Stockpiling question

[Thevail]

There's so much wonderful advice on the site about how to start stockpiling. How to get the best deals for your stockpile. What to stockpile. How to rotate your "stock" once you have it.

So I've been stockpiling..and not just food either..with immense success.

Storing it is now getting a bit wierd around the edges (of all my rooms). So how do you know when you can stop "stockpiling" and just sort of maintain?

There are a lot of variables for each family or individual, including WHY you're stockpiling, and how much space you have.

But I can't seem to quite get my thoughts straight on this topic. Can you tell me how you'll know when you're done.

[old_lady_in_the_shoe]

Stockpiling is definitely and individual thing for everyone who does it because we all eat, and cook so differently. I don't feel like you can "ever" be completely finished, but more of a maintence of your stockpile.

I stockpile things like wheat berries, whole corn, whole soy beans and such and what I do is figure out how much/many of each item I need for say 1 month, then times it by twelve and that is what I need on hand at all time, when I reach the twelve month amount I need to be looking for more of it at the best deal. Some time it is quick and others It is not so quick, because I may need to order it and have it shipped in, or it may be "out of stock" when I need it, but as long as you know how much you have and how much you need for a year supply for your family, you should always be able to keep up.

You can do this for any thing in your stockpile. If you eat 1 can of green beans per week for your family, then you need 52 cans for your years supply.

Some people start out by making a "sample menu" for a week (or month) and then "writing out" how much of each item they used then multiply it by either the weeks in the year or months in the year (depends on how long your sample menu was).

Once you feel like you are at your full years supply, then purchase your groceries when they are cheapest or in good supply. If you find a super great deal on greenbeans, and you already have enough for 1 yr, but they are a good brand, will last for several years, and are very cheap, then if you have room to store them, purchase another lot of the, maybe even another years supply. This will save you money in the long run and will add a bit of a cushion.

Some items we fall low on every now and then, because we "use and rotate" our stock all during the winter, there are no sales, so our stock supply drops. If this is the case with you too, then as it goes back on sale during the spring (or summer) then purchase enough at the sale price to bring you back up to a years supply and some extra to pad that.

some items are easier to stockpile than others and this makes each item a bit different too. You can stock pile tp very easy, but if you don't have the room for such a bulky item, then it may not be what you need to stockpile. Stockpile what works for you and rotate, rotate, rotate and only stock what you already eat and use, it will save you later on, guarenteed!

Good luck!

[marjorie]

For me? I'd need 6 months or so of shelf goods. Seems like a lot. Seemed like a lot to me until I was unable to work for 8 months because of a very unexpected medical issue. It gave me the grace, the time to heal myself without concern. My kids found it very helpful the 3 weeks I was in a hospital or nursing home. All they worried about was me and their jobs. Didn't need to worry about food, trips to the store, money to buy anything...

[Thevail]

Old-lady-in-the-shoe.."I stockpile things like wheat berries"

Just out of curiosity..what does one do with wheatberries? They sound really healthy.

[thesightofoneself]

i'm too picky to have a "real" stockpile. i have 25 cans of a soup i like. they were on sale for 1.25 vs their regular 2.50
thats as far as my food stockpile goes

[knotme]

Wheat berries are whole kernal wheat. they are very versatile. I grind mine for WW flour. I have also cooked in the whole berry form and added them to casseroles and chili recipes. You can also use the cooked berries like rice and make like fried rice only using the wheat berries instead of rice or use like spanish rice etc..

HTH

[MomToTwoBoys]

It's all a matter of comfort. Usually when people get to the point where they feel like they're being overcrowded by the things they own, they either stop collecting more or they use up what they have.

I would simply look at how big your stockpile is and figure out if that's suitable for you or if you can downsize it so you can get back some breathing room for you to live in.

[LastDragonfly]

I don't think I'll ever be DONE, but there is a level of comfort zone for me that I've achieved. I love shopping at home! For me my comfort zone is knowing that if I JUST DIDN'T WANT to go to the grocery store...this week, I wouldn't HAVE to.

I agree with the other posters it's different for all of us. I also believe our comfort levels change so we just adjust.

If you are feeling like you are closing in on yourself, maybe you aren't feeling like you have too much stuff but not enough storage...

I've changed the way I'm storing some food now by using my dehydrator. It's taken that panic that I have when I cant get one more thing on the middle shelf kwim?

[Grainlady]

Another variable to consider for knowing when you are "done"... Would you ever need to share what you have in your stockpile with others, your extended family, neighbors?

You might consider the three layers of stockpiling I use, rather than just pantry foods, but only you can determine when you're "done".
a. 72-emergency storage (foods that don't reqire heating or refrigeration)
b. General pantry foods for everyday food preparation
c. Long-term foods -- 5-10 year (or more) storage potential (most are found in #10 cans, but hard grains, like wheat, will store for decades)

I started with a 3-month goal of a variety of foods that cover all the food groups, then stretched it to 6-months. Now I have 6-12-months of what I call pantry foods and 1-3 years of "The Seven Survival Foods" (grains, legumes, sprouting seeds, sweetener/s, salt, oil and powdered milk).

After those layers were achieved, I worked on long-term emergency foods (which have 5-10-year shelf-life and most are packaged in #10 cans). Those include freeze-dried meat/cheese/fruit/vegetables; dried whole powdered eggs, powdered butter, etc.

I also focus on whole foods, and foods I refer to as "ingredients". You won't find very many cans of green beans or cans of Campbell's soup in my stockpile - which are foods most people consider essential for stockpiling. What you WILL find are homemade dehydrated soup mixtures and ingredients I use to make soup, such bean flour and split-pea flour I mill at home, for quick-to-fix 3-minute soup mixtures. These simple foods are made with foods from the garden.

You can't compare a box of cold cereal that costs $4 in storage, to 25-pounds of wheat I purchased for $5. I can make all kinds of things, including cereal mixtures, from whole wheat berries - and that's exactly what I do. I make my own multi-grain cereal blends (5-grain, 7-grain, etc.), flakes (from oat groats, wheat, spelt, barley, rye, etc.), and cream of wheat and cream of rice from whole grains. That's a good example of how whole foods are generally less expensive than highly processed foods.

Recipes for using wholesome whole foods is also part of my stockpile. If you consider adding whole grains to your stockpile, be sure to go slowly and find recipes you and your family like to eat. I have cookbooks and files full of using not only wheat berries, but a plethora of grains/seeds/beans.

So if you don't have whole grains/seeds/beans as part of your stockpile, and know how to incorporate them in your diet, you're not done, in my opinion.

[mombottoo]

I have two large pantry units & a chest freezer in the basement and these are kept full to the brim. I have cupboards & a pantry and my frig/freezer in the kitchen that hold food that I use for meals. As I use the food in the kitchen, I restock using food from the basement and I restock as the items I use go on sale. Sometimes I do end up with overflow which I put in plastic bins.

Cleansers, tp, paper towels, etc. are purchased so I have a good 6 months supply on hand. These are stored in the basement and in the two bathrooms.

[old_lady_in_the_shoe]

Old-lady-in-the-shoe.."I stockpile things like wheat berries"

Just out of curiosity..what does one do with wheatberries? They sound really healthy.

Wheat berries are just plain ol' hard wheat that you grind into whole wheat flour, or you can sprout them to make wheat grass (which i am learning to do ) They store forever practally (if kept in the right containers). Flour doesn't store as well or nearly as long, so wheat berries are great for long storage, that is if you have a grinder to grind them into flour.

[old_lady_in_the_shoe]

You can't compare a box of cold cereal that costs $4 in storage, to 25-pounds of wheat I purchased for $5.
.

I wish I could find wheat for $5 for 25lbs, you are lucky! I generally pay about $38 for 50lbs!!!

[Thevail]

I have access to whole fields of wheat...do you need to dry them after you thresh and before you store them?

Does the type of wheat matter? It's mostly hard winter wheat.

Can you store them vaccu-seal packets?

[groundhog]

i live in grain country so know a little about it by the time wheat is ready to harvest it is usually dry enough to store in just about any thing water proof remember it is kept in large bins on the farm and sometimes it is even kept on the ground when they run out of bin space

[old_lady_in_the_shoe]

I have never grown my own wheat to store, I have grown it for my animals. but groundhog is right "by the time wheat is ready to harvest it is usually dry enough to store " . I would think vacuum seal is great and would work very well. Hard winter wheat is good all purpose wheat for bread and such (you need a soft wheat for pastries and such). Sounds like you have it made!!!