How to Get Started Prepping

The questions I most often see asked by beginning preppers are:

1. How do I know what to buy?
2. How much do I buy?
3. Where do I store it all?

For this blog post, the food supply will be my main focus.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!  I think a lot of people who panic about being prepared or those who are overwhelmed when thinking about prepping . . they just need to stop, think about and realize that you start small and add as you go.  Most of us will not go from being totally unprepared to being prepared for any scenario in a day or a week. Whatever you do is better than doing nothing. Start small and chances are that you will see how simple the entire process is as you go forward.

When considering what to buy as far as food, the most important advice I would give is this: Buy only what you will eat! If, on a good day, you don’t want to eat potted meat, or canned sausage (storebought), or Sardines in a can . . then don’t buy any of it. We happen to love sardines and there are several brands that are skinless and boneless and they aren’t bad at all. They’re a good source of protein. I also like that the cans are small and it’s pretty easy for the two of us to eat the contents in one sitting so, if there was no power, we wouldn’t have to worry about what to do with leftovers.

I can’t imagine being in an emergency situation and having horrible food in storage — food you wouldn’t want to eat unless you were starving. During stressful times, I want good food so my supplies include the things we love. I want to look forward to meals, whether it’s in good times or bad times. I don’t want to have to eat just to survive . . I want to enjoy every bite!

There are places like Food Insurance and My Patriot Supply, and I’m sure there are others, that sell dehydrated foods. A good bit of food takes up a small amount of space, is easy and quick to prepare and doesn’t taste bad. It seems expensive to me and it’s a lot of carbs and not a whole lot of protein but it is an option to consider, especially when first starting  your food storage plan.  

If you have children in the home, especially picky eaters, think about what they like. The last thing you need is the added stress of a hungry child who squawks at the food you have to share with them.

Watch for sales! Stock up on canned fruit, canned veggies, canned tomatoes, etc. when they’re on sale.

How much you buy or keep, of course, is dependent on how long you wish to prepare for and how many you are preparing for. For your food, start small. We should all have at least a week’s supply of everything we need at home. Once you’re comfortable that you have a week’s worth of everything, work on getting a month’s worth of everything and go from there. Don’t try to go from having just enough food for two nights’ meals, to having a year’s worth of food. You’ll overwhelm your brain and your budget.

Pay attention to expiration dates. Some things I don’t get real fired up about expiration dates but anything that has oil/shortening and flour products in it is going to get rancid after a while.

Another important aspect is that you have a good idea how much it takes of anything to last for a given amount of time.

When I first began prepping, I had no idea how long a roll of toilet paper would last, or how long it took me to go through a bottle of shampoo, or deodorant. Take a Sharpie or a pen and write the date inside the cardboard on the roll of TP and then you’ll know how quickly you go through a roll . . and it is pretty darned quickly! Do the same thing with the shampoo bottle, deodorant container . . anything like that. For things you can’t write on, like a bar of soap or a tube of toothpaste (the writing always rubs off for me), write the date and item name on a post-it note and stick it inside your bathroom cabinet. That’s the best way to plan . . once you know how long items last.

As far as food, make a list of everything your family consumes in one week. Canned food, dairy, dry goods . . everything! Multiply that amount by 52 and that’s basically what it would take to get you through a year. Again, striving to have a 52 week supply is great but don’t try to do it in one week. Start with 4 weeks worth of supplies, then 6 months and, depending on your finances and storage space, continue stashing until you feel comfortable and confident with your supplies.

Where on earth do you store this much stuff? Beats me!  I wish I knew!  🙂 The main things I take into consideration are heat/sunlight and critters. The heat and sunlight is really hard on everything but especially on food supplies. Critters love digging in toilet paper, paper towels, and any paper goods. I would love to be able to store that kind of stuff in the shop but there are mice in there so I don’t dare do it. In the shop, I do store laundry detergent, dishwashing detergent and things that heat aren’t going to damage terribly, and things mice have no interest in.

Upstairs (attic area above the shop that I can access via a standard staircase) is where I store things like the crock pot, the glass dishes I don’t use often . . anything I can get out of the house gives me more storage room inside the climate controlled house.

If you have a basement that is cool and dry, that’s a greate place to store food. If not, you may have to get creative. Here in Texas, where it’s HOT, all our food supplies have to be stored in an air conditioned area. Our laundry room is small so we have our washer/dryer stacked and that gives us a good bit of room. There are risers to make your bed frame higher and you can store boxes under the bed. In our guest room, I have toilet paper stacked up against the wall that the morning sun hits. I’m using it for extra insulation. If you have closets with clothes you never wear . . you’re making a choice to keep those clothes instead of having the extra space for storing items you may need some day.

Most of us do not have enough storage so at some point, we have to decide what we’re keeping in order to make the best use of the storage space we do have.

Use what you buy and re-stock it. Figure out a system where you’re using the oldest first.  When I had less room than I have now, I would pack boxes with a variety of stuff – the same thing in each box. Example: 4 cans green beans, 4 cans corn, 4 cans baked beans, 4 cans tomatoes, 4 packages of pasta, 4 cans of fruit, etc. I would label those boxes with the year and a number . . 2014-1, 2014-2, 2014-3.  I would get the oldest box and work out of it.

These boxes could be stacked against a wall in an extra bedroom and then a pretty quilt hung over the front of them if having ugly boxes along a wall bothers you.

 Now I keep my canned goods on shelves that I can get to from the front or the back. I put in from the front and take out from the back so hopefully, I’m always using the oldest first.

It may take a little trial and error, but I’m confident you can find a system that works for you.