Preparations Update

[Morgan101]

I went through my son's BOB, and had to make a few changes. My biggest surprise was that it had probably been seven years since I really looked at it. I had dated some of the food, and I was truly shocked that it was that old. There were a couple of other casualties one of which was very surprising.

There was a Surefire flashlight that froze up, for lack of a better term. The on-off switch was frozen, and would not work. The batteries were still good. If I played with it I good get it to work, but not by using the on-off switch. That had to be replaced. Foolishly, I had used Scripto lighters in the fire kit, and they were useless. I have had Bic lighters last for years, but Scripto is by far inferior. I will never buy them again. Easily replaced. I added a few things I had missed originally, and JMHO, I feel much better about his bag.

The real take away, note to self, was to do this a lot more often. I go through my own BOB regularly, probably every six months. I just updated my wife's BOB, and look at that almost as often as my own. I will add my son's BOB to the regimen. Very fortunate we did not need it in the interim.

 

[UrbanHunter]

@Morgan101 That is a great observation, we used do BOB/72hr kit reviews every 6 months as a family event in the living room, trying on the clothes, shoes and everything (normally we would be switching out winter gear for summer or vise versa). This was very important as Kids grow and parents expand. Plus food expires, so after our 6 month review we would take the food that was about to expire and plan a couple family picnics using the old food so everyone knew how to cook what was in the bags, there were some surprises (some of the food tasted like and some was . This resulted in our BOB menus evolving over time, eventually everything was great and then we only had to worry about the kids raiding their BOBs for snacks.

I still date everything when it gets home from the store before I put in onto the food shelves. COVID-19 helped me empty out anything older than 2 years and now everything is less than 18 months old (except for some of my vacuum packed grains and beans, and even those get rotated but on a longer schedule).

 

[ClemKadiddlehopper]

@ClemKadiddlehopper what state you in that gas is $6 a gal? What kind of road restrictions do you have? Or is the tank an oversize /QUOTE]

Canada

Road restrictions happen every spring in an attempt to prevent road damage. Load weight is restricted to 50% of rated axle weight for vehicles over a certain size like gravel trucks, logging trucks, heavy equipment, tractors, you name it.

I can haul my fuel tank with the pick up and trailer, but the bulk fuel truck needed to fill it cannot hit the road with a full load until the restrictions are off, hopefully next week. At that time they will be coming out my way to make the rounds for the local ranchers. We save a lot of $ sharing the delivery costs out here and its too far for them to come for just one fill.

Anyway, time to get moving.

 

[goshengirl]

Had an unexpected blessing. My mother's estate was closed out 5 years ago, with nothing in it. But apparently the executrix found an unknown investment and closed it out a short while ago. Had a check show up in the mail the other week - completely out of the blue. It's not a lot of $, but it is very welcome. Bought a chainsaw mill and rails, and we're currently shopping for a chainsaw that will be dedicated to this purpose. The remaining couple hundred $ will go towards our home building, which is much needed.

We just don't see the lumber situation getting better, and we're always going to need lumber on the homestead. With building costs rising like they have, we have nothing left for building various animal shelters. We can't do one of the bandsaw mills, but a chainsaw mill will be very, very helpful. And as long as the gubmint doesn't take away our land, we have plenty of trees.

 

[Sourdough]

We just don't see the lumber situation getting better.

Good plan on the chainsaw mill. I don't see hardly anything getting better. I truly feel the SHTF throughout 2020, with the fatal kick in the gonads being the corrupted election. The only real remaining question is "the speed of the deterioration".

 

[viking]

In the past week I installed new lifetime heavy wall stainless steel stove pipe, at least twice the thickness of the old stainless pipe and no leaky joints, no more creosote leaking on the outside of the pipe, the new pipe is all welded seam.

 

[hashbrown]

I’m becoming way more comfortable with food storage. We have added weekly for over a year. Still don’t have canned meat storage where it needs to be but I’m going to catch roasts on sale and get busy. Any deer we get this fall will go into jars and not the freezer. I hope to have canned meat in better shape even if I have to start canning fish as much as I dislike canned fish. Today’s contribution to the longer term storage shelves.

 

[Amish Heart]

That bottle of crown looks like it didn't make it to long term storage. Ha.
Seriously, nice job. Looks like you have an Aldi like I do. A great place to add preps

 

[hashbrown]

That bottle of crown looks like it didn't make it to long term storage. Ha.
Seriously, nice job. Looks like you have an Aldi like I do. A great place to add preps

Yes ma'am, I have a couple of those bottles put away I don't drink it. It makes me break out in handcuffs! I keep it for guests. We recently got an Aldis here, its helped us put more back.

 

[Amish Heart]

Aldi is great unless they're doing limits on things. Two weeks ago was limits on canned corn, but not last week. Why? I don't even know. Organic Quinoa is a great price there, and it stores really well. A decent protein alternative. Can't beat their canned meats price either.

 

[hashbrown]

Aldi is great unless they're doing limits on things. Two weeks ago was limits on canned corn, but not last week. Why? I don't even know. Organic Quinoa is a great price there, and it stores really well. A decent protein alternative. Can't beat their canned meats price either.

The only thing I've seen a limit on was the corn it was either 2 or 4 cans. I've been able to buy most things there by a flat at a time.

 

[Peanut]

Most of last year I needed a new foodsaver sealer, couldn’t get one until Sept or so. The summer season was over and I really didn’t use it but a few times over the winter. Frankly I forgot exactly what I had in stock as far as bagging material.

Last week I finished vacuum sealing about 35lbs of various meats. I discovered all the boxes of bagging material I had in a tote were almost used up, a bunch of partial rolls. I barely had enough pieces to finish the meat. I had one full box of pre-cut pint bags I didn’t know I had. It saved my bacon so to speak.

The precut bags are more expensive but saved me time and wasted material on the second of two 10lb sticks of ground chuck. I wanted it frozen in 1/2lb chunks. For example, feeding just myself it’s handy to make a small batch of chili instead of having to eat a big batch of chili 4 straight days. Winter is boring enough without eating the same thing for dinner every night.

So, I stocked up on bagging material, 3 rolls of 11”, 2 rolls of 8”, a box of precut quarts (44cnt) and 2 boxes of precut pints (28cnt ea). Cost me about $65 but I don’t have to worry about running out any time soon. Should last me another year.

 

[Terri9630]

My wood stove is here!!

 

[Peanut]

Wrapping off please? Bet you're excited!

I went through a tote and a couple of deep drawers last night, sorted all my rings and lids for mason jars. I found another box of 8" bagging material for my foodsaver. It contained one full roll and a partial. I need to order about 50ea, rings and lids for both regular and wide mouth jars. They seem a little pricey from the last time I purchased them.

I looked online but was unsure what to buy. Kept seeing the term split lids or rings. Can someone explain, or give confused people like me a brief tutorial on rings and lids? Thanks in advance!

Edit... I looked but couldn't find such a critter as a tutuorial on rings, lids and jars. A tutorial would be great for reference for folks fairly new to canning or as a refresher. Any of our resident pro's willing to write one and start a thread on the subject?

 

[Terri9630]

Wrapping off please? Bet your excited!

Yep! We are keeping the wrapping on until it's installed. Probably next month. I just opened it just enough to check the glass and stone to make sure nothing was broken. This is what it looks like though.

 

[CalicoKatie]

. . . I look but couldn't find such a critter as a tutorial on rings, lids and jars. A tutorial would be great for reference for folks fairly new to canning or as a refresher. Any of our resident pro's willing to write one and start a thread on the subject?

I found some info about lids and an old thread about Food Storage that has really good info. Posted some links for you in that thread.

Useful equipment for food storage preparedness | Homesteading & Country Living Forum (homesteadingforum.org)

 

[Peanut]

I found some info about lids and an old thread about Food Storage that has really good info. Posted some links for you in that thread.

Useful equipment for food storage preparedness | Homesteading & Country Living Forum (homesteadingforum.org)

Thank You! My mind has been more miss than hit searching the forum lately. At least a half dozen times in the last week I have searched for threads or information I know exists but can't seem to find them. My choice of search terms has been very poor.

 

[Newbri]

Got more cans this morning.

 

[Sourdough]

Sooo. Do you have a thread on here someplace, as to why you decided on this stove.....??? And "Roughly" how much was the shipping.......??? Beautiful stove.

My wood stove is here!!View attachment 68272

 

[Bacpacker]

Yep! We are keeping the wrapping on until it's installed. Probably next month. I just opened it just enough to check the glass and stone to make sure nothing was broken. This is what it looks like though.
View attachment 68275

That is absolutely AWESOME.

Congrats

 

[Terri9630]

Sooo. Do you have a thread on here someplace, as to why you decided on this stove.....??? And "Roughly" how much was the shipping.......??? Beautiful stove.

Free shipping. They sell it at other places but with $$ shipping.
No thread but we picked this one because it's big enough to heat the house without running us out, the soapstone matches my kitchen, it's the right size, doesn't have a high back that will divide the kitchen/block my view of anything and it's a cook stove.

Oh, the bottom section is a storage drawer and the door below the oven is a warming area. It's also wood or coal.

 

[Sourdough]

I wonder if they would ship free freight to Alaska......??? Nice looking stove.

Free shipping. They sell it at other places but with $$ shipping.
No thread but we picked this one because it's big enough to heat the house without running us out, the soapstone matches my kitchen, it's the right size, doesn't have a high back that will divide the kitchen/block my view of anything and it's a cook stove.

Oh, the bottom section is a storage drawer and the door below the oven is a warming area. It's also wood or coal.

 

[UrbanHunter]

Today I went shopping for some fruit and SCORE, they had the pineapple that was showing as a hole in my inventory, picked up 4 Mayo, and some more tuna in oil (almost screwed up, they had tuna packed in oil and Jalapeno). The nice girl at the checkout asked about all the pineapple, I told her we put in baked beans, now that drew dagger eyes.....

Yesterday my passive water filtering supplies arrived (I got what I would call a lifetime supply of large coffee filters for use in water treatment pre-filters), 4 of the ceramic filters, 4 of the carbon filters, 2 valves, and 1 complete kit (tanks filters and valve).

 

[UrbanHunter]

I was getting ready to start moving things from receiving to my food storage shelves and I thought I'd share a picture of the receiving area.

It currently has food on it from the Last weekend in May and the First weekend in June. I need to put this stuff away so I have room for the new groceries that I need to date, sort, and inventory.

 

[Newbri]

Okay. Today was a good day. I got canning jars. I looked at the cost of a pressure thingy. I got a few essentials when it comes to tools. I even found a pretty cheap book on herbal medicine, or at least the medicinal benefits of certain plants.

 

[Amish Heart]

I have a prelimary receiving, ready to repackage area, too, Urban. Glad I'm not the only one. We currently have two storage areas going, so it depends on what it is...and where it goes to. Currently I have jumbo boxes of dried mashed potatoes in the corner of the kitchen, waiting to be repackaged. Don't know how the amish store gets them so cheap...$1.29 for the family boxes of Idahoan brand, but I buy lots when she gets them in for dry storage.

 

[UrbanHunter]

I do my repackaging on top of a chest freezer, next to the (UH-Store) storage shelves, I have 2 large cutting boards that I put there and have an outlet about 6" above the freezer top. Works fairly well. I try to keep a stock of food storage bags in different sizes (think of a box about the size of to TP Bails). I found a nice supply of the precut quart and gallon bags that were marked down..... I took the limit....

I shouldn't say this but, our family went from 5 to 2 and our food storage increased.... I am finding that the stuff we are using today was actually purchased about a year ago, so we are meeting our FIFO(first in first out) inventory control targets. Very seldom do I find anything older than 14 months anymore.

 

[Amish Heart]

We're the same. Every once in a while I find something that has pushed date, but not by much. I think it's because over the years I've gotten better with repackaging for longer storage, and it stays in staging until it's done. Only exception would be the convenience foods I know the grandkids look for that they'll grab for lunch...like at least 5 boxes of mac and cheese out at any given time. It takes awhile to know how to eat what you store, and store what you eat. The exp dates on some things are just stupid though. Haven't seen anything wrong with eating peanut butter 2 yrs past exp. Although we've cleared through most of the old stuff and are currently eating the just expiring pb now stuff. Kids know never touch stuff in the back, and I date every single thing, and I taught them to look at dates. I am going to get swamped soon, though, with all the summer squash about ready. And the grapes...tons of them, but I'm bringing them to my cousins and we'll do them together and can grape juice in quarts. The pear tree is very full and the apple tree is half full, but that wont be till a month or two. And the fifty million tomato plants. I don't think husband has paid attention to all the different processing done, ever. He was always busy at work, a major workaholic. So now he's asking...what do you do with alot of tomatoes, zucchini? I tell him eat fresh, freeze some, can some, dehydrate some. And store the winter squash. Not sure if he is liking gardening yet, but he drives around on his scooter when I'm weeding...we made the rows with aisles so he can drive through, and he looks and comments.

 

[UrbanHunter]

@Amish Heart I love hearing about you hubby driving around between the rows. I have dreamed (if money were no object) of making a place with an attached greenhouse, concrete floors and raised beds to allow the wife to wheel between the rows and enjoy the fruits of our labors. Right now she is content to look at the window and ask, what is that funny plant over there. For us the canning is a team effort (she is afraid of the pressure canner), she blanches and peals, I crank the strainer, and fill the pots, she seasons the mixture and oversees the filling of the jars, and then I sit and watch the pressure and clock. Then she washes and dated the jars before I enter them into the inventory....

 

[Terri9630]

I wonder if they would ship free freight to Alaska......??? Nice looking stove.

You can call and ask. I bought it from Sopka Inc. 1-216-543-7002