There are stores here with curbside service and, if we were hungry, I would use those services but for now, we’ve chosen to stay completely at home. We have everything we need, though there are a few things we wish we had, and I’m sure that list will grow as time goes on.
We do stay prepared more than most, for several reasons. The most pressing reason is probably my detest of shopping. When I do go out, I like to buy all I’ll need for as long as is feasible.
I have learned to stop looking at recipes shared on Facebook because I want to make everything I see and even with a well stocked pantry, there are things I don’t have.
Most years I have tomatoes growing in the greenhouse but last Fall, I didn’t plant any so we do not have tomatoes. We have lettuce in the garden so our salads consist of lettuce, sprouted greens, basil leaves, boiled eggs and a bit of cheese. Not a bad salad but lettuce and cucumbers would be nice.
I’m definitely not saying we did better than others. I’m pretty happy with what we’ve done to become a little more self-sufficient. I’m sure there are people who would look at us and see us as beginners. We’ve definitely learned a few things in the past few days and I’m sure we’ll have more to learn as the days turn into weeks.
The Good Things We Did:
As I saw what was happening in China, and saw it begin to spread, I imagined that things might get bad here and ordered dry milk because milk is a weak link for us. The Nido Fortificada is a full fat milk so I ordered two larger cans to try. I wanted to be able to make yogurt with it so I tried it and it worked fine. I need milk for cooking and for cereal and the Nido Fortificada worked great but by the time the milk got her and I tried it, there was no more to be found. The problem is that there’s about a one year shelf life, due to the fat content so it isn’t a good option for long term storage. I do have other non-fat dry milks but they aren’t our favorites for cereal and I doubt they’d make decent yogurt. I’m glad I was able to get the two cans of Nido Fortificada. I’ll probably make just a quart at a time, unless I’m making yogurt.
We order toilet paper once a year, when we find it on sale. The reason for this is that the better prices are usually at Sam’s Club. We have to drive almost two hours to Abilene to go to Sam’s Club and when we go there, we have a million places to stop and a lot to buy so there’s no use filling up the car with toilet paper and paper towels. We had placed our annual order in November so we were well stocked with toilet paper and paper towels. So we weren’t having to try to track down toilet paper.
I’m thankful that we don’t eat out much and prefer eating at home. The restaurants here have to close tomorrow. They can have drive thru service but no eating inside. I know people who rarely cook. I guess they can get drive thru service but we’ll be eating at home.
Areas That Need Improvement:
My biggest failure was flour! I have plenty of wheat to grind but for things like biscuits, cookies, cakes, I need all purpose white flour and I hardly had any of it. It doesn’t keep that long; I can’t get my favorite brand here and I dropped the ball on having enough flour to get us through for a while.
I wish I had freeze dried more celery and onions. We’re going to run out of fresh veggies, including onions and celery. I have some onions I’ve freeze dried and some I’ve bought but no celery! It isn’t going to be life threatening but I wish I had celery.
Like I said . . we’ll learn more as time goes on but for now, I’d give myself a C+ on my prepping efforts.
Anne Greene says
I think you’ve done at least a B+ if not an A!!! Although I have a lot of flour, there are things I could have more of. This is a learning experience for me, I’ve never had to go this long without being able to go out and about and get what I need. My nephew and I are in for the duration or until we run out of food.
Judy Laquidara says
The longest I’ve ever had to go is 7 days so I’m in uncharted territory right now! Good luck to you and your nephew.
Jen says
Flour was my panic! I did finally find a mill to order from and have 50 lbs arriving tomorrow. Now, I know we will at least have breads. Lol.
Judy Laquidara says
Congratulations on getting a mill! Yes, knowing we’ll have bread makes a huge difference. If I had a milk cow, I’d be even happier. 🙂
susanssnippets says
I have a few 5-lb bags acquired over time and put in my freezer, but we will still have to be careful as those will go quick when I have to make bread and pancakes. I have learned to pick up one or two extra here and there and put in our freezer. 1. Because I really hate to run out of flour and we like homemade pizza on Friday nights, and 2. It goes in the freezer so I don’t have weevils. I take it out one bag at a time and keep it in a plastic container. It takes a bit of planning because I have to pull it out of the freezer an hour or so ahead of when I will actually use it so that it isn’t so cold that the yeast doesn’t work well. So far that has worked for me, but I don’t have enough put back to be “lavish” with my use. We will keep an eye out for more and my husband has been perusing the internet looking for good places to order various staples at reasonable prices. I also need to make sure that I have space for securing food in the freezer and plastic containers from weevils, mice, bugs. My biggest thanks is to the many years that my mom and dad taught us how to garden, can and freeze our harvests. We have tomato plants this year that I started from seed that are in raised beds with water walls around them. So far they are doing well despite a low temperature of 28° last night. God has been good to bless me and my family! I pray He blesses you too!
Judy Laquidara says
If you do find more flour than you have room for in your freezer, I’ve had good luck putting it in half gallon jars with bay leaves. It takes up a lot of jars but right now, we probably all have empty jars before the gardens start producing.
vivoaks says
The only real prepping I’ve done was when I ordered the freeze-dried foods last summer and stashed them in a closet. We don’t have much room to store things here, and the roof is a constant problem (leaking in the back room this morning when we got up) so I just can’t keep much. I wouldn’t dare try to keep many paper products…they’d end up as mush probably. It would be nice to have a house with a non-leaky roof, but will finances the way they are I don’t see that happening soon. Even the contractor’s plastic we have on the roof is now leaking, and it’s only been up there about a year. I hate this, but it’s what we have, so we just keep dealing with it…. (Mostly flat roofs are difficult, to say the least!) I have food, our Dollar General has designated their first hour open for seniors only, and that’s within walking distance, so we can still get bread and milk, usually. If worse comes to worst I can stand to lose some weight too, so maybe there’s a plus in there somewhere!! 🙂
Judy Laquidara says
I’ve even considered making a Dollar General run early to get milk but so far, have talked myself out of it. Flat roofs are a problem. I’m sorry you’re having to deal with that.
Kathleen says
I think you get an A-.
Judy Laquidara says
Thanks.
Emma says
I think you’re reducing your grade unnecessarily. You at least deserve a B or probably even an A. Because if you, with all that you have, are a C+…then I would be much worse except we’re very well prepared. Several months of TP, at least another month of diapers and two months of wipes, enough frozen veggies/meat/other food items we use regularly to last a minimum of a month without having to get anything else. Would we miss fresh bananas, fruits, and veggies? Absolutely. But do we need those? Absolutely not. And given that NY has more cases than anywhere else in the US last I saw and I at least am high risk due to several health conditions based on the Italy info (genetic high blood pressure, had pneumonia when I was in college, etc.) we are definitely taking it seriously. We’ve had to hit the post office a couple of times and our last grocery run was Wednesday, but otherwise we are just taking the dog and kids on a walk daily if the weather is nice.
Michelle says
I’ve been thinking of you since this started and pretty sure that you and Vince were holed up and doing fine. If you’re a C+ I hate to think what I’d score!
Judy Laquidara says
Today is our 14th day home. I don’t know why I didn’t think of freeze drying or dehydrating celery . . I’m going to miss that. I should have had more flour. It seems like as long as I’ve preached being prepared, I would have had EVERYTHING but I don’t!
Susan Nixon says
I have flour and yeast and am thinking of starting a sourdough mix so I don’t need yeast. I do have some flour, and if I want to steal from a friend who has hers stored in my freezer, I have a LOT of flour. LOL But I don’t need to do that, because it’s back on the shelves now. I know I’ve gotten into bad habits with fixing foods that are almost instant, or else cook in the crock pot all day. I still can do that for quite some time, before I have to start making things like wheat chili … which as it happens, I like very much, but if you aren’t used to eating things made from wheat berries, you can’t eat too much right away, but need to build up to it. I think one thing I need more of is the chili spice packet I use – not hot at all, but tasty. I do have plenty of bouillon cubes of both kinds, though, so I can make most things tasty!