Week 31 Food Storage Challenge

 

 

50 LBS Beans / Cornmeal

50 Pounds of beans,  Walmart has Pintos for 13.42 for 20 pounds. Get the beans that your family likes to eat. You can get a variety pintos, kidney, black, butter beans or whatever you like and have easy access to.  

Cornmeal I don’t have a price on this. One way to store cornmeal, if you have a corn grinder you can get feed corn or cracked corn just make sure it is straight untreated corn. I have several bags of whole corn and lime so I can make masa for tortillas and I can grind it for corn meal. If you store corn meal do it like you do the flour freeze and for at least 72 hours. Nothing better than beans and cornbread HaHa.

The Action item for this month is to learn to make soap, if you can make soap then you can use it to make laundry, and dish soap. And it is so nice to know you have soap that you know what is in it and you can custom make it if you like lavender you can make lavender or whatever your favorite is.

 

The Extra item this month is Alterative clothes washing. A couple things here, you can get a toilet plunger (new would be best J ) and a 5 gallon bucket. You can also invest in a mop bucket that has the wringer for the mop that you can use to wring out your clothes, wringing by hand is not a whole lot of fun. I have seen on the internet little foot powered washing machines they are a little pricey but they wash rinse and spin.

Put back more in your water storage.

Add some more to our money stash.

Have a great week.

 

 



Why Wal-Mart

On one of my food storage challenge post I received this following  comment / question.


Do you realize the cheap rice and food stuffs at Walmart are the lowest quality and do not last like better grades of food. What are you doing to replace these stores when they run out? Is the soup from walmart canned in 'cans' or in boxes, the boxes do not store and the newer cans are often lined with a plastic than can leach toxins over time. Just a few notes to watch for.

Thought I would do a post on this to explain.

The reason I use Wal-Mart's prices
 
I always advocate for making, growing and canning your own. But I realize that not everybody has the time or are able to do that. I also realize  that money is very tight for most people. So some food storage even if from Wal-Mart is better then none.

Most everybody has a Wal-Mart near by.

These prices give you something to compare to especially if you find a sale price some where else. And this is a starting point, you obviously don't have to get your stuff from Wal-Mart.

As far as storing, I have rice from Wal-Mart that has been stored for close to ten years and it is still good. A lot of it depends on how you are storing it, if things are stored correctly they will last a very long time no matter where they are from. And if you rotate  there shouldn't be a problem.

As far as being able to  replace items, two thoughts here.

Food storage can be helpful in a short term crisis like a job loss, illness, unexpected bills ect.

In a long term crisis you will need to be able to live like our forefathers, grow and produce your own food ,be able to preserve it, eat in season , barter and be as self sufficant as possible. Most of which I talk about in this blog. Food storage can hold you over till you can get to point of producing your own food.

I hope this has answered the questions.

Week 30 Food Storage Challenge

 

20 Pounds Rice / School Supplies

20 Pounds of rice, Wal-Mart has rice for 8.92 for 20 LBS. When storing I just put in a bucket and add some bay leaves then put the lid on and store in my shed. We do get hard freezes in the winter so the rice gets froze to kill all the bugs. You might want to put in the freezer for 24 hours before you put in buckets, if you don't get hard freezes or it wont be stored where it will freeze.

School supplies, even if you don't have kids in school now is the time to get extra paper, pens, pencils, tape, glue, ect. while they are all on sale for back to school.

Have you been able to find very many kids clothes? This is something to keep in mind year around then if you come across a good deal at a yard sale or some where you can pick them up for next to nothing.

Get the rest of the information off the computer.

Add some more water and a little more to your money stash.

Have a great week and keep safe it is getting crazy out there.

Week 29 Food Storage Challenge

20 cans of canned milk/ Flashlights and Batteries.

20 cans of milk, Wal-Mart has it for 92 cents a can. When storing canned milk you want to be sure and rotate. It does have a couple year shelf life but not much longer. As with all your canned goods it is best to store in a cool dark place.

Flashlights and Batteries, Flashlights with led lights seem to be brighter and the batteries last longer, although they are a little more expensive, I do think they are worth the extra price. Batteries, I try to have all different sizes on hand. You might even want to invest in a charger and some rechargeable batteries. Batteries will last longer if stored in dry cool places.

Have you been able to get extra kids clothes or even sewing patterns  and fabric to make your own.

Have you been getting the information off your computer? Even if you spend 10 minutes a day on this you can get a lot off.

Add a little more to your money stash and put back more water.

Have a great week.

Week 28 Food Storage Challenge

 

5 Pounds Honey / Oats

5 pounds honey, if you an get local honey all the better, I don't have a price on honey. You can also get honey powder it taste just like honey, but it is made from sugar not honey.

Oats, I get mine at IFA ( our local feed store)  30 dollars for 50 pounds. Wal-Mart price is 13.58 for ten pounds in the food storage area or 2 LBs 10 oz for 1.68.

Have you been able to find extra kids clothes? I was able to find a small bag of girls size 9 mo to 12 mo for a dollar. Got them washed up and put back.

Are you getting information off the computer?

Put back more water and add a little more to your money stash.

Hope you have a great week.

Week 27 Food Storage Challenge

With all the unrest in the country, the riots the hate, and random shootings I think it is a good thing to be prepared at least you wont have to risk getting out in all the craziness. There are a lot more riots planned for this next weekend, If you live in a large city or close to one be very carful and be very aware this weekend. 


50 Pounds Wheat / Flour, Feminine Products

I don't remember the exact price of flour at Wal-Mart, but I know it was right around 9.00 for 25 pounds. So a little under 20 dollars for 50 pounds.

50 pounds of flour or wheat, if you have a grinder you can get wheat, if not get flour. White flour will last longer then wheat flour in storage. If storing in the winter and you live where it freezes a lot you can  just pour in a bucket, add a couple pieces of spearmint gum, and put the lid on. If not, if at all possible put in the freezer for a couple days, if it freezes real good for at least a few days, it will last a very long time (This kills all the larva and other creepy crawlers in the flour, I opened some flour a few months ago from 08 and it was still good). If you don't live where it freezes and can't put in the freezer you will need to put it in some Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers.  If using Mylar bags you still need to put them in buckets, this will keep varmints from trying to chew through.



Feminine Products,   Get enough for all the women of the home and if you have preteen girls get some for them.When you store these you need to have them in something to keep critters out of them. You can also make your own pads, learn how HERE. Even if you just store the stuff to make them then you will not need to worry about running out. If you are going to make your own you need to store some Flannel, thread and snaps or Velcro. You can also buy reusable online just search for Luna Pad, I know it sounds awful to use reusable but they are so much better for you.
Are you getting all the information off of the computer and getting it organized?

Have you been able to find extra kids clothes? Garage sales are the best for this, they are usually pretty inexpensive. Get a wide range of sizes for both boy's and girl's.

Put  little more into your money stash.

Add some more water.

Stay Safe.

Week 26 Food Storage Challenge

8 Bars of soap/ Vinegar

8 Bars of soap, If you make your own stock up on lye (or learn to make your own) and fats ( lard, tallow , or shortening ). If you plan on making your own  learn now if you don't already know how, so you know what you are doing when you have to make it. During a crises is not the time to be trying to learn how to make and do things. If you buy your soap get the kind you like Soap will store for a very long time, it will get harder and dried out but it is still usable .

Vinegar, White for cleaning and canning. Cider vinegar for cooking. You can also make your own. Remember though you have to have at least  5% acidic for canning.

The extra item for this month is Kids clothes. If you have small kids look at second hand stores and yard sales for clothes that are larger sizes than what they are in now. If your kids are grown still get children's clothes when you find a good buy on them, this way you have some put back for grandkids. I look for baby clothes and things now even though neither  of my girls  have kids yet. I know how hard it is for young family's, so I want to be able to help them out when the time comes for that. I also put back kids clothes just to have on hand.

The Action item this month is to get all your information off the computer. If you are like me you find things on the internet then save them on your computer. It is a good idea to get in the habit of printing  or at least putting on a flash drive (if on a flash drive be sure to have a protected computer) all that information just in case your computer crashes or you have no power at least you will have all the information that you need. Get some notebooks and store the information by subject then when you need it I you will be able to find it. eg. all cooking in one note book all medical in another.

Put back some more money in your stash.

Add more water to your water storage.

Have a great week.

June Food Storage Challenge weeks 22,23.24,25

 

 

 

Ok I completely dropped the ball on this for the month of June.

 

I am going to make just one post for the month of June and make it simple stuff to make catching it up a little easier. I do have the items on the side bar a few weeks in advance but I do like to go into a little more detail.

 

 

Week 22

 

1000 Multi Vitamins / Canned Fruit

 

It is a good idea to take vitamins on a daily basis since most of our foods don't have enough nutrients in them like they use to. If you are in a situation where you are having to relay on your food storage that more than likely means you are under a lot more stress and probably are being more physical, so you will need the extra vitamins and minerals that you get from a good multi vitamin. This is one thing that you want to make sure and rotate as you use. Get the vitamins that you use on a daily basis. I like to get mine from Puritans pride they have reasonable prices and several to chose from. 

 

Canned fruit you can either can your own or get from the store. Wal-Mart has canned fruit from 98 cents up to 1.86 depending on what you get.

 

This months action item is to learn where the shut off  valves are for your water, and gas. And where your main breaker is for the electricity. And how to close and turn them off.

 

The extra item for this month is Games, puzzles, and books. If you have no power it will be nice to have some games, puzzles and books to help pass the time. You can pick up a lot of these at yard sales. If the games don't have all the pieces you can usually go online to the company and for a small price get the missing pieces. Puzzles you do have to be a little more careful with when buying used. I very seldom will buy a puzzle from a yard sale or second hand store I try to get these when they have been marked down at the store or on clearance sale. Books you can get a second hand stores, yard sale and used book stores. Get a variety of books not everyone is going to want to read what you think are the best books.

 

Week 23

 

12 boxes of Mac and Cheese / Popcorn

 

Mac and Cheese get the brand that your family will eat. Mine have ate the store brand for so long they don't like the name brand.

Wal-Mart has mac and cheese for 78 cents a box. Another option is if you have a good cheese powder that you like store that and extra macaroni.

 

Popcorn,  this is nice to have just for a snack food. Learn how to cook this on the stove. This is the only way I cook popcorn, I think it taste way better this way.   

 

 

Week 24,

 

20 pounds Pasta / Dried Potatoes

 

20 Pounds of pasta I usually get macaroni and spaghetti noodles since it is pretty easy to make your own noodles. Wal-Mart has these for 1.00.

 

Dried Potatoes, You can dry your own or buy boxes of instant potato's, If you dry your own you can get large bags of potatoes from the farmer or get them when on sale. Another easy way to dehydrate potatoes if you don't have a cheap and easy way to get fresh is to buy frozen and dehydrate them.

 

Week 25

 

10 Pounds of Powder Milk / Garbage bags

 

10 Pounds of powder milk when you get this you do need to repackage. I put mine in quart jars and dry pack. Powder milk if stored correctly will last a very ling time. Wal-Mart has powder milk 64 ounces for 15.98 or 25.60 ounces for 7.98.

 

Garbage bags There are so many other uses for these it is a good idea to have extras on hand.

 

Don't forget to add some to your money stash even if it only a few dollars, it all adds up.

 

Put back more water.

 

Week 21 Food Storage Challenge

 

 

50 Pound Wheat or Flour / Toilet Tissue

 

50 Pounds of wheat or flour.

I don't remember the exact price of flour at Wal-Mart, but I know it was right around 9.00 for 25 pounds. So a little under 20 dollars for 50 pounds.

50 pounds of flour or wheat, if you have a grinder you can get wheat, if not get flour. White flour will last longer then wheat flour in storage. If you live in a place that freezes during the winter get your flour now and you can store it out in a shed or somewhere where it will freeze. Just pour in a bucket, add a couple pieces of spearmint gum, and put the lid on.  If it freezes real good for at least a few days, it will last a very long time ( I opened some flour a few months ago from 08 and it was still good). If you don't live where it freezes you will need to put it in some Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers.  If using Mylar bags you still need to put them in buckets, this will keep varmints from trying to chew through.

 

Toilet Tissue This is one of those things that you can never have to much of haha. But the one bad thing about it is it is hard to store as it takes a lot of room and if stored in an out building the mice may decide it makes for great housing material. An alterative is the family cloth I have a post on it  HERE now this is defiantly not for everybody but is is something to consider having on hand.

 

 

How has the cooking from scratch been coming along?

 

Have you found any alternative lighting ideas? 

Don't forget to add to your water and your money stash.

Have a great week.

 

Week 20 Food Storage Challenge

20 Cans of Soup / 20 Pounds Rice

20 cans of soup, get what your family will eat.  Wal-Mart has soup for 1.00 to 1.68 a can depending on what you get. You can also can your own.

20 Pounds of Rice. Wal-Mart has 20 pounds of rice for 8.92. You can store in Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers or in buckets I put a couple bay leaves in my buckets of rice to help keep out unwanted critters.

How is the cooking from scratch going?

Have you been able to work on the alterative lighting sources ?

Put back some more water and add a little more to your money stash.

Hope you have a great week. 

Week 19 Food Storage Challenge

25 Pounds Sugar / Tomato products

25 pounds sugar or 5 pounds of honey which ever you choose to use. Even if you use honey for everything it would be a good idea to have a little sugar on hand. You can use raw sugar if you don't want the processed. I keep my sugar in 5 gallon buckets. My honey is in quart jars.

Tomato products, paste, sauce, whole, crushed, rotel and what ever else you use. I can most all my tomato stuff with the exception of sauce, I never seem to have enough tomatoes for that. Even if you can all your own tomatoes it is a good idea to have extra on hand just in case your garden doesn't do well one year.

Keep trying to cook all you can from scratch.

Put back more water.

Add some more to your money stash.

Have a great week

Week 18 Food Storage Challenge

 

6 Pounds Shortening / Cheese


6 Pounds shortening, oil or lard I use lard and olive oil to cook with since it is better for you then the hydrogenated shortenings. I do keep a little shortening and vegetable oil on hand. I use the oil in a spray bottle to spray the bottom of pans. The shortening I use in soap. As with everything be sure to rotate. If you plan to make your own soaps you might want to try and get a little extra.
Shortening does have a very long shelf life if keep unopened and in a cool place. I also have lard and tallow canned which extends the self-life. As with everything be sure to rotate.


Cheese we eat a lot of cheese, I try to buy on sale and keep in the freezer I get the shredded, because when you freeze block cheese it will fall apart when you thaw it out. You may want to get some cheese powder I have two different kinds and really don’t care for either one of them so I don’t know if I am just picky or if I just haven’t found a good one, the kids like them so maybe it is just me.

I make most of our soft cheese like, cream cheese, mozzarella, and cottage cheese.
You can also wax some cheese and store in a cool place. The only problem with this is if there is even a pin size hole it will get very moldy, and it does get sharper as it ages. I tried this and didn't care for it. I haven't using a food saver on block cheese plan to try this soon and see if it would work better than the wax.

The Action item this month is learning to cook from scratch if you don't already. It is so much cheaper and healthier.

The extra item this month is alterative lighting. Oil lamps are very affordable and you can use Kerosene which is less than ten dollars a gallon and keeps for a very long time. You will go through batteries in your flashlight pretty quickly so be sure to have lots of candles, oil lamps maybe even some solar powered lights and other light sources.

Put back some more water.

Add more money to your money stash.

 

Week 17 Food Storage Challenge

50 Pounds Wheat or Flour/ Canned Vegetables

Wal-Mart has 26 pound buckets of wheat for 15.28. If you have a flour mill you might check and see if they sale wheat. You can also use seed wheat just make sure it isn't treated. If possible freeze it before you store it. I like to get mine in the fall then store it in buckets in the shed in the winter have never had a problem with it getting bugs. If that isn't possible and you don't buy it already sealed be sure to store in airtight containers with oxygen absorbers.
If you don't have a grinder then get flour, store the same as you would wheat.

Canned vegetables, again get what you family will eat. Wal-Mart has cans for 68 cents a can. If you watch for sales you can find them for 50 cents a can. 


Have you been able to learn anything about canning? If you don't have a pressure canner start with boiling water bath just make sure that what ever you are canning can be water bathed.

Have you looked into any alternative cooking method's?

Put a few more dollars into your money stash.

Add some more water to your water storage.


Have a great week.

Alternative Cooking Ideas

The action item for April is to to try and figure out some alternative ways for cooking. If you have a wood stove you might practice cooking on it. I do this in the winter when we are using our wood stove to heat the house.

I have a propane cook stove so when the power goes out I can still use it to cook on. The new stoves do have a electric starter in the oven so if no power you can't use the oven, you can use the top burners you just have to light them with a match.

Bar B Q grill, The one draw back to this is you need propane to use it. In a short term emergency this would be ok.

Camp stoves also works great for short term use just be sure to have extra fuel stored for it.

Solar oven, rocket stove, or a wonder oven are all other options. You can make your own wonder oven, rocket stove, and solar oven, there's  lots of patterns on the internet.

 
I have a solar oven that I haven't had or taken the time to use so I am hoping to start using that soon so I can share some recipes for it.

Thermal cooker,

I also have a Thermal cooker which I love, I've only used it a few times but look forward to using it a lot more. I got it here at Saratogia jacks This is great because you can fill it in the morning and just take it with you where ever you are going.  It also has two pans so you can cook two different things at the same time. You  have to heat it up real good, then you put it in the cooker and just let it sit and cook. It is the pretty much the same concept as the wonder oven and  hay bale cooking but this is portable.

Then there is the old fashion cooking over a open fire. You do need a place and extra wood to do this. There is a lot of information on Dutch oven cooking on the web also. 

Which ever one you pick and want to use be sure to practice it so if you need to use it you know what you are doing and if possible have more then one way to cook.

If you have any other options please share them.

What is you preferred alternative cooking sources ? 

 

Week 16 Food Storage Challenge

 

 

2 Pound Yeast / Toiletries

 

2 Pounds Yeast,  Wal-Mart has 4 oz. yeast for 4.75 or 2 pound bags for 12.49. You an also start a sour dough starter to use but with that you do have to use it pretty often. There are ways to make your own yeast for bread making, which I hope to do a post on in the near future.

 

Toiletries, Razors, Shave Cream, Razor blades If you can find a double edge razor and blades that would be good because they take up less room and you can sharpen the blades where you can’t sharpen the new disposable blades, The dollar store also has packs of five disposable razors for a dollar, And you can make your own wax to wax with if you don’t have blades ( Although pretty sure the guys are not going to wax lol so you will need blades for them )

Shave cream you can make this but you will have to have a shaving cream brush to use it.

Floss and toothbrushes you can get these at the dollar store.

Nail clippers and files are something else that would be good to have extras of.

 

The Dollar store carries a lot of these items but be sure to check your prices because sometimes Wal-Mart will be a little cheaper.

 

How is the alternate cooking coming along?

 

Add some more to your water, either fill your own containers or buy some gallon jugs of water.

 

Put a little more into your money stash. 

 

 

Week 15 Food Storage Challenge

 

50 Pounds Beans/Gelatin, Pudding

 

50 pounds of beans, get the beans that your family will eat, about the only thing my family eats is pintos so that is about all I store. No point in having something they won't eat. Pinto Beans at Wal-Mart are 72 cents for a 15.8 oz bag or 13.42 for a 20 pound bag. 

Gelatin/ Pudding, Wal-Mart has the small packs of Jello for 50 cents. You can also make your own with unflavored gelatin and fruit juice or Kool-Aid, You can get unflavored gelatin in bulk at Bulk foods .com.

Pudding, Wal-Mart has the small packs for 68 cents or once again you can make your own.

Keep working on your alternate cooking sources.

Add some more to your water and money stash.

Have a great week.

Week 14 food Storage Challenge

10 pounds Pasta / Baking Soda, Baking Powder

10 Pounds of pasta, Wal-Mart has most of their Pasta for $1.00 dollar a pound. You can also make your own noodles,  super easy to make, I do store some macaroni and spaghetti noodles just because they are a lot harder to make. I leave mine in the original package and put in to buckets, that I put in my outside shed so they can freeze during the winter.

Baking Soda, Baking powder / as I have said before I get my baking soda at the local feed store ( IFA) It is 13.00 dollars for 50 pounds, at Wal-Mart it is 1.98 for 64 ounces. It is easier to store cream of tarter to make your own baking powder, this way you don't have to worry about the baking powder going flat and it doesn't have the extra additives added to it.

1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tarter
Use right away. If you are not going to use right away add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch.

The  extra item this month is to work on alternate cooking sources eg. solar oven, thermal cooker, wonder oven, rocket stove, or even a bbq grill. 

The action item this month is to learn to can, if you don't know anyone to teach you, there is a ton of info on the internet and u-tube has a lot also. Start with water bath then move up to pressure canning. You can pick up a nice pressure canner for under 150 dollars and you can also use it to waterbath can.

Add a little more to your money stash.

Put back some more water.

Have a great week.

Week 13 Food Storage Challenge

 

 

5 Pounds Peanut Butter / Condiments

 

Peanut butter, Wal-Mart has 40 oz. for 4.37.  If you or someone in your family is allergic to peanuts get cashew, almond, or another nut butter, just make sure they can eat it. I am allergic to peanuts but I can eat the cashew butter but not the almond ,so make sure that they can eat what you get for them. 

 

Condiments, Get what you use, and keep in mind that you can make a lot of them yourself. 57 Steak sauce, mustard, Ranch dressing mix, BBQ Sauce to name a few.

 

 

How are the packs coming along?

 



Were you able to find a CPR, 1st aid class?

Continue putting water back.

Add a little more to your money stash.

Have a great week.

Week 12 Food Storage Challenge

 

 

1000 Multi Vitamins / Dry soups and crackers.

 

1000 Multi Vitamins, Wal-Mart has a 200 count for 7.74 I buy mine at Puritans Pride they almost always have a sale going on.

These will be important since during high stress situations you more then likely will not be eating correctly and you will need your vitamins more then ever.

 

Dry Soups and crackers, dry soups are handy since they are easy to store and you just need to add water and warm.

 

Crackers need to be repacked into jars and vacuum sealed if they are stored for very long in the original package they will taste like plastic and are just plain nasty. You can also make your own they are pretty easy to make.

 

Are you working on your packs?

 

How are the CPR and 1st aid coming along?

 

Add some more to your water storage.

 

Put a little more into your money stash.

 

Have a great week. 

Week 11 Food Storage Challenge

10 pounds Powder Milk / Spices and Herbs

10 pounds of powder milk Wal-Mart has powdered milk for 15.98 for 64 ounces or 7.98 for 25.60 ounces. To extend the shelf life to up to 20 years you will need to repackage the milk into airtight containers and keep stored in a dry cool place. I have read that if you add a little vanilla and a little sugar it makes it taste a little better if trying to drink it ( I don't drink milk, so not sure if this really works).

Spices and Herbs / When planning your garden try to grow some of your own. If you buy in bulk you will want to repackage into airtight containers and store in a cool dry place.

Are you learning any 1st aid and CPR yet?

How are your packs coming along?

Keep adding to your money stash and put some water back.

Have a great week.