Congratulations! That's such a good feeling to know you are preparing to provide for your family in an emergency.

 

I got that Augason Farms 1month Food Bucket for 99 bucks from walmart. It really is peace of mind knowing you don't have to stand in line at a Government Food distribution center or pay 5x the amount for food if something bad happened.

And worse come to worse, if nothing happens, then you can always eat it when it gets close to its expiration date. Peace of mind, and food!

Good for 25yrs!

 

Hurray for you, you took the first step we did by getting basically the same thing from Sam’s club. Just be careful in your calculations. One of the things we learned in prepackaged stuff like that they count the calories of any drink mixes they send in the daily total. Also their portions are usually way below what most people consider realistic to use.

I do commend you on your start and don’t let what I am saying make you feel you made a mistake in any way. A couple things for you to consider now that you are getting more into this. Consider doing some canning from your garden. You may also consider doing some canning of your favorite protein. Being in Iowa I am a Super Beef eater. I looked at the Textured Vegetable Protein in what we got and told my wife if she wanted her cat to be safe we needed to come up with a different plan. (Not really but I’m not going to tell her that or she may actually expect me to eat the TVP, Then it is a small step to Tofu “HELP!”) She learned to can stew meat from Sides of beef we would get. She then rotates them in our regular diet. If she forgets to take something out then she will grab a jar and put it into Hamburger Helper or whatever else she wants to make. This keeps them rotated.
You should also get to know your local LDS Bishops Storehouse if you have one in the area. You don’t have to be Mormon to use it. We were at ours Last Saturday and did some canning of our own. Basically you do your own A. Farms by canning it yourself. You could also learn to Mylar bag things.

Just some thoughts for you to look into.

 

You are totally right. I winced when I looked at some of the ingredients, because we are pretty much dye-free, low-preservative, healthy eaters. BUT I had to just tell myself to keep it all in perspective, right? Survival is survival, and my kids eating preservatives is 2000% better than them eating gluten. But yeah, the TVP is just...no. Actually, maybe I can feed the TVP to the cats and then everyone wins.

I definitely need to learn to can. And really need to learn to can meat. I have all of the equipment, I just need to jump in and DO THE DANG JOB!!! I am intimidated and I need to let that start making me mad at myself, and then I will get off my duff and learn.

I keep thinking about trying to pretend that I have only 12 months left to prepare and see if that arbitrary deadline will make me move forward with some things.

 

I have been prepping on a budget for two years and so it's been a slow trickle or upward climb.

Good for you and your family! It's always heartening to read such a report from someone who loves their family enough to prepare for them. :thumb:

And BTW, the only ones that can fully prepare without having to worry about money is the government - and they must steal to get it.

 

I know the feeling. I finally have enough to not worry as much. But when I make a rice order or get alot of extra canned food its such a relief......for about a week!

 

Actually, I know where it will come from - we will suspend our satellite tv service for three months and that will pay for it. We still have Netflix and that's all we need for entertainment, tv-wise. Maybe I should suspend satellite tv for a year and just stock the heck of things. Probably good for my whole family for many reasons.

Maybe there are some things others can do that will ease the pressure for them in the same way....and I would love to hear ideas on other "big fixes" that anyone has had a similar experience with.

Good call on getting rid of the satellite TV:thumb: I've never been a big TV person but with an antenna, I pick up 2 (sometimes 3) network channels and 3 public broadcasting channels...all for free I like being able to watch the news and some football games.

 

Actually canning beef was much easier than we ever though. I’m not usually allowed in the kitchen and even I can do it. There really is nothing to be intimidated about. Couple things we learned right off. First don’t try Hamburger unless you are canning it in something like spaghetti sauce. It cooks all the fat out of it and that is what holds hamburger together. It doesn’t taste bad it just has the consistency of gravel.

What worked best for us was to make a roast in the crock pot and make as much juice as possible without watering down the taste of the broth. Then use that to can the cheapest cuts of meat you can get your hands on. We get our meat by the quarter or side and I tell our butcher to not make half the hamburger he normally would and put it as stew meat instead. He thinks I am a stew fanatic but just smiles and gives me what I want since the check always clears.

You want the toughest meat you can get your hands on because you end up cooking it three times. If you start out with good meat you cook it into shoe leather. The really though stuff you could not chew actually turns out nice and tender. We can it in the broth from the Roast to add flavor. Comes out great. Just make sure you pressure can it and follow the directions in the Ball Canning book.

 

There are a few ways to can stew meat. In my most recent try, I chose the raw pack method, but instead of water, I used beef bouillon. Less work, but I felt the meat ended up to be a bit too, gosh how to explain, it just fell apart. Decent flavor, but it did not hold together.

I have also not had great luck with texture when packing fully cooked beef stew meat.

My best attempt at canning beef was when I briefly seared the meat, not
cooked before packing. I packed very tightly an added next to no water (something like a tablespoon for a pint jar). That came out pretty well.

Canning meat, I think, is either easier or no more difficult than canning many types of fruit or vegetables. It is much easier than making jam or jelly.

I have not had a successful go at canning bacon. I think the next time I will try a little pre-cooking.

 

If you have a pressure canner and all that is stopping you is some fear here is a video to watch:

Maybe now you will start doing some LTS of ingredients. The LDS is a great resource for this. You don't have to be a member, I'm not and I've gone to their local cannery.

If what you want is ready to cook items, maybe you should look into doing meals in a jar or Mylar using glutten free ingredients. It will be cheaper and better quality. Here's another website that I thought gave good information:

http://americanpreppersnetwork.com/2012/04/basics-of-gluten-free-prepping.html

 

My family has similar diet restrictions. My wife has some food allergies (eggs) which limit what types of food we can buy as a family, or, of course, store. Our son is special needs which presents another set of challenges.

(Based on my limited understanding, and I may be wrong, people who have allergies to eggs are often really allergic to the sulfur in eggs. So high sulfur foods, like garlic, sulfa drugs, antibiotics incubated in eggs or anything with sulfates or sulfides are a problem. Most pasta and breads, the kind without eggs, have ferrous sulfate which would cause my wife to break out in hives. A few pasta brands use ferrous lactate which is not a problem for my wife. I also discovered a product called "Egg Replacer" (available from Amazon) which reproduces the binding quality of eggs so we can make pancakes, cakes, egg noodles, all without eggs.)

I share your great sense of relief when we finally were able to have a store of foods as well as a food plan where we did not have to spend all our time reading labels. It is a great relief to us that we have food that she can eat and that our son will tolerate.

 

Okay, I do not mean to spam this thread, but it really is like a path I have traveled in dealing with my wife and son's dietary limitations.

Here are some thoughts. They are in no particular order. I might call this a stream of consciousness, but I am not certain that my waking state qualifies as being conscious.

Rather than focus on what food to store, my family and I now look at what we eat every day and how we can have shelf-stable versions of our everyday foods. Making these changes to our eating habits lowered our overall food costs but increased to quality of the food we eat. Thus we incorporate the important truism: we store what we eat and eat what we store.

We grow, with organic methods, much of our own vegetables or buy fresh, leaning toward, but not limited to, organic. We then can, freeze or dehydrate it. We do this to control the ingredients. Don't want added salt, don't add it. Want gluten-free, do not add stuff with gluten. That is great thing about preserving your own food, you have complete control!

We still buy certain commercially canned food. Some things just cannot be canned at home (bread crackers, cheese), other things we simply like (Cholula and Tabasco) and somethings are just easier (canned corn). I have even made my own ketchup.

Getting a pressure caner or two was a great investment for me. (Do not confuse this with a pressure cooker). Pressure canners can also be used for boiling water bath canning. Home canning is great fun and makes having a large garden more practical. Though I will concede that I spend a god deal of time in August through October in canning in the evening. But it is so yummy this time of year to crack open a jar or two of roma tomatoes I grew from seeds I sprouted in ground that I controlled canned with only stuff I put in it.

My home dehydrator has been a wonderful! Most dried fruit has sulfates added to preserve color. Not to mention the huge amount of added sugar. Don't want it, eliminate it. Replace the sugar with dextrose. Use a little pure citric acid to minimize discoloration. Making beef jerky is fun and fast. And again, you control what is in it! (Note that nitrates are required to properly cure meat; salt alone is insufficient. Drying unseasoned meat is not something I have done and requires different methods, I think.) By drying herbs from my garden, I have an endless supply of top quality spices.

By drying selected plant leaves, I can make my own tea. Google "herbal tea garden plants" for a variety of plants you can grow.

One word of warning. If you have cats, you might think "Hey, I can grow and dry my own catnip!" You may be able to grow it without cats tearing it all out, but when you crank up the dehydrator, blowing the aroma of catnip, though your house, as well as out your windows and, well, umm, please trust me. DO NOT DRY CATNIP! Every cat, and I mean EVERY cat, downwind will be at your door.

If you have a food processor, making fruit leather (like the store-bough fruit roll-ups) is VERY easy and can be a fun family activity. Imagine healthy snacks for all your kids that cost a fraction of

You can also dehydrate and store peas, corn, carrots, green beans too as an alternative to canning.

So with just a few tools, and you can start modestly, you can really control not just food storage, but your daily diet as well.

Here are some "entry-level", low cost ways to get started. I have both of these and feel they are great. I will concede that I would get a different dehydrator, I prefer the rectangular shape, but the one I want is around $250. You will certainly get plenty of use out of these.

Basic dehydrator. Not the best, round not rectangle, but expandable and better than any rectangular one in this price range. You can add additonal trays to increase capacity, which I strongly recommend. Twelve is a good target. Be sure to get extrac clean screens and well as solid trays for fruit leather.
http://www.amazon.com/Nesco-FD-75A-700-Watt-Food-Dehydrator/dp/B0090WOCN0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1363043533&sr=8-2&keywords=dehydrator

For the price, this pressure canner cannot be beat. I have this model, as well as the smaller 16 qt model. Both have their place, but since they are the same price, get the larger one.
http://www.amazon.com/Presto-01781-23-Quart-Pressure-Canner/dp/B0000BYCFU/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1363044001&sr=1-1&keywords=pressure+canner

Here are some benefits to canning and drying your own foods:

• Improve your diet.
• Make your own healthy snacks (salsa, dried fruit)
• Experiment with new and different canning/drying recipes.
• Improve your eating habits
• Control the ingredients of your stored/processed food.
• Be more self-sufficient
• Control your food stores, fill in easily as needed.
• Augment and amplify the benefit of a home garden.
• Fun family activity
• Cool gifts for friends and family

A vacuum sealer can be a good add on for a dehydrator, but certainly not a requirement.

Okay, I think I have shot off my mouth enough for now.

 

Okay, I do not mean to spam this thread, but it really is like a path I have traveled in dealing with my wife and son's dietary limitations.

Here are some thoughts. They are in no particular order. I might call this a stream of consciousness, but I am not certain that my waking state qualifies as being conscious.

Rather than focus on what food to store, my family and I now look at what we eat every day and how we can have shelf-stable versions of our everyday foods. Making these changes to our eating habits lowered our overall food costs but increased to quality of the food we eat. Thus we incorporate the important truism: we store what we eat and eat what we store.

We grow, with organic methods, much of our own vegetables or buy fresh, leaning toward, but not limited to, organic. We then can, freeze or dehydrate it. We do this to control the ingredients. Don't want added salt, don't add it. Want gluten-free, do not add stuff with gluten. That is great thing about preserving your own food, you have complete control!

We still buy certain commercially canned food. Some things just cannot be canned at home (bread crackers, cheese), other things we simply like (Cholula and Tabasco) and somethings are just easier (canned corn). I have even made my own ketchup.

Getting a pressure caner or two was a great investment for me. (Do not confuse this with a pressure cooker). Pressure canners can also be used for boiling water bath canning. Home canning is great fun and makes having a large garden more practical. Though I will concede that I spend a god deal of time in August through October in canning in the evening. But it is so yummy this time of year to crack open a jar or two of roma tomatoes I grew from seeds I sprouted in ground that I controlled canned with only stuff I put in it.

My home dehydrator has been a wonderful! Most dried fruit has sulfates added to preserve color. Not to mention the huge amount of added sugar. Don't want it, eliminate it. Replace the sugar with dextrose. Use a little pure citric acid to minimize discoloration. Making beef jerky is fun and fast. And again, you control what is in it! (Note that nitrates are required to properly cure meat; salt alone is insufficient. Drying unseasoned meat is not something I have done and requires different methods, I think.) By drying herbs from my garden, I have an endless supply of top quality spices.

By drying selected plant leaves, I can make my own tea. Google "herbal tea garden plants" for a variety of plants you can grow.

One word of warning. If you have cats, you might think "Hey, I can grow and dry my own catnip!" You may be able to grow it without cats tearing it all out, but when you crank up the dehydrator, blowing the aroma of catnip, though your house, as well as out your windows and, well, umm, please trust me. DO NOT DRY CATNIP! Every cat, and I mean EVERY cat, downwind will be at your door.

If you have a food processor, making fruit leather (like the store-bough fruit roll-ups) is VERY easy and can be a fun family activity. Imagine healthy snacks for all your kids that cost a fraction of

You can also dehydrate and store peas, corn, carrots, green beans too as an alternative to canning.

So with just a few tools, and you can start modestly, you can really control not just food storage, but your daily diet as well.

Here are some "entry-level", low cost ways to get started. I have both of these and feel they are great. I will concede that I would get a different dehydrator, I prefer the rectangular shape, but the one I want is around $250. You will certainly get plenty of use out of these.

Basic dehydrator. Not the best, round not rectangle, but expandable and better than any rectangular one in this price range. You can add additonal trays to increase capacity, which I strongly recommend. Twelve is a good target. Be sure to get extrac clean screens and well as solid trays for fruit leather.
http://www.amazon.com/Nesco-FD-75A-...ator/dp/B0090WOCN0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1363043533&sr=8-2&keywords=dehydrator

For the price, this pressure canner cannot be beat. I have this model, as well as the smaller 16 qt model. Both have their place, but since they are the same price, get the larger one.
http://www.amazon.com/Presto-01781-...ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1363044001&sr=1-1&keywords=pressure+canner

Here are some benefits to canning and drying your own foods:

• Improve your diet.
• Make your own healthy snacks (salsa, dried fruit)
• Experiment with new and different canning/drying recipes.
• Improve your eating habits
• Control the ingredients of your stored/processed food.
• Be more self-sufficient
• Control your food stores, fill in easily as needed.
• Augment and amplify the benefit of a home garden.
• Fun family activity
• Cool gifts for friends and family

A vacuum sealer can be a good add on for a dehydrator, but certainly not a requirement.

Okay, I think I have shot off my mouth enough for now.

Oh I think this is excellent stuff, and you are not spamming the thread at all! I'm going to really go back through this post again, and maybe make a checklist off of it. Your part about looking at what you can eat and how you can produce it at home, shelf-stable, is really where I'm at mentally right now, I just haven't caught my skills up to that point.

For example, I am really giving my garden a lot more attention this year as opposed to halfway doing it. In fact, we have catnip seeds in the seed collection! And I have been thinking, every time I add something to my shopping list - what could I do to prevent this from being on my list? Could I:
1. Stock up for a year's worth at a time?
2. Make my own version of it? (Dish soap, cleaners, personal care items)
3. Switch to something reuseable? We did this with paper towels and it is working great.
4. Grow my own?
5. Simplify or do without this particular product?

It's just so. stinking. hard for me right now because I'm so far behind in the skills department. Part of the problem is trying to catch up on so many skills at once - gardening, canning, shooting a gun, etc.

However, I've made miles of progress, and that's all I can do.

And RPP, we have a food intolerance group on this forum that desperately needs new members - it's called Gluten Free Pantry but it's for all food intolerance folks. Join up please - you have awesome ideas and you've clearly come down the food intolerance path.

 

As long as you know ahead of time that that meal pack only provides an average of 1142 calories per day per person for a family of 4 for 1 month (based on Augason Farms nutritional info, which claims an average of 1523 calories for one person each day for 90 days), and that it contains no meat or dairy, you're all good. I just wouldn't plan on surviving on this by itself personally. I know you stated you have other preps for about 2 months, I'd personally consider the Augason Farms meal pack to be about about 2 weeks of food for a family of four, and you're going to need a lot a water and good heat source to boil the water as well. Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm not criticizing you, you're just looking out for your family. If anything, I'm criticizing Augason Farms for charging so much, and providing so little. I'm also not a fan of fake meat and fake milk, so that probably has something to do with my dislike of Augason Farms and their pricing. Just my opinion.

 

I don't take this the wrong way at all. Definitely want to be prepared and be aware of the utility (or lack) of what I have, so I appreciate the comments. The reason I think it will be ok is that this food would be primarily for my two kids, and they would be supplemented with other stuff. I feel that would stretch it out much longer than if my husband and I were consuming it as well. Hubby and I can live on rice and beans longer then they can, and have more fat reserves.

I also am not a fan of faux meat but I really have had to think hard about what to do in our situation, and in the balance, the TVP wins over gluten every time. I'm picking my poison and I know that.

I looked at this as a turbo boost for my prepping. I'm trying hard to keep focused on a manageable prepping goal so that I don't panic. For me, six weeks of food in the house and everything to make it off-grid for that long would be phenomenal. When I hit that point, I will be jumping for joy. Then I will start on a three month plan, and a year-long plan, etc.

In fact, I wish we had a prep-meter or big leveling up bar on here so I could see my progress towards my goals. Gonna have to think about how to visually display that for myself. Gotta get some more xp.

 

I'm going to throw this out for anyone who hasn't yet done pressure canning. When I was learning to do it, I ran across this terrific idea online: for your first time, can water!

That's right. You can go through the process, learn how to balance the pressure and steam release rocker, basically figure it all out without putting any food at risk.

My first time, I canned 3 quarts of water. I still have them, they are my first line of defense w/r/t storing water.

 

Cracks me up, and I'm gonna do it!!!!!! Thanks Goose *big grin*

 

BQ - not counting preps, don't you have at least a month's worth of food in your kitchen? or even more? Don't forget to count that too :

 

Yeah, definitely. I just haven't done the inventory yet to count up the caloric bounty. It's a big unknown to me thus far. I know I have at least 15 lbs of rice, and 15 lbs of dried beans. Cornmeal. Gluten-free flour varieties. I have about 20 large cans of fruit and 8 pouches of dried fruit. Probably 20 cans of assorted vegetables, and 8 cans of entrees/soups. 30 jars of peanut butter. 12 boxes of granola bars so 144 of those. Lots of cereal, g-free pastas, etc.

That's not even counting what's in the freezer, so if we had power, we'd have 30 days of a different venison product each day plus some frozen vegetables and fruits.

ARGH! I think an inventory is in order. I feel idiotic for not having a clue how many days worth of calories I have. Sometimes it looks like two weeks' worth and sometimes it looks like three months' worth. Please tell me the most expedient way to become a better steward of this. If I'm not measuring it, I'm not managing it.

But glad you asked...

 

Congrats on your Augason Farms purchase!. We also have canned items from them. I'm waiting on a Case of everyday use GF Xanthan gum, GF Pie crust mixes and some other goodies we've never tried before. We like to try the everyday size can first, if we like it we buy the #10 can size if available. I think Augason farms has the highest amount of GF products compared to other sites. I'm getting ready to supplement my Augason farms with some GF ready to eat meals from Preparewise. I can use it for backpacking/hunting besides backup in the pantry.

 

BQ: Thanks so much for misposting on another thread regarding women's mental health.... I sure need that and will look for the thread. Anywhoo, this is a really neat thread, too. I noticed the gluten free notation and I, too, have found that I'm 'sensitive' to gluten. My doc doesn't think that's a big deal, as I test negative for it, but when my tummy swells like I'm 9 months along, I think it's a big deal. I once had a stranger ask me when I was due....

I notice that you're interested in learning to can foods. I just taught myself how to can meats this week. Omg, it's so easy! I taught myself how to can 'water bath' items about 15 years ago. Easy stuff... you can do it.

Go to country auctions and buy a water bath canner. Buy every used canning jar you can find; auctions and thrift stores. I just hit a thrift store and found 20 at .10 @. This coming weekend I'm off to an auction that has jars on it's list..... and a pressure canner! I don't need the canner, but I might get it for someone else. I bought my pressure canners 15 years ago at an auction for $15@. They still have the same gaskets. The trick to keeping a gasket (that big rubber ring that fits in the lid) is to oil it with veggie oil every third use. If you do that, they won't crack or dry out. Amazingly, it's in the instructions that no one bothers to read.:xeye:

Recently, I bought a 23 qt pressure canner from Amazon, so I could stack pint jars to can milk and meat. I paid $63 and that included shipping! I've already canned 30 pints of milk, 10 pints of pork butt and then in a water bath canner I did 10 pints of strawberry jam. I've already made up the money for the canner. I like to have evap milk in my coffee, so I found a youtube vid that showed how to can milk and it comes out tasting and looking just like evap milk! I figure I'll be doing 20 pints a month just for my coffee. I may switch to quart jars.:thumb:

I have two more pork roasts to can.... some carrots that were on sale..... and some sale red bell peppers to dehydrate. Hitting the sales is so much easier than gardening, now that I'm older...:

 

Hey J
1. I started that mental health thread in the women's forum and you'll find it there.
2. Come join us in the Gluten Free Pantry group here on the forum, we'd love to have you (and the stomach issues you are talking about are real, and your doc doesn't know squat).
3. Thanks for the canning scoop. I busted out the Ball Canning book and started reading it. I'm ready to start with the water bath stuff, and will do the pressure canning eventually. I just don't understand how we would get the pressure gauge checked once a year post-SHTF!!! I'm a safety freak.

Really, though, thanks to all for the encouragement on canning. I'm mentally ready after this thread, I think.

 

This is my first year to have a canner with a pressure gauge. It came with the 23 qt. canner. My 16 qt canners just have the weight that sits atop the vent. They worked fine. So, if you find an old Presto or Mirro at a flea market, thrift or auction, go ahead and get it. It should include the pot, lid, rack, weight and rubber gasket that goes in the lid. If the gasket is missing, you can get replacements online from the manufacturer. A gasket will cost $15 and will last 20+ years if you take care of it. The pot bottom should be flat. A used pressure canner should be dirt cheap at those places I mentioned.

I took my gauge to the county ext. office and they didn't know how to check it.... had to look up the instructions and then their equipment had a cracked tube. I'm supposed to go back at the end of this week. They did get their equipment up to 5 and 10 pounds pressure and my gauge was spot on with theirs.

 

I just spent a lot of time, effort and money to dehydrate sweet red bell peppers that ere on sale. After all was done, the #10 can of dehydrated peppers that I got from Augason's was a LOT cheaper. The only way to beat that price is to make a garden and dehydrate those.

 

Great thread!

Back in the OP, Blackberry Queen mentioned stopping satellite TV for 3 months. Great idea, and if you get through the 3 months and nobody is really pining away, extend it a month after that. We cut our cable TV 4 years ago when my husband was laid off and just did Netflix streaming through a Roku, picking up Hulu Plus free trials whenever they are offered. We really don't miss much, if anything. The only thing I would really like to see that isn't available on Hulu (even without the Plus) or by subscription through Amazon is HBO's Game of Thrones, and even if we hadn't canceled cable, we would not be subscribing to HBO just for that one series.

Someone mentioned having a good antenna and getting great broadcast coverage. I have been reading about that a lot. We're in a valley where it wouldn't work for us or I'd do it, but nearly everybody else can make it work.

We also got an Obihai VoIP switch and dropped our phone line. We just use our Google Voice number now and it's free (so far). Of course we still pay for cable Internet but nothing more for the phone or cable TV.

 

Also venison is absolutely delicious when canned in chunks, raw pack, no extra fluid at all. Just trim off all the fat, cut into same-sized chunks (I like 1-inch cubes), pack as tightly as possible with an inch of head space, sprinkle 1/2 tsp. of kosher/canning salt on top of the meat and seal with pressure canner. It makes its own gravy as it processes.

 

@BQ

We tried the Augason Farms Gluten free Pizza and Foccacia mix this evening...made a a 12 -13 inch pizza with the little every day use can. It turned out great. it wasn't grainy and it was crispy and didn't fall apart when handled. The mix is slightly seasoned out of the container. We will be trying the Blueberry mix in a day or two. I wasn't sure if you buy the flour mixes but I just wanted to share our experience with you.
Simon

 

Three hundred buckeroonies is a large chunk of change, there!
I'm VERY pleased that you were able to invest it into something that will stop a gap later on.
It looks like you did a LOT of research into this company over others, and got your gluten free stuff from a source you find reliable. Of that, I'm absolutely overjoyed for you and yours.

 

I've been canning for a couple of weeks now; the dining table is loaded! I need to do some spring cleaning in the basement before I take them down there.... oh yeah, I have to trap the possom that is under the house, too. It somehow gets into the basement via the crawl space.... 100 year old houses are good for that. Anywhoooo, it broke a bunch of jars while it was climbing over everything trying to find a way OUT! I actually put a step ladder by the crawl space entrance so it would learn to use that instead of demolishing the canning shelves.... somehow I've gotten off topic...

The inventory is a great idea... thanks so much!

I've been two weeks w/o TV service and I don't miss it a bit! Canceled my hard line phone, too. I warned everyone about 6 months ago to only call the cell #. That's working out fine. Now I have $120/mo that I can spend on prepping..... or maybe a 50cc SCOOTER in a few months! They get 100 mpg. Great for around town instead of the car. However, I do have a bicycle with pannier bags for that. I'm only 1 mile from the grocer and walmart.... the scooter seems like so much fun, though. I think I better get the 150cc, so I can make short trips out of town... yeah, that's what I should do.