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Many (most?) of you reading here know that when you stockpile supplies then you should also use what you have, and rotate your supplies so everything stays fresh.
Just recently I had a personal experience as to what can happen if this is not followed. A family member of mine had to leave their home and move to another state for health issues. She was old and did not have the resources to clean out her house, so me and a few others had the duty of cleaning up and clearing out the place.
This lady was a hoarder, but was also saving up supplies in case of a SHTF scenario. She lived through The Depression of the 30's and was quite poor much of her life, and she did not want to be caught unaware and unprepared - again. She started stocking up on stuff in prep for a Year 2000 "issue" and never stopped getting ready. But she couldn't get rid of stuff!
She thought she was prepared, and I was VERY impressed with the collection of things she had. She could outfit a small army for a goodly amount of time.
But then we looked closer...
Only about 4 cases of canned food was still viable. The other dozen (or so) cases were between 5 - 10 years past expiration. MANY cans had actually burst and been left in place. Other packaged goods were also years out of date. Out of maybe 50 bottles of Hydrogen Peroxide and rubbing alcohol, there were 3 that were not expired; many other first aid supplies (medicine, etc) were in the same situation. A dozen new tubes of toothpaste - but only one unexpired. Stacks of new clothing was only 1/2 good - the rest were chewed on by insects and rodents, and were hidden from sight. Piles of batteries can be lifesavers, but they were useless because of being out of date, or badly corroded.
There was still a good amount of supplies, probably enough to fill a 1-car garage, but the amount of wasted items was staggering.
This was a good learning experience for me, and I wanted to pass it on to you. Stocking up on SHTF supplies can be expensive and time-consuming, so do yourselves a favor and learn a lesson from an old lady that never had to use her stuff. Rotate your supplies! If you buy it, use it, then get more. Don't let things go to waste!
Just recently I had a personal experience as to what can happen if this is not followed. A family member of mine had to leave their home and move to another state for health issues. She was old and did not have the resources to clean out her house, so me and a few others had the duty of cleaning up and clearing out the place.
This lady was a hoarder, but was also saving up supplies in case of a SHTF scenario. She lived through The Depression of the 30's and was quite poor much of her life, and she did not want to be caught unaware and unprepared - again. She started stocking up on stuff in prep for a Year 2000 "issue" and never stopped getting ready. But she couldn't get rid of stuff!
She thought she was prepared, and I was VERY impressed with the collection of things she had. She could outfit a small army for a goodly amount of time.
But then we looked closer...
Only about 4 cases of canned food was still viable. The other dozen (or so) cases were between 5 - 10 years past expiration. MANY cans had actually burst and been left in place. Other packaged goods were also years out of date. Out of maybe 50 bottles of Hydrogen Peroxide and rubbing alcohol, there were 3 that were not expired; many other first aid supplies (medicine, etc) were in the same situation. A dozen new tubes of toothpaste - but only one unexpired. Stacks of new clothing was only 1/2 good - the rest were chewed on by insects and rodents, and were hidden from sight. Piles of batteries can be lifesavers, but they were useless because of being out of date, or badly corroded.
There was still a good amount of supplies, probably enough to fill a 1-car garage, but the amount of wasted items was staggering.
This was a good learning experience for me, and I wanted to pass it on to you. Stocking up on SHTF supplies can be expensive and time-consuming, so do yourselves a favor and learn a lesson from an old lady that never had to use her stuff. Rotate your supplies! If you buy it, use it, then get more. Don't let things go to waste!