And even thinking of everything is a job!
Then I started a spreadsheet with categories of dog, household (cleaning, toiletries, paper good, first aid, over the counter meds, paper & plastic goods, other), food & water (drinks, vegs, fruit, beans/legumes, whole grains, meat/poultry, fish, nuts/seeds, dairy, oils, condiments, baking supplies, spices, and mixed foods like soup, frozen meals.
Then there are the different types of emergencies: have utilities but unable to shop &/or find supplies like a pandemic LOL) vs. earthquakes/wildfire shelter at home without utilities. And then there is just plain illness/infirmity.
Deciding how long to have pantry last is another question as is where to store things and make sure nothing gets wasted. Making my head hurt but I think it is important to think through and make decisions.
So later this week we will buy some canned green beans because we have canned fruit, tomatoes and beans but no veggies as we prefer fresh or frozen. I also found out we were low on a few spices.
Last grocery store trip there wasn't any dishwasher soap or dish soap oddly. So I went to CVS and they had a few of each and I added more to our supplies along with more laundry soap. I had to pick up a gel re-freezable ice pack for the upcoming foot surgery so made the trip useful.
We also ordered some shaking activated cupboard latches to see if they will work on our kitchen cabinets. If everything falls out of your cabinets and breaks you have a dangerous broken glass & china sticky mess.
We had baby latches on the upper cabinets in our former California home and nothing in the kitchen broke during the Northridge earthquake. If these work we will get enough to finish the job. Since we thought we were going to move we hadn't really done all we need to do from a safety perspective.
I hate having to think about these things and spend the effort to manage supplies. I am not at all of the "prepper" mindset just aware that natural and health disasters happen.
Have you reconsidered you pantry or home supplies after the last 10 weeks of supply chain shortages and wanting to avoid stores?
For years I've built up my pantry in the fall in case I got snowed and in the spring I'd use that stuff up. This year I was bleeding my pantry even farther down with an eye on moving. Then the pandemic came along and now I'm panic buying and my pantry is stuffed. I really should do what you're doing and make a comprehensive of list what I should have on hand at all times.
ReplyDeleteI did the same thing as you. The list is proving daunting though once you add all the non food items too.
DeleteI think most of us are in the process of looking at life differently. Preparing for the unknown is work. There's much to consider. Thankfully, our public utilities haven't been affected, but I've started wondering if we shouldn't stockpile some water. A person never knows!
ReplyDeleteWater is hard to stockpile because it has a relatively short shelf life and is very bulky. What the most likely natural disasters where you live can help figure that one out. Earthquakes tend to take out power for a while and power is needed to pump water in the system so it is a big concern here. I'm going to get a camping type filter in case we have water but the quality is undermined.
DeleteI made a masterist of every thing we eat and buy after looking at one of those master shopping lists. This was done with an eye to twice a month or monthly shopping except produce. Then to that I am adding some shelf stable for I ds like soios and canned veggies. With a couple food exceptions I have always though one backup is enough although I may need to change that thinking.i will have less storage space and no seperate freezer in Texas.
ReplyDeleteThat is pretty much what I did in the past but the shortages in the stores here during the last 10 weeks made me rethink what it would be like after an earthquake where we were sheltering at home.
DeleteI stock up in spring in fall, using & rotating the stock. I buy stuff as it goes on sale too. My husband was a carpenter in earlier years, so we stocked up in summer when he had work & saved money for bills in the winter. This system worked good, so got in the habit of it over the years & still do it, though we don't have earthquakes to deal with in SD but we do have snow/blizzards.
ReplyDeleteGood for you. I grew up in Illinois so know about blizzards and ice storms. Plus tornadoes of course. As I recall we didn't have much stocked up though.
Delete'Three days and two weeks' has become my mantra. Three days of earthquake supplies, and two weeks of hard to live without essentials like coffee, peanut butter, eggs, and coconut milk. I know, priorities!
ReplyDeleteThe three days is from a disaster preparedness lecture I attended, which said that the majority of disasters were reachable within three days. The two weeks is in recognition of my adaptability at the grocery store for other than these essential-to-us items. YMMV of course.
PS- Did you feel last night's earthquake? Like really, an earthquake now of all times???
I agree about the 3 days for survival supplies for an earthquake but do think supply chains would be disrupted much longer than that. Add in panic buying if the stores were open and I see something much like what happened with the pandemic but lasting longer. We have a 3 day bug out bag to simply survive so I am looking at thriving longer than that.
DeleteNo we didn't feel the earthquake here. I am concerned about hurricane season starting and how that will play out in the SE.
DeleteMy goal will be a mo th I think. Except that my chest freezer desperately needs defrosting and we keep adding food as there is more room.
ReplyDeleteThat is the same goal I have in my mind but I think 2 weeks is more realistic given the space I have to work with and the real risk of no utilities. For me it is getting out of my ruts and covering needed items more broadly.
DeleteI'm aiming for 3 months of baic foods. Winco is a great place to get Barilla pasta, sauces and condiments inexpensively. For power outages, we did buy a generator so the freezer and fridge could keep going. i don't know I think with all this happening with Covid, having a bigger pantry is probably a good idea.
ReplyDeleteA generator would make a huge difference. My HOA was going to look into how to allow them here but I don't think they solved the issues yet. I'd be happy with one month of basics.
DeleteTry some new things. Canned chicken and roast beef are, actually, pretty good. Try them (and different powdered or shelf milk) while times are good. I go with the philosophy of buy what you eat. The first few shops will be expensive. I don't eat much commercially canned fruit- so I learned to can it myself. Veggies-- huummmm--I can handle Del Monte canned. Right now I always have a doz eggs and some beef in the fridge- rotated.
ReplyDeleteI was shut in for several months in Saudi after an incident- so I figured out what I will always have. I have always have several months of TP, dish soap, regular soap, fever control, prescription meds, first aide and cheap shoes :) . I used to have lots of paper towels, but chose to go with inexpensive wash clothes.
Remember water. I have two blue "water cubes" that I bought when in Tornado country. A camp stove saved us several times. I also bought a number of rechargeable headlamps and flashlights. IKEA is the queen for solar light--and I have many types. I watched two houses burn down in my neighborhood one year-- no candles.
Last, although we are going to a digital economy--I always have enough $1 and $5 bills for our groceries. When our electricity went down for 10 days in an ice storm---I was allowed to buy at the store because I had cash.
Thanks for mentioning cash! We have a stash too. The IKEA solar lights are a new one to me and would be good here as would a solar battery charger for phones, etc.
DeleteYes, I have. But during the last few weeks really haven't been as on top of things as I should have been.
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of a spread sheet to keep track.
God bless.