Monthly, Is your prepping theory working / happening / changing? What preps are paying off?

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symplton@reddit

Just checked local grocers - both are having supply chain problems.

Meijer is having problems with 19 different brands in my area (midwest). There are signs they have hung in the cleaning aisle and in 2 of the freezer sections (I think some frozen pizza brands are part of it).

Also noticed most bleach-based cleaners were cleared out of their cleaning section.

Febreze fabric spray price per bottle also jumped today from 3.49 to 5.49 at both.

Also, Walmart now wants $5.19 for their 4 pack of Blueberry Struedel muffins, which were 2.99 up until 2 weeks ago.

Lastly, WalMart is missing some paper products and some pallets of bottled water are empty. Could just be summer demand.

Good luck everyone. It's just going to accelerate and get worse.

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Andalusian_Dawn@reddit

My Midwestern Meijer had NO olive oil AT ALL tonight. I ran to our international grocery store and stocked up on the good stuff. We had enough for 6 months. Now we have enough for 2 years if used judiciously.

I bought the absolute last tin of my favorite brand.

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DeadlyYellow@reddit

Might be able to find shelf-stable powdered chlorine at a pool supply, if you don't mind diluting your own bleach. Pool season is closing in a couple weeks though.

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Elegant-Procedure-74@reddit

We are first time gardeners as of this spring! Defintely sooooo soooo much more to learn. However we are finally getting some veggies going and have been enjoying what we can eat so far. I am so grateful and humbled to be on this learning process and to me our simple veggies seems so much more special. The last few days I have made myself adult lunchables at work, using our veggies and it made me extra happy.

I think the second half of the year I’m going to be slimming down my personal expenses as much as I can, to try and use my money to pay off my one CC & then also do extra prep trips. I feel like I want to get back to once a week trips instead of bi weekly, it makes me feel much better.

This month I stocked up on extra wet food for the kitties since there was a good sale going on.

Something I want to do over the next month or so is get a large container and start making up a few emergency meal kits and labeling them with the instructions in the container. We have food items prepped and I have my organizational system, but now I want to actually sit down and put meals together.

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CannyGardener@reddit

Keep it up! I feel like I see folks on here frequently, saying, "When SHTF I'll just convert my yard to a farm, and start gardening." and I'm just sitting here thinking back to my first several years of gardening, and it was years of massive utter failure and underwhelming harvests. If I had to live on what I produced back during my first couple of years, I'd be dead, especially if I had to do it under the duress of some sort of support collapse (hurricane/war/fire/etc). Anymore, I've done the thing; switched all of my quarter acre to food production, and I could probably sustain myself year round if I had to, but generally only push myself to cover about 70% of my family's nutritional needs.

All of this to say, start before you need it, and keep going until you are proficient! It is a lot longer road than most folks realize, to being able to grow food.

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Elegant-Procedure-74@reddit

I appreciate your comment so much! We are first timers - and only 2/4 of our beds have produced anything!

Our other 2 boxes, we think didn’t work out due to all the nonstop rain in our area, then when summer came it went from like 60s/70s to like 95 with a high heat index so fast! So we think the other beds just got scorched / burned too hot.

We have been reading lots of different books and getting into videos we see online as well for tips. There are so many great resources out there and my spouse and I are excited to keep learning as we go on.

We defintely have a lot we have learned so far alone this year, and while we have guessed at what went wrong, we are happy about what we have seen able to grow as well. We most definitely cannot survive on our food currently, but it’s a nice addition as a side and we get excited to see what new growth does happen!

It’s a slow start but I encourage anyone thinking about starting a garden to just start small. It may be small and simple, maybe a few things grow or not, but just start now. And know everyday is a new experience to learn.

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rhaizee@reddit

Lots of pests and diseases too! I've seen people put up tars and umbrellas as well. Certain plants are more resilient to heat than others.

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AnomalyNexus@reddit

Annoyed that my HOA-like body has a rule about no potted plants on balcony. Was really hoping to grow some basil etc.

On plus side new place is nearly twice as big and owned not rented so feels like a move towards stability at least. Plus more space for a freezer/storage

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joeynsf@reddit

Yeah well instant coffee supplies have been a huge savings since I bought them a year ago....the price is crazy right now.

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Terrible_College9397@reddit

I've been slowly stocking up on ground and beans, whenever it's on sale I try to buy one to two extra. Currently have about a year's worth, and with the way prices are rising, really grateful.

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Unique-Sock3366@reddit

I seriously stocked up on coffee last autumn. It’s paying off very well now.

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Funny-Ad5178@reddit

I'm pivoting to worrying about winter and weapons, now that my first aid kit, toiletries, and pet supplies are in good shape. I need to invest in some good thermals and a good pair of snow boots. My landlord covers the bills for the unit, but as I would like that arrangement to continue, we will be embracing a slight chill this winter. More socks. Always more socks.

I'm glad I got a costco membership when I did, 400 bucks every two months is sufficient to keep us 80% fed and stocked up, which is pretty crazy, we only buy coffee and our coffee milks, fresh produce, and random odds and ends throughout the week. Asian grocery stores still come in clutch for meat, I can still find bone-in chicken quarters for $3/lb. Perks of working as line cooks, we don't actually eat at home much, so I've been able to wrap a bunch of prepping into the food budget. Flour, sugar, salt, yeast, beans, rice, etc. Next up is canned and dried produce. Restaurants have a particular kind of rack meant to hold 10# cans and I honestly might fork out to save some space lmao.

I wish I could garden, but I have no yard. I wish I could micro garden, but I have cats and when I don't have cats, I have mice. So no fresh herbs for me lmao but that's ok.

Really the thing I'm most concerned about is getting a gun. It's tough to make room in my budget for a gun and the necessary accoutrements, but it must be done before prices spike, or the feds think to limit who can buy guns.

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HabaneroShits@reddit

Get yourself an old aquarium for herbs. It's basically a mini greenhouse and you can put a latch on it to keep the cats out.

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JustNeedAnswers78@reddit

Depending on what happens, our current strategy is to stay in place at least for the first few weeks.

Our house is on a hill and a few years ago I built a large metal gate out front that secured the property very nicely. The area we live in doesn’t have any natural disasters, so we would mostly be preparing for civil unrest or similar events.

Our food prep and security is very decent but we need to tackle our water problem next.

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xredwidowx@reddit

Sold the house, finally!! After over 2 months on the market and tons of praying, we are able to move forward with the sale. This is a prep for us as we plan to move rural, but for now being able to have a large stockpile of cash with no bills is very comforting.

Learning how to cook and garden from the MIL. Stockpiling homeschool material for the kids. Can’t prep too much food or enhance security since we are parked at a relative’s house right now, but we have been able to really think about our next steps as far as a deep pantry setup, explore options for security (finally decided to get some big dogs), gardening possibilities, etc. Hoping a little bit of thought, planning and researching will pay dividends when we can actually execute it with a new property.

Stay safe ya’ll, scary news seems to be coming out every day.

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JustNeedAnswers78@reddit

Congrats on the sale and the future move!

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throwawayt44c@reddit

Hey guys I just wanted to plug a subreddit that I am making that I thought could be a useful template for those that are displeased with things. In case other actions become illegal: r/GrindToAHalt is essentially just a firework tent, some speakers, and people who are trying to have a nice time while not being any sort of hard target to be dispersed. Just wanted to put it on your radars.

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LionNo0001@reddit

I am acquiring more livestock. To make more livestock. Works for me.

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CannyGardener@reddit

I did this the last three years, and have no regrets. Fully able to provide for my family's protein needs now, along with having some pelts to utilize. On to Bees... After all of my pollination plants failing this year, I think its time to bring my own bees to the party.

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LionNo0001@reddit

Setting up permanent dryland pasture with no-till has been entertaining, in its own way. Total AMU depends on how much rain arrives.

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splat-y-chila@reddit

I really thought 4 zucchini plants would be too much, but every day I go eagerly check if I have more because of all the pickles I'm making with them. Rather organic pickles from my garden than wilted, half-rotten pesticide sprayed possibly listeria/e coli laden waxed 'fresh' produce shipped in from who knows where. Assuming trucking in is still happening and/or anywhere else outside of the US is shipping into the US come Winter. Acknowledge the worst case scenario, prep for it, but hope it doesn't happen.

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PsychologicalBus1692@reddit

Zucchini pickles??? Ive never heard of that, how does it taste?

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splat-y-chila@reddit

Amazing! You can sub in zucchinis for cucumbers in any pickling recipe. (per: https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension/publications/play-it-safe-safe-changes-and-substitutions-tested-canning-recipes )

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PsychologicalBus1692@reddit

Wow, I had no idea! Thanks for the tip!

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SquirrelyMcNutz@reddit

You can pickle just about any vegetable, except maybe lettuce (but you can make kimchi and sauerkraut with cabbage). Pickled carrots and pickled red onions are pretty good. They both add a nice crunch and vinegary zip to stuff. Julienne the carrots, pickle them, and then put them on a burger for a different taste.

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Aggravating-Plate814@reddit

I started taking my boat out more to load up on fish. Currently have a backup freezer with 40 lbs of rockfish though I'll need to eat it within the next 6 months to year. I try to keep dates listed on the vacuum packaging so I know when they're about due for a cookout. It started as a precaution for food stability for my family but it's also a fun hobby, keeps our grocery bill down a little

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Background-Tax-5341@reddit

For me it is all about purging bad habits and obsolete thinking. I am older caring for another older person. I need to live simply. Organizing and maintaining the mundane are critical. Life gets complicated in a hurry. There are some old rules or expectations that do not serve me anymore. I volunteer as a first responder. I have dialed back how many hours I can do this. Meals do not have to be from scratch. My prep is learning to live with a lighter footprint so I can have some rest.

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leavingishard1@reddit

Underrated comment

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Pontiacsentinel@reddit

Amen. Take good care of yourself. You and the other older person both need you to be as healthy and happy as you can be.

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leavingishard1@reddit

Started getting back into canning and freezing garden this year. Goal is to do more and more every year. Did a bunch of pickles and tomato sauce, getting ready to do apple stuff too this fall.

Haven't had to buy much produce all summer which is nice. Adding 4 raised beds a year for the next 3 years until I have a grid of 16 to rotate crops. Built the first 4 this year after moving to a new property recently.

Compost in progress too and got a ton of free woodchips this year to use as mulch after the growing season / over the winter

Slowly but surely I want to be producing the majority of my food on site. Passion project with the bonus of making our family more resilient

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BubbleLady6@reddit

We started gardening this year. 4 raised beds with cucumbers, black eye peas, okra and cherry tomatoes. 4 large pots with peppers and sunchokes. Also planted 2 fig trees, 4 blueberry bushes, lemon, lime and orange trees. We have built up quite a few jars of picked cucumbers and okra. Also got a dehydrator.

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Low-Carob9772@reddit

Screaming into the void

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Kangas_Khan@reddit

I’ve come up with a few wartime tactical strategies. I don’t have the money to do much else as much as I’d like to.

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FormerNeighborhood80@reddit

I haven’t been at this too long. I’ve been prepping as I go at a somewhat leisurely pace. Since all the events on the national level I feel a certain urgency to get it together. Taking this weekend to review where I’m at and try to steady myself and inventory needs so that I can work on them more urgently.

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Dobbys_Other_Sock@reddit

A few months ago I made these sorta go-bins for each member of the family. They have basics in them like 3-4 sets of clothes, socks, shoes, a blanket, stuff like that. There’s also one for basic toiletries. They are fairly small and stack easily, but most importantly it only takes a few minutes to put them in the car. I live in both a hurricane and fire area so being able to leave quickly and know your house may not be there when you get back is important.

Well, a friend of mine’s house ended up burning down. Between the smoke and the fire pretty much nothing in the house was salvageable. When I reached out to see if they needed help I found out that her, her husband, and her kids clothing sizes matched up to ours pretty well, so I took the bins over to them and they said it was actually really helpful to have a few days worth of basics while they figured out what need done next.

Even though I feel terrible for what happened to them, it was kinda nice to see my preps in action and get the confirmation that these bins are actually a good idea. Which is why I’ll be remaking them this weekend.

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Fabulous_Squirrel12@reddit

What did you use as your containers? I'm prepping for hurricane season and have been going back and forth on whether boxes or bags would be better.

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Dobbys_Other_Sock@reddit

Im not entirely sure, but I believe they were these, or at least this size:

https://www.target.com/p/iris-usa-6-5-quart-weatherpro-storage-container-box-bin-with-seal-latching-lid-clear/-/A-86197991

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Fabulous_Squirrel12@reddit

Thanks, clear ones seem like a great idea for these.

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fchw3@reddit

I’m sure any kinda tote would work

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One-Employment3759@reddit

After skipping last season, this season I'm restoring the vegetable garden to it's glory. Have sown tomatoes, greens and early season veges (southern hemisphere).

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Important-Company704@reddit

My theory right now is to buy the basics like salt, sugar, flour, baking soda, things that I can create food with. I'm starting to store things for long term. I started slowly gathering First aid supplies and survival supplies in the event we have a catastrophe on the west coast, like, say, an earthquake. I have no faith in the current administration. And feel that we would be on our own for quite a while. My family needs to be more self-sufficient.

Some of these things are no brainers that everybody thinks of. Here are a few things that I have been thinking ...how am I going to repair parts for truck and chainsaw. I started slowly collecting old motors for chainsaw and back up parts that I can refurbish. Old chainsaw chains that I can learn to sharpen. Those kinds of things that I needed to learn anyway. (My dad taught me how to swear and get him a beer. That was about it.)

My family started, gardening with me. And we're now to the point where we're saving seeds, so that we can start seedlings earlier in the year indoors. Some of this is great to know. Just for general knowledge, but it scares the bejesus out of me to, know, I have to start thinking this way for your family's protection and survival.