Stocking up for More Difficult Times

Took a while to decide on the name for this essay. I thought about stocking up in the middle of a crisis, but that was too radical. Or stocking up in times of Not Plenty. That was better.

OK, we just came through some difficult times. Be assured, there are more difficult times ahead. Now we need to stock up, before those "more difficult times" arrive. The following are some "rules of thumb" I go by, for stocking up.

The supply system in our 'civilization' (and I use that term loosely) works well if there is a steady, predictable demand for supplies, and a steady availability of supplies. Right now, we have neither.

These are "rules of thumb" for stocking up, when there are mild shortages. When you look around and realize you are no longer in "times of plenty."

First, what is a "rule of thumb?"

Well, this isn't the historical rule, but it is very similar to what is meant, today, by that expression. It is a rule you go by, normally, for every day operations. But it is a rule that, if you can articulate a reason for breaking it, you might want to go ahead and do something differently. It is a management tool, so that you don't have to think over a situation on multiple occasions, to come to multiple decisions. You have a "rule of thumb" and when the situation presents, you follow the rule, unless there is some extraordinary circumstance.

So, here are the rules I go by:

1. There are only three kinds of things you buy. The first is things you plan to consume. If you eat Jif peanut butter, stock up on Jiff peanut butter. The second is things you may need, under a specific circumstance. These are things generally found in most people's homes, just in case. Band aids and decongestants are a couple things in this class. You don't cut yourself on a regular basis, but you have band aids, just in case. The third class are barter items. This should be a rarity, and in a perfect society, it wouldn't exist. This is something that you observe others use, but never seem to have one. Maybe something you notices that people borrow from you, on a regular basis.

2. You will need room for your stores. Plan this ahead of time. Organised stores are a blessing. Disorganized stores are a pain in the ass. You will need about one room for every three or four people. And shelves, and totes, and buckets. This room will look like a pantry on steroids.

3. You have stock up on things in proportion to how much you use. If you don't have 40 pounds of food, you don't need 100 rolls of toilet paper. Make a list of what you normally eat in a week, and multiply by 25. (or some other number) Now you have a basic idea of what you will need to purchase.

4. When you get to the store (really, it is a market, as they don't "store" anything, any more) you have to keep three things in mind. Don't buy what you don't need, don't harm the peoples, and don't panic the sheeples.

Now, that last one needs some explaining, so I have a series of "rules of thumb" to deal with it.

5. Have a list of things you intend to get, and know, or include in the list, how much of it you need to fully fill your stockpile. Only buy things that aren't on the list if you can articulate why you are doing it. Never buy more than what you need to fully fill your stockpile.

6. Don't harm the peoples. Don't get yourself labeled as a hoarder. Generally don't cause a shortage of the item. This means, unless you really, really need it, don't buy the last one. If there are two, on the shelf, limit yourself to one. If there are more than three, limit yourself to less than half of what is on the shelf. And pay attention to any signs on or near the shelf that may specify limits on how much you can purchase.

7. Don't cause a panic. Even if there are no signs, and even if there are 28 of them on the shelf, don't buy 14 of them if it might lead others to believe that "you know something they don't" and cause them to panic and buy out the rest of the stock, for no reason.

Remember, in the movie Men In Black, the line:
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals..."

8. The supply system in our civilization (and I use that term loosely) works well if there is a steady, predictable demand for supplies. When demand changes, it takes weeks, or even months, to compensate. And that is only if the production can compensate.

Remember, these are only rules of thumb. If you have a serious situation, where you can articulate a need beyond "I'm afraid" you may need to break these rules. The goal is to get yourself ready, without making the situation around you worse.

Both, because this needs a "bump," since more "difficult times" are expected, this Winter and next Spring, and because the stuff I wrote above needs a little "refinement," I decided to do a follow up.

I have been inventorying my supplies, recently, and since I eat what I store, I have been removing things from my stores and replacing them with new purchases.

This activity has brought a couple of things to mind that I didn't cover, before.

First, there is another category of items that you don't use, that you need to stock. Seems obvious in retrospect, but most people get fresh produce every week from the markets, and in "difficult times" that may not be possible. You need to store, at least some, of the canned or dried or dehydrated version of the fresh produce (and fresh meat) that you buy on a regular basis.

You might want to only store a fraction of what you normally eat fresh from the market, knowing that in "difficult times" you may have to ration that item, but on the other hand, in normal times it can accumulate and then rotated to a neighborhood food pantry so that the cans are not too old. (Or you can come up with some other solution.)

Second is storage and rotation. When I started building my "working pantry" I didn't have the storage rebuilt, and for a short time, buckets were scarce.

So I used 20 gallon totes. These did pretty well, under the circumstances, but they are a pain to move and a pain when you need to inventory their contents. I hadn't inventoried them for about 8 (or more) months, and they effectively hid the fact that on some items I was removing more than I was adding and hid the fact that I wasn't using as much of certain items as I thought I might.

Some of you may have some sort of dispenser, like this:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a3/0e/79/a30e799d0f51116f4f2d08c44db205d2.jpg
or this:
https://www.wayfair.com/foodservice/pdp/pvifs-kitchen-storage-vfm1006.html

If not, I recommend using the same 5 gallon buckets everyone else uses for bulk grain storage, and use them for storing soup cans and bags of pasta and stuff. (I like to start with a large item in the middle and surround it with smaller items.)

You should be able to get something like 25 or so pounds of food in each bucket. The lid doesn't need a fancy seal, since you are just using it to keep a bunch of smaller items together. After I fill it, I make out an inventory (usually has half dozen different items) and put standard white mailing label on the bucket and write the bucket number on the label. I have mine numbered B1, B2, B3, etc. They can be stacked 4 or 5 high. (Someday I will have number B99

I keep the inventories separate from the buckets. (I actually keep them in a spread sheet, but I have a printed copy.) In case anyone sees the buckets, it isn't real obvious what is in them. I suggest the first line in each inventory tell the bucket number and when it was filled. The last line in the inventory tells the date, when it was last checked.

I'm finding that the older I get the harder it is to move those 5 gallon buckets! I've started storing lighter items, like pastas that are light in the larger 5 gallon size (NOT SPAGHETTI ... that gets heavy). Using the 3 gallon size for more dense items, like flour, sugar, etc.

ReadyMom wrote:I'm finding that the older I get the harder it is to move those 5 gallon buckets! I've started storing lighter items, like pastas that are light in the larger 5 gallon size (NOT SPAGHETTI ... that gets heavy). Using the 3 gallon size for more dense items, like flour, sugar, etc.

Yeah, that is one reason I am getting away from the 20 gallon totes. Mine hit about 100 lbs each, and at that weight they aren't really stack-able. The buckets can handle a lot of weight on their lids without any precautions, and there is a trick if you want to stack them higher. If you cut plywood into 12 inch strips and lay them one on a row of buckets, it puts the weight directly on the bucket wall. If you do it right, they can handle about twice the weight (max seems to be somewhere over 200 lbs, stacked on top of each bucket). (Hat tip to Pastor Joe Fox)

I am fortunate that I will be able to handle the buckets for a while longer, but, eventually I will follow your path, and go to a smaller container.

ReadyMom and TRex2, are you 2 saying that you don't like the golden years.

rick1 wrote:ReadyMom and TRex2, are you 2 saying that you don't like the golden years.

 Happy I could bring a little humor into your day!

I also am moving to the 3 gallon buckets. So much easier to use. I will still use all my 5 gallons, but as RM said, for lighter stuff - pasta, boxed goods, and so on.

We have been using 3 gal buckets for a while.... It makes life easier.

We have been getting our buckets from the local bakery they are pretty cheap