# Begginer prep in need of advice



## Gigio (Jun 25, 2018)

Ok so I just began making and thinking about a pantry.

I'm not really a prepper, mostly because im a 19yo student living with my dad. Otherwise, I would invest a lot more in it but at the moment its not a top priority in my life.
I'm not really worried about a super apocalyptic scenaryo that will last for decades but I do feel like having food and water for a few months its common sense.
All the time we see natural disasters causing a big mess in any part of the world and people desesperate because they have no food, water, electricity etc.

But thats not really my point..if you're here in this forum you already know all that and you're probably thinking that im pretty dumb for not prepping more serious but well.

*I need advice in foods, ways to store food and how long do they last.*
Do canned goods really expire?
What are the best foods to store if you cant get MRE's and freeze dried stuff? (Im not from the US, none of that exists in my country)
Are there ways to store vegetables, meats, etc on my own? And I mean a way to store it without the need of getting an expensive dehydrator
And any other advice regarding this topic would be great! 
Thanks for reading and sorry if i made a few grammatical mistakes, english is not my home language hehe


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## Camel923 (Aug 13, 2014)

Can goods do expire but last beyond the expiration date. Use and replace them when that date gets near. This rotational system will take some organization.

Vegetables and meats can be frozen or canned. Do a shearch on line for food preservation methods or the library files of this forum.

Water stores very well. Some advocate a tiny bit of bleach to ensure long self life. Shearch the library files on this forum.


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## Illini Warrior (Jan 24, 2015)

suggest you do your own research - it is a learning experience - there is other prepper websites with "resource" tabs that are loaded with various prepping info >>>> your few basic starter questions will be answered and you'll see more questions getting answered that you did not realize were important ...

nationality? - there are some international prepper websites that could have your native language covered and some native preppers ....


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## Chipper (Dec 22, 2012)

Have some 2 year old canned goods you could try for yourself.


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

Start with everyday stuff you like. When you buy this, buy a little extra each time. You will surprise yourself when you find just how quickly buying a little extra each time adds up.

Rotate your stock as in first in, first out. This way you will have less to worry about expiration dates. Most expiration dates are just suggestions. Most food will last at least a couple of years or more past that date. You can research this online and it's a good thing to do.


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

Don't forget dry storage of things like rice, beans and such. Using Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers works wonders.


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## RJAMES (Dec 23, 2016)

Rice and beans in plastic bags or glass Jars just a couple weeks worth to start. Canned goods and then rotate open an old / stored bag of rice and put the new one in storage . Keep using old putting new in storage and trying to add a couple bags of beans/ rice or cans a month. It won't go bad and if times get rough you can eat for a awhile. In real bad times having money does no good as folks will not sell hyper inflation, earth quake , wild fires, long term power outage - keep you cash I want food to eat .


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## Deebo (Oct 27, 2012)

@Gigio, 
Welcome, and thank you for joining us.
We are a little on edge, about newcomers, most of them tell us lies. I think you are honest, and will treat you accordingly.
Yes, as stated above, buy extra of what you normally eat. A few cans of spaghetteos, or beef stew.
Label the top with purchase month and year.
Put them in a closet, and next payday, buy a few more. Rotate newest in and oldest to the top.
Rice, beans, coffee, sugar, can be small purchases.
Keep an inventory, so if a sale catches your eye, you will know if it has value to you.
Best of luck, keep asking questions, and tell us about yourself.
We love newcomers, some we bash and mistreat, some we teach and learn from.
Donnie...


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## Lunatic Wrench (May 13, 2018)

First off, welcome.
Second, common sense is extinct, just look around you, it's just sense now and the majority don't have any.
Third, you've taken a step in the right direction, read, learn, ask questions and prep to the level you feel is appropriate and then prep some more.


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## ilmostrog (Nov 10, 2016)

Welcome. Here are a couple of things that I learned that can make a big difference. You mention food but you need water more than food and it is almost impossible to store enough to get you though even a short term emergency. If you get plenty of rain where you live collect the rain water from your roof in large barrels (food grade of course) but you will also need a way to purify. Boiling works but there are better methods if you can filter or use bleach. Ultimately you need to locate a source that you can count on- a stream or a lake but you will need away to purify just like collecting rain water off your roof. 

Think about things in a hierarchy of needs. You can die of exposure without shelter in a few hours you need water every day and after just two days without it you are in trouble but you can go a week without food. You will be tired but you can do it. This helps to figure out what your priorities should be. How do you solve shelter if House is destroyed? Where do you get water? Etc. start planning for short term and build. Start small so you don’t get overwhelmed. Shelter could be a tarp and means to start a fire. I hope that helps


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## Gigio (Jun 25, 2018)

I read everything and I aprettiate the comments so thanks everyone.
Answering the question to where im from, its Argentina. The most southern country in the continent of america.
I know that there are some prepper or "survivalistas" how theyre called here but its a very undeveloped thing around here, not really common.
We dont have a nuclear experience or anything like it, we dont even get many natural disasters at all, some floods every once in a while so people dont really think about stuff like prepping. 

And yes I have investigated a bit and thats why I asked here the questions. I'm a bit confused because I read that people have been trying cans from like 1970 from shipwrecks and places like that and the cans where just fine and edible. And then some people say that after 2 years theyre totally unedible so I wondered whats really the expiration date on cans but well, guess i gotta keep digging. Thanks for reading!


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

Gigio said:


> I read everything and I aprettiate the comments so thanks everyone.
> Answering the question to where im from, its Argentina. The most southern country in the continent of america.
> I know that there are some prepper or "survivalistas" how theyre called here but its a very undeveloped thing around here, not really common.
> We dont have a nuclear experience or anything like it, we dont even get many natural disasters at all, some floods every once in a while so people dont really think about stuff like prepping.
> ...


Yeah I figured you had done some research. When I started a whole lot of it was confusing. It takes time but you'll learn. Just keep asking questions.

Ok, to answer your question about canned food, first both answers you stated can be correct. Some will last for years, others not so much. If a can is bulging, then toss it. The food inside is no good. If a can is rusted, me personally I would not use it. If the can is still in good shape then open it. Much will depend on what's inside. Acidic foods will not last as long as non-acidic foods.


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## tonybluegoat (Sep 5, 2018)

Gigio said:


> Ok so I just began making and thinking about a pantry.
> 
> I'm not really a prepper, mostly because im a 19yo student living with my dad. Otherwise, I would invest a lot more in it but at the moment its not a top priority in my life.
> I'm not really worried about a super apocalyptic scenaryo that will last for decades but I do feel like having food and water for a few months its common sense.
> ...


Here's my dollar's worth of advice... more than 2 cents.

1. Know what you are preparing for. What you are preparing for will dictate how you prepare. Many prepper just "buy a bunch of crap" but they really aren't focused. Here are some examples.

(1) Getting laid off or running out of money for a few months - this one is easy. Buy EXTRA of everything that you regularly eat or use... particularly things that last a while. I don't know what you eat in Argentina from the store. But if I eat 4 jars a spaghetti sauce and 2 lbs of spaghetti a month then buying an extra 4 jars and 2 lbs will give a 100% extra of that. I don't have to worry about expiration dates because I can just rotate it, so I put the new stuff in the closet and take the stuff out of the closet and put it in the pantry. Let's say you spend $300 per month on groceries. If you spend an extra $300 on storage (over a few months) and back-stock it, then you'll have a full month's worth of food in case you need it. You don't have to worry about shelf-life or wasting any money because it is all food (and toilet paper, etc) that you will use whether there is an emergency or not.

(2) "No Electricity" Prep - What if the electricity goes out for a month (or months)... you will need food that can be stored and eaten even if the electricity is out. This depends on how you cook. If you have propane then you can cook food. However, most propane stoves will not allow the oven to work without electricity, so make sure your propane oven doesn't plug in. If it does then you probably can't bake. If the stove top works then you can make tortillas... store what's required for tortillas not what's required for baking bread. So you can look at that. There are many reasons why the electricity would go out. It's a common Emergency Issue with most Disasters. So that would be my 2nd list (after extra of everything).

(3) "The long emergency" Prep - If you are only looking to prep for something that might happen over a few months then there is no reason to get into freeze dried and dehydrated food, MRE's and the like (except as noted later for bug-out bags). The "long emergency" what you most often see prepper going for... WAY more food then a person would cycle through in a year of normal (non-emergency) eating, and food types that aren't "normal" such as dehydrated foods and bulk purchases of things like "Hard White Winter Wheat." These are your last prep to look at... although there are cheap ways around ... I will cover it in a bit. I recommend that you DO NOT buy these types of food in bulk without first testing them, eating them (in smaller quantities) and knowing specifically how you will prepare them. I recently did a comparison between a "1 Year Emergency Kit" of freeze dried, etc. food compared to just buying off the shelf equivalents. The cost of just buying off the shelf was $285... the cost for the "kit" was $1,960. I have eating most of the freeze dried meals and big bulk packs (cheesy rice soup)... they aren't good and gave me (lactose intolerant) diarrhea. I prefer just sticking which what I know I can eat if there is not an emergency.

People prep all over the world... they keep extra, they store rice, etc. American preppers tend to be middle aged white guys with too much money and delusions of some apocalypse that requires shooting everyone they see. Save yourself the expense of trying to keep up with that type of prepper.

Think about this... if a can of peaches lasts AT LEAST 2 YEARS, and you buy a year's worth of peaches to have on hand in your storage closet... then you can rotate them through your normal meals and replace them. This is true of beans, rice, sugar, oats, etc. I don't know what to do with "Hard White Winter Wheat" and I have no interest in learning. It's easier just to store bags of flower then placed into bigger ziplock bags to keep the bugs out. I'll eat it within a year and replace it (using the same ziplock bag to put the new bad of flour in) that way I'm not spending any extra money.

Do that first.

What about bulk storage. I am a super big fan of 1 gallon mylar bags and an Impulse Sealer. You can put any dry food (mostly) in them with an oxygen absorber and extend the shelf life compared to the package it originally came in. I store 350 lbs of dry beans this way. 20 lbs of dry beans in the US. (walmart) cost about $15. 350 lbs costs about $250. I can afford to do that over the course of a few months and I put them in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers then put the bags into plastic buckets. That's a lot of beans. I do the same with 650 lbs of white rice. That's another $250 or so. Now I have enough beans and rice for 2 people to eat for an entire year. Will I eat it if there is no emergency... probably not. So if there is no disaster then I wasted $500. But I did it over 6-10 months... So I only wasted $50 per month... I waste $50 per month on other stuff, so why not preps.

If you want a more usable source of beans then look at buying a couple hundred cans. Here they run about 65 cents - 85 cents per can... So $150. 200 cans of beans can be eaten over the course of a couple years and be replaced one can at a time. I try to keep 360 cans of food - beans, vegetable, fruit, tomato products, canned potatoes, etc.

When it comes to meat I can my own. You have to own a pressure canner and the necessary jars/lids. I normally can 100 lbs of chicken in one go. I can get leg/thigh quarters for as little as 39 cents per pound when they are on super sales at Kroger or Walmart. That means 100 lbs with the bone is $39, that bones out to 50 lbs of boneless meat. A pint of meat is 1 lb, so I make 50 cans of meat. I use the skins and bones to make stock and can about 30 quarts of stock at the same time. That will last me 6 months of regular eating (mixed into other stuff I eat). I do that twice a year and try to keep at least that much as a back stock. Glass jars aren't great for bugging out... but this isn't a bugout prep, it's a food storage prep.

Water.... You can't store as much as you need so have a good collection plan. I store about 550 gallons of fresh water that requires no treatment... Then I have access to ponds, creeks and water collection from the roof past that. A normal U.S. household uses 50 gallons of water per person per day. I prep for 100 days at 5 gallons per day for 2 people (about 2.5 gallons per person per day). An adult male needs 1 gallon per day, a female needs 3 quarts... that that does not include washing, etc. If you are collecting water off a roof the basic formula is .6 gallons per square foot per inch or rainfall. So if you have a 20x100 foot roof (2,000 square feet) and you collect it all (not really possible) and it rains 1 inch then you can collect 1,200 gallons... but you can only collect it if you have someplace to store 1,00 gallons. If you don't have storage then it just runs off. (we also have a sandpoint well, another story)

I'll say it again... U.S. prepper often are spending money on a hobby ... dehydrators and guns and reverse osmosis water purifiers. If people needed that stuff to survive then there would be no people alive 100 years ago. You just need basic preps. Eat through it.. That way you'll prep what you eat and eat what you prep. I eat my preps every day... I even cook dry beans regularly. But mostly I eat canned beans. The bulk stuff I assume will never be used but it helps me sleep at night knowing I have 50 buckets of stored dry food.

Other preps - extra medicine. Money is always good (people will disagree, but they are dreaming... people will trade stuff for cash money long into a disaster). Keep your ID's safe, you will need them to travel. And it's good to keep preps in different places. If you house burns down then you've lost your house, your money, your ID's, your medicine, your food and your shelter all in one go. Houses burn down why more often than EMP's occur or some civil war. Prep for the obvious stuff first - loss of job, bank account frozen, electricity outage... you don't have to "go down the rabbit hole" and buy extreme preps.

Hope this helps.

MRE's are good for bug out bags. You know what has the highest calories in a MRE? The nuts. So you could just buy a few bags of nuts and trailmix type things.

Here's a full breakdown for you http://tonybluegoat.blogspot.com/2018/09/how-to-store-52-buckets-of-basic-food.html


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## Gigio (Jun 25, 2018)

tonybluegoat said:


> Here's my dollar's worth of advice... more than 2 cents.


Amazing, thanks a lot man. For real.

Whats your opinion on those who use RV's or convert school buses and use them for prepping? 
I mean, they're usefull for many type of disasters, you can put pretty much anything in them.


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## StratMaster (Dec 26, 2017)

Gigio said:


> Amazing, thanks a lot man. For real.
> 
> Whats your opinion on those who use RV's or convert school buses and use them for prepping?
> I mean, they're usefull for many type of disasters, you can put pretty much anything in them.


There's a guy who built a small buried underground town made of school buses as a bugout place for his community. As it turns out, school buses have a better structural integrity than shipping containers (Once the windows are welded over) because of codes for their construction... and the fact that they carry kids.


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## Gigio (Jun 25, 2018)

StratMaster said:


> There's a guy who built a small buried underground town made of school buses as a bugout place for his community. As it turns out, school buses have a better structural integrity than shipping containers (Once the windows are welded over) because of codes for their construction... and the fact that they carry kids.


Yea I read about that guy. He was kinda crazy tho, the place was in awfull conditions and before living in something like that I'd rather just become a zombie lmao
Tho the question was not directed towards making a hole and placing the bus in it to make a bunker but more towards actually using the bus like a temporal home/bugout vehicle/just park it and have a normal house type of thought 
Something like this youtube video, its named "School Bus Converted To Incredible Off-Grid Home" from a channel named "Living Big In A Tiny House", but more survivalism focused I guess.
I think they great because theyre pretty much off grid living kit with wheels. They have solar power, functional bathroom with shower, beds, place to storage stuff, functional kitchen etc.


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## StratMaster (Dec 26, 2017)

Gigio said:


> Yea I read about that guy. He was kinda crazy tho, the place was in awfull conditions and before living in something like that I'd rather just become a zombie lmao
> Tho the question was not directed towards making a hole and placing the bus in it to make a bunker but more towards actually using the bus like a temporal home/bugout vehicle/just park it and have a normal house type of thought
> Something like this youtube video, its named "School Bus Converted To Incredible Off-Grid Home" from a channel named "Living Big In A Tiny House", but more survivalism focused I guess.
> I think they great because theyre pretty much off grid living kit with wheels. They have solar power, functional bathroom with shower, beds, place to storage stuff, functional kitchen etc.


I live in HippyTown USA, so I've seen every kind of school bus conversion imaginable. There's one guy who has a chicken run on top for fresh eggs.


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## Gigio (Jun 25, 2018)

StratMaster said:


> I live in HippyTown USA, so I've seen every kind of school bus conversion imaginable. There's one guy who has a chicken run on top for fresh eggs.


do u think a guy with one of those would have better chances than an average person if SHTF?


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## StratMaster (Dec 26, 2017)

Gigio said:


> do u think a guy with one of those would have better chances than an average person if SHTF?


I'd feel like an obvious target on the run in one of those, especially with tasty chickens visible. Plus these buses seem pretty indefensible.


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## Gigio (Jun 25, 2018)

I think maybe a big ass crew would be the only chance to defend something like that, but interesting


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## charito (Oct 12, 2013)

Gigio said:


> Ok so I just began making and thinking about a pantry.
> 
> I'm not really a prepper, mostly because im a 19yo student living with my dad. Otherwise, I would invest a lot more in it but at the moment its not a top priority in my life.
> I'm not really worried about a super apocalyptic scenaryo that will last for decades but I do feel like having food and water for a few months its common sense.
> ...


For a starter, here's my suggestions on food. It can be overwhelming, so have a simplified start-up. 
Just buy an extra one to start with.

On my list to start with:

*Rolled Oats* - they're good for long storage. I have some that's been bought in 2016 - still fresh looking and no difference in taste or texture. I stored them in 2 heavy duty freezer bags (with a paper towel in (absorbs moisture) - took out as much air as I can), place a couple of dried bay leaves and basil leaves between bags (to discourage bugs). I check them once a year for any signs of bugs or molds. They still look like they've just been bought yesterday!
Rolled oats can be eaten without cooking (so, if cooking is not an option - it's good). All they need is soaking overnight. So many recipes on overnight oats. Nutrition-wise, oats is well-rounded. It also has lots of fiber.

*Peanut butter* - I use Jiffy (the expiration date is way longer than Kraft). I've had expired Kraft - there is a difference in taste once it's about 3 months after the BB date.

*Pea Soup* (because it's high in protein and fiber, and everyone loves pea soup in my family), or any ready-to-eat canned soup you eat (so you can use them up - making sure you replace them as you go along).

*Soda Crackers and Toppables* (I'm eating 6 months old past the BB date - and there's no difference that I detect). Crackers with peanut butter are my "extenders."

*Pan Cake Mix* (I like Krustaez from Costco). Can be made into flapjacks, or skillet bread - will also be an extender. They'll be the bread once we used up the loaves in the freezer.

*Cooking oil *

*Assorted Jam*

*About 4 to 5 loaves of bread in the freeze*r (these will be eaten first when the power goes out) - We love peanutbutter/jam sandwiches and soup here.

*Granola bars* (check the ingredients and nutritional information). If you can make them yourself - they're great for freezing.

*Sugar
Cinnamon 
Raisins and cranberries* (for the oats).

*WATER* (lots of water!)

I know the following isn't food, but it's good if you've got some flu tablets, cold medicines, alcohol and first aid stuff - what you'd normally use when you're sick - so you wouldn't have to go out there looking for these items.

....and then, you can expand from there, like

Corn beef and Spam
Pasta and Pasta sauce
Rice
Beans
Ramen noodles, Cup-O-Noodles etc..,


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## Wryter (Jan 30, 2015)

Gigio said:


> Ok so I just began making and thinking about a pantry.
> 
> I'm not really a prepper, mostly because im a 19yo student living with my dad. Otherwise, I would invest a lot more in it but at the moment its not a top priority in my life.
> I'm not really worried about a super apocalyptic scenaryo that will last for decades but I do feel like having food and water for a few months its common sense.
> ...


First of all, congratulations on having good common sense and the desire to learn at the age of 19. At that age I already knew everything (rolling eyes) and it took me a while to learn I didn't.

Expiration dates are mostly set by marketing types, not to tell you when the food won't be safe to consume, but to get you to buy more. Canned goods are pretty safe for years beyond their expiration dates. Use that common sense of yours. If a can is bulging toss it without opening it. If a can is rusty but not leaking and you're desperate open it and smell it. If it doesn't smell bad it's likely okay. But as a rule if a can is rusty I toss it.

Learn to garden. It is a skill that takes years to master so get started now. Grow heirloom or open pollinated veggies so you can save the seeds for the next growing season. You don't need much land--even large pots will do for growing many vegetables and fruits.

I hope you live near a reliable water source or have a well, as it is impossible to store enough water to last you and your family for very long.

You need a good water filtration device. I recommend Survivor Filter (www.survivorfilter.com) as they seem to be built better than LifeStraws. For your home, I recommend a two or three gallon water filtration, purification device like the Aquarain 400 or Big Berkey. Of course you can always boil or pasteurize water to make it safe to drink but good filtration devices are worth their weight in gold. You can also add a few drops of unscented chlorine bleach to a gallon of water to purify it. Most places recommend 6-8 drops per gallon.

You don't need an expensive dehydrator to dry vegetables and fruits. You can build a simple solar dehydrator one using scrap wood and an old window. You'll need some screening to keep bugs and debris from getting in through your ventilation holes.

Store canned goods of the types you and your family normally eat. You can store dry goods like flour in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers (sealing the bags with an ordinary iron) or you can simply sift the bugs out before using the flour--and if your flour, or anything containing flour, sits around for more than just a few months it will have bugs in it. I've stored white rice in a two gallon bucket with no oxygen absorber or mylar bag for years without it getting buggy or going bad. Dry beans and peas in their original plastic bag containers may lost some flavor and nutritional value over the years but if kept dry and out of reach of rodents they too will last for ages.

Good luck to you, amigo.


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