# Anyone else reach their prep limit?



## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

Last night GF and I were discussing our preps and we both after doing our mental inventories figure we are done with critical prepping because we both have adequate supplies of food, resources, equipment , weapons and ammo to supply ourselves for over a year and have garden seeds and resources for next season.

She laughed and said I reached my limit a couple years ago when every few months I added an item or two to my surplus zombie give away box.

Since we have reached adequate stores for ourselves I think instead of reviewing and adding new stuff that I eventually end up trying to sell, I am just going to rotate pantry stock regularly as part of my normal shopping and enjoy what society still has to offer for entertainment more.

I figure now that I have reached my personal prep limit why waste any more money on prep items that will be more hobby class stuff than anything else.


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## Space Cowboy (Apr 26, 2008)

Hi Shrek,

I really like your texts over the years, but this one raises some serious issues.
I had a really good job, until last September and a pantry similar to your description. Since that time, I have had some temp jobs and have been barely able to cover "most" of my bills. I have been living (essentially) almost entirely on my preps. I just started a job a couple of days ago, that will enable me to pay my bills, with some potential future increases. My point I am trying to make is that I have seriously depleted my preps with a little or no hope of *replacing*, let alone increasing my preps. 
You never know what life is going to throw at you.

SC


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Yes, just rotate. Dh went to a garage sale thurs. came home and called me to him,says go to this sale and buy the freezer. I says,I'm busy,how much is it? 100 Bucks,but I know you can get it for 75. I says what kind,he says a huge chest freezer. I say ,you know what, we have 3 freezers, I think we have enough. Sheeze, there is only 2 of us. 
Now,I'm thinking...I could take the small one and use it just for cold storage...


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## TripleD (Feb 12, 2011)

Shrek ? Anyone else comming to your house if or when SHTF ? I sorta plan for others heading my way. I'm past the 1 year mark on most things but need to work more on medical supplies and maybe a live -in helper :happy2:


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## wally (Oct 9, 2007)

How funny that you started this thread. Just this morning, after canning 9 half pints of tomato sauce, I told my self that the food pantry is really looking good. So my next stock up items will be items that fill other areas, looking at fuel,1st aide items, firewood, soaps...etc etc etc. While we have some of these items they are not completely maxed out. I would stock up on ammo but I lost all of my guns in a boating accident.


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

It's a good feeling to feel "done" and know you've stocked and saved and learned, but for me it's an ongoing process that's never done. I can always use more medical supplies or lamp oil or seeds or parts to fix stuff, even if my food stores are full. We got to the "ok, we have enough food" stage a couple of years ago, but there's always something on my list that I'm looking for or need to buy.

Be sure to rotate your food and replace it as you use it. And keep backups to your backups.


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## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

Space Cowboy said:


> Hi Shrek,
> 
> I really like your texts over the years, but this one raises some serious issues.
> I had a really good job, until last September and a pantry similar to your description. Since that time, I have had some temp jobs and have been barely able to cover "most" of my bills. I have been living (essentially) almost entirely on my preps. I just started a job a couple of days ago, that will enable me to pay my bills, with some potential future increases. My point I am trying to make is that I have seriously depleted my preps with a little or no hope of *replacing*, let alone increasing my preps.
> ...


In your case you have not reached the prep limit yet due to your current reliance on a 40 hr wk job and vulnerability to lay off.

In my case my reliance on the rat race switched to capital investment and stock return of others doing their 40 hr work weeks.

Being retired with a paid off AO is a big step to reaching a feasible prep limit. Prepping for any lifestyle is like a game of monopoly. Keep prepping as you can until you have "passed Go and collected your $200" a few times to get where you were and then set your sight on stepping to the side of the rat race and maybe seeing your prep limit in sight.




TripleD said:


> Shrek ? Anyone else comming to your house if or when SHTF ? I sorta plan for others heading my way. I'm past the 1 year mark on most things but need to work more on medical supplies and maybe a live -in helper :happy2:


Other than GF the only people coming into my AO in a shtf situation will be targets.


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## Glade Runner (Aug 1, 2013)

I still need a few things like body armor, better NBC masks, some medical stuff, more fuel storage; but the basics are well covered.


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## bigjon (Oct 2, 2013)

hmmm,body armor.body armor? gotta go!:smack:smack:smack:smack


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

Do you consider 1 year fully prepped? I panic when I don't have at least 2 years supply. 

Do you have money stashed to pay property tax for the rest of your life? 
What about fuel for vehicles in the future? 
Home heating covered for the rest of your life?

You will need income to pay for ongoing expenses until the day you leave this world. That is something only the rich are prepped for. Maybe I'm out of line, maybe you are one of those rich and don't share that info with us.


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## ovsfarm (Jan 14, 2003)

Shrek, I think you are kidding yourself. Once a prep minded hunter/gatherer, always a prep minded hunter/gatherer. I don't think we can turn it on and off at will! 

You will be going along, minding your own business, and there at a yard sale along side of the road you will spy a nifty article. Are you really telling me you would be able to pass it by? You will read about some cool, new gadget that someone has invented. Can you tell me you won't want one too?

I think once the bug bites us, we are unable to get out of our old habits. Which is probably a good thing. Keeps us out of the pool halls....


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## BadFordRanger (Apr 26, 2014)

Space Cowboy said:


> Hi Shrek,
> 
> I really like your texts over the years, but this one raises some serious issues.
> I had a really good job, until last September and a pantry similar to your description. Since that time, I have had some temp jobs and have been barely able to cover "most" of my bills. I have been living (essentially) almost entirely on my preps. I just started a job a couple of days ago, that will enable me to pay my bills, with some potential future increases. My point I am trying to make is that I have seriously depleted my preps with a little or no hope of *replacing*, let alone increasing my preps.
> ...


Cowboy, I know exactly where you are coming from there. 
As I have said, I fell several years ago and the doctor told me on my first office visit that I should file for disability but I am hard headed as hell and didn't think that I needed to do so. I didn't fall but 10 feet that time and I had fell 48 feet, 37 feet, 23 feet, and I forget what the others were but I didn't think 10 feet was going to keep me down and it took me 5 months to change my mind and then another few months before I ever saw anything from disability, and when I fell, I had almost $1,000 cash in my pocket, and about 2 or 3K in the bank, and I thought that I had enough food to last for a year or more! 
I really thought for sure we had a year covered, but we didn't.

And Shrek, what I see coming at us, IMHO, a years worth of supplies isn't enough by a longshot, if a years worth of supplies actually lasted a full year. 
Especially with me getting older by the day. 
Godspeed

Ranger


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

its never really over...as time and situations and needs and desires change i have to work and adjust the homestead accordingly.

just keeping up with daily needs is a serious chore if you are producing a large portion of those needs yourself.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

I understand and agree with Shrek's point. A while back I began to see where some items would not be good if we were to use them. It started with pickles, which I found to have a limited life before going mushy. Next were crackers, which can go rancid and stale fairly fast. Then there was some flour that had to get tossed, then some brown rice, and then I was noticing a few off flavors in frozen foods. Then I saw some canned goods past date had been leaking around seals and I purged a lot of older cans.

Eating fresh food is more healthy in general. At some point along the way, I realized that if I continued spending I would be spending to be able to throw out stuff that was no longer palatable or nutritious, so that I could eat stuff that was just barely palatable and marginally nutritious.

Instead of buying more food to waste, that money has more pressing uses.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

7thswan said:


> Yes, just rotate. Dh went to a garage sale thurs. came home and called me to him,says go to this sale and buy the freezer. I says,I'm busy,how much is it? 100 Bucks,but I know you can get it for 75. I says what kind,he says a huge chest freezer. I say ,you know what, we have 3 freezers, I think we have enough. Sheeze, there is only 2 of us.
> Now,I'm thinking...I could take the small one and use it just for cold storage...


We just bought our 5th freezer. The hope is to have one empty, standing in reserve all the time in case one of the operating ones goes down, but my guess is we'll find a way to fill it. Two pigs really for slaughter will do it alone.


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## tarbe (Apr 7, 2007)

TnAndy said:


> We just bought our 5th freezer.




No wonder you have so many panels! :happy2:


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## BadFordRanger (Apr 26, 2014)

TnAndy said:


> We just bought our 5th freezer. The hope is to have one empty, standing in reserve all the time in case one of the operating ones goes down, but my guess is we'll find a way to fill it. Two pigs really for slaughter will do it alone.


How large is your family Andy? 
I can't see having that many freezers full of food unless it is a large (6 -8 kids) family, or unless you eat an enormous amount of food. 
I am like Harry on the food needing to be palatable. I used to was a picky eater at all, but now if there is the least thing wrong with it, it just won't go down. I mean I can't force it to go down, and meat that is freezer burned is one of my worse enemies. 
As far as veggies go, I can take an frozen veggie and make it taste great, but the meat needs to be fresh. 

Godspeed

Ranger


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

foodsaver bags and the cryovac bags keep items so fresh in a freeze they can last for years.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

elkhound said:


> foodsaver bags and the cryovac bags keep items so fresh in a freeze they can last for years.


Yep. Nearly zero freezer burn vacuum sealing. (bag does fail on occasion)

Two of us in family.

Freezers are small. We prefer multiple small ones to one or two large ones. 

For one thing, it spreads the risk of failure. You lose one big one, you're out a lot of food. You lose one small one, not near as much, plus as I said, you can have a backup empty one held in reserve.

The other thing is we use them out one at a time, and cut it off. It will be rare to have all 5 running at the same time. Sometimes, we're down to one or two.

Kill a whole beef, and it takes up 1.5 freezers alone. Throw in a couple pigs, and you've used another.

Meat chickens, we like to raise once a year. That means about 30-40 processed at one time...at 7-8lbs/bird, that's 200lbs in a freezer at one time for whole birds, plus we'll can some for things like chick/dumplings that you don't need a whole bird.

Catfish. When the time comes to catch out a mess from the ponds, we'll clean and freeze a bunch, ready to pull out for a meal.

Butter. We don't make our own, so when it goes on sale, we'll buy 20-30lbs. That goes in the freezer.

Vegetables we split between canned and frozen. Some things like corn, strawberries and broccoli simply freeze best. We raised 20 gallons of strawberries this year. Ate them fresh as much as possible, but that still put 14-15gal in the freezers. It takes space.

When your goal is to live 100% off your own place, it's amazing how much storage ( both frozen and canned, in addition to fresh ) it takes. Most people simply don't realize how many trips they make to the grocery store.....and if they pile up a year's worth of those trips, how much space it would take.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

the heavy bags you dip in boiling water and they shrink up nice and tight....i wanna try a few this fall.


http://www.cornerstone-farm.com/


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## Tommyice (Dec 5, 2010)

elkhound said:


> the heavy bags you dip in boiling water and they shrink up nice and tight....i wanna try a few this fall.
> 
> 
> http://www.cornerstone-farm.com/


Now those look cool. Should work for other meats too?


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

Tommyice said:


> Now those look cool. Should work for other meats too?



i am going to use on deer....i think the [email protected] would be just right for singles meals.


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## wally (Oct 9, 2007)

elkhound and tommyice, i am going to make my summer sausage this fall in the 3 lb casings, slice and divide into 1lb packages and then use the shrink bags to store in the freezer. This way if you need 1,2 or 3 lbs of summer sausage you simply take out what you need.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

wally said:


> elkhound and tommyice, i am going to make my summer sausage this fall in the 3 lb casings, slice and divide into 1lb packages and then use the shrink bags to store in the freezer. This way if you need 1,2 or 3 lbs of summer sausage you simply take out what you need.



thats what i do with my deer balongna...i had a bunch of large casing on hand i got for cheap.so i use them then slice in small chunks and vacum seal.i find one stick is just right for snacks for a week in summer by adding a pickled egg,cucumber or mater fresh from garden when its hot and i dont want to cook.


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

Harry Chickpea said:


> A while back I began to see where some items would not be good if we were to use them. It started with pickles, which I found to have a limited life before going mushy. Next were crackers, which can go rancid and stale fairly fast. Then there was some flour that had to get tossed, then some brown rice, and then I was noticing a few off flavors in frozen foods. Then I saw some canned goods past date had been leaking around seals and I purged a lot of older cans.
> 
> Eating fresh food is more healthy in general. At some point along the way, I realized that if I continued spending I would be spending to be able to throw out stuff that was no longer palatable or nutritious, so that I could eat stuff that was just barely palatable and marginally nutritious.
> 
> Instead of buying more food to waste, that money has more pressing uses.


This is why ROTATION is so important. Also home canning and dehydrating. Store bought food has a very limited shelf life, home canned and dehydrated (properly packaged) has a very long shelf life, and besides, it's much healthier.


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## Trixters_muse (Jan 29, 2008)

Once I got to the point of having a year's supply of food for my immediate family plus extra for extended family I started putting my money in other areas, like saving for solar panels, buying more ammo etc. I am on a budget so many times I have to save awhile for the bigger things so it takes time to get what I want.

Each of our situations are different and I think if you are in a place that you feel you are ok and want to have a little fun then why not. I choose not to go out or order pizza or take expensive trips but everyone has to do what makes them happy and what they feel is right for them. I do still have my little splurges, I like to visit the local sports bar and toss darts and listen to live music. Keeps me sane-ish, lol  I also enjoy museums and galleries and an occasional day trip to another city. I still prep, filling in the gaps and doing all I can to take care of my loved ones. I have also increased our food supply even further and I now have 3 freezers.

Everyone has to decide for themselves where that line is and what you want to do when that time comes. Kuddos to you Shrek for being smart enough to still enjoy life a little. Have fun!


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## Ozarks Tom (May 27, 2011)

It's not a bad idea to have enough canning jars & lids to handle everything in your freezers should the power go out long term, and your generator can only run them so long.

Everyone's situation is different, and a year's food & essentials for some may mean only 3 months for others. We don't plan on "adopting" a passel of folks, but we would need enough other sets of eyes and ears to keep the place secure. Our idea of "enough" consequently is an adequate store for around 5 people for a year, plus enough beans/rice,wheat to trade with neighbors who raise cattle and pigs, but don't store much of anything.

Too many stores are like something else I've never had, "extra" money.


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

elkhound said:


> the heavy bags you dip in boiling water and they shrink up nice and tight....i wanna try a few this fall.
> 
> 
> http://www.cornerstone-farm.com/


We use those on our birds and rabbits. I don't dip them in boiling water though. I make to big of a mess. I use my hair dryer on them.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

Spinner said:


> This is why ROTATION is so important. Also home canning and dehydrating. Store bought food has a very limited shelf life, home canned and dehydrated (properly packaged) has a very long shelf life, and besides, it's much healthier.


I understand your point. Trust me, what with having done the professional concessionaire courses and having designed concession point of sale and inventory software as part of my living, I know about rotation of stock. 

I will burst your bubble on the shelf life of home canned products though. Deterioration is based upon the product and storage conditions more than the hands that put it in storage.

As an example, dill pickles have the vinegar slowly eating away at structural bonds in the cucumbers. They will go soft over time, and the best that can be done to prolong their life is to keep them cool. In contrast, we all know about the fast food french fries that last forever. I would be embarrassed to have food last that long. Processed cereals last for ages as well because of the extraordinary processing they get. 

There is a balance. Eating food from 1941 outside of an emergency is not a good example of balance. At a point, prepping can turn into a type of hoarding.


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

It's all the salt on the fries. Preserves em. If someone is eating food from 1941 they either have one heck of a food storage room or they aren't using or rotating their food.


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## BillHoo (Mar 16, 2005)

I've started rotating stuff that I started squirreling away in 2009.

It's a almost a chore to remember to eat at least one meal of storage foods per week - especially in the summertime when everything is so fresh and available.


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## Wendy (May 10, 2002)

I have a few quarts of pears that are left fro 2005. They still taste fine. We normally eat stuff quicker than that, but that year was a bumper crop & I canned & canned. I didn't want to see them go to waste. 

I prefer to see a lot of my food wandering around in the barnyard.


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

I can kinda understand this- 
when I first started learning about this stuff- I felt scattered- and prepping everyyyyythinnnggg- 
now after 4 or 5 years- I am focusing more on skills- food -growing it/harvesting it/preserving it..
sewing/crocheting/butchering/foraging

any old skill I can learn- I feel like it is prepping- 
and reading- 
I have been buildin my library- it is easy to find the old old how to books and old old cook books- 
I figure - SHTF- if I can make brownies in a solar oven from scratch- there will be some sugar head willing to barter anything I want LOL


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

I should add- I have enough things- after learning dehydration- thanks to Elkhound- and his Tater thread- 
and canned goods to last at least 2 yrs-


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## StickyFloors (Aug 4, 2014)

I think it's called prepfatigue. It happens. 

Give yourself some space and perhaps learn how to make something like root beer or cheese, or learn to hunt or fish, and find the fun in it. It does exist. 

Don't beat yourself up, Shrek. I mean, after all my love, you are still here in this forum, yes?


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