Food Storage and SHTF Questions

[BarredBuff]

I have an answer about the yeast. I buy it in the bulk package at Sam's or Costco. I keep that in the freezer to refill a small jar that is kept in the refrigerator. I bought quite a few before Y2K and I am using the last of that now. So the one I am working with is well over 10 years old and still is good. It was vacuumed packed and stored in the freezer the whole time except for a week or two while we moved across country. I guess that doesn't give you a total shelf life of yeast when stored this way, but it may help.

It definitely has help me. Thanks for the info. And BTW,

Thats helped me as well, thanks for posting this!!

 

[Pirtykitty]

I also keep my yeast in freezer and then transfer to jar in fridge... I have a couple cans each of the dried cheese, egg powder, sour cream, shortening powder, butter milk powder... just purchased two books on making mixes one is mix a meal, and the other is mixes.. also found one called Dinner in a Jar...
Now I need to look through them for ways to put the #10 cans to good use and keep them rotated.
Oh don't forget baking powder I have been using on a huge can all year.. I keep it in fridge. and refill a smaller can which is also in fridge.. bought it form Walton Feed in 2009.. Real shortening is kept in freezer until I need it then put in fridge in summer and counter during the winter..
I have a couple of chickens and 3 ducks so have fresh eggs for eating, baking and sharing..

a garden is a good thing to have also... Home grown vegetables beat strore bought hands down.. We are working of putting in a couple dwarf fruit trees too...

 

[Chefmom]

As for the medical supply question..... I have yards and yards of unbleached muslin. It can be picked up cheaply at a fabric store and is good for slings, bandages, draining fruit for wine/jelly etc. That way us women don't have to give up our petticoats to the wounded soldiers.

I would have on hand a large supply of witch hazel, rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide. Also bleach and vinegar. And vodka. not necessarily for drinking, but for making homemade medicine from herbs. Many herbs have more soluble compounds in alcohol, so it's good to have on hand, and maybe a little info on home distilling. If there isn't a government we will have to make our own anyway.

Herbs to grow, well, many of them may be in your yard right now. Yarrow, burdock, comfrey, calendula, plantain, garlic, dandelion, chicory, nettles, oregano, rosemary, lavender, to name a few. I keep a witch hazel infused with yarrow, plantain and calendula year round in the bathroom for general wound care. I infuse vodka with elderberry flowers every year and put a teaspoon in my tea in the winter to help boost all around immunity.

A small wound becomes a full blown infection easily with a lowered immunity, poor nutrition and poor sanitation.

Tami

 

[i_am2bz]

As for the medical supply question..... I have yards and yards of unbleached muslin. It can be picked up cheaply at a fabric store and is good for slings, bandages, draining fruit for wine/jelly etc. That way us women don't have to give up our petticoats to the wounded soldiers.

 

[freemotion]

A small wound becomes a full blown infection easily with a lowered immunity, poor nutrition and poor sanitation.

Tami

Yup. And many people focus on storing things that lead to poor nutrition, which puzzles me.

Another way to preserve herbs medicinally.....you can make wine with them. This won't be as strong as a tincture made with vodka or 95% alcohol, but is an easy way of getting the job done. Glass gallon jugs and airlocks are all you need.