Hmm, thanks for the food for thought.
We are not as far along on our preparedness, but I have a few ideas that we are using.
Canned good that have a 3 year use/sell date are usually good for 5-10 years stored in a stable environment. If you buy those that are items you are willing to eat anytime, you can constantly rotate your stock with little effort, which adds a lot of life to your supplies.
- canned meats
corned beef
corned beef hash
roast beef hash
sardines
salmon
crab meat
- rice noodles (go to a local Asian store. rice noodles are very cheap, keep for a very long time and are easy to cook)
- canned white potatoes
- foil pouches of rice dishes
- plenty of canned evaporated milk in addition to the powdered stuff
- 10 jugs of laundry detergent
- PRESCRIPTION MEDICINES! I take meds for a heart arrhythmia. It comes with a 2 year use date, so I have purchased a 2 year supply and now buy on a normal basis, rotating it. Even without a disaster, hyperinflation could force you to choose between food and drugs.
- plenty of plain old band-aids. If not opened they last forever.
- did you mean 36 rolls of TP or 36 packages? We have 8 packages of 24 rolls. Again, I plan on using them no matter what.....
- LOTS of toothpaste, dental floss and toothbrushes. You can put several year’s supply away for little money. You’d really miss them.
After much thought, I’ve decided to store water in 1/2 or 1 gallon glass jugs. Research has told me that if you have treated municipal water, you can store it in clean containers for 6 months. So, put 24 gallons up and simply empty and refill every 6 months. Keep some stuff for purifying also.
When I lived in Florida I endured numerous hurricanes and power outages. I own a good gas grill and 3 propane tanks. That much gas will go for a long time.
IMO a generator for the fridge is a waste. Spend $1500 to save $250 worth of food. OK for hurricanes but not for survival type situations. Being without electricity sucks in Florida but they just use too much fuel for long term usage.
We use the canned goods option since we’ll eat the stuff anyway. Planning to buy some freeze dried foods though.
The grill and extra tanks are good. I used that during the hurricanes so we could eat something hot. Planning to get a bigger tank and keep it full.
How do you purchase a two year supply of prescription meds. My health plan will not fill my prescription if the last refill has ten pills in it. They say, too soon.