About the hardest thing about living providently and being a prepper is getting the plan together. You cannot plan for all the thousands of things that can happen to you and your family. If you are generally prepared you will have a better chance of making it through the hard times. I know some people have a plan for the disaster they are expecting. Asteroids hitting the earth, super volcanoes, monetary collapse, nuclear war, and pandemics seem to get all the headlines. Yes, they could happen. I do not lose sleep over them. Much more common are the disasters on a smaller scale. Every year there are earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes and volcanoes in various parts of the world that can destroy large numbers of homes and kill many people. If you live in an area that is prone to disaster plan for that first.

The most likely thing you will experience in your life is a personal disaster. Loss of a job, changes in health, death and divorce can come at any time into your world. If you can save only one thing for personal disaster save MONEY. Every time you get paid put a little into a savings account. They do not make a lot of interest at this time, but they are safe investments. Having some cash available for a rainy day is real nice especially if it starts to rain. Having some food in the home makes it a lot more inviting if things do go wrong.

Keep in mind it is not something you need to have completed by the end of the day. You can build a good supply over time. Sometimes a short time. Some times a long time.

Never go into debt to get prepared. Debt is anti-preparedness.

Thinking about getting a gun.

One of the questions I am asked often is how many guns do you have? Or what kind of gun do you think is best for a prepper to have.

I always say, what ever gun you have. 

In all seriousness, guns are not for everyone. If you do not know how to use a gun you should get some training before you get one. Firearms can provide hours of recreation when used properly. They can also cause a lifetime of pain and sorrow when not treated with respect. I know experienced gun owners who have had serious accidents and even shot themselves with their own gun.  At the very lest take a hunter safety course before you purchase a weapon. Most gun stores or firing ranges can provide you with the name of an instructor or the dates of their classes. 

I fully support your right to own a gun. I expect you to be responsible when you handle one.

I know that many preppers have large collections of guns and huge supplies of ammunition. I'm not one of them. I can only shoot one at a time. I think you should have a purpose for any weapon you have. If you hunt it is perfectly reasonable for you to have a hunting rifle. If you trap shoot you need a shotgun. You can have hours of fun shooting 22 cal and also air guns. Having the biggest caliber weapon on the block is just an ego trip. 

If you are looking for a home defence weapon you need to consider your surroundings. I would consider how many walls your slug go through if you pull the trigger. You can kill people you love  in another room with the same slug you shoot an intruder with. Unlike in the movies the bullet will not stop just because it hit something. Large caliber magnum loads can go through wood, sheet rock and bricks and still have plenty of knock down killing power. Bigger is not better. 

Picking a weapon is a very personal thing. You should take plenty of time thinking it over and planning. You may even come to the conclusion that a gun is not the thing for you. Just take your time to make a choice you can live with.

Never run out and buy a gun in a panic, for show or when you are upset. Take time to compare, study and plan before you act.

To save some money when you shop this week look at some seeds for your garden. Most seed retailers have them on sale. Every year after the planting season seeds go on sale. Currently near my home they are 1/2 price or buy one get 2 free. Seeds keep for several years. If you put them in the freezer they may last a very long time. Stock up on your favorite seeds now and be ready for your garden next spring or some you can plant now.

IF YOU STILL WANT TO PLANT THERE IS STILL TIME IF YOU HAVE 60 TO 70 DAYS LEFT BEFORE YOUR FIRST HARD FROST!!!

I'm planting a fall crop of peas and some lettuce for fall salads. you can still do beets, carrots, green onions, kohlrabi, lettuce, onions, radishes, and turnips. Just use the spots where other crops that have passed their prime were for a second crop.

So what do you do with your fruit if you run out of bottles to can it in or are looking for a way to store it that takes less space. The answer is to dry them. Drying fruit preserves most of the nutritional value of the fruit.

There are a lot of commercial dryers on the market. I do not have a favorite one. Mine came from a thrift store several years ago and I know there are much nicer ones on the market now.

You can also dry your produce in the oven if you can set the heat low at about 120 degrees.

Another way to dry fruit is the ancient way. Just lay it our  in the sun on a clean surface and let nature do its thing.

To dry the fruit first wash it in clean water.

Then remove the seeds

Next cut it to a size that will dry before it spoils. A good size is no thicker than 1/4 inch.

Now place them on the drying trays.

Check them from time to time to be sure no mold forms and no bugs get into them.

If you are drying them outside it is best to cover them with cheese cloth so insects can not eat them or lay eggs on them.

You can make them as dry as you like. I like mine to be firm and flexible about like leather. That way I can eat them anytime. If they are dried hard there is less chance of spoiling.

When you pick up the fruit it should not be sticky. If it is sticky it is not dry yet. Some of the fruit will be ready before others. As the fruit drys move the dry product into a sealable container. I use sealable freezer bags and the plastic jars my peanut butter comes in.When they are dry but still flexible I place them in containers. I leave them on the counter for a few days. This lets the remaining moisture equalise in all the fruit in the bag.

 If you see moisture forming on the inside of the container they are too moist. Also moisture inside the bag can be an indication of insects living in your product. Inspect your container. Ff you see small dark flecks in the bottom of the bag or on the fruit you have bugs. You may even see little worms crawling on the product. Bugs are never good. You can freeze them and let them thaw out several times to kill them and the eggs. Most of the time it is more work than its worth to try to save the container of fruit. If I have bugs in my dry goods I just feed them to my chickens, fruit and all.

If there is no indication of bugs with the moisture on the inside of the container place the fruit back out to dry. Then after it is dry return it to the container.

After the fruit has set for a day or two I put the containers into the refrigerator in the back. I store them there so they are easy to find and continent when I put my lunch together.

You can cook with the dry fruit as you do with canned fruit. To rehydrate them place them in a clean container and cover them with water. they will absorb the water and be used in cooking. Do not expect them to be firm or crisp. They will be limp and soft. The flavor will still be about the same as fresh.

Now as you thinking and planing for some food storage you will want to consider two very important things. How much can you afford? Where will you put it.

How much can you afford is misleading. You can almost always afford an extra can of food or bag or rice. Careful planning and budgeting can build a sizable supply in a short time.

More concerning is where will you put it. Most of us do not have a storehouse that we can fill with goods. We are limited to the space in our homes and apartments. Some of you may have large places in basements or attics. Look at each room and think of places for storage. 

Your cupboards and pantry are the first place to start. Look to see if you have any food that is near the expiration date. Move them to the front of the cupboard, see how much space in behind. When you shop next pick up a few things to put behind that have a newer freshness date. 

Do you have a freezer? If there are is empty space you can put dry goods behind the frozen goods. Grain and dry beans will be just fine if you freeze them. They will also be safe from bugs. A full freezer will also be more efficient and save energy. 

One of the best options is to create a store room. Any room can be used. The best rooms are out of the way. Out of traffic zones. Can maintain a fairly constant temperature and remain dry. Spare rooms work great. 

Use the easy storage places first. Then if you have less accessible places use them.

Now you are wondering what grains should I start with? Wheat, Rice, Barley,Oats?

To answer that I would need to know what grains do you know how to prepare and what you normally eat.

 If you want to store wheat you may want to check and see if you have a wheat grinder. Boiled whole wheat is not very fun to eat. If you are not used to eating it you are very likely to have a serious bout of diarrhea. Yes, a change in food will make your bowels move quickly. Wheat is most often ground into flower then made into bread or pasta. Not many people have had 100% whole wheat anything. The flavor is much different than that found in the store. The prep time is quite long. To make bread by hand is an all day process. So unless you have a wheat grinder and time to make the bread, I would suggest some other grain. To start with.

White rice is easy to prepare. All it takes is to steam or boil it. Most common is 1 cup of rice in 2 cups boiling water. Boil till the rice is soft. White rice stores well and may last several years. White rice has few vitamins or minerals and is not nearly as healthy a food a brown rice or wheat. Brown rice will spoil much more quickly because of the high moisture content. Brown rice is also prone to insect infestations. I keep the brown rice in the freezer until I'm ready to use it.

Pearled barley stores well for several years at a time. It has a fair nutritional value and is also easy to prepare. You can add it to soup or cook it the same way you do rice. It can be mixed with rice to give the meal more variety.

Oats are a good food source. they are very nutritious. Rolled oats(oat meal) is very easy to cook, just add boiling water  and mix till it is the thickness you like.

There are several other grains, but this is the ones I use frequently. If you are just starting a food storage program I would have you buy white rice in a large bag 15 to 20 pounds. It is easy to prepare and can be used in more than one meal each week. The second one is rolled oats. This is easy to make into oat meal or added to other cooked dishes. I would buy 2 to 5 large packages of this. You can use it as a breakfast food as often as you like.

Storing wheat is very important. If you are going to store wheat be sure you also have a way to grind it. You can use 2 stones, a hammer and an anvil if you want. It is much quicker if you have a hand wheat grinder and, or an electric wheat grinder. Wheat is very nutritious food. Of all the grains it is the best to store, but the hardest to prepare.

So lets talk about food storage for a bit tonight. I have been hearing a lot about the drought in the mid west US Some people are worried that the price of food is going to go up. Yes, this could happen it may not happen. It will depend on how long the drought lasts. Most important do not PANIC!!!

Yes this is the kind of thing a prepper gets ready for in advance.

It is never a good idea to run out and buy things when you are upset, frightened, worried or angry. Take time to evaluate the situation. Again take inventory of how much food do you already have in your home? Count the number of servings and dived by 3 meals a day then divide  that number by the number of people you feed each day. This will give you the number of days of food you have. You need to know that very often a serving is not near what you are use to eating. It may be as small as 1/4 cup. You may want to think about how many people you are serving with that box of mac and cheese. Mac and cheese has 2 servings per box, 15oz can of chili has 2 servings, Ramon noodle has 2 servings, Rice a Roni 2 servings. The number of servings is listed in the nutrition facts box of the label of the food.

If you have  2 years of food per person you have all the food you are likely to need.

Now that you know how many days of food you have you can make a plan of how many days of food you want to have. There are limiting factors. Your income will affect what kind of food and how much of it you buy. I will be going over the more provident food storage. This means the most bang for the buck. If you want high end pre-made meals good till the end of time. Please rethink your plan. My plan is to be able to live as long as possible with what I have and to be able to restock over time.

I place food storage into 3 categories.

1. Hard storage. This is food that will last a long time. More than 10 years
2. Firm storage. This is food that will last at least a a year.
3. Soft storage. This is food that lasts less than a year.
*Perishable foods. This is food that will spoil quickly if it is not frozen or refrigerated. Perishable foods are not part of food storage.




Hard Storage has only a few items that can meet this qualification. Wheat is the number one food storage item for long term storage. Some other grains have a long shelf life but,the only grain I know will last more than 10 years is wheat. Honey and sugar will also last a long time. The tombs in Egypt had wheat that was still able to be sprouted after 2000 years. They also contained honey that was still as useful as the day it was placed in the tomb.  Sugar is also good for very long storage. You should always store wheat, honey and sugar in a dry place away from insects. water and Insects are the number one enemy to food storage. One gallon can of wheat= about 5 pounds of food. An adult will eat 5 to 10 pounds of wheat in 3 weeks. A child will eat about half that much. For a 6 month supply of wheat you can set a goal of 80 pounds of wheat per person.  That is 16 gallon cans of wheat.
    Sugar and honey are part of food storage that is very hard to gage. I store 1 pound of sugar or honey for every 10 pounds of wheat.

Firm storage includes a very large number of items. Canned goods, boxed goods, grains like rice and barley can last several years. When planning your storage store things from this category that are on you regular shopping list. This is the working rotating part of storage. The best way to build this storage is to buy a little extra with each shopping trip. When foods you routinely eat are on sale buy extra. If your store has case lot sales stock up then. Beware that foods that are not selling well are put on sale. Often the sale has foods that are near the end of their expiration date. ALWAYS check the use by date of the foods you buy for storage. If it is less than 18 months out it is not for storage, it is for use very soon.  Boxed foods DO NOT buy any cans that are dented, bent or bulging. They will not last and may be poisonous.
Plan to purchasing over time 3 to 6 months of food in this category. You need to have a rotation plan so your food dose not end up spoiled and in the trash. Always place new purchased food in the back and rotate older foods to the front.

Soft storage. This food is any boxed or canned food that has a use by date with in the next 18 months. This also includes winter squash, and other long lived vegetables. Eggs can last several months if properly stored.  This should only be things you frequent eat or need to rotate out of storage.

Perishable food is what you have in your refrigerator or your freezer. This food will be lost if the power is out for more than a few days. In an emergency this is the food you need to eat first.