I'm not a prepper... but I wonder, what non-perishable items should I be stockpiling?

[Oopsie Daisy]

Should it get a pallet of toilet paper and paper towels? Rice? Pasta? Flour?

[Oopsie Daisy]

4. Yes... and done. They are still affordable. Thanks.

[intrepidity]

2. I'd say dried beans and rice. nt

[Oopsie Daisy]

9. I still have "Covid-rice" that I've carefully stored in FoodSaver vacuum bags.

I should probably re-stock AND check out what other dried foods are available at Costco.

Things are going to get much worse before they get better, I fear.

[C_U_L8R]

3. Beans.

So versatile.

[MizLibby]

5. and Beano nt.

[TheProle]

6. bullets

[Oopsie Daisy]

12. We have a decent supply of those... but more couldn't hurt.

It's not like they're going to "go bad" if they're not used right away.

[Shellback Squid]

44. I have some 8mm that were made in 1956 so no worries there, they shoot just fine in my Yugo Mauser

[ALBliberal]

7. I like this thread let's start adding ideas?

Beans
Canned goods (meat as well as veggies and fruit)
Powdered milk

[allegorical oracle]

8. With all due respect, for what are you stocking up?

[Sneederbunk]

11. I believe the answer is TSF.

[allegorical oracle]

16. OK. thx.

[taxi]

31. Well that's the rub, isn't it?

One can live on rations for as long as their rations last. Then what?
One can stockpile weapons and ammo and hunt for food. Who will hear a shot in the woods and know you are away from your home?
One can have off-road vehicles that attract unwanted attention, how many hungry refugees will a successful ambush require?

All outcomes need to be considered. Living on beans and oatmeal day after day, month after months, possibly longer, and then being exiled from your fortress only to be forced to live with and like the very same people you steeled yourself against. But then again, those who take from you may not care for you very much.

[Chemical Bill]

10. Seeds. n/t

[Oopsie Daisy]

14. Good idea. I'll have to check Amazon or mail order suppliers.

Veggie seeds don't start appearing in stores until early-mid spring (here in the mid-Atlantic region).

[MissB]

27. Check your dollar tree

They put them out in January. 31 cents a packet for basic varieties of heirloom seeds.

[Chemical Bill]

48. Please don't shop at Amazon. n/t

[Quakerfriend]

13. Tuna, sardines, canned fruit etc.

You can buy 5 gal. buckets (food grade) with locking lids for storage.

I would also rec’d a couple lifestraws.

[Oopsie Daisy]

15. So... ixnay on the orange Home Depot buckets. I'll have to check around for food-grade versions.

AND, I'll have to see if I can find some oxygen-neutralizing (absorbing) packets to put inside my vacuum-packed dry goods.

[Shermann]

26. Preppers like to use mylar bags with those oxygen absorbers. nt

[MissB]

30. My lowes and Home Depot both sell food grade buckets

They also sell those fancy gamma lids, which just makes life easier.

[usedtobedemgurl]

34. Not sure if they still do it but

Both Subway and Firehouse Subs have sold their 5 gallon pickle buckets in the past. I believe the Firehouse Sub proceeds for the buckets go to benefit firemen.

[Shellback Squid]

45. Plastic grades 2, 4, and 5 are the safest for food storage

[senseandsensibility]

17. Peanut butter

especially since my favorite is imported from Canada.

[Oopsie Daisy]

18. Excellent. It's time to restock. The double-pack of the extra-large JIF from Costco *

* serves us well. We barely are able to finish them before the "sell-by" date... and often we go past the sellby date. But it seems to be okay. We trust our noses and taste buds.

[usedtobedemgurl]

35. Kraft? With the bears on the front?

[senseandsensibility]

38. No, it's actually the store

brand at my local grocery store (Raley's).

[Blue Full Moon]

19. 5 gallons of water per person. I would get a life straw per person.

[Oopsie Daisy]

21. We have many (many!) 5 and 7 gallon blue jugs that we'd take on our boondocks camping trips.

At least 80 gallons worth. They're all empty now... but thanks for reminding me that we should sterilize and refill them.

[Blue Full Moon]

20. Emergency pack

Several months ago one of the I think it was Sweden sent out a brochure on having supplies at home in case.

https://www.ready.gov/kit

[LiberalArkie]

22. A lot of peanut butter

[Jit423]

23. All the above plus tissues.

[Xolodno]

24. Salt for curing meat.

May as well add other seasonings to make things better. Family has a place in the mountains and not too far from a water source. So I would get a hunting rifle and load up on more fishing gear.

Flour and sugar, but put that in metal cans and seal them. Sacks will only attract vermin. Get a few hiking water purifiers and plenty of spare filters, and a few solar showers. Iodine tablets in case of a jam. Speaking of, learn how to can food as well.

And for good measure, lots of cheap box wine and learn how to make a fruit wine as well. Might be able to barter with it.

[Oopsie Daisy]

25. Oh ... I love how you think. 🍷🍷🍷

[Shermann]

28. I bought a box of civilian MREs during Covid.

I still haven't used any of it, but they are still good. The military knows how to properly prep!

[cadoman]

29. buy more of whatever non-perishable items you already enjoy & rotate it out

I made the classic beginner's prepping mistake during TFG's first term: I bought non-perishables I don't know how to cook.

You want to stock up on stuff you actually know how to work with. For example, I enjoy tuna, so I just buy more tuna. I enjoy frozen vegetables, so I just buy more. All my favorite peas and beans and rice I keep an extra bag on hand.

With this technique, you just have a month or so reserve of stuff you use all the time. There is nothing to learn. No habits to change other than buy more of what you already buy and rotate to keep it fresh.

[Shermann]

39. I agree that you need to actually rotate what you buy and use it.

Prepping isn't a one and done as there are finite shelf lives involved, and you never know exactly when the SHTF event will occur. It's like a shitty game of musical chairs.

That said, don't be afraid to experiment. Spam is actually quite versatile and doesn't need to really be cooked. Canned turkey and canned corned beef are also good high-protein foods.

[WestMichRad]

32. Water filter

Several good ones to choose from at camping/backpacking suppliers.

[Shermann]

33. I also discovered Parmalat milk during Covid

It is a shelf-stable milk that is good for six months or so. I was trying to reduce trips to the store and would augment my fresh milk supplies with it. It doesn't have as good of a shelf life as powdered milk, but it tastes far better.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Parmalat-Whole-Milk-32-fl-oz-Shelf-Stable/151857624

[JCMach1]

36. Instant coffee. Price is about to go insane

[Shermann]

40. I only stock beans. At one point I stocked green coffee beans and would roast them.

The green beans have an indefinite shelf life. Roasted beans aren't as enduring, but I freeze them.

I have coffee preps for an emergency power outage. Basically, it is a manual grinder, butane stove, and camping percolator. At no point shall I lower myself to drinking instant coffee! The struggle is real!

[MissB]

37. Buy more of what you already eat

I have a deep pantry, by which I mean I have at least a year of stuff that we eat. I bumped that up dramatically after November.

Tonight I’m making a red lentil dal. I have the ingredients for that, generally store bought because I’m not growing lentils or rice here. But I do grow and can tomatoes, and I grow my own garlic. I buy a huge bag of yellow onions now and then and chop and dehydrate them. Tonight I’ll use fresh onions though. I buy coconut milk by the case, preferably without a pop top.

Anyway, it is a dish that we eat fairly often so I have a years worth of red lentils and coconut milk and rice for that dish.

I use rice and coconut milk in a lot of different ways, so I have more coconut milk than what it would take to keep me in dal for a year on the frequency that we eat that dish.

I store dry goods in half gallon glass jars that I vacuum seal. I’ve grown my jar collection over the years to have enough to both do canning and dry storage. It’s.. a lot. Not something to do all at once, but to deal with over time. I never say no to someone that wants to offload their jars. I just picked up two cases from a friend that was cleaning their parents garage out.

I have pasta, rice, beans of all sorts, lentils, oatmeal, quinoa, chia seeds, popcorn etc in jars. I buy some commercial stuff like my hub’s fav clam chowder, which I buy a ton of when it’s on a really good sale. We eat tuna and peanut butter; I buy a lot of that. I tend to can my own chicken breasts as I love the convenience but not the salt content of commercially canned chicken. I just make sure to rotate things - put new in the back of the older cans or jars and bring the older ones forward.

[JimPrideaux]

41. You don't need to worry about the label, prep and be happy!

There's nothing wrong with preparing for the worst, whatever scenario that might be. Tinned foods, water purification, fuel, portable solar battery pack. Get your HAM license if possible (super useful as a cheap Baofeng battery lasts forever and they are usually on twofer deals) and if you don't want the license you can run them as walkies.

Don't be afraid to dip into some of the communities, they're not all extremists (just most, lmao).

[MLAA]

42. Canned goods last well beyond their best by date. I look for things that have high caloric and nutritional value.

Canned beans, canned sweet potatoes/pumpkin, pasta, jars/cans of pasta/pesto sauce, peanut butter, jams, soups, soup mixes like lentil and split pea mixes that do well in a crock pot. Dry beans, water, seasonings, a good stock of OTC cold, allergy, digestion meds and first aid items.

[Kaleva]

43. Water

A healthy adult can survive about 30 days without food but only 3 days without water . Then think of the food you have in your stock that you need water for and how much water. Dry beans and rice take quite a bit of water to prepare.

A method of dealing with human waste would be good too.

To climatize you and your family going without, simulate not having electricity, cell phones, city water, sewer services, gas for the car, and gas for heat and cooking for a few days like over a weekend.

[elocs]

46. Are you going to prep for the rest of your life and be prepared to defend it?

Because traditional prepping is really just for an emergency or disaster that might last a few months and not years or a lifetime.
Trump will discover food or the lack of it is a tremendous weapon to control the people.

[Demovictory9]

47. Cold / flu medicine for post CDC/NIH America