One tip I rarely see mentioned is to have a “SHTF Binder”. It should include a spreadsheet of exactly what you have stored, expiration dates, quantities, etc. Have one sheet alphabetical and another sheet listed by expiration date descending. This helps you quickly locate a particular item and will help you rotate efficiently.
In the binder, you should also have some basic info printed out (water purificiation methods/dosages, how to make charcoal, how to make soap, gold/silver amounts in U.S. coins, etc.)
The most important info to have is a collection of RECIPES that use WHAT YOU HAVE STORED. So you’ve got 500 pounds of oats...what are you going to do with them? Make oatmeal? Whole oat groats for breakfast? Oat flour? It’s really not pleasant to have all this grain stored and realize you can’t make bread because you don’t have any yeast (or baking soda, or baking powder). And yes, there’s a recipe for that. Have some recipes printed out and you’ll be far ahead of the curve.
For water have several methods to purify - “pool shock”, laundry bleach, Berkey, Katadyn, boiling, etc. As with all prepping we do the “Two is one, one is none” so we have backups for our backups. Water is especially important to get right.
Just my $0.02...
Printed out is a key point. Storing it on a computer isn’t going to help when there’s no power or it crashes. Having a couple of older 1800s cookbooks, and understanding them, is important when you’re living without modern conveniences.
I have recipes but I also have the best recipe book to use with stored food. “Eating Off the Grid” by Denise Hansen, MS,RD (registered dietitian), is the only recipe book one would need. If the grid is down, you have no refrigeration. Her book uses nothing that stores in a refrigerator - 270 recipes using nothing out of a fridge. She uses milk powder, powdered eggs, oils for butter, it's all there.
She also have a wealth of info. in there about cooling foods, making ovens, etc.. There is a simple recipe making cheese that anyone could do - there is a fast way to cook dry beans to save on fuel. I didn't believe that would work so I did it and it was true, I fast cooked dry beans to soft using little fuel compared to the way people cook dry beans for hours. Once I misplaced my book, couldn't find it, so I ordered another one and later found the one I misplaced. I will not be without this book.
The only place I know it can be bought now ($15.95) is this link to Rainy Day Foods.
http://www.rainydayfoods.com/shop/index.php/eating-off-the-grid-cookbook.html
You said: “As with all prepping we do the “Two is one, one is none” so we have backups for our backups.”
When I started prepping years ago, I made my own system using “Three is better than two.” I have three ways to do everything. For lighting I have a solar panel and rechargeable batteries for my lanterns and flashlights that can be used three ways, another way is solar lanterns, another way is enough jar candles to last a year. I figured up how many hours I would need light for a year, then used how many hours a jar candle would last, then got enough to last a year.
For cooking, I have enough canned heat using Sterno stoves to last a year, an outdoor fireplace designed to cook food using wood or fake logs or charcoal, have a professionally made Rocket Stove that burns using twigs to cook food. Have a Japanese charcoal burner that uses only 6 charcoal briquettes to cook food. I could also use jar candles set in the Sterno stoves to warm food. I have a propane grill with two large propane bottles but eventually that propane will run out. The Rocket Stove is the backbone, the fail-safe method for cooking as twigs for fuel would never run out since there are bushes and trees all around me.