# Pantry stocking, taking the plunge



## Cheryl in SD (Apr 22, 2005)

Dh has always wanted us to have food on hand before winter sets in. He is feeling it in his bones again and this time we are going to make it a priority. So, I sat down & came up with a realistic two week rotating menu. I went through my pantry & made a list of everything I saw, made a list of all the cleaning supplies & personal care items, figured how much feed we buy for various animals. Then I set up a spread sheet. Actually two, one for what I need weekly, then transferred it into another document for yearly, quarterly, & six months. Today the girls & I inventoried everything on hand. 

It looks like we are almost at the 3 month level, so would you fill in for 3 months, then start working on 6 months & add as we find good prices up to a year? I don't think I can do a whole year $ wise right off the bat, but 3 months is very doable & 6 months would be mostly there. 

And for just in case, TEOTWASWI, happens, I am going to get a few key items that would bore us to death but would keep us alive until we are set.

What am I forgetting?


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## KindredSpirit (Feb 16, 2006)

Don't forget extra toothbrushes. We all just got over a cold/flu bug and I threw away all of our toothbrushes. For us that was four. It dawned on me that I didn't keep a lot of toothbrushes on had, maybe two at a time, but would replace them every time someone got sick. So now I am adding extra toothbrushes to my stash.


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## Cheryl in SD (Apr 22, 2005)

Gulp, forgot those! I had also forgotten candles, kerosene, & batteries! :O


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

We went out and bought as many 50 pound bags of food we could get. Beans, flour, oat meal, corn meal ect.
We have enough food to last over 2 years now.
we learned to use the food in those bags on an every day basis.
Also we hunted down cheap places to buy food. Food service or resturant supply places, ethnic stores ect.
We were trying to prep buying from wal-mart and getting no where. Check into a food co-op in your area. We have to buy $400 worth to get whole sale prices but it is worth it.
Check around to find cheap or free 5 gallon buckets for your food supplies. Other containers such as canning and comercial glass jars are good too.
try to have an assortment of easy to cook meals as well as basics. 
As far as buying basics from the co-op I tryed to buy enough of each item to last 2 people for 6-9 monthes each time. I able to do this for $400 with no problem.


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## pamintexas (Jun 15, 2002)

Cheryl, it sounds like you've made a good start. I don't know if you have your own water well or not. If not, you may want to start storing drinking water and set up a system to catch rain water. Also, if you take any medications on a regular basis you would want to lay in a supply of those. Salt is something else to think about. It could become valuable as a barter item and it's pretty inexpensive. I think Sam's or Super W.Mart has the large bags for pretty cheap.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

rose2005 said:


> Where do you all store your huge bags of flour and does it go off?
> 
> Cheryl...good thread...I need to get busy doing what you are doing. Thanks for the reminder!
> 
> ...


we store wheat.


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## magnolia2017 (Dec 5, 2005)

Cheryl,

Three months is a good start. I'd suggest making the supply you have now as complete as possible and then striving for another three months. 

If you find a really good sale and have the $, go head and stock enough for a year. That will be one item off your prep list and it saves money in the long run. With the holidays coming, baking items will be on sale. I always buy enough to last 6 months to a year.

As for boring, beans and rice are cheap and store well. You might want to experiment with recipes using them to reduce "food fatigue."

Maggie


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## Cheryl in SD (Apr 22, 2005)

Well, all I can say is this...

WHY DIDN'T i DO THIS yeeeaaaarrrrssss AGO???? :shrug: 

I took my list put it into a spreadsheet. Put in the formula to extrapolate the list out over 12 months (52 weeks) for storage items, 4 weeks for perishables. This is my baseline. Then I inventoried the pantry. Plugged those figures into the next column. For the column I plugged in a formula to calculate what I would need for 3 months based on my years requirements minus the stock on hand. I have a final column for half year. The whole thing took about an hour to set up. 

Today I needed a shopping list. I removed rows that I didn't need, changed the 3 month column by making it a slightly larger print & going bold. I printed the list in under 3 minutes. I highlighted items that were MUST haves today (4 items) and was off. 

At the grocery store I watched for sales. I would check the on sale item against my list, get as needed to the 3 month supply, picked up my 4 must haves (2 were on sale so those I stocked to the three month level) and was out of the store in 10 minutes, spending $30.87 for 6 bags of groceries. 

I got home, updated my computer for the additions & put things away.

This is so cool.


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## MawKettle (Sep 13, 2006)

Cheryl in SD said:


> So, I sat down & came up with a realistic two week rotating menu.


Cheryl....can I ask what's on your menu?

I try to incorporate our preps into our daily diet as much as possible (for rotation purposes) - but I'm at a loss as to how to use some things on an ongoing basis and keep our regular meals "fresh" (I tend to get bored eating the same thing over and over).

Just curious!


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

Cheryl in SD said:


> It looks like we are almost at the 3 month level, so would you fill in for 3 months, then start working on 6 months & add as we find good prices up to a year?
> 
> What am I forgetting?


My goal is to have a year's worth, so I would fill in the 3 months first- then move on -keeping in mind that a great sale is a great sale. But maybe your goal is different? What ever you do to prepare - you win.

Don't forget medical supplies; trash bags, alum. foil, plastic storage bags, etc. What shape is your can opener in? I have an extra of those too.


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## Cheryl in SD (Apr 22, 2005)

My menu. 

Breakfast (2 each)
Eggs, hash browns, OJ
Omelet, cheese, veg.
*Oatmeal, butter, raisins
*Pancakes, eggs, meat
*Cereal, OJ
*Cereal, Apple Juice
*7 grain cereal, apples, butter

For gluten free kids, they use gluten free pancake mix, cereal & oatmeal.


Lunch - (10 days)

Corn Tortilla tacos
Rice & Beans
Baked Potatoes
Soup
Taco Soup
Super nachos
Leftovers (4 times)

I don't plan lunches for weekends, we are either running or we just eat a late breakfast & skip lunch, or heat up leftovers.

Suppers - (2 each)
(For suppers, I rotate our starch and vegetable or salad. If there are leftovers (not happening lately with 5 growing kids) they go for lunches or may end up in another dish, example, after roast, we have stew, after chicken we have stir fry or chicken soup.)

Protein - 
Roast
Hamburger
Chicken Breast
Chicken whole
Stew meat/stir fry
Beans (either as chili, beans & rice, or bean/ham soup or in a taco salad)
Steak

Homemade Pizza (substitute for one of the above every other week)

Starch - 

Brown Rice
Pasta
Potatoes
Squash
Corn

Vegetable -

Winter mix, frozen
Fiesta mix, frozen
Peas & carrots, frozen
Stir fry, frozen
Mixed, frozen
cabbage, fresh
Green beans, canned
Salad mix, fresh


We try to keep lunches & suppers gluten free so I don't have to cook two meals. 

I used to plan dishes for suppers, but with the diet restrictions I am getting good at combining foods to make casseroles or just season well & eat.

I can't do a wheat based pantry. It isn't an option for us.


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## Mysticdream44 (Dec 29, 2004)

SquashNut said:


> We went out and bought as many 50 pound bags of food we could get. Beans, flour, oat meal, corn meal ect.
> We have enough food to last over 2 years now.
> we learned to use the food in those bags on an every day basis.
> Also we hunted down cheap places to buy food. Food service or resturant supply places, ethnic stores ect.
> ...



What containers do you use to store your beans,flour, oatmeal, corn meal, ect in?? I've been trying to find some kind of bins I could put it in. I know you can use buckets, but I'd like to find something where its easier to get to so I'm more inclined to use it everyday.


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## Cheryl in SD (Apr 22, 2005)

I use those big popcorn tins. My mil & I watch for them at yard sales, They usually run about 50 cents. They work well at keeping critters out & they also look nice on a shelf in my kitchen. For the storage room we are going to use galvanised trash cans. I don't remove them from the bags they come in. Right now everything fits in the pantry, but it won't if we can do this. I am concerned about mice, so I thought the metal cans would work better. I did find a car wash that sells 50 gallon plastic cans for $5. You might try your local car washes to see.


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## ruby_jane (May 15, 2007)

Anyone ever checked out Survival Monkey's forum? I caught something from them recently about bottling water, and if you can wade through the info maybe something there can help in the pantry prep... :shrug:


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## FUNKY PIONEER (Sep 20, 2005)

I can't eat gluten and I have found a great substitute is Quinoa, it has the same nutrition as a glass of whole milk so you could really live off it alone if you had to. Its triple the cost of wheat but I find it to be worth the cost.


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## blue gecko (Jun 14, 2006)

Be sure to use a Sharpie and date (month/year) everything. Rotation is the key to maintaining your shelf goods. I move mine to the front and replace from the back. Premixed things like pancake/biscuit mix have a tendency to get moldy and toxic so if you use them only stock for a few months.

When you use something from the pantry write it down and when you replace it buy 3-4. Buy case amounts whenever they are on sale. 

Dry goods. Do you have a vacuum sealer? It was the best purchase I ever made for the pantry. I store dry goods i.e. flour, rice, beans etc 2 main ways. I either vac seal them in half gallon or quart jars or I oven "can" them in gallon containers.

Longer term or big bulk storage items like large sacks of flour/whole grains the best method is to put them in mylar bag lined 5 gal buckets, use O2 replacers or dry ice to push the oxygen out. Seal the bags with an iron and then seal the tubs. You can order pretubbed bulk foods from lots of places, check out Walton Feed for some ideas.

If you haven't checked it out already, look at A.T.Hagens prep tips. When he posts the link is at the bottom of his post. It's chock full of great ideas.


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## shellrow (Feb 8, 2007)

Good Thread!! I have plenty of storage space now and with the drought we are going through I am somewhat in panic mode right now. I am going to start really stocking up on the things that we need. I am also going to start canning more. My garden was very non-productive this year due to the weather and I am going to buy from the local farmers market and can as much as I get my hands on. I am also going to try my hand at canning meats for the first time. Right now I have rain barrels outside collecting any rain that we might get ( it rained for about 3 minutes earlier) and I intend to start stocking up and buying water with each paycheck. I believe that it will not be long before the SHTF here.


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## beorning (Apr 14, 2006)

> Where do you all store your huge bags of flour and does it go off?


We use clean trash cans. Buying 50# bags and storing them in a cool, dry basement room we've never had any go bad, but we burn through it pretty quick. We've never kept flour longer than a year.


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## Junkman (Dec 17, 2005)

We keep plenty of unscented Clorox, powdered milk and baking soda. The soda makes a great sub for toothpaste. And, it isn't poison like toothpaste.
(No, we don't eat the toothpaste) I have found good results with Bay Leaves in my flours, cereal, etc. Keeps out the weavils. You can purchase bulk jellos and puddings at bulk stores. We also keep a big glass jar, lined with plastic of matches. A good place to get big empty glass and plastic jars is from a school cafeteria. The cooks will usually be glad to let you have them, especially if you say, "don't bother to wash them." Jklady


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## Cindy in NY (May 10, 2002)

Cheryl - it's been about two years. Any changes to your inventory and menu method?


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## DW (May 10, 2002)

I read somewhere...kaopectate & pepto, but I'm going to add toothbrushes, too. I like the idea of the popcorn cans. They would look okay sitting out on a shelf. I'm going to look for some.


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## firegirl969 (Nov 3, 2008)

"What containers do you use to store your beans,flour, oatmeal, corn meal, ect in?? I've been trying to find some kind of bins I could put it in. I know you can use buckets, but I'd like to find something where its easier to get to so I'm more inclined to use it everyday."

I store my big quantities in buckets and then keep large pickle jars in the cabinet with some of everything I store so that I will use it regularly. My jar lids are covered with contact paper to make them look nice. (Grandma did this for me)


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## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

I've got a good supply of the old suntea jars that were popular some years ago. I don't know if they still sell these, but back when I got mine they sold for a couple dollars each. I have 15 of these that I use for the "often" used food supplies. These are clear glass jars with heavy plastic screw lids. I like seeing what is inside them, but still have a label taped on the jar to identify, especially the different flours. I'd like to have about 20 more of these if anyone has seen them on sale somewhere for not much money. I used to use them for water storage, but the greater need was for holding food basics. These are tall jars and might not fit in every pantry but are perfect for mine.


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

Cheryl in SD said:


> Well, all I can say is this...
> 
> WHY DIDN'T i DO THIS yeeeaaaarrrrssss AGO???? ...........


We all say that - even those that did start years ago. LOL..

I think you have done a great job. You have surmounted ther hardest part already - making a plan and working it!!! :bow:

Do what you think is best - you won't go wrong with either path. The idea is to have supplies around just in case.....


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## Cheryl in SD (Apr 22, 2005)

Update - The last year was bad for us finacially, but we ate well! Most things I still keep a year's worth on hand, but there are a couple of items I am low on right now (cereal, toilet paper & gluten free items). These I will be replacing this next month. I don't always have a full year of everything on hand, but I do have a full year of food on hand, so we would eat, but it may get boring. We are working on growing more of our own and using more fresh/canned from our land. This has been our focus once we g ot the pantry to a level we could feel comfortable with. Last fall dh built a cold storage room in the basement and that really helped! There are a couple of things that will need to be rotated soon, but that is okay!


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

Mysticdream44 said:


> What containers do you use to store your beans,flour, oatmeal, corn meal, ect in?? I've been trying to find some kind of bins I could put it in. I know you can use buckets, but I'd like to find something where its easier to get to so I'm more inclined to use it everyday.


I'm leaning toward paint cans for my day to day usage. I'll have the "big" container in the basement of some items, but once I crack the seal I'll move the contents to paint cans for daily usage. They will be easy to label and a uniform size so it will be easy to set the shelves in the cupboard to the right height. Then some items, like brown rice, I'll never buy is large quantities so I it will go directly to the paint can. Should keep the critters and bugs out, too.

Now, to get home so I can buy paint cans.....8 days and counting!


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

Ohio Dreamer, can you tell us more about those paint cans? I'd be skeptical about using them, unless they're new, clean, and have never had actual paint in them! Are they food grade? 

Not pickin' on you; just want to know! 

NeHi


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

The are new, never used cans. You, so I have been told, can get them from Lowe's and Sherwin Williams. I'm sure others stores as well. I'm going to call around and see who's got the best price once we get moved. Apparently there are 34 cans in a case as two of the "can holes" are the lids, stacked. The guy that posted this on another forum got his from SW for $2 each. He starts by putting a 2 gallon plastic bag as they are lined with gray - and no one assumes it's "food grade" paint. 50# of sugar fits in 6 1/2 cans and 25# of flour fills 4.


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## Madame (Jan 1, 2003)

Newbies may find this link handy: https://share.acrobat.com/adc/adc.do?docid=d12f6bb8-9fca-45d5-b42e-bb2d43358388


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