preparing for disaster... need reputable store.

Hello all; I have a young family and now that I need to worry about more than just myself I'd like to start preparing for a possible disaster or emergency.

I'm not ready to go hard core and start storing materials to pack my own ammunition just yet; I just want to start at the beginning.

So that's food and water storage. I don't have much closest space above ground in my house so I will have to store in the basement. The basement is clean and does not get wet. It can get humid, as the area where I live is naturaly humid in summer. But even in summer the basement is the best place to be if the ACs aren't on.

I figure the basement will be an ok place to store so long as I store everything in proper containers.

So that brings me to my question; where can I get propper food and water containers that I can be sure I am buying good quality and that I'm buying the right things?

I image some people on this sight are experts at this and so I'm asking for any advice your willing to give.

Thanks

Dan

a reply to: DanDanDat

Totally check out the membership warehouse sores like Sams Club, Costco, and BJ's for starters. They have everything under the sun, and usually high quality with a good price.

I keep 500 pounds of rice stored "somewhere" (I aint saying) which I rotate as I use up one at a time. I basically got 11 50lb sacks of long grain rice at Sams for $17 each. I keep one in the pantry and the others in storage. That one 50 pound sack has lasted for a good six months at a time. So when one bag gets low, I pick up another at sams, and then bring it to the storage and pull one that was already there, then date each one as well.

Rice keeps for a looong time man. Also got probably about 400 cans of beans mostly. I want to build it to 500, and then I will start rotations with that as well. JUST IN CASE MAN, you don't know!

I also saw rain barrels there the other day too. One way of saving the water that falls naturally from the sky. If you can get your hands on those huge storage containers that you see sometimes people have that do mobile detailing, paint, or pressure washing thats the best. They usually have valves that can connect to a hose for easier distribution. I was given one on a scrap run earlier this year, but it was previously used for paint so its no good for agriculture or drinking water. I got most of the paint off though, and it at for a couple of years. I figure worst case, I can fill it with water to wash clothes or bathe in perhaps?? assuming the worst of course.

But yea start at those club warehouse stores, they are an amazing resource.

a reply to: DanDanDat

Mylar up Rice, pasta, and Dried beans for your calorie fillers. (50 pound bags of rice at warehouse for $20 or less each)

Canned goods (beef stew, soup, etc.) to eat with the rice / beans.

Sawyer water filters. Buy a multi-pack. (Amazon.com)

Vitamins - get those 300-400 count huge bottles on a buy one get one free sale

Salt, buy a few large bags of 20-25 pounds for like $6 at GFS, Costco, or Sams

Dollar Tree is your friend, you never know what you will find on the canned shelves. Same with Big Lots.

Don't waste your money on the expensive freeze dried stuff unless you are very lazy or unable to package dried goods yourself. You can have 5 times the food or more simply by buying cans and using mylar with oxy absorbs.

I just saw these online the other day, they seem like a good option for water. They are easy to manage sizes, bpa free, and can be stacked and added to. I don't think I'm allowed to post the link to the store but they can be found on the Food Insurance site.

a reply to: DanDanDat
I have a basement in which I store my food provisions. The first thing I would suggest is that you get sturdy shelving of some kind that will allow you to easily access your stores and be able to rotate them. For me this is two very large, very old cabinets that came from an abandoned service station. Make sure your shelves are strong enough to hold the stores. That means solid wood or good quality plywood, none of those pressed-wood shelving units.
I wanted actual cabinets simply because I don't care to expose my prepping to any Tom, Dick or Harry that might have to be in my basement. (Also, we have a woodworking shop in the basement that creates quite a bit of dust so the stores stay pretty much dust free in the cabinets.)
Secondly, store things which you normally use. Just buy double of things until you have the desired amount you wish to store. For instance, if you normally use 2 pounds of coffee per month and you are planning to store six months worth of supplies, buy 4 pounds of coffee next month and for the following months until you have six months worth sitting in your cabinets. You can take advantage of sales and bulk buying as well to bring your supplies to the level you're wanting.
It takes some time and figuring but by keeping a record of what you buy each month, you can easily figure out how much you will need for a specific period. Knowing how much of each item you use on a yearly basis will also help to determine if bulk buying is expedient. Example: We buy sugar in bulk, 50 pounds at time. It lasts us about a year if I don't go crazy making a lot of jams and jellies. Same with flour and cornmeal. Buying in bulk is much cheaper.
I store my dry goods in sealed plastic containers which I pick up at thrift stores or flea markets. I get gallon-sized plastic jars from my health food grocery store for free.
It's important to make and keep up an inventory so you are sure to rotate your supplies, using them before the expiration date. That inventory can be as detailed as you wish, listing individual items or general categories.
It's also worth your time to think carefully about what sort of disaster or emergency for which you're preparing. A storm that takes out your electricity for a week or two---or an EMP that takes us back to the 19th century.
In addition to our supply of canned goods, we have two freezers in our basement, one for meat and one for fruits and veggies. Again, we buy in bulk. Meat from local farmers. I supplement my garden's fruits and veggies with locally grown from the Farmers' Market. They give bulk discounts as well. I just added three quarts of sliced peaches to my freezer. They'll taste good in a cobbler next winter.
Yet another consideration is how you will utilize your stored food in an emergency. Do you have means to cook if you lose power? We have a fully functional fireplace equipped with a grate that includes a pot hook and a cooking ring. We have a full compliment of cast iron cooking vessels to use as well. And a whole-house generator that runs on propane and kicks in automatically when we lose power for more than 2 minutes.
Our prepping has taken place long-term. We've learned from each stage. The generator was the biggest outlay but when an ice storm hit us just four months after we'd had it installed, we were truly happy that we'd made the expenditure. Not only were we able to survive quite happily without power for nearly two weeks, we were also able to help others who weren't as prepared.
Hope this helps. It may seem like a monumental task when first undertaken but it will at some point become second nature---especially after you have to put your plans into service a time or two.

We stock up our food pantry and keep rotating the supplies and it saves us megabucks and we have less trips to the store. When there are sales on stuff we usually eat we buy them. We have a lot of cangoods and we rotate them. We have lots of drygoods in rotation also. We have two freezers and a couple of generators and about fifteen gallons of gas in rotation. We buy the premium non ethanol gas. The freezers only need to be run an hour and a half a day to keep things froze.

Overall, we have paid all of our stock off by savings from coupons and by not needing to go to the store every day. Impulse buying and lessening of cost of gas to go to the store saved us a bundle.

WE have a wood cookstove so we can cook our meals and heat our house with that. The savings in heating oil paid for the woodstove in a couple of years. It was used and the total cost was only five hundred bucks. The chimney was already there and lined so we could someday put a woodstove in.

We actually are saving money every year by being prepared and we always have everything in stock to make our favorite foods. We buy a half a cow all packaged and froze from a local farmer, grass fed organic.

Butter can be stored in rotation in the freezer for a year, it actually stores better there than in the fridge. We buy that on sale, rotating the stuff in the freezer between eight and twelve pounds. Coffee is a necessity, we stock a minimum of eight two pound cans, that is all bought when the price is low, we sometimes have fifteen cans, but never less than eight. We did buy some crystal eggs, got to have cookies if times get rough. Also good for making egg noodles, no use suffering with that expensive dried foods. We stock at least ten pounds of spaghetti and lots of sauce. WE could live three months minimum on the stuff we have in stock. That would be for ten people, my kids and their kids need to eat too.

learn what is edible in the environment and learn to keep potatoes and onions in the basement in the winter, fifty pounds of potatoes in rotation and five pounds of onions minimum. Carrots can be stored in the cool basement also. That stuff lasts about a month to a month and a half, so rotate.

Being prepared does not have to be expensive, it can save you money. Don't buy stuff you will not use. Make sure to have soap, paper towels, and paper plates in stock too and definitely toilet paper. Buy a rainbarrel to catch water to flush the toilet and also a couple of five gallon water jugs for drinking and cooking water. Make sure that they are for drinking water and make sure to put new water in at least every four or five months. If you got a one gallon pail, you can dump water in the bowl to flush the toilet, it works great and takes less water than in the tank. It can come from the rain barrel.

originally posted by: AmericanRealist
a reply to: DanDanDat

Also got probably about 400 cans of beans mostly. I want to build it to 500, and then I will start rotations with that as well. JUST IN CASE MAN, you don't know!
.

I've read a number of times on this forum regarding survivial, a reference to beans. What kind of beans are being referred to? Where I come from beans are basically just baked beans and runner beans, mind you, runner beans might not mean much to you either

thanks

a reply to: DanDanDat

Whats mylar, please.

a reply to: DanDanDat

Cheapest bit of storage is just get some of those plastic totes from Walmart or equivalent. The ones you can stack on top of each other. Just make sure you keep the moisture down and you're good to go. Some people are anti plastic, but it's cheap and effective. Also stock up on some bleach for emergency water purification. A couple drops will purify a gallon.

a reply to: Azureblue

Mylar is a plastic. Think vacuum seal bags for longer shelf life. I actually wouldn't recommend it for the rice though, if you're going to rotate it out anyway. Reason is, rice is a natural desiccant, so keeping it open to the air will help reduce the moisture in your storage area. Best natural desiccants you can get are rice and non-dairy creamer, believe it or not.

a reply to: Azureblue

Just a mix of Black beans, pinto, kidney, and baked beans of course! There some peas and green beans too, but I figure since I'm keeping seeds too I can start growing most of the veggies down the road anyways. I hoard beans and rice because I love that and can eat it literally every day. Mostly because I was poor as a young child and actually did eat beans and rice pretty much every day! I really do love them though, you can have a different flavor every night just by mixing up the herbs and spices.

Any of the dried beans you can use for storage. I prefer lentils. They don't need to soak, like other beans. They come in multiple varieties. Their shape allows for slightly easier storage. And, they're high in protein and fiber.

If you plan on spending any time in the basement remember that what goes in must come out so sanitary fittings and a good supply of loo roll will probably be your best investment and also if you're cooking below ground ventilation is very important as well, its the little things that will catch you out so why not practice spending a few days underground and seeing where you fail and thus fix those problems and repeat until you feel happy.

If you're going to include females in the bunker do consider 'the time of the month' and chocolate into your plan as well

If your looking for dehydrated or freeze dried food in vacuum sealed bags the readystore.com has a good selection at reasonable prices and they sell in bulk.

www.thereadystore.com...

I didn`t want to be bothered with rotating food,the freeze dried and dehydrated stuff will last for a least 25 years and still be eatable,and it`s compact,light weight,takes up less storage room.They come in their own sealed plastic buckets to keep the vermin out.

a reply to: DanDanDat

I can pm you a 12 month list for you and your family.
Ex: one month-can opener, sewing kit , matches, several food items for each family member. ...hand crank er radio with strobe, compass etc.

At a minimal cost of $10-20 per month or per paycheck.. 12 months from now your family will be better prepared than you are today.

Also visit ready.gov... Lots of info there...

MS
EMT/ERT
1st Responder-FEMA/Homeland Security
Advanced Disaster Life Support

Check out Lifesaver bottles. They are the best water filters you can buy.

a reply to: [post=21156784]DanDanDanDat
Menards carry's new foodgrade 5 Gal buckets at decent prices

Thank you all for the replies. I am away on travel so don't have much time to reply; but I wanted to say thanks.

a reply to: AmericanRealist

Wonderful, thanks for the insight.

How does rice need to be stored to keep in the best condition for the longest time possible. is big or small containers advised? Are the containers it comes in good enough for extended storage?

thanks

originally posted by: Maxatoria
If you plan on spending any time in the basement remember that what goes in must come out so sanitary fittings and a good supply of loo roll will probably be your best investment and also if you're cooking below ground ventilation is very important as well, its the little things that will catch you out so why not practice spending a few days underground and seeing where you fail and thus fix those problems and repeat until you feel happy.

If you're going to include females in the bunker do consider 'the time of the month' and chocolate into your plan as well

So hopefully, there is a lady or ladies who have put thought and time into researching suitable 'technology' to use or this issue so might there be some recommendations for this area of hygiene?