Posted on 09/29/2012 9:57:00 AM PDT by JoeProBono
No matter how much I beg, some of you, no doubt haven’t done anything to prepare (you know who you are). I don’t know what else to do. All I can do is give you the information, it’s up to you to act. No one can do it for you.
No doubt some of you are intimidated by my repeated suggestions of storing and using whole grains. If it doesn’t come from the supermarket shelf it’s strange and unfamiliar and you want no part of it. Fair enough.
But you still need to prepare. Here are ten things that you can do right now that will make you better prepared than probably 90% of the population.
And everything is available at your local shopping center – so it’s easy. You can do all ten steps at once or divide each into a separate week and shopping trip. But you need to get it done as soon as possible.
Keep in mind that this is only a starting point and isn’t presented here as a completed list.
1. Head to the nearest Wal-mart, Kmart, Costco or whatever and pick-up 20 lbs of white or brown rice and 20 lbs of pinto beans. White rice has a better storage life while brown rice has more nutritional benefits – your choice.
2. While you’re there grab 5 lbs mixed beans, 5 lbs of white sugar, 5 lbs of iodized salt, one gallon of olive oil (can be frozen to extend shelf-life), 5 lbs oats, 10 lbs each of white or wheat flour and cornmeal.
3. Now head over to the canned foods and pick-up 20 cans of canned fruits and 20 cans of canned vegetables. Be sure to buy only those brands and contents you normally eat and nothing exotic. No need to shock the senses.
4. Now over to the canned meats. Pick-up 20 cans of various meats, salmon, stews, spam and tuna. Again buy only those brands with contents you normally eat and nothing exotic.
5. Okay. Now to the to the peanut butter shelf and toss two 40-ounce jars in the cart. The listed shelf life is just over two years and each jar has over 6,000 calories. Peanut butter is an excellent instant survival food.
6. Over to the powdered drink mix – go on I’ll wait…Okay, pick up two 72 Ounce Tang Orange drink canisters (provides 100% of the US RDA vitamin C requirement per 8 oz. glass). Also grab six 19-Ounce Containers of Kool-Aid Drink Mix.
7. Off to the vitamin and supplement aisle, pick up 400 tablets “one a day” multivitamin and mineral supplements. I buy this brand at the local Wal-Mart - comes in 200 count bottle for $8 each.
8. Now to the department we all love – sporting goods. Go to the camping aisle and pick up 4 five gallon water containers. Fill with tap water as soon as you get back home.
9. While you’re there buy 250 rounds of ammunition for your primary defensive weapon. More if you can, but this should be a good start. Also a good universal cleaning kit.
10. And lastly pick up the best LED flashlight you can afford, extra batteries and bulb. Also grab two boxes of wooden matches and several multi-purpose lighters.
Don’t forget to date, use and rotate – remember first in first out. Let’s get started.
What would you add to the list?
I recently purchased this flashlight and it rocks. http://www.ebay.com/itm/150730542085?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649 Very bright white light. Rechargeable battery and battery charger must be purchased separately. Charger is like $2. I don’t remember the cost of the batteries, but there are two to a package and I got them on Amazon. This is nice because you can always have a backup charged and ready to go. Another nice thing is it is 1” in diameter and can be attached to a shotgun with the proper hardware. Has bright, med, low, strobe and SOS ‘patterns’. Did I mention it has a very bright, white light? Hope this helps.
Prepper Ping
Great Pic!
Very well organized. I would suggest pulling the shelves out, away from the wall. You can re-stock it from one side and pull items from the other side to automatically rotate them. Plus, it keeps rodents from having a place to hide.
Thanks for the tip. Here’s what it looked like, fully-loaded, before I moved, this spring:
http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s607/Family_Farm/DCP_1285_zps16014aa0.jpg
Never had a mouse/rodent in the place; had 3 cats and never a sign of critters. The new basement’s configuration is in aisles with 2-sided access.
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