do you keep your stockpile secret?

**jas** · 03-13-2009, 05:42 PM

Very interesting thread thanks for starting it New Leaf. I have told just a very few people like almost no one. They know that I coupon and stuff like that. They do not know that I have decided to really take this to the next step. Having more than just a few basics for a fews weeks or so.

I have no intention to tell many people. I may bring up the priciple in conversation to test the waters so to speak. I do believe that sometime in the future (no one knows when and I hope to have plenty of time to gather what my family will need). There are alot of people out there that have the head knowledge that things will turn bad, but will not or do not believe it enough to prepare. Or think SOMEONE ELSE will do it for them.
If you really believe in the need you will prepare. You may never have to use it in a horrble world wide event, but you will have learned many skills that have long been put aside in all the conviences we have that have let us become lazy.

Sure I will continue to live with many of these convient things, but also learning new skills like milling my own wheat, learning how to dehydrate fresh foods and store them. It is a new hobby with lots of rewards down the line. And goes along with my goals of being prepared for whatever is in the future.

Sorry to ramble, anyway again thanks for the thread!!!

**NewLeaf** · 03-14-2009, 05:35 PM

jas, you made a good point about stockpiling. It really does get you back to basics in a way. I am cooking more from scratch and learning new ways of storing and preserving real food. I felt very proud the other day when I made brownies out of a mix I made myself- I know exactly what is in that mix (no funky ingrediants).

**NewLeaf** · 05-12-2009, 07:42 AM

My mother just told me about a newspaper article she read about people finding "hiding places" in their homes for their stockpiles. Mine is not hidden. I have half of it in my kitchen and for lack of room half on a shelf in the basement. Also, alot in the freezer on the back porch. Someone could walk right up and take all of my meat (LOL). If they need some meat that badly I would gladly give it to them.....

Evidently people build narrow hidden shelves in their clothes closets behind the hanging clothes. And some people hide food, guns and ammo in their box springs. If I was going to hide anything it would be the chocolate and junk food from the kids

.

**norcalmommy** · 05-14-2009, 05:16 PM

I wouldn't say we hide our food storage, but I certianly don't tell many people. My entire family knows, but most of them also have been storing away food. My close friends know, because they are like minded folks that have food storage also. I have several friends that know I use alot of coupons to get great deals. But, they have no idea I re-package the dry goods into mylar bags with oxygen absorbers for long term storage. I use 'unused' space to store things. We have water storage under my daughters bed. It is very high off the ground. So she has a few baskets with toys that are easy to get to and the rest of the space I use for storing things.

I am also learning to repackage pantry items to make them fit much better into my kitchen.

**Judi Dial** · 05-14-2009, 05:51 PM

Some of my food is concealed, but it's just because I have very little traditional storage. On the other hand, because of security concerns, I give all my food through food pantries, churches, etc. so that people don't know who/where it came from. My close friends and family may get food packages from me, but any giving I do to the community I do privately. This just seems prudent, or just low profile, something it seems to us is a wise thing to be.

Judi

**brenda67** · 05-18-2009, 04:10 PM

Originally Posted by Judi Dial

Some of my food is concealed, but it's just because I have very little traditional storage. On the other hand, because of security concerns, I give all my food through food pantries, churches, etc. so that people don't know who/where it came from. My close friends and family may get food packages from me, but any giving I do to the community I do privately. This just seems prudent, or just low profile, something it seems to us is a wise thing to be.

Judi

May I ask what you mean by security concerns?

**dean** · 05-18-2009, 05:57 PM

My stockpile is neither secret nor public knowledge.
It's not hidden, but it is out of sight. (Basement stairs landing. DH built floor to ceiling shelving)
If there was a need to truly survive on it, it would be shared with my family and a few friends who would do the same for me.
I think we could put together some pretty good meals for quite a while. And be comfortable in the bathroom (TP) even longer!

**Judi Dial** · 05-18-2009, 09:39 PM

Originally Posted by brenda67

May I ask what you mean by security concerns?

If everything goes to hell, I do NOT want to be known as a person with 3 months+ of food in my house. There's a "joke" that I heard: "What do you do when there are no grocery stores?" Answer: Kill a Mormon.

As distasteful as I find the above joke, it has some kernel of truth in it. I wish to continue giving to my community, I don't want it known that I may have more food than the average Joe in the house.

Judi

**norcalmommy** · 05-20-2009, 12:40 AM

Originally Posted by Judi Dial

If everything goes to hell, I do NOT want to be known as a person with 3 months+ of food in my house. There's a "joke" that I heard: "What do you do when there are no grocery stores?" Answer: Kill a Mormon.

As distasteful as I find the above joke, it has some kernel of truth in it. I wish to continue giving to my community, I don't want it known that I may have more food than the average Joe in the house.

Judi

I will have to tell my LDS friends that one, they will get a kick out of it!

**NewLeaf** · 06-10-2009, 05:00 PM

My bil recently saw my stockpile and never said a word. But now he knows where to come for food (ha ha)

**NewLeaf** · 07-01-2009, 05:21 PM

OMG!!!! My bil stole food from us!!!!! I have been so shocked and dissappointed. We have given him so much- money, food, clothes, dinner, love & friendship. We even set him up in a rental trailer, paid to have everything hooked up (cable, water, elec) and bought him a small tv when his ex left him.

If he would have just asked I would have given him a bag and said "fill it up".

My dh and I discussed it, No one else could have been in my basement but bil because we let him do his laundry there ea. week end.Now , every time he does his laundry I will be wondering .......

**laura-n-sasha** · 07-05-2009, 09:38 PM

New Leaf,
First, sorry about your BIL doing the stealing, but it is understandable now why people will hide the food.

We definitely stockpile, I call it provisions, maybe because it sounds better than stockpile. I had gone crazy in buying stuff last year, and this year we are eating through it. Occasionally I will add to it, but the area that we are living in, can't really stockpile well enough.

On our website, we have down how much we spent for "provisions" but not what we have. I have tried to explain to others about stockpiling, but most think us weird to begin with, so it falls on deaf ears.

I wish that my Sister & Mom would stockpile, but I doubt it would happen. When I saw them last, I asked, if you could not get to the store AT ALL, how long before you ran out of food? They could only guess, but I think the most they could go was a week or two at most. That seems to be true for most Americans, and that is a scary thought. We could go for longer, but the stockpile is a little low right now.

Chocolate is definitely in the stockpile, and NO I will not tell anyone where it is!

**NewLeaf** · 07-06-2009, 11:01 AM

Of all the people I know I would have never guessed that bil would have stolen from us. Dh put a new lock on the basement door and we are thinking of relocating the stockpile. It just seems so unfair. Bil spends all his money on beer and partying while dh and I struggle to make ends meet. I haven't added to my pile in a while but I am hoping to start again soon. I may wait until we relocate it.

**Judi Dial** · 07-06-2009, 11:19 AM

I'm so sorry Newleaf! My guess is that he thought you'd "never miss" it as you had so much, a common attitude I've found with people who don't stockpile.

I had a jar of demiglace. My ND neighbor wanted some stock, I told him, take 2T of this and mix it with water, it'll give you the equivalent of 2 cans of stock. He used the ENTIRE jar and replaced it w/ a quart of stock, sigh. Folks who don't stockpile don't think a lot about how much they use, etc. This is an educated guy, but apparently they just don't get it. These days I have cans of stock AND demiglace and the demiglace is NOT something I'd "lend." I'm sure to him it was just one small jar of really flavor filled stock, instead of like 8 quarts of it.

This wasn't stealing, but I give it as a sort of example. The people who don't stockpile just don't get large quantity storage.

I'm SO sorry!

Judi

**NewLeaf** · 07-07-2009, 12:58 PM

Thanks for the encouraging words. Today I am saddened again to report that bil stole from us again. We let him do his laundry last night as he has no washer. Dh insisted that he be home before bil be allowed in the house. I cooked a nice dinner and bil would not eat a bite. (he was drinking). The funny thing is that he saw 8 1/2 gallon snapple teas downstairs and asked if he could have one. I said sure. I put one on his laundry basket. Later I noticed that he had put 2 in his bag. I told dh and dh went down and put one back (no confrontation). This morning I noticed 3 cans of tuna and some fruit and hotdog chili gone. It seems like very little but we are eating from our stock pile right now and need all of it. I am so hurt, flabbergasted and mad. Bil can spend his paycheck on partying and thinks he can use us for his necessities in life. I told dh to do what ever he wanted as far as talking to his brother but I WANTED a locking cabinet for my food and a lock on our freezer (out on the back porch).