Your Last Ever Supermarket Shopping Spree

19.47...I apologize for the thread disruption but I suppose this IS a preparation of sorts...

My major concern was to see if she was safe with my children so that was my first focus with extensive 'family ladder placement'. She has never bitten anyone, she has only been very protective of my children and family WITH ANYTHING that comes into our house....but I need her not to run outside the home and to not be so open to strangers that she sees us talking to...

...she WILL fetch food for us for sure but she wants me to chase her...and chase her...and chase her...play TAG of sorts..seems unproductive if she isn't by my side on command and when necessary.

Ish

I'll suggest one more item a still to make both distilled water and alky. Bleach works until you run out of bleach, a still can make any water drinkable even urine.

It doesn't have to be large and can be made cheaply.

yes...a still is perfect

The only thing I ever got from Zetatalk that was worth keeping.
A stove top still:
[link to www.zetatalk.com]
[link to www.zetatalk.com]

Meat - A few packs of bacon if you must. But generally speaking 50 or so cans of cheap tuna fish is the best value for money that you will get and it stores well. Afterwards you might want to go dog hunting, they will not be around for long anyway, so you might as well get some while you can. I've never tried it, but I hear that it makes a most delicious stew. A few slices of bread and a visit to the local duck pond might turn out to be a profitable trip if you get there first. And who knows, there might be the odd pony, sheep or cow wondering around, but just make sure that the owner doesn’t see you.

That's an ok idea, but personally, I stock La Preferida Sardines, instead. I pay $1.69 for a 15 oz can;that's more than tuna, of course, but tuna is only 6.5 oz.I follow the blood type diet, and I feel much better on sardines than I do tuna, as the diet would suggest.
But also, there is more concern with mercury in tuna.I also stock canned salmon, similarly more expensive than tuna, but also similarly a much larger can.Omega 3's and all that.
Rice is good, but I wouldn't waste money on the poisonous bleached crap.Wild rice, or at least brown rice is a much better plan.As far as the bland/boredom factor, I also stock black eyed and green peas.Rice and black eyed peas is a LOT tastier than plain old rice, and a lot more nutritious, as well.
I wouldn't bother with cheap cooking oils, unless I was just desperately poor.That crap is flat out poisonous,whereas good Olive Oil is very nutritious, in ways I doubt even science totally understands.I have gone weeks with nothing to eat but rice and Olive Oil, and I felt great.I doubt that would be the case if I was eating rice and some "vegetable oil" crap.
Finally, if you are going the cheapie route, and just buying regular canned goods instead of MREs or fancy vacuum packs, don't forget--canned goods do NOT last forever.Exactly how long various items last, I cannot say.I am no expert.But I do know that more than a couple years, for most anything, and you are pushing your luck.
I once opened a 5 year old can of Progresso Soup, and it was nasty.I don't know if it would have killed me to eat it or not, but it sure would have gagged me.
Good idea for a thread, 19.47--thanks!

Some interesting posts here. I've been on this road for a while now...so a few comments. Plan to build a tribe. It's the only way, for many reasons. Build skills, this increases self confidence and reliance, and also is a commodity to be exchanged with others. Survive in situ - ie where you know the lay of the land. The learning curve with relocation is too steep.

As for shopping:

Step 1 - water (source), salt, and bleach. If in the country, as much salt as possible (preserves meat).

Step 2 - rice and beans, in quantities to feed a small tribe. Very cheap. Even cheaper - go to a livestock feed store. $10=50lbs. Lard or shortening - keeps forever, NOT oil!

Step 3 - Things to make the rice and beans taste better. Soya, sugar, dried soup bases, hot sauce, spices (lots), canned tuna, sardines, corned beef, tomato paste,etc. (PS- learn to cook).

Step 4 - Luxury/trade items - tea, coffee, candies,alcohol, tobacco, pot, pain killers, and did I say spices?

Build your skills. In my tribe I want a doctor, a farmer, a mechanic, a soldier, a cook, a fisherman, a builder, etc. The more that you know about these things, the less you will worry about finding something to eat.

Find your "tribe" here.... [link to www.ic.org]

Taoist rebel: I'm impressed with everything you have done. I'm glad you are in a community of people you trust. We are in the process of moving to a better (hopefully more secure) area ... There will be relatives around, but we will have to start from scratch with friends ... That said, I think our move is wise ... but we are miles behind you ...

hey great post! a subject near and dear to my heart, been ready and still preparing for over a decade, it has saved my ass twice so far,

one simple thing i over looked, locking gas cap! duh,, going to get one of those today

glad to see others out there feel the same as i do, i really think we are in the final stages of something big, timing could not be better with spring in the air, time to double our efforts and prepare for next winter, thank god we have the summer to garden , and not having to finish stock piling in the winter is a big plus to me

good luck to everyone!

true Malu,

There is some great info here...time IS short and everyday you have should be adding (in supply's) more days to survive.

Ish

Malu, Ish

Salt in the event of a worst case occurance (like SEADOG said) is going to be vital I think. So cheap too, 22kg bag for $5.

hey shadow , ish, great to see you both,, a survival reunion!

did not thing either of you would still be around, time differences and such,, just having some coffee and watching it rain cats and dogs, and watching the grass grow greener by the minute, although we may get severe snow storm this weekend

did some work on my cousins farm last weekend, put up a ten foot tower which will hold about 500 gallons of water, right next to the garden, so he can gravity feed to soaker hoses this summer, should be pretty slick

been looking through my packs of seeds and drooling, still too early to start seedlings, but soon

i have this nagging feeling something big is going to happen, dreams and such, i think the usa is going to get put on it's ass for once,, not that we won't collectively raise above it, just that times are going to get tough, and i welcome it,, time we all spent more time on life instead of keeping up with the jonses!

Great isn't it?
I rise disgustingly early. -15C (5F) here and I have to go to work damn it.

Hi Shadow!

Yes, malu a survival union...(and I'm bringing the garlic butter).

..I agree that things are heating up....and groups are are coming together...

ps I'm not going anywhere!

Ish

we have lost touch ish, since your great camping trip and wedding, i have thought of you often, good to see that you are still around!

yes, groups are coming together, the collective mind, funny how that works

i was just day dreaming about my garden, i am going to get/build a food dryer and vacuum seal my foods this winter, never really tried that before as i have always canned my foods, but since i think i could be forced on the move, i want to go the lightest route

Ahhh the camping trip...hard to believe that was almost a year ago!...

...I have vacuum sealed alot of foods and it is easier to carry. It does give a longer shelf-life and the bags can be RE-sealed if you have the battery op. model. Keep in mind that vacuum sealing ALL your smaller gear isn't a bad idea and tends to make the over-all bug-out bag a little more 'roomy'.

Stay safe and watch your back!

Ish

good advice ish,, i plan on doing just that!

nice for battle packs too, so i have been told

Too bad the stillsuits of Dune aren't real.

What up with sugar? I know most of us are addicted (and my coffee wouldn't be the same without it). But I recall hearing about WWII rationing and sugar was an issue then, too. I guess it's more of a luxury you could barter with?

Hi malu,

Nice to see you around again. You thought of everything else, but forgot the locking gas cap! Doh.

Good post

173079,

Sardines? Sorry personally I don't like them all that much. But with mayo and some pickles tuna tastes great and it bakes well with macaroni as well. But the other point that I want to make is that cheapness and stuff that is most common is important because I'm not preaching to the converted (folks like you or I) but to those who whistle on through life reguardless. And the way I reckon it is that a stock of cheap foodstuffs, which is all that many can afford in any case, is one heck of a lot better than nothing.

Morning 19.47

Sardines are actually extremely high in calcium and a choice for storing up on, especially if there are young children in the household. I know there are several communities of very poor people in my province (yes, native ) that request sardines over any other donation people are willing to give. It's sad, but these communities have no running water, electricity or communication, so canned sardines replace every other source of calcium available.

Hi Shadow,

Sounds like Portugal there are lots of sardines there, I guess that you are right about the calcium and stuff. Personally all this talking about fish has got me hungry, (its late afternoon here)so I think it might be cod n' chips.

It might be a good ideal to read up on all the Native American books that you can find/purchase. I wish I could find one that lists all the medicine plants that grow wild. One quick afterthought 19.47. I just recently discovered three major historical events that took place in 1947. UN was Formed, Israel as a Nation was then formed, Then the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in the desert by a young sheep herder. 1947 is a significant year. Probably doesnt apply to your ID, but I like your posts and wanted to bumb this one. Peace to everyone, even our enemies. Later

Phrasesphere,

Neat one, Thanks.

MaudDib987,

"Too bad the stillsuits of Dune aren't real."

Uck! Well about all I can say about it is that I suppose that drinking your own sweat is marginally better than drinking your own pee. Please excuse me while I go and throw up.

It will not hurt to stock up on the nessecities of life, they come in handy when you are broke or freinds are broke. Then restock again.

Amen! I'm there right now. If we hadn't stocked up in the months before Hubby lost his job (he was unemployed for 11 months), I don't know where we'd be.

Y'all might want to add...STEWED TOMATOES...we buy them by the case. They have made a real difference. We can make all sorts of lovely dishes with them. They are great when all you have are rice and beans.

I blend a can of stewed tomatoes into a nice puree, heat it on the stove, and serve it with crackers. FABULOUS tomato soup...and so much more nutritious than the commercial stuff. It's got all the good stuff, but none of the crap that's in the commercial stuff (soy, MSG, etc.). Stewed tomatoes are very high in Vitamin A, too.

Better wake up folks! The news over the last three weeks or so has been pretty grim. All of a sudden one day the gab, gab, gab will come to a stop and the war will be on. Do you really want to be out there panic buying along with thousands of millions of other people throughout the world. And even then that's assuming that the ATMs are working.

BTW Emergency stockpiles of food held by the goverment are at an all time low and the regular food supply chain operates on a hand to mouth basis.

Good to see this one once again. Here where I live about a year ago, all of the ATMs, Gas Pumps, Grocery Stores etc... went off line for about 2 hours. I mean everything was down. People were running around in a panic. You couldnt buy anything. People were leaving full grocery carts full of food in the isles. Cars at the pumps were pulling up, trying to get gas and then leaving. If you didnt have cash you didnt get anything. It was to say the least "Very Disturbing". It happened one more time about a week or so later. Same thing happened again. From what I was told (By a supermarket manager)it was an underground line that was cut by some construction company and that it would be fixed ASAP. I could be wrong, but it may have been a test (trial run) who knows? So from first hand experience I can tell you that if the Real SHTF it may be best to stay home and ride it out the best that you can. Once again I cant help but stress that each one of you need to learn something usefull from an agriculture point of view (Grow crops, Can your own food etc...) Good Luck and God-Speed. Peace to everyone, even our enemies (If we really even know who the enemy is) Later.