So my wife says it makes sense to store bargain-bought foods in the storage cage

[Marthony]

I'm not sure she knows what she just said!

(some yes-no question just popped up at the same time I double-returned to get to this line, and was cleared by same, what?)

We're headed to a Costco first thing Saturday morning before a family gathering. I was already planning to stock up/restock on cereals, soaps, boxes of granola bars. The question is, what would you suggest I stock up on? (no freezer space available)

I already have 24-packs of AAA & AA batteries plus 12 D's, camping/hiking gear, backpacks, first aid kits, tarps, tools, etc.

I know this is a vague question, but between amusement of it and the dangerous temptation of going to a bulk discount store, I just have to ask. =)

FYI, everything except our sets of winter tires are up off the ground on a level of milk crates, and then stored in milk crates by category, but I do not yet have large tupperware for storage.

(in unrelated news, I'm feeling pretty lucky to be in a company that is giving me a 2-day first aid course during work time next week. I've had the 1-day course before; this will be a higher level including standard first aid CPR level A, C, or HCP and AED)

Happy Friday to you!

[The Stig]

Sounds good. Always nice when the spouse cooperates in prepping activities.

[Sniper-T]

Stock what you eat/use. rice, beans, soups, soaps, detergents, water...

[msomnipotent]

Do you have kids? A few shelf-stable treats would be a good idea in an emergency. I have had a box of rice crispy treats from Costco sitting in the basement for almost a year and they are as good as new. Their rice, flour, and cans of tuna are pretty cheap relative to the grocery stores around here. Costco also has Eneloop rechargeable batteries at a good price. Not sure if it is nationwide or not. I know they are not food, but they really come in handy, especially when you have a solar charger.

I can't find my Costco coupon book or I would give you more. I am pretty sure the coupons are for all the stores. Sometimes the regular prices at Costco are equal to or more than what I would pay at a grocery store, but the coupons are usually hard to beat.

Yay for first aid training! I keep trying to sign up for it at the Y, but our schedules always get in the way.

[Marthony]

Rice & flour, check! Also will look for well-sealing large tupperware for these items. I'm not in the solar market yet, so I'll stick with the inexpensive packs of batteries for backup. I do have a daughter but she lives 5 hours away with her mother. Will check on morale muchies though, but they haven't stocked my wife's favorite thus far.

I'm not sure my wife thinks it's for prepping so much as cost-effective long-term buying, but she is well aware of my main reading material. =)

Will look for coupons...

[bacpacker]

Some things we ger at Sams. Beans, tp, over the counter meds, butt wipes, large rolls of aluminum foil, bottled water, noodles, drink mix, spices, peanut butter. This is some stuff that comes to mind. We buy very little there that is either fresh or frozen.

[ladyhk13]

Lots of salt and sugar. I buy my sugar in 50 lb bags and then sucky them in smaller (5-7 cup) amounts. Do you have a sucky machine? We sucky rice, sugar, flour (although you need to put it in a ziplock bag in insert in open side towards the closed side of your sucky bag and then sucky or it will suck the flour into your machine), egg noodles (you can use manual setting so you don't crush them), if you have animals get extra food for them (if dry food, once again... SUCKY).
Do you guys can? I have learned how to can since coming here and thanks to JustA have become a canning fool of meats! You can get chicken, stew beef and pork loin (the big uncut one since it's cheaper) and can it. It's soooooooo easy and addictive!!! I have even ventured into making some chili.
TP, paper towels and even napkins which are cheaper than both of the other 2 and can be used in place of them if needed are good items. OTC pain meds, vitamins especially iron for women, soups and my all time favorite Beef-A-Roni!!!!!
Ok, that's enough for now...but really, if you can sucky as much as possible it will save you storage space and extend the life on many of your staples. Hope this helps. Also, if you can get your wheat whole instead of ground it will last 30 years if stored properly (#10 cans).

[Marthony]

Alas, no vacuum sealer machine. How expensive are these, & their supplies?

I understand flour is only good for 1 year? Thought is to place bags of flour, rice, into sealable tubberware bins. (emptying into plastic bins bad in long term?) How long will white rice keep (when dry)? What is the need to vacuum seal sugar, to protect from insects?

Just had flashback to 1L containers of 'sterilized' milk - family used them when camping in the 80's. Not great, but while sealed, no refigeration needed.

[ladyhk13]

It depends on the sealer you buy. We started out with a regular Seal A Meal and it worked fine for a couple of years but a little clip broke off on a small piece and they didn't make a replacement piece and wanted us to buy a whole new machine. That was crap since it was a piece that you take in and out all the time to clean so we thought it was a racket and waved goodbye and went and bought a commercial one made in America that was about $400. There is no reason for you to start out with a really expensive one though, you get what you can afford and the bags are all the same.
In order to get rid of the bugs in flour you can put it in the freezer for a couple of weeks or in the oven (but I don't have the info on temp and time) and then put it in your tupperware.
The reason for doing the sucky thing is to remove all O2. Without O2 the bugs can't live and also keeps moisture out. I'm not sure how long flour will last but if packaged in #10 cans I know it will last 10 years so I am assuming that if in a sucky bag it should last at least half that? I am going to experiment with it and unless anyone else knows the exact timeframe (please let us know) I'm going to kind of go with that.
When sugar is done it could be used as a deadly weapon! Stored in #10 cans it will last 30 years so I am planning on at least half that in the bags. We have our bagged stuff in big food grade tubs so it protects it even more. I've never had a problem with insects in any bag.
Milk....that is like my worse thing. I really don't have any saved. Very little. I am one of those people who like my milk fresh and ice cold, I don't share it...don't drink out of my glass, don't touch my cereal..not even my kids when they were babies and young kids. I'm going to have to have my own cow since I don't think I'm going to be able to do any kind of weird milk lol!

[realist]

Sucky machine.............I love it Lady. This is one thing that I would not live without being a prepper. I highly recommend that you do just that and purchase one of these units, Costco has them. If you are unsure go on line to Cabelas and check their reviews. The bags are expensive but very worthwhile and a must since you can’t use other brands as far as I know. If someone knows a cheaper source I would like to hear about it. For those of you that do not like them I look at them being redundant. By packing my things in smaller amounts they are protected in their containers. They are easier to move, water tight, bug tight, and I can see what I have. It is much more manageable in the smaller packages for everyday use, rather than a fifty pound bag of rice I have five pound bags. I always wonder about the Mylar bags leaking, I know if the vacuum sealed bags didn't take similar to the tops on canning jars, unlike them I just reseal them. BTW I also put in oxygen absorbers.

Sorry to go off on a tangent. I would start with whatever you eat regularly first, then I would branch out to other things. Costco has a limited amount of spices that we like so I buy extras every time I go. The one thing that I have started doing is really checking on the expiration date on thing. There is no use buying a case of something that expires in a month or two if I cannot use it in that time period. One other important thing, I do all the shopping in our house my wife hates to, is to keep current on prices there are a lot of things that I get elsewhere because they are cheaper than Costco. I generally shop twice a month for what we need and plan out accordingly.

[Echo2]

Shop prices against your local grocery store.....never assume the warehouse store will always have the better price.

go by you local grocery store and look at all the things you are planning on "stocking up"....and write down the unit cost....price per weight/volume....and compare while you're at Costco.

right now....focus on getting the stuff you need to make "stuff" with...salt, sugar, spices, flour.....some staples....pastas, instant mashed taters, rice.....powdered eggs....crisco......powdered butter...etc.

but check prices before you buy hundreds of dollars of whatever....cause it can save you more....or buy more elsewhere anyway.

Congrats on having the spouse on board.....that is rarer than you think.

[ladyhk13]

One other thing I would mention...oil does go bad. So you may be better off buying smaller containers (unless you use large amounts on a regular basis) since it is easier to use up than a gallon jug of something so expensive as olive oil. Even a regular oil that you would deep fry in goes bad over time once opened so if you aren't using it often maybe 1/2 gallon ones might be better. I believe lard lasts for a really long time so that could be saved in place of whatever oil you are planning to cook with.

I don't put O2 absorbers in any of my sucky things, it seems redundant to me but I know that some people do. I think it's a personal choice but ya can't go wrong with it.

Also, is your wife a member of the site? Would love to have her here with the rest of our Ladies!

[Marthony]

Thanks Echo2...though this means I'll be in the grocery store tonight smelling from my part-time dishwashing shift. =) Wow that line cleared out of my way! Yes, one must be aware that stores distract with loss-leader products and that the savings aren't equal on all products, and in some cases can be more expensive.

No, my wife isn't here yet. All in good time...I'm quite content that she's approved of BOB's (though I still haven't gotten to that project) and storing bulk foods. As Echo2 mentioned, having the spouse on board is a piece of luck. I'm not going to push the subject. As real-world examples of emergencies occur, relevant preparations/planning are explained on my behalf. Perhaps if one happens closer to home (though I hope not!) she'll have a more direct interest and join.

[ak474u]

Protein - canned chicken, beef, tuna, salmon, whatever you might already eat fresh, but in a can, add beef stews or chicken soups as well. As a person who constantly fights dehydration due to my working conditions (up to 168* for short stretches) I've come home and binged on salty stuff, and high protein foods many times because my brain said to.. The reason I mention this, is that during SHTF, there isn't a lot of time, especially if you have to fully sustain yourself to go out and climb a tree and wait for a rabbit to walk by for your lifesaving protein supply, also, security issues could prevent food gathering altogether. Pastas, and canned veggies, sauces, etc. are still important, but it's way easier to open a can and have a semi balanced meal that tastes good than it is to try and figure out how to be a post apocalyptic chef in a pinch. We stock lots of dry goods, like spaghetti, noodles, flour, powdered milk, spices, flour, sugar, salt, yeast, spices of all types, etc. We stock, and use spaghetti sauce, pickles, cheese sauce, sun dried tomatoes, peppers, taco seasonings, soup mixes etc. in glass jars because we don't have a garden or the ability to can things currently, I've personally found that its about 50/50 whether a generic/store brand item has a longer expiration that the name brand that costs a few cents more, you'll want to check them out while you shop, or if you get a chance, do some recon while making your list to determine what the best route is on stocking up store bought items for maximum shelf life.

[ladyhk13]

The bags are expensive but very worthwhile and a must since you can’t use other brands as far as I know.


I use the Seal A Meal bags but my unit is not Seal A Meal. I like their bags better than the ones for my unit.