Pantries and Preparedness, April 1, 2015.

This post is a progress report. I am looking over what have I done to build up my pantry and supplies so far this year. It is April now after all!

First of all I worked to fill all my kitchen pantry jars, canisters and tins.
I cleaned out my kitchen pantry cupboards and re homed things that were just taking up space that didn't really belong in there. And got rid of some outdated things, weird things and had a good clean out. This freed up so much space! I then built up my supplies of things that will make an easy meal when shopping is impossible for some reason.
I made a list of what to make from pantry ingredients so I know I have plenty of pantry meals.
Over time I built up my meals in the freezer. There is a good supply of options that I can just thaw out and dinner is done!

We greatly improved our first aid kit and there is a kit in each car as well.
I added a fair bit to the medicine cabinet.

We have a place with emergency numbers in print as well as an action plan to help us act quickly if we know a storm or shortage is coming (or a blackout etc.)

Now for the cellar...
I started with a dusty and dark cellar that was unused. It is thanks to Wendy that I decided this was a terrible waste and I should make the most of it.  I got it cleaned up and we found shelves (road side find) that fitted down there very nicely.

Once my kitchen cupboards were looking healthy I started adding things to the shelves in the cellar.
There is a large plastic tub which I add packaged goods to, canned goods go on the shelves. There is a space that also has heavy plastic sheeting, gar bags, masking tape, candles, matches etc.

We continually add water. As we have containers empty we fill them and add them.

I have built up supplies of shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste etc.
Over summer I make heaps of jam and also froze stewed fruit and fruit pies.

I got a first aid app on my phone and a first aid book next to the kit inside.

I have learned a lot! Plus it is a fun project and another way to build up my home.

A little review is a good idea. Am I even heading towards my goal of building up a pantry and cellar pantry over the course of the year? Well, yes, I am going ok. And I can't wait to see how things are in a few more months. But you have to keep on it!

My cellar shelves are filling and I need to add a big tub for more dry goods. These include tea, pasta, powdered milk, flour etc.

It is kind of satisfying to look in the cellar and see almost a mini home store! Plus I am used to it now and pop down and up the stairs without a thought. Originally I was afraid to go down there!
Now it is an asset to our home. (Thank you Wendy!)

The images I have included come from a project I am working on. Making over recycled jars and tins for storing food... and these lovely labels are examples of free ones you can download from The Graphics Fairy. There are so many to choose from. Air tight containers, from infant formula tins to pickle jars can become beautiful pantry storage! You can have a lot of fun printing labels to pretty things up!



As you know I love contributions and comments. I really appreciate the time it takes and the help and encouragement it means to everyone. Fiona went to comment as I asked her to elaborate on the things she had been doing. From what she had said and the fact that she is an experienced nurse and had decided to do this... well, I wanted to hear! So I am sharing with you what Fiona has done and the insights from her experience... (comments would not let her post it there as there is a short word limit so I asked her to please email it to me and I would post it this way.) Over to Fiona....

I have always had the preparedness gene in me I believe.   But when the bird flu epidemic/sars was a threat, it came to me - I had the ability to render my little family somewhat immune.  I lived on a large property with chooks, vegies etc.  I worked part time and had paid off my mortgage. I decided that if this particular event hit & there was quite concern back then (remember worries diminish with time and you forget how topical this all was).  Both my kids were at school. I had decided that we would just close up shop, not go to work/not go to school.   I had under house storage as well as a brick cellar in the house and a large cupboard under the stairs.  I spent a heap of time analysing our food needs, how much of each we used and longevity of said products.  I had always menu planned – usually only a week at a time.  I made up a months worth and worked out what would be needed.   Initially I used cardboard boxes but did go and buy 12 tubs (huge) from bunnings.  These I just labelled 1 for January, 2 for Feb etc.

I am not doing this at the moment, so I forget the quantities, but I worked out that if say for instance each month I used 2kg of sugar, 6 of flour, 1kg of rice, dried biscuits, milk powder, pasta etc etc, that I would purchase those and put them in Tub 1.  I bought long life stuff including cream and that awful plastic Kraft cheese in the blue box that doesn’t need refrigeration.   I bought tinned soups, salmon and tuna and even that awful campbells spaghetti sauce - the meat one, fruit and spaghetti and baked beans, cordial and those orgran powdered eggs as well.  I could pretty much make most things.  Then before the month was out I shopped again and repeated it.  I did about three months worth in each month. Before long I had 12 months supply of food.  A lot of things I purchased I grimaced a bit at using, i.e. the campbell meat sauce, it was never half as tasty as homemade but when it came time to use the tin, I just added it to the meat sauce I made, thereby diluting its taste.     

Separately under the cupboard stairs I stored soap (which I have been making for years).  I stored laundry soaps, bleach, dish washing liquid, dishwasher powder, toilet paper (I had over 200 rolls of the stuff), shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste – basically all the supplies needed.

I had an animal section & stored wheat and layers pellets in bulk.  I also bought slabs of dog food and worked out how much the dog ate and multiplied the grams per day into a weekly/monthly amount and purchased the 8 kilo bags of dry food up until the expiry dates.

I began to keep any plastic bottles (not milk) and my dad kept his too for me.  I washed them carefully and filled with water and stored in the huge linen press upstairs.  They just lived on the floor, about 60 bottles wide and as high as I could get it.   I knew that I could keep this water about 6 months.  I kept note of this date and when the six months was up, I painstakingly emptied each bottle into the garden and re washed and refilled.   I have a feeling I put a drop of bleach into each bottle, or was that what I would have had to have done had  I needed the water. Water is a biggie, we need clean fresh water.  I also purchased the ten litre water containers the ones with the taps in them and used one at a time, probably monthly.   Just re purchased when one was gone.  They had long life.

I had a tub with salt, spices, oils, sauces and kept that topped up well. 

I have a methylated spirits camping stove that has all sorts of attachments.  I knew I would be able to cook for us on that.    So I cooked a few things and worked out how long it took to get water to boil or to boil spuds or rice etc.  Multiplied that by daily/weekly/monthly and stored up the big 4 litre bottles of metho.  I had a lot of that.    I had boxes and boxes of candles and matches also.

Each of us had a torch in our room and I had spare batteries as well as a battery radio (now where did that go???).  I also had those hand wind up torches which don’t need batteries.   The first aid kit including medication was topped up as well.

Re the expiration dates on things, I made sure that if a product was to be used by June, that it did not go in the number 6 (June) tub, it went into 3 or 4.  There was not one tiny piece of waste in this.   It was probably the most economical year of living ever.   I also remember just loving the first day of the month, cos I would go downstairs and open up the tub.  They were too heavy to lift, so it was a several trip empty out and bringing everything up to the bench and putting away.  It was actually quite a lot of fun.

Several years later, my circumstances have changed.  I now own more property, have that dratted mortgage thing again but I’m far better off. But, I don’t have good stocks of anything.   I am getting back into it and watch your posts with interest Annabel.
I’m sure this is a bit boring, but you asked me what I did back then and that is the best I can remember.  I now have a new desire to recommence all this and hope to learn more from you and the others.

Re the freezer I had a system of large garbage bags I tied up with a knot with a tag hanging from the knot. The number corresponded with the number of the month.
In each bag I had blocks of cheese, butter, peas, steamed fish, frozen cream, basically all the hings that make life a bit nicer. I bought a few months ahead.

I was conscious that if the S#it hit the fan then likely power would be lost so I concentrated on dried food in the pantry store etc and a huge effort was on water and fuel to feed the camp stove. (Metho)
But if power was not an issue and it likely wouldn't be if it was ill health or job loss I was planning for then I had a full stash of food.
If it was a pandemic then certainly at some point there would be power loss. I do remember clearly when the Longford gas explosion happened, we were without gas in Melbourne for almost two weeks.
I never believed that this could happen, not in this day and age and in an advanced country either. That was an eye opener.

It is a comforting feeling to know that one is somewhat prepared.   Fiona.

Thank you so much Fiona. Thank you for the effort to write all this up. If there is the threat of another epidemic (and of course there will be) I feel I have some tips. To be able to avoid crowds in itself would be a big thing. And I am grateful to be able to ask you what you would say about things from a nurses perspective as well as a Mums perspective.

If you would like further reading I enjoyed Cath's blog post about her pantry. She shared how her Mum was always prepared for anything. You all know Wendy and her blog My Abundant Life (on my side bar). Wendy also writes a column on The Cheapskates Club (also on side bar) called The $300 challenge. Her family of four live on $300 a month for all their groceries (in Australia). Wendy posts how they do it. There is really a little community that supports and encourages each other in the quest to keep the grocery bill down. I have learned heaps from reading this! The Cheapskates Club has a free newsletter and face book page also. This is the link to Cath's article on pantries...        How to stock your pantry.

This week I have had computer problems! I am needing to learn some new ways to do things. This may explain a lot! Eek

Also I have discovered some wonderful blogs that I will share coming up. The right blogs have an amazing power to inform, inspire and motivate!  

How are you going with building up your pantry and general preparedness? The little ways we add to our supplies, the skills we learn and the steps we can take to being better prepared all add up! Little by little we greatly improve how we are going to handle all kinds of things from being stuck home because of a storm, snow, sickness, or a loss of income or so many scenarios that just happen!

"She is not afraid of the snow" as she has been busy doing stuff! xxx