Seeking some tips & advice! Beginner here!

[Sabraleigh]

My husband and I fell into a financial hard time and are currently living with my parents. We will be moving out again in a month or two. We have limited space to prep here and I lost a lot of my preps because we moved here and had NO space. So, I am starting from scratch.

The biggest trouble I've had was the amount of preps I need for say...a 6 month to one year survival after natural disaster, viral pandemic, or even an economic meltdown (no electricity, no water, no fuel, no food delivery into stores, etc) How much and of what do I need? 1 gallon of water per day per person, I've got that. Plus, water purification drops. But food is my biggest concern! I have an almost 2 year old who does not eat, as it is. He has a sensory disorder. He lives off of whole milk and anything crunchy. He doesn't eat meat, fruits, or vegetables, unless it's somehow sneaked into something crunchy. He eats graham crackers, puffs, cheetos, toast, etc. (anything he can feed himself and crunchy) so I need to stock up on those things.

My plan is to stock up on canned vegetables, fruits, and meats. How much would I need for 6 months or more? Also, I know how to dehydrate fruits and vegetables so I would like to start stocking up on that as well.

I have a ton of antibiotics and medications, for children, also, saved up so that isn't a worry to me.

I guess I just need tips and advice on starting, again, and keeping it organized and simple. Food, water, shelter, and medications are my top priorities. But I know I need clothes because he grows like crazy, education, toys, etc.

Any advice would be appreciated! It all gets so overwhelming when I try to start. I will be making a trip to the store on the 9th and will be spending about $80-$100 on my first prepping trip.

 

[jimLE]

might look into herbs to replace the meds when they run out.as for the water.might go with 2 gallons per person,per day instead of just 1 gallon per day.on acount a person will drink more then 1 gallon inside of 1 day at times..extra water for hygene and washing the dishs and clothes.as for as caned foods go.if yall normally eat 2 cans of said food dureing a meal.get 3-4 extra cans each time yall go shopping.and put the extra cans into the prep foods..1 thing yall might try doing..is sit down and figure out what and how much is eaten on a regular basis..like greenbeans.how many can do yall eat in one month?if yall eat 4 cans of greenbaeans in 1 month.then buy 8 of them...and as you probally already know..go with the foods that yall already eat.it wont do anyone any good in a bad situation if just one of you start eating a food that their not use to.on acount that means extra trips to the bathroom for the aperent reasons..as for clothes..buy some thats 3-4 sizes bigger then what he wears now.(when they go on sale)..in which some of them can go into a b.o.b./b.h.b...look into items for home schooling.chalk boards and chalk.school books on the diff subjects.and diff grade leavels..

 

[jontte]

hey,if your son eats only "crunchy" try some veggies to him like cucumbers, they'r crunchy, some whole-grain bread, my youngest son had his tricky times with eating and it took time,now he tries everything and if he doesn't get his porridge in the morning and evening..it's disaster
just be patient,it'll work out.

 

[Silent Bob]

My husband and I fell into a financial hard time and are currently living with my parents. We will be moving out again in a month or two. We have limited space to prep here and I lost a lot of my preps because we moved here and had NO space. So, I am starting from scratch.

The biggest trouble I've had was the amount of preps I need for say...a 6 month to one year survival after natural disaster, viral pandemic, or even an economic meltdown (no electricity, no water, no fuel, no food delivery into stores, etc) How much and of what do I need? 1 gallon of water per day per person, I've got that. Plus, water purification drops. But food is my biggest concern! I have an almost 2 year old who does not eat, as it is. He has a sensory disorder. He lives off of whole milk and anything crunchy. He doesn't eat meat, fruits, or vegetables, unless it's somehow sneaked into something crunchy. He eats graham crackers, puffs, cheetos, toast, etc. (anything he can feed himself and crunchy) so I need to stock up on those things.

My plan is to stock up on canned vegetables, fruits, and meats. How much would I need for 6 months or more? Also, I know how to dehydrate fruits and vegetables so I would like to start stocking up on that as well.

I have a ton of antibiotics and medications, for children, also, saved up so that isn't a worry to me.

I guess I just need tips and advice on starting, again, and keeping it organized and simple. Food, water, shelter, and medications are my top priorities. But I know I need clothes because he grows like crazy, education, toys, etc.

Any advice would be appreciated! It all gets so overwhelming when I try to start. I will be making a trip to the store on the 9th and will be spending about $80-$100 on my first prepping trip.

First your not someone who just started prepping, so pat yourself on the back! You've started once and like after an event...you will start again and make it work. So place a smile on it and know that in time, things will get better. If you look at it from a SHTF...that is why we prep and why we support each other here.

I've always been a believer that you start in a cyclic time chart...meaning that you start looking at your preps from 72 hours kit...if you've got all those supplies, check it off, done and move on to the next checklist...a 7 day checklist. Once you've completed that, then move to a month, 6 month and 1 year, ultimately as you build and progress you'll see over time that it adds up. I've been an intensive prepper for 10 years now, but I've been a prepper since I was knee high and a Boy Scout, the military honed my skills, the government paid me well with my skills and my medical background well is just another skillset.

Last time I checked, I don't think their is a millionaire on our forum who can write a blank check and have all of it shipped and ready to go...that means BOL, bunker, state of the art BOV, you name it...prepping costs, but if your smart and handy some things are a very good possibility. Who hasn't seen a National Geo DDP show and said "what a crackpot", but then sat back and laid awake thinking...wow is he/she...not far from your own thinking...so even a simple gasifier...is something to plan and even make. If it doesn't work, well then you have people to ask, but half the fun is trying and testing your skills. I for one am not an expert in farming or animal husbandry, but I have lots of friends here who have shared their knowledge with me and I feel pretty good, I can ask their help when I plan to do it.

So to get back to the food issue. I go counter to some of my friends thinking when it comes to food, I know that its expensive to shell out MRE's, Dehydrated food, UGR-Tray Packs along with your store bought food, but then again, its a choice thing with me. I've attached a document that might be helpful its a shelf-life document that will give you an idea on how long some food is good for. Please also go to the Food Forum and take a look at some of the posts I've added to the past..download them and make your own decisions. Also, I've added some military inspection guides...the FDA and Department of Agriculture use these same documents for food inspection for wholesomeness...that is food that doesn't get people sick or better known as Foodborne Illness.

IF your determined to start with store bought, then small ready to eat items...are good to store, they have a short shelf-life, but buy the things your family will eat. Get some BPA free 10 gallon containers, some Mylar storage bags, and some oxygenator packets...and store up some rice, salt, beans...on the sugar don't use an oxygenator packets since it will cause your sugar to harden. If you make the mistake, its okay, some of us have done that too. We learn...

Coffee, water, Kool Aid for the kids store well. you can place the coffee in the freezer, unless your buying in bulk 10 cans from Walmart...

Tuna, Chicken, Spam, Ham in the can store well too. Troll your local SAM club for spices and don't forget to use coupons...I do and it always amazes the wife.



Sorry on the PDF, if you scroll to fast, it give you an error message, but its fine...just hit the button and continue.

Let me know if you need any more help.