World events really have me freaked out. I'm actually to the point where I spent the day researching emergency food preparedness. At the very least, I'm trying to come up with a system that will allow me to store at least 6 months of food and water for my family.
Seriously, I hope I'm overreacting but I'd rather feel foolish and prepared now rather than unprepared and foolish later when it's to late! Hopefully my imagination is getting the better of me. Regardless, I'm getting really bad vibes from all the news I'm reading and the escalation of world events.
Dried Foods
My idea right now is to start stockpiling beans, oats, rice, dried fruits, nuts. I want to start with this stuff because it's stuff I already eat and use. Now I just buy bigger bags. My plan is to pick up 6 months of food supplies, then just use the stuff as I need it. Restocking the inventory as it's used and keeping track of package expiration dates. Dried goods seem like the easiest solution to start with.
Water
Water is obviously important. I'm thinking about signing up for one of those spring water delivery services. Ordering about three months of water, then just replacing each jug as they get used. Again keeping track of newer bottles at the back of the inventory and use the older stuff as I cycle through it with regular use. Currently I have old spring water bottles with screw tops. I keep adding to the supply with tap water refills as I drink the spring water. Water treatment can be handled with a couple drops of bleach or pool shock. (DYOR on that, I'm learning as I go here.) I'm thinking between the water service and the tap water reserves I could get 6 months of water stored no problem.
MRE's - Meals Ready To Eat
I'm not a huge fan of these. I don't really like pre-packaged ANYTHING. MRE's are pre-made meals that you pretty much just add water and they're ready to eat. They have a ridiculous shelf life of 5 years or more. I'll probably add this stuff last, because I don't think I'll eat this stuff regularly. Sounds kind of gross. Until of course you're starving one day, then I'm sure they'll taste like a fine steak dinner! Until that day arrives, I'd just assume not mess with it. Still, it would be nice to have some of this stuff on hand in case of an emergency. I'm not going to get carried away with this stuff, and I suppose I could use it from time to time when I'm camping.
Food Prep Buckets
I'm thinking about some of these food prep buckets. They're basically sealed buckets filled with 100 servings of food. The buckets consist of everything from breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and will even include some dessert dishes. Shelf life is about 25 years. I'll probably go with some of these because now in my 50s by the time those foods expire it probably wont be my problem anymore 🤣
Powdered Foods
This is stuff like spices, drink mixes, instant coffee, bouillion, salt, powdered milk, powdered eggs. I'm already stocked up on a lot of this stuff for camping. Again, I can use it as I need it, and just replace the stuff as I use it to insure that it's around when I really need it.
Canned Goods
I've already got a nice collection canned goods. Again I'd like to get about 6 months of canned foods that I already use. Things I don't normally eat like spam and canned ham, corned beef, canned beef etc. My focus here will be on stuff I normally eat, and add as I use it. Canned foods don't have a really long shelf life, but you can go well past the sell-by date for most stuff in the event of an emergency.
Getting Organized
Currently I've got stuff all over the place. In a real emergency I would have a hard time grabbing it quickly. I spent the morning organizing the basement and I'm setting up a corner of the basement where all the food and water stuff can be stored. Again keeping track of expiration dates will be paramount because I HATE wasting food!
Final Thoughts
So that's where I'm at! Each week I'm going to add a little extra to the food supply until I'm comfortable with the amount of food for a family of 3. I'd like to have a little extra too in case friends or family show up for the apocalypse. I really hope I'm wrong about this stuff, but a surplus of food can't hurt regardless. On top of that, I don't think inflation is going away anytime soon, so I can always look at it like I'm just getting ahead of myself and saving down the road because all that food will probably be much more expensive 6 months from now.
What do you think? Am I overreacting? Are you prepared? Have any tips for food storage pre-apocalypse? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Image credit: tenor.com