Totally UNPREPARED

[Dace]

I am guessing that if your hubby ate all your stuff in a brief period of tie perhaps you bought the wrong kind of stuff :/

Don't buy things that are easily grabbed and consumed. Invest in 'ingredients' as Wifey suggested. Start with pasta, beans, rice, lentils and add in some canned goods, broth, tomato, products, tuna, chicken etc.

If the items that you buy are ingredients rather than ready to eat items they will last longer and be less expensive.

I have a hubby who does not get excited about my harebrained ideas either. He does not think like I do (eternally positive outlook!) and does not think TSWHTF like I do. Money has been tight this year so I am not able to buy as I would like so I am focusing on learning skills that can help my family if TSHTF or if there is some natural disaster It makes me feel like I am forging ahead but does not cost much out of pocket.

So, our new friend.....you have gotten a lot of input. Did we help you? Are you working on a plan yet?

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

I am thinking a LOT about where to store stuff. You're right, the stuff I had was easily consumed, but When I thought about for instance a Month, without power etc., the idea of having some ready-made food sounded appealing. Crackers, some chips and salsa, cans of tuna etc., and a gallon of juicy juice sounded like they would help keep up cheered up during the time... but apparently, the Dh eats that stuff, and can't be expected to ignore it when he's feeling snackish... there were some good juices on sale at the store yesterday though, and I picked up 3 bottles, one for the fridge, and 2 for the changing table, lots of good veggies and vitamins inside... I'm going to try to get some cash (somehow...) and go down to BJ's in New Hampshire (isn't one in vermont), and get at least 1 box of powdered milk...

 

[Dace]

There you go...just take baby steps!

Yes some familiar comfort foods would be nice if there was an emergency, but first start with necessities....then once you are feeling like you could manage a month or so (whatever makes you comfortable) then add in a few comfort/treat items.....and keep them hidden!

 

[FarmerChick]

Just cans of soup are a lifesaver and warm to eat and super easy to heat.
I have cans of soup in the pantry. Lots of them. I do cook with some but in emergencies I have soup! Yummy soup when I have nothing else!

I make homemade soups mostly....and have frozen soups......but I keep those cans in rotation for "whatever"

 

[Mackay]

In a few days we will be leaving this big city house and heading for the hills where we have a camper on the back of a pickup truck and a garage with a 500 sq ft studio apt upstairs. Here we will be for the next 2 years as we build a house.

I've stocked lots of food and alternative medicines that I don't want to get frozen and I'm trying to figure out how to put a portion of it in the studio without climbing over it. We are renting a storage bldg for the rest of everything where things will likely freeze so Im sorting out the types of food that I think can handle a freeze like buckets of beans and rice, pasta, dried milk. Even some canned goods can handle a freeze, I experimented and canned tomatoes can make it without the can getting warped.

This is the plan:
The queen size bed will be elevated about 4 inches on blocks. That almost doubles the space under there.

The sofa that will go against the wall will have 10 to 12 inches behind it of storage against the wall. I will cover the boxes with a table cloth and put a lamp on it, magazines, etc.

In the garage I am going to section off at small space, maybe 3 x6 x6 and store baskets of bottled canned foods that I don't want frozen. Will section it off with plywood and keep a small electric heater going in there though the winter.

In the pump room there is space to put in 5 inch wide shelves spaced up to 10 feet high. they will only be 14 inches long but will hold canned goods in glass jars. The pump room has to be kept warm all winter anyway and I'm gonna weedle every inch out of it that I can for storage, even placing jars around the pump itself and the water heater that is in there too.

 

[enjoy the ride]

One of my favorite places to put things when I didn't have the space was behind the books on bookshelves- bookshelves are frequently deep enough that you can put lots of things in the back and still have room for books in the front.
Wardrobes are good things to obtain if you're short on closet space too. I have no entryway and use one for a cloak closet there.

 

[River Runner]

You are ahead of a lot of people...you have a pond (water, stock it with fish), you have a wood stove (have at least one year ahead of wood, safer for burning when it is nice and dry)....is it a cook stove or a heater? Chickens, for eggs and meat... This is quite a start.

Look at the unused spaces for storage...under the couch, under the bed, places like that. I had a full pantry under the stairs in the old place, worked great. The way we started was to buy a little extra each grocery day. This way we have a stock of what we eat everyday, just keep rotating it and use the old stuff first. We are now up to almost a year ahead, in most things.

For storage in case of an emergency, do not put up snacks, buy real food that has to be prepared. If we put up snacks, I will be into them my self...love my junk food...lol...Buy in bulk, don't buy that 5 pound bag of potatoes, get the 50 pound one, things like that will help you stock up a bit.

Your house is newly built...does it have a basement? or a crawl space that you can get into. This may be a possible storage area for can goods, if it does not freeze there. I know I am late to the conservation but I hope this helps out a bit.