also, I believe Alpha Geek addresses the bug out bag in his most excellent compilation on personl preparedness.
Just to differentiate, I am working on a “personal” kit to carry with me in my car. Since I work in home health, I am never more than fifty feet from my vehicle; however, I wanted to concentrate some items in a back pack that I could grab and go in case of car breakdown or a roadblock. I am also developing a bigger bug out box for the house that has more things for our little family—dog food for the unruly Labradors, full on first aid kit, water filter and so on.
New preps—Target has fleece sleeping bags (Coleman brand) for eleven dollars—cheeper than most fleece throws.
Jefiner, great list-how about disposable gloves, poly or latex. A magnesium fire starter and pocket knife, and a can of lint/cottonballs/cardboard with melted wax for firestarters. (I still haven’t tried my magnesium bar yet.) A Sierra cup to heat water, cook in. A bandana or two. Sunscreen and bug repellent.
five pairs of nitrile gloves are in the first aid kit. I have waterproof matches, but since this is a personal kit, I don’t plan on cooking, hence the protein bars. There is also a microfiber towel in the first aid kit. Knife is in the multitool. Don’t need bug repellent (not too many here in AZ), and I will add the sun screen. The whole idea behind the small BOB is something that can keep me going for three days out of my car. Water is always an issue, but I carry a gallon in the car anyways; fill up the bladder, drink the rest, and try to get to home or to a safe place. Remember, this all has to be portable enough for one out of shape middle aged female to portage!
We got a few things from our regular grocery store. Powdered coffee creamer, canned soups. Golden mushroom soup is nice and rich for pouring over potatoes, rice or noodles. Also beefy mushroom for a soup base. They also had those little cans (tuna size cans) of Hormel chunked ham that is usually $1.69 a can but was 10 for $10. Saved $6.90. That works.
Had to run out to get draino for DH for stairwell stopped up drain. Couldn’t help checking out the store quickly for sales. I came away with 20 packs of RAmen…can’t beat the price for a meal…10 cents each!! Great to give away if not for anything else. I have a great recipe for Chineses slaw that just uses canned veg. Have to find it! Also got 2 bottles of bleach. I’m not stocking up on much because it does lose its potency in 6 months.
Melanie wrote: I’m also prepping barterables.
Are we talking scotch or cognac? cuban cigars? 48 packs of batteries?
annie- I find that a pack of Ramen is just a bit skimpy for an Eccles sized meal, so what I do is cook it plus about 1/6 of a box of Angel Hair pasta. A splash of soy sauce and some sesame oil, and Bob’s Your Uncle. Meal in a bowl that will hold you satisfied but malnourished for the better part of a day.
I bought a flint fire starter from L.L. Bean…no idea HOW to use it yet.
I bought six months worth of candy (good chocolate bars) and put them in the basement. My husband is always in the basement puttering around and when I mentioned supplies he said that all the candy was gone and we needed more! WHAT!?? I think that will have to be a last minute purchase. The really maddening thing is, my “sweetie” is skinny!
Eccles
I have been prepping the ingredients to make Hot and Sour Soup and have discovered how wonderful sesame oil is on plain rice. I am going to stock up and put in the fridge to keep it from ging rancid. What is Bob’s Your Uncle?
Eccles
I have been prepping the ingredients to make Hot and Sour Soup and have discovered how wonderful sesame oil is on plain rice. I am going to stock up and put in the fridge to keep it from ging rancid. What is Bob’s Your Uncle?
picked up more pasta and tuna…3 more jars of coffee….12 more bottles of fondue fuel(brings this total to about 60) and another fondue pot(up to 5 now)
and my best preps for this week 5 large saws and 2 more hatchets and 3 more spade shovels….
my indoor garden is doing great the pea,s are going crazy not big enough to get anything yet and the broccilli and cauliflower and motoring slowly…if cats would stay out the floor beds…
Will – at 17:31,
Instant coffee, cremora and sugar, booze and cigarettes.
Bob’s your Uncle is a saying even us Western Canadians use -funny how they get started. How this started I don’t know but it’s like saying “and there you have it” or “you get what you want” something like that.
I was reading the postings today and I must say that I have a concern that others probably share as well. I have been getting healthy over the past 2 1/2 years. I workout everyday for minimum of an hour usually two hours. I eat lots and lots of fresh fruit, and even more salads with tons of vegetables, nuts, seeds, and usually a protein. I take a protein supplement every day because I’ve been working on increasing my lean muscle. I have lost a lot of weight (more than I could ever pick up in my arms). I took up cycling as well and play tennis on occasion. My concern is to SIP will play havoc on my diet. I have stored protein supplements, various vitamins & supplements (calcium&magnesium, multi-vitamin, folic acid, low dose aspirin, Omega 369, evening primrose, glucosamine and for occasional sleeplessness melatonin). I’ve stored dehydrated veges, fruits, nuts, seeds, dried beans, rice (brown and white - I know brown doesn’t keep as long but I’ll use it first) canned versions of everything BUT I would not be eating like this if I wanted to be healthy. What I see aren’t healthy choices. I know we can put in a garden (have seeds to do that) but in the middle of winter I hate the idea of no fresh (I guess you could say “daily purchased fresh food” which I buy now. Anyone else concerned? Any nutritionists/dieticians here? What are you doing?
“Bob’s Your Uncle.” = “And there you have it.” It’s a Brit phrase.
Prepping Gal at 18:52
Here is a diet suggestion from a nutritionalist friend. BTW, what does SIP stand for? Something about quarrantine or living on your food rations? I’m new to the wiki!
PROTEINS: •Sardines (Wild Caught) Crown Prince Brand: high in RNA/DNA for immune system support as well as amino acid provisions. Can be bought and stored for extended periods.
•Canned Salmon (preferably wild caught) Raincoast Brand: Another good protein source with extended shelf life; also containing high quality Omega-3 Fatty acids.
•Micronized Whey Protein Powder: An excellent source of high biological value protein that is available in canister form from various companies free of Bovine Growth Hormone. This product can be a problem for individuals with cow milk allergy. Another product called Goatein ™ by Garden of Life is more suitable for cow milk sensitive persons.
•Shelton Brand canned organic Chicken and Turkey Chile: These are complete meals in themselves that provide ample amounts of protein, carbohydrates and fat. They are available in most Whole Foods and Wild Oats.
FATS: •Coconut Oil (unrefined by Garden of Life): A high quality saturated fat that feeds and nourishes the gut, brain and mitochondria of cells; providing energy source as well as possible immune enhancing and endocrine support. Stable at room temperature, though precaution should be taken to use a clean, dry spoon (plastic or metal) with each use in order to prevent mold and other contamination. Recommend 2 Tb/day, 1 Tb/day min. You would need @ 8 jars per person for 4 month supply.
•Ghee (Purity Farms): Clarified Butter---Another high quality saturated fat with no oxidized cholesterol. Can be stored without refrigeration for indefinite periods. As with Coconut oil same precautions should be taken to prevent contamination.
CARBOHYDRATES: •Rice (both brown and white Basmati forms): Brown is higher in B vitamins, but white Basmati allows for quicker cooking time (Brown—45–50 minutes, White Basmati 25–30 minutes or less).
o4 month supply 1 cup per person = two meals per day, 124 cups per person = 62 lbs per person. o1 year supply 180 lbs grain per person for 1 year
•Quinoa: Protein rich grain that cooks in shorter time than brown rice.
•Organic Rolled Oats: May be purchased in bulk form and eaten raw if necessary.
•Mung Dahl or Yellow Dahl: A high quality legume that provides both protein and carbohydrates. Taken with a grain such as rice or quinoa forms a complete protein to provide all essential amino acids to the body.
SEAWEEDS: •Because most vegetables are not able to be stored for long periods of time without refrigeration, sea vegetables or seaweeds can become an important source of vitamins and minerals and bulk in an otherwise potentially low fiber diet.
•Hijike and wakame forms of seaweeds, available in the macrobiotic sections of Whole Foods and Wild Oats are excellent dried food products that can be re-constituted and provide sources of iodine, calcium and iron.
•Nori is also available in sheet form and can be eaten straight from wrapper but is not quite as nutritionally substantial.
NUTS AND SEEDS: •Nuts and seeds provide both protein and fats that are essential to bodily health and function but potential rancidity of these should be considered. Organic Almonds lend greatest stability without refrigeration. Others that are most nutrient dense are sunflower seeds, pumpkin and Brazil nuts.
•Flaxseeds can provide another important source of bulk/fiber as well as be a source of Omega-3 fatty acids. Two to four teaspoons of ground flaxseeds can confer adequate daily fiber when ingestion of vegetables may be impossible or limited. It is best to use yellow or golden flaxseeds and to store them whole, and grind them as needed on daily basis. A standard mortar and pestle may be used for this.
SUPERFOODS:
•There are a number of concentrated super foods available in health food stores and online. Because they vary quite a bit both in quality and purity of sourcing, the current two items that are recommended are Power Barley Formula from GlobalDNASolutions.com and Spirulina from Microlight Nutrition, 1–800–338–2821.
Frank,
Shelter in Place, or isolate at home. There are a lot of abbreviations for the wiki here.
Jefiner – at 11:25
I have quite a few BO boxes in the house. So many in fact that I had to make a list as to what goes in the car and what goes in the back of the pickup. This may fly completely in the face of a BOB, but at least now we have a plan to save the most important items (pets included) from our house. There is a box of emergency food, a cooler full of emergency supplies, a kitty litter bucket full of cooking and eating equipment and utensils, five gallons of water, toilet-in-a-bucket, important papers, family photos, first aid kit, a bucket of HBA’s, prescription meds and spare eyeglasses. It’s all gathered up, in some kind of container and ready to be put in a vehicle. Oh yeah, spare gasoline always in the garage. There is a list on the refrigerator as to what to grab, where it is, and what vehicle it goes in. Give me 10 minutes and we are out of here in pretty good shape for at least a few days.
I didn’t always used to be like this, but I’m glad I am now.
I didn’t always used to be like this, but I’m glad I am now.
Me neither!
Thanks Frank I’ve printed your list and will get to work on it.
Discussed before but worth the repeat → an extra pair of socks and walking shoes or boots for the BOB.
Hillbilly Bill, you say you have a bucket of HBA’s… what is that?
Health and Beauty aids. Spare toothrushes and toothpaste, soap, shampoo, OTC meds, etc., etc.
For all of you familiar with Kash & Karry stores, they are in the process of becoming Sweet Bay in the south. Here in Florida, this is the last few weeks before the transition. The good thing about this, is that Kash & Karry used to have its own brands of just about every grocery item you can think of. By the end of the transition, the stores have to eliminate all of that stock from their shelves to replace it with Hannaford & SweetBay brands.
Last night I was able to pick up 6-box packs of raisins for $.08 and cans of crushed or cubed pineapple for $.08 each! Needless to say, I cleaned out the store of those items! They also had baking chocolate for $.75 a box and many other items on sale. Every few days, new items pop up for sale at >75% off! Most of the stuff at the one I go to is more like 90% off! It has made prepping way way easier.
This week they are moving on to their vegetable isle… that ought to be a huge help too!!!
Good luck with your nearby K&K’s! -ask the Store Manager what they intend to do and when. These are not being advertised.
Closed due to length. Number XI in the series is here
TreasureIslandGal’s post at 21:01 is also posted there to start things off…