Help me out, I'm 'hoarding food and it's ridiculous'.

This is starting to become a bone of contention between my partner and myself, and I'm not saying that one of us is 100% right and the other has got it all wrong BUT....is it seriously THAT crazy and ridiculous to have a good supply of food stashed away? I've basically got a few things, not loads, maybe enough for the 2 of us and the 2 kids to last us a few days at the most and my plan is to add to this every time I go food shopping.

One of the things I have quite a lot of are instant noodles, mainly because they are cheap and don't take up much space. My other half thinks I'm being over dramatic and that I'm becoming a 'hoarder' lol.....Just need a few opinions and maybe an example or two of what others are doing so I can then show them that I'm not going mad.



Would be much appreciated!!

There is nothing wrong with having a stash of food. Sometimes ill stock up on things with a long shelf life when they go on sale. Plus its usually cheaper to buy in bulk so why not save money while you're stocking up? Does your partner drive around with a quarter tank of gas all the time?

Tell your other half to eat the hoarded food if they have that much of a problem with it.

Actually don't, bad advice.

reply to post by snowgirl


Storing enough food for 4 people for a few days is not hoarding. Heck, it's not even being adequately prepared for a week of bad weather.

Since you asked for advice, start by buying a bit extra of the foods you and your family already eat regularly, more if it keeps well. Rotate your stock. Start by building up a 3-day supply, then a 3-month supply, and ultimately a 3-year supply.

Be smart about it and don't buy food that will go bad before you use it. And don't completely neglect other aspects of preparation.

Having a good stock of food saved up is as much about SHTF as it is just basic disaster survival. You never know when that freak snowstorm, that freak tornado, that [insert disaster here] will come up and you'll need that food.

I'm not trying to be a smart-aXX here, but maybe you can take a picture of your stash.

Some people don't represent the reality when they're writing it down. Not saying that that's you, but you know.

3-days worth of food (high calorie, low bulk type stuff) shouldn't encompass more that a little tub's worth of space, especially instant noodles.

I've talked my wife into having a "oh poop" panty in the basement, but I've yet to stock it.

reply to post by snowgirl


My husband and I have had this same fight before and it's usually me opposing him. Not because I'm against the supply because it's saved our butts before when times are tough, but because I usually end up carrying the cardboard boxes full of cans, jars, etc.

Where are you keeping your "hoard"? I find the look of neatly stacked back-up food in a separate location to be almost reassuring. Keep track of the cost, and when your SO gets funny about it tell him that those shelves of food are worth two pairs of fancy shoes. "I guess I could always buy shoes instead" should be enough for him to choose the lesser of the evils. Always "face-up" your stock too, because in the long run it'll do you no good if your stock goes bad, and then you'll never hear the end of it.

My household keeps about two months of food in readiness. We also grow our own garden and can or freeze the extra. It is only hording if you don't end up using all the food you have prepared. Make sure to keep the food rotated out. that way you don't have spoiled food down the road.

'Hoarding' is a political term to demonize back stocking of goods and supplies.

To further enforce the negative stereotype, TV shows spotlight people who have been collecting junk in their homes for years. It used to be called 'pack ratting' and is fairly normal to find most anywhere you go. And of course, making the so-called 'hoarder' into a negative citizen is meant to help you prepare for one day when your home and your property and your choices as an individual are stripped away.

You are being a responsible parent to 2 children, who depend on you to think ahead for them. Don't stress over your mate not having the forethought to think of these things. It's that Mama Bear instinct in you Dear.

Keep doing what you are doing...the price of food will only keep going up. You are saving money for the whole family when you purchase some things when they are on sale. For example...peanut butter.

Des

Hey you don't need food in a Fema Camp - 3 squares & a warm cot...what else do you need???

Peace

you are merely building up a well stocked pantry... in the long run

hoarding is spending a Grand or so on crates of freeze-dried foods or cartons of MRE (meals ready to eat)

a continually circulating Pantry is what many a family does & what even the city dwellers during the depression had secretly stashed away...just in case they didn't make the bread line or soup kitchen that day



add: busycooks.about.com...

Well, I have to say that this really doesn't even make sense. Who would complain about three days worth of food? Unless...say, it is spread out over the floor or stored on top of the counter because there isn't any other place to put it?

Three extra days stored away somewhere is certainly NOT anything to complain about. It is good, common sense. In fact, they say 72 hrs of water of some protein is a bare minmum for ANY kind of natural disaster where you loose access to your infrastructure. It is just basic preparedness.

For example, where we live, there is the potential for serious flooding. Happens almost every year, but so far we have managed to not have to evacuate. But it could happen and has in the past here. We also have three large dams upriver that could bury our area under many feet of water in a half-hours notice. I have two live volcanos less than 50 miles from me. I live on top of the Cascadia subduction zone. So. For me NOT to be prepared is just plain stupid, right? This is basic common sense stuff. I have chosen to have a bug-out bad supplied with 72 hrs worth of stuff plus survival gear in a backpack by the front door. I have a few gallons of extra water in my house....a few down in the garage in case we can't get into the house (house is elevated) and several stashed out in the 5th wheel. Since I don't have space inside, I decided to keep at least two weeks of food stocked in the 5th wheel. I figure this way, in case we need to pick up and go in a hurry, we can take the food and supplies with us! We then use this food in the summer time when we go on vacation and I re-stock it again for the next year. Works pretty good.

I say approach it from just a common sense stance. Go over what your local, realistic concerns are for natural disasters and plan for that first. If they don't agree to THAT, well then I think maybe they just aren't very intelligent.

If you are going to take a picture like Wickettherabit suggested then make sure you have the trator-ware turned off in the images' meta file, especially the GPS location function. Some people would take advantage of that.

reply to post by snowgirl


I think that's hardly "hoarding" food to be honest with you

Besides, even apart from SHTF and end of the world scenarios; you never really know what's around the corner or what life's going to throw at you, stocking up on foods such as tinned goods, noodles, packet rice/pasta etc has come in useful for me personally more than once.

It's fine to have a little stash of backup food.

Get rid of everything, I mean all of food in the house. Then act flabbergasted when they say "I'm hungry"

So what is the specific complaint he or she have with you storing provisions? Are they taking up too much space in the house? I live in Texas and we've been known to have hurricanes. In 2008 Hurricane Ike passed through and there were some people standing in lines that stretched a couple of blocks for food and ice. Luckily for my husband, myself, and a parent we had more than enough stocked food, although we received a box of mres from a neighbor we were able to provide for ourselves. Stocking up on food sounds excessive and paranoid to some but they must understand we can't rely on the kindness of strangers to always help us. Oh let me tell you, FEMA didn't hesitate in telling people their well-being was their responsibility. So if the stocked food is cramping the house maybe if it's possible for you to buy a small shed you could use to store your food. If you can't buy a shed just buy enough food that don't congest the house. This probably don't mean much but I don't think buying a little more food than you need to keep in place for an emergency is a bad idea.

if the shtf right now i'd be able to keep 6 odd people fairly well fed for a month at least. 3 days worth is not even close to being enough.

Why hoard food? Silly billy
Have faith man, all will be good.

reply to post by snowgirl


I would just simply say, the government thinks we need 3 days set aside www.ext.colostate.edu...


I would then follow up with Katirna, east coast blackouts for new york, Tornadoes, loss of power, blizzards, floods, fires and earthquakes.

www.fema.gov...&web.pdf
If he gives you a hard time...and says oh that will never happen to us...point out the Missouri River flooding last year, the tornado in Joplin, the fires in Texas, and actually all the south west USA.
There are hundreds of things every year that could be very stressful, and with having food and water, alone with your house, you have the very basic's to survive whatever happens.
Point out the fact...that something does happen...would you rather run around tring to get what we need then...or would you like to put your feet up and relax..knowing you have all you need...maybe even take a nap...