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

reply to post by beezzer


In the past 2 weeks, I've made around 65 fresh veggie and fruit cakes in large bread loaf pans. Vacuum packed them and stacked them in the freezer.

Purchased 100s of lbs. of organic, by the case, sweet potatoes, zucchini, butternut squash, 5 types of apples, 100 lbs carrots..

I got all that produce for pennies on the dollar. Have the loaves for anytime they are needed. I'll defrost and ice one every now and then...give as little gifts to friends. Trade for something I want or need.

I like doing massive preparing of things like this, when the opportunity arrives.

Come Summer, and Fall....I'll be a canning fool.....

reply to post by snowgirl


WHoever is saying "don't stash away food" is an idiot. Regardless of the future politically, it makes ECONOMIC SENSE.

We bought the best part of half a pallet of flour a few months ago. Each sack cost us $8.99. Now ON SALE it's $17.99.

We also bought a ton of coffee at $6.99 each tin in December. It's $8.99 for HALF THE SIZE in a SALE now.

Buying up SOME food, say a few months supply in some basics is better than any savings scheme.

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

Well you are correct, it is ridiculous!

WHy not try to enjoy the short life you have and spread cheer and good practices to your family and fellow man instead of being obsessed with something that likely will never occur?

For your efforts to come to fruition you want a serious disaster. Is that a nice way to live?

Your choice of course, have a nice day...after....

reply to post by Illustronic


You don't have to be wishing for a disaster to know one might come. And it can be quite fun and enjoyable to spend time preparing. It brings families closer together. Which do you think sound like a healthier pasttime, watching TV and shooshing the kids when they interrupt the show, or sitting on the deck together canning some vegetables and learning a skill and having a conversation? Which is better, going to see a movie in a dark theatre, or going for a day hike in a local park? Lets see, how about identifying the top 40 pop songs, or identifying some edible roots and berries?

You seem to have the completely wrong impression of preparing. Preparing is just part of living, and part of raising a good family and enjoying one another's company.

Plus, disasters happen frequently. My old hometown of Joplin, MO was completely wiped off the map last spring, and people there went weeks without grocery stores or hospitals or utilities. They are still without adequate hospital care, and people are being shipped 70 miles away if they need any serious care.

Everyone should be prepped for at least a 7-14 day occurrence. We will all experience a small disaster sometime in our lifetime.

My daughter accuses me of being a food hoarder too.

I stock up on good deals. For example, I bought 2 doz cans of artichokes when they were 99 cents. I stocked up on dried fruit, bought 5 large bags for $5. Stocked up on peanuts, peanut butter and honey when I heard about the prices going up and honey bees in danger.

I have bags of flour, beans, grains, seeds and nuts, sealed in air tight bags, cans of oil, and precooked frozen meals. And, of course several large bottles of water.

The water gets turned off a lot, without notice here. Recently, we had a 2 day power outage, and I was glad for the precooked, frozen meals I had.

If TS doesn't HTF, so what? I got food!


I just imagined a terrible earthquake and ensuing tsunami. My plastic bags of food and bottles of water were washing up on Japanese beaches.

reply to post by snowgirl


I have a e-mail buddy in Cairo. They live in a 6th floor condo

My friend and his wife heard a huge commotion outside in the streets and he said it looked like thousands of maniacs were running amok complete with police, etc...........now he asked his wife, we need to go shopping for food - we're running low on stuff but I can't go out in this.

His wife told him to look in the guest bedroom.

Stacked floor to ceiling was nothing but food and supplies, enough for quite a while, the bed was folded up, the entire room was stocked.

He asked, "When in the heck did you do all this hoarding?"

She replied, "Each time I went shopping I bought just a little extra and stashed it...........we can sit tight for a long while until things calm down than go to my sister's.

I've read, several books you might enjoy. I secretly admit I did. Loads of useful info in each book.

-- Lights Out by David Crawford
-- Deep Winter by Thomas Sherry (sugar sweet like Ned Flanders but some good information)
-- Deep Winter 2 by Thomas Sherry called, Shatter and book 3 Remnant
-- Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse - James Wesley Rawles
-- Ashfall by Mike Mullin (Yellowstone blows)

Thomas Sherry has been a busy bee, his books average 600-700 pages long. David Crawford's, Lights Out is 611 pages.

Now depending on the crisis and we currently have several main ones going on................Japan with Reactor 4 having melted down (yes it looked melted down months ago to me) all the food hoarding and tunnel digging ain't going to help you.

You would logically need a seed vault, the likes of only Bill & Melinda Gates or the US Government can afford, 1,000 miles deep and built into the side of a granite mountain.

For fun see a movie, love it, called, "Blast From The Past" - with Alicia Silverstone. It's funny, not educational but will lighten you up.

30-40 feet deep with 1 year supply of food and seeds - sorry but in my humble and uneducated opinion (I'm no nuclear expert won't do diddly squat if we have enough radiation leaks

Look below

Plutonium (play /pluːˈtoʊniəm/ ploo-toh-nee-əm) is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation states. It reacts with carbon, halogens, nitrogen and silicon. When exposed to moist air, it forms oxides and hydrides that expand the sample up to 70% in volume, which in turn flake off as a powder that can spontaneously ignite. It is also radioactive and can accumulate in the bones. These properties make the improper handling of plutonium dangerous.

Plutonium is the heaviest primordial element by virtue of its most stable isotope, plutonium-244, whose half-life of about 80 million years is just long enough for the element to be found in trace quantities in nature.[3] Plutonium is mostly a byproduct of nuclear fission in reactors: Some of the neutrons released by the fission process convert uranium-238 nuclei into plutonium.[4] Source: en.wikipedia.org...

Don't forget the Gulf Oil Gusher (It was never a spill) is still sprewing and on top of that is the nice CoreExit our government poured on top, our ozone layer possibly being destroyed by HAARP, multiple big earthquakes (my state has the most nuclear reactors in the USA) and we won't even go into the possibility of WWIII being just two keys away.

Humanity is living precariously these days but you can't tell anyone anything because everyone thinks they know it all...........so things will keep escalating until we reach a breaking point or Mother Earth gets so tired of the fleas on her back she shakes us all off.

Live each day to the fullest, I've stopped trying to tell people to throw the psychopaths running our planet out of office, I'm done trying to educate people that service to others vs service to self is mankind's only salvation.

Treasure each moment you have left and don't worry - tomorrow a asteroid the size of NY could slam right into us so again, enjoy and be grateful for each and every day.

Feed the squirrels, watch the birds, smell the flowers, walk barefoot in the park and kiss your love like it's the first time and the last time each time that you part.

Life in some form or other will continue, if not here on this third rock from a medium class yellow star, somewhere else.

And, your soul, your life force is eternal.

Only thing I hope is if we go, it's fast and not painful.

I hate pain.

Personally I don't think the end is coming this year, probably the day after I win 10,000,000 in my state's lottery that's usually how my luck runs.

reply to post by snowgirl



Its best to keep a stash of food. If she is not happy with it get some boxes. Box some stuff up and store it somewhere cool, dark and dry,

Depends what said food is, and how long it'll keep.

Truthfully though, I got to a point where I started to think that Survivalism in general gets dumb after a certain (fairly minimal) level. Learn firebuilding, and maybe how to build some shelter; get a multitool, and also know some basic first aid. That is really about it. Maybe learn to shoot if you want.

The fact is that you're going to die, at some point. You can do as much as you want, and prep as much as you want...but at best, the most you will do is delay the time and the circumstances. You can have a bunker, but it won't let you live forever. It might take you through a certain situation, but that's it.

The second point is that no matter how well armed you try and get, there is always a bigger fish, which means that ultimately, your stash is always up for grabs. If government takes notice of you after TSHTF, and they bring the army, then forget it. You're toast, irrespective of what you've got. If a group of marauders are sufficiently well-armed, then same.

I've moved to an area where people are more accustomed to living off the land, and doing so low-tech. I've also made friends with them to a sufficient degree that I've got a couple of different potential places to stay lined up, at this point; and I also have WWOOFing to fall back on. As far as I'm concerned, that is enough. I don't own land, and even if I did, holing yourself up in a single location can actually be more dangerous than staying mobile. What happens if the area you're hunkered down in, just happens to be the area that the authorities have decided to focus on?

I think personally that you're a lot better off getting rid of the idea of massive stores, and focusing on boosting your social network as much as possible. Get in with a group of people who prove to you that you can trust them, and that they trust you. Learn some skills to become valuable to them, and work on your ability to get along with people, as well. Then stay very mobile and fluid, and keep your options open.

reply to post by snowgirl

If you two can't come to terms with controversy before a SHTF situation what are you going to do after?
Sounds to me if he/she is using terms like 'hoarder' you've got a lot more to face than a life changing situation from without, but also from within.
Just my two cents and yeah I know nothing about you two so I should just shut up, lol.

On the other hand - YOU - have to do what you have to do. And if there's kids involved? Wow.

So, hang in there and just remember - anything more than a 2 week supply of food and water? The FED's can take anyway in a SHTF situation. And if you can't protect that food? Well, really, what good it it.

I hope I'm not adding to your misery.

peace

So tell us, have you shown your mate these posts? Has it opened a dialog that you can compromise your positions? How is that going?

I have a supply of water, and some protein, fruit and nut type bars stashed. Enough to last me maybe 2 weeks to a month if I include canned goods etc. There are multiple reasons why it is good to be prepared. Our lives can change quickly. If something really big happens, I am not prepared.

Hey there. I have been through this with the other half, also.

How I convinced him was with the food prices. Every stinking time I go to the Super market the price has gone up, or the package has gotten smaller. I pretty much told him that it is an investment. If I buy 3 jars of coffee this month I am saving (just for sake of argument I am gonna pull some numbers out of my bum!!!) 6 bucks off next months bill. Now, keep adding it up....sugar, olive oil, canned veg, rice, flour etc....

If you actually sit there and try to figure out how much extra your food bill is every month you may be really suprised. I am disgusted every time I got to the supermarket. It isn't going to get any better either. Convice your wife or husband that you need to start stocking up a little here and there based on the food prices. Maybe picking up extra when stuff is on sale and things.

Part of the problem, I am just assuming here, is that only you go to the market and see the rising prices. If so, bring him/her with you for a little sticker shock. Then convince them that the prices are just going to keep going up, you could stash a little food at current prices, or you could stash some money and pay higher prices later on.

I notice you mention that you were just stashing cheap things at the moment, this is also a good tactic. Later on you can worry about luxuries, for now, let him/her see that you aren't blowing a ton of cash.

I got my mother in law to clean out a closet and make a pantry, now she is stashing like a mad woman. Maybe you should try to get the mother in law in? We kind of gang up on the guys and give em what for when they try to poke fun. Once in a while we have to hit that stash too, and my hubby sees the value in it.

Another thing I like about the house stash. If you feel like cooking something you don't always have to make a trip out to the store, you have things on hand.

One other thing. The way I see it, if you are cheif cook and shopper in the house, tell him to get the hell out of the kitchen! Keep your stashes neat and out of the way. He/she can complain about it when they start doing all the work!


One last thing, I think there is some devious power at work making fun of "hoarders" and "making do" types. They perpetuate this idea so people are ashamed to reuse their cottage cheese containers, or stash some cans of soup. It doesn't benefit us at all. It only benefits corporations. People are so afraid to save and reuse a jar or something. It is so wierd. This throw away mentality is detrimental to our health and the health of the whole planet. Remember neccesity is the mother of invention, not Walmart! Hoarders aren't wierd disgusting people. They are just looking out for themselves. Wierd disgusting people are going to be wierd and disgusting wether they are stashing or not right? So get hoarding.