What three things do you wish you had stocked more of

[NikoSan999]

What three things do you wish you had stockpiled more of? Many on here has had to use their stockpiles out of neccesity. Loss of income...loss of electric etc. Out of experience what did you find lacking in your supplies.

For those who hasn't found it a neccesity same question. What three do you stockpile the most or deem the most important for your family?

[NewLeaf]

Propane bottles for the campstove and lanterns
TP
Sugar

[Incognito]

1. Ordinary toothpaste, not the new toxic stuff.
2. More cash in my EF.
3. More frozen turkeys.

I'm very happy with my stockpile of:
1. Cereal
2. Toilet paper
3. Bath products: shampoo, soap, bodywash, etc, etc, etc, etc,....

[frugalwarrior2]

I am already out of
-pistachios
-lower on fruit than I would like
-just restocked jars of tomato sauce
-bags of cat food
-softener salt
-soft soap refills,dish soap,garbage bags,laundry soap.
-batteries
-cfl bulbs small
-tums,muscinex,clariton,tylenol
-should have read the dates on the cold meds (all expired-ARGGH)
-ground sirloin
-tampons
-coke
i really need a bigger pantry. I store extras of my dis set in there too and i think they need a new home. I also can't realize how much teens can really chow.
i have to ignore DH next year he gets overwhelmed when he sees more than 6 of any 1 thing. He kept walking in saying "lotta food,lotta food" Now he's saying where did all the Food go??? He doesn't understand how much i actually haul.lol.

[2ndGenGranola]

We have our food stuff where it works for us now - (unless there is a GOOD sale) -16 cans of stuff we like, 8 cans of stuff we like OK, 4 cans of liked but "unusual" items ...I try to keep 4 bags of every kind of bean we like plus a Sam's bag of pintos

Now something I have never thought of reading the above posts was stockpiling softener salts. I need to work that into our plan. WooHoo

[Nada.Leona]

My stockpile is mostly non-perishable food things. I try to stock up mainly on:

1. Toilet paper
2. Toothpaste
3. Baking soda

[jas]

Have plenty of:
sugar
HBA
packaged rice

[Contrary Housewife]

What three things do you wish you had stockpiled more of? Many on here has had to use their stockpiles out of neccesity. Loss of income...loss of electric etc. Out of experience what did you find lacking in your supplies.

Fuel for the sterno. I had two cans and it went pretty fast just heating water for tea over the space of 4 days. Last winter I bought 4 cans and a quart of denatured alcohol, which will supposedly last a long time.

I also don't have water purification tablets, which I know we will need if a tornado hits.

[spyzvixxen]

While I was working, I wish I would have known ahead of time what brands of the below I would be using so that I could have stocked up before going to 1 income:

Baby Wipes - I've never gotten the wipes for free, but the best I did was .50 each when Huggies was giving out .75/1 Q's and I wish I'd have ordered them off of eBay and filled my closets to the brim. I know you can make your own, but with the cost of paper towels, I don't really think there's much savings.

Similac Formula (never imagined BF wouldn't work out)

Pampers Diapers (cloth not practical for me, as I use the laundromat)

I get decent deals by using the store's baby bucks program to its full advantage. However, I wish I knew then what I know now. The financial blow would have been softened.

[Incognito]

There are lots of Pampers, Huggies, wipes coupons out there, even coupons for baby formula. Have you signed up with the companies?
They give out samples, coupons, even gift packs.
Johnson & Johnson gives out gift packs too, and monthly coupons in Canada. Is it the same for the US?

[JanieD]

I'd like to have more meat, but will only keep a little extra on hand for the next 2 months in case we loose power for days. Plus, not easy to prepared without power. Other 2 items I'd love to have more of: peanut butter & cereal. Dh goes through both very quickly. Both are greater to have on hand when we loose power. All 3 can be expensive & would save a lot if you didn't have to purchase during an income loss.

[spyzvixxen]

There are lots of Pampers, Huggies, wipes coupons out there, even coupons for baby formula. Have you signed up with the companies?
They give out samples, coupons, even gift packs.
Johnson & Johnson gives out gift packs too, and monthly coupons in Canada. Is it the same for the US?

I have signed up for each multiple times, to the point of having to keep spreadsheets to keep all my signups straight LOL. I've even signed up family members. They came in fast & furious at first and have dwindled to NOTHING. I got the least out of Pampers, believe it or now. I guess I need to re-sign up. That's my next online project. I know better now for when we plan on #2.

[spyzvixxen]

Other items I wish I'd stocked up on before the coupon values made it impossible to get free/cheap:

TP
Dish Soap
Toothpaste
Tampons/Pads

[MandaRenee]

I wished I had stocked up more on:

Toilet paper
Apple Juice
Propane in our tank

We just weren't prepared enough this year. Sigh.

[Grainlady]

The question... What three do you stockpile the most or deem the most important for your family?

In case of an emergency, if I could only have one food item out of my home food storage, it would be CHIA seeds. I purchase them 5-pounds at a time. Here's an interesting story on the subject - http://www.sunandseed.com/index.php?...mart&Itemid=76

After that it's not three, but "The Seven Survival Foods" - grains, legumes, sprouting seeds, sweetener/s, salt, oil, and powdered milk. These are the basics of my home food storage plan, and I have several years worth of these foods in storage.

"These seven versatile foods can be combined, flavored, seasoned, modified and disguised to create amazingly delicious meals with an almost never-ending variety of tastes and textures." - as quoted out of The NEW Passport to Survival - 12 Steps to Self-Sufficient Living - by Rita Bingham.

You say there's no meat! I can make "fake meat", which has as much protein as ground beef, from freshly-milled whole wheat flour by washing out the bran and starch, leaving the high-protein gluten. I can also make a high-protein, crunchy, cereal-type food out of gluten.

Another important note with whole grains, sprouting seeds and beans, I could plant them and grow more. Can't do that with all-purpose flour and a can of refried beans. Two years ago I took some amaranth seeds out of the jar in the refrigerator (purchased the amaranth from the health food store), and planted them in my garden. We harvested enough amaranth from 12 plants to last 2-3 years. While the amaranth plants were young, I used the leave off of them for fresh greens.

You can sprout grains/seeds/beans in a jar to create fresh vegetables that contain high amounts of nutrients, and use them in a large variety of ways. Check out information by Ann Wigmore, or "The Sproutman" Steve Meyerowitz. Sprouts are mighty cheap food that most people over-look.