Stockpile/Recipe ???'s

[aprilrain1024]

Ok so I have decided that I need to start a stockpile. I really have no idea of what to have in it and what not to bother with. I know that there is food/non food stockpiles. How much should I have of each item? I would like to have about 2 years worth of things. There is just my DH and myself.

And also I am looking for recipes for the following items:

• Shampoo
  Conditioner
  Deoderant (mens & womens)
  Toothpaste
  Dish Soap
  Sourdough Bread Starter
  No Knead Bread

Thanks so much for all your great ideas on the forums

[Nana2two]

Hello and welcome i see this is your first post.. Alot of what you stockpile depends on on your family size and what you use alot of. With us a family of 4 i stockpile body wash when i get it for free, shampoo, soaps, ect. Food, for free or near free. Alot depends on how much room you have also.

[Grainlady]

1. Set an amount of money for food purchases and figure a portion of that amount as food you will purchase for your stockpile - say $5-$10 each week. Normally you'll use it for things that are on sale or otherwise a good buy.

If tuna is on sale for 65-cents a can, purchase 6 cans. If you find a good buy on canned/frozen fruit or veggies, use that $5 for those. When flour or sugar is on sale, stock-up using that $5-$10 portion. You'll quickly find you have several months in your stockpile.

2. Avoid purchasing large quantities of one food item with all the same use-by date. Can you realistically use 24 cans of tomato sauce, green beans, corn, (or whatever) within the use-by date time? It's better to purchase a few at a time since there are only two of you. I only purchase foods with a use-by date of 2010 or 2011, now that I have a large stockpile.

Example: Don't buy 12 jars of peanut butter at one time with a use-by date that is 6-months out, if you typically use 1 jar per month. The math doesn't work. You'll end up needing to plan on how to use 2 jars each month, rather than 1 jar.

Stock your shelves so that the use-by dates are in order. I often find peanut butter on sale, but instead of going to the back of the peanut butter, if I check the use-by date, it might end up being #2, not the last one. Check your dates periodically so you use your food in a timely manner.

3. My food budget is $50/week (two adults). I spend $10/week of it for meat and basically purchase foods that are on sale, discounted, clearance and I "shop" for meal planning from foods in storage. I rarely spend my entire $50 and I often don't purchase meat because it's not a "bargain" (I try to keep to $2/pound or lower for meat - or within that $10).

With the accumulated leftover money, I purchase large amounts of grain (I just bought 100# of wheat 2 weeks ago - $43), a year's worth (24#) of a whey-based milk substitute we use instead of store-bought milk (much cheaper), and in October I purchase grass-fed beef from a friend to stock the freezer. I never "borrow" from next week no matter how good a bargain may seem. There's ALWAYS a bargain every week.

4. Stockpile INGREDIENTS, rather than prepared foods - and learn how to make foods from scratch - you'll $ave money.

When you have the ingredients for making biscuits (flour, leavening, milk, sugar, fat), you can use those same ingredients for making muffins, quick breads, tortillas, pancakes, waffles, cake, cookies.... With the same ingredients you can make your own homemade "convenience" foods by making a Bisquick-like baking mix, or a homemade pancake mix for much less than they cost at the store.

As an example: I keep dried tomato powder in my stockpile (http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/...FRAMDQodZRjqRg), rather than cans of tomato paste, tomato sauce, pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, etc., because I can make all those things in the quantities I need with tomato powder + water, seasonings, and sweetener for a fraction of the price. Add to that dehydrated tomatoes and frozen tomatoes from the garden. That eliminates a large number of cans in my pantry and saves me a pile of money.

5. I also have a budget for non-food items, which is separate from my grocery money. Non-food items are also purchased when I can get the best buy. I stack savings by purchasing when an item is a loss leader or on sale, AND I can use a coupon (hopefully a double coupon), AND I try to find rebates.

6. I purchase Charlie's Soap (http://www.charliesoap.com/) for our laundry. A 5-gallon bucket (1280-loads) will last us at least 3.5 years. LOOK how much plastic or boxes I've saved from the trash by using a product from a bulk amount. Because clothes are soft (there isn't any soap build-up from Charlie's Soap), I also NEVER use softener. Another savings.

7. My bottom line is to buy what you use and use what your buy. After years of doing this, I have 6-12-months worth of general pantry foods, and 1-3-years worth of the "Seven Survival Foods" -grains, legumes, sprouting seeds, sweetener, salt, oil (coconut oil for me), and powdered milk. I also have a large supply of what I call longterm "Emergency Foods", which includes #10 cans of freeze-dried: fruits/vegetables, cheese, meat. Powdered: butter, peanut butter, milk, etc.

I mill my own flour from a large assortment of grains/seeds/beans. Grains, properly stored will keep for decades, while flour has a 6-12-month shelf-life. So keep in mind the shelf-life of foods. If you rarely bake in the summer, try to stock your flour the end of summer and during pre-holiday sales. Enough to see your through March or April. I purchase new-crop nuts after the holidays when they are on sale and store them in the freezer or in vacuum-sealed canning jars (using my FoodSaver). So those are planned large purchases.

8. You may find the information from "Cooking with Food Storage Ingredients" helpful - by Utah State University Extension.

http://extension.usu.edu/cache/files...nts%206-07.pdf

http://extension.usu.edu/duchesne/htm/fcs/foodstorage

[aprilrain1024]

Thanx for the great advice!!!!

[i.m.cheap]

I always get toothpaste free with coupons. I haven't purchased any in many years. Deodorant is always free, or less than 25 cents with coupons and the right sale or clearance. Same with shampoo and conditioner. I don't usually get dish soap free, but I did get five large bottles of Dawn Pure & Clear at Target the other day to add to the stockpile. They had it on sale for $2.09, and I used five coupons for $1.50 off one to get five bottles for .59 each.

[i.m.cheap]

Like Nana2two said, stockpile the things YOUR family uses the most. When you find a great sale and/or coupon (preferably both) buy as many as you will use in a resonable period of time. I usually shoot for six months to a year because of expiration dates. For instance, if your family uses one jar of peanut butter every two weeks, when the price for an 18 oz. jar is $1.49 (example) and you have several coupons for .40 off one jar, buy as many jars as you have coupons for. If your store doubles coupons, your cost could be 69 cents a jar! Try to acquire multiple coupons for the brands/items you use the most.

[shoiji]

You might want to get a marker so you can write the date that you opened something, say toothpaste, to see how long it takes to use up. That will give you a better idea of how many months or years supply you will have on an item.

Also you might want to invest in good air tight containers for storage. I like to use mason jars to store grains, dried fruit, dried beans. This way I don't worry about bugs getting into my stockpile.

[savvy_sniper]

Growing up, my mom worked full time outside the house. She shopped ONCE a week (double stamp day). She always kept AT LEAST one extra of everything we used often in the pantry. Items such as mayo, mustard, ketchup, pickles, etc. We also had a deep freeze so she stocked up on things she could freeze when they were on sale. She cooked from scratch every day.

So I grew up with that. Hubby has a regular job and income, but I sell online and my income can fluctuate. So I started REALLY stocking up on food and HBA items when money was rolling in, stashing some money away, etc.

I cook mostly from scratch now. I always cook AT LEAST enough of something to feed us twice. Now I am making a lot of my own mixes, seasoning blends, laundry detergent, bake my own bread, cakes, etc.

I also starting dehydrating fruits, veggies, etc. recently. Yesterday I made my first batch of hamburger jerky (it is stored in the fridge).

This is a process that has evolved over time. Do a search for stockpile and read the threads. There is a wealth of information. You then have to decide what will work for you and what you are capable of.

Remember - Rome wasn't built in a day!

[jlaporte]

i do agree with everyone. u need to see what u use for ur family and go from there. i feed a family of 6 and my food budget is 455 a month. i never go over and some months it seems to last forever. but basically say ur family likes ragu(mine does) its about 1.50 i very seldom find coupons for it but anyway i always buy at least 5 a month of them cuz i use them to cook alot of things. but again u need to see what u use the most of and plan to have back up. u will get the hang of it in no time and u will love when u hit a good deal and walla there goes ur stockpile!
it becomes a game. happy stockpiling

[aprilrain1024]

Great ideas everyone!!! Thanks!!!!

[Ting]

Deodorant Recipe

1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup baking soda

Mix together with whisk and apply under arms.

[WV_mom_of2]

I grew up with grandparents who lived on farm. They raised a HUGE garden and grandma canned everything she could, including meats. They went to town once a month and then only bought a few items. My mom is the same way, although she has money and spends alot of it LOL. She raises a garden and cans, shops sales,etc. Stockpiling is in my blood!

The first thing I would do is go though the house and make a list of things you use often. Then estimate how many you use each month. This gives you an idea of how many you need for a stockpile.

Then you need to figure out where and how you will store these items. Do you have a small spare closet you can clean out and use to store your non-food items? Do you have shelves or can you put some up somewhere to store canned goods? Look over the stockpile pics for the forum and look at the different ways people are storing things for ideas. And remember, under beds is a great place for canned goods and non-food items.

Each time you go shopping try to buy a couple of items for your stockpile that are on sale. My area doesn't get very good coupons nor do they double coupons much. Kroger is the only store that doubles and it's only up to .50. Most coupons in my area you have to buy two of an item, etc. so I don't bother with them much. I just watch for sales on what I buy and stock up. When I can get VO5 shampoo for .79 a bottle, I buy 10 or 15. When our deodorant goes on sale for 1.00(regular price is 2.49) I buy 10 or 15.

I never buy items "just" because they are on sale or free. If I don't know that my family will eat/use it, I don't buy more than one. IF something drastic happens and we have nothing to eat except the stockpile I want it to be things I KNOW we like and will eat. If noone eats beans in your family don't stockpile them! I strive to have a supply of good foods that we love so an uncomfortable time can be somewhat comforting!

Edited to add........
I may be a rare bird in this but I don't depend on my freezer for stockpile. I DO stockpile meats and freeze them, but I know that if the power is off for a very long time it won't keep. I do have a generator and we keep some gas on hand but in a long term emergency it's just not going to keep. So I keep a supply of canned meats (tuna, Treet, deviled ham, etc) on hand along with other protein sources like peanut butter, nuts and dried/canned beans.

Also when building your stockpile don't forget things like spices, oils, shortening, baking soda, etc. that you will need to fix meals from your stockpile!