When you look at a good prep setup it is very intimidating, prepper's have many thousands of dollars invested in their gear and supplies. While looking at the completed prep you are seeing the end product of many years of work and planning not just one large purchase. Some may have the finances to be able to do it all at once but for most of us this will never be a reality. Starting out all you are able to see is how much others have set aside and you may end up feeling like giving up before you start.
When ever I have been asked where to start I tell people start with water. Water is the single most important item for your survival, you can not last more than a few days without it. To start I would buy 4 cases of bottled water and place them in a closet or basement. Next I would buy large 3 or 5 gallon jugs of distilled water for storage. Pure water that is stored out of sunlight is good for at least 2 years but it is really the make up of the storage containers that determine the actual life span. Distilled water stored in sterilized airtight containers in a dark cool location will last forever. Water in good quality plastic containers stored in a cool dark place will be good for about 2 years. You can store tap water but I would not personally recommend it unless you have reverse osmosis water. Any water you package yourself for storage should be treated with standard chlorine bleach before being sealed. I use a pool testing kit and mix my water to the second weakest concentration. Iodine tablets are another very good item to have on have for emergency water purification.
I personally do not enjoy freeze dried foods (MRE's, C-rations) so I do not include much of them in my supplies. I recommend looking your home over and seeing what space you have to work with. Good storage area's are protected from direct sunlight, are dry and maintain a constant cool temperature. I use shelving units in my basement to store non-perishable food items and paper stuffs. Self rotating can racks are a great investment or weekend project if you are handy. Many good sets of plans are available for free on the net. Traps and bait stations for rodents and insects are a absolute must to protect your investment. A good house cat is also great for rodent control but if you have a cat you will not want to have poison out for the rodents.
The type of foods that we store really are just the same items we eat on a daily basis minus the produce. Canned foods are great items for storage along with flour, rice, beans, powdered milk, coffee, tea, juice crystals, dry soup mix, pasta's and other grains. Before you start storing look in your cupboards and see what you have already and what you are using regularly. Always remember that for long term storage the best policy it to replenish your cupboards from your storage and put your new purchases into storage. Doing this will keep your stores from spoiling. You must remember you need far more than just foods and water for survival salt, sugar, vinegar, hygiene items, medical supplies, tools, weapons/ammo, canning jars are all very important items for your preps. One item that I have included and recommend to everyone is a very good collection of heirloom vegetable seeds sealed in a air tight container regardless if you are a gardener or not. Regardless of what you are storing moisture is your biggest enemy.
Once you have a good idea of the items that you want to store and the area setup for the storage you are ready for the actual shopping. You are going to want to buy in large quantity's to keep the price per unit as low as possible. To do this you may need to change where and how you shop. The best places are price clubs, costco's and restaurant supply stores. Usually these type of places have deals for buying by the case. Next is to train yourself to only buy on sales and to cut coupons. This may seen tricky starting out, but once you are on the roll and are able to start using and replenishing your stores the monthly food budget will go down dramatically. To me this comes down to short term pain for long term gain.
No comments:
Post a Comment