Podcast episode 090121
Published on September 1st, 2021
In this episode I’d like to go back and talk about the beginning, and the bare-boned basics of being prepared. We going to take a common-sense approach what are the essentials we need for our resource preps. We’ve covered the mental fortitude necessary, now let’s talk about the bare bones necessities for surviving natural disasters. We also talked about the plan, so now we need the actual items. We’ll start with what FEMA recommends, then I’ll add my two cents here and there as to my experience.
Let’s do a quick check of the old mail bag.
Diane from Wyoming asks “you speak about having “stores” of food stuffs, but how do I actually start that? I’m poor.”
Derek from California echos the sentiment by asking “without having to invest a fortune, how can I build the food stores I need for my family?”
Tom from Iowa asks “how can I identify exactly what I need so as to maintain costs?”
Zephyr from Kentucky asks “is there a common sense way to build a food/water store without going under?”
Kelly from Texas asks “I have very limited storage space available, how can I be prepared for a longer term interruption in trips to the local stores?”
Greetings to all my friends (both new and old), to my wonderful family, my fellow Alaskans, and my fellow Americans, wherever you are. Welcome to the Alaska Outlaw podcast, I am the Alaska Outlaw, thank you so much for joining me today. In this episode I’d like to revisit the “building the store” idea, and although we have covered it before, I want to cover the part about getting the prep started.
But, before we get after it today, I’d like to make sure that, for those of you who seek peace of mind and harmony with the world we find ourselves in today, or just need help in making sense of life, be sure to check out the Alaska Outlaw Forn-sidr podcast at http://forn-sidr.akoutlaw.com. After 30 years of spiritual searching and discovery, I have arrived home. Home to the ideology of of my ancestors. Home of a proud Germanic-Dane heritage. Some really good stuff for you there. Also, another second just to give a shout-out for our sponsors and affiliates:
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Shout out to all of them for supporting the mission here at Alaska Outlaw, we greatly appreciate taking a risk by supporting an “Outlaw” show. Please visit their links on our webpage and show them some love, they, like each of us, needs to pay their peeps.
So, in all the previous shows we’ve talked about “picking up extra canned goods every trip to the market”, and some of you have asked me about what specific should we be looking to purchase. So with that in mind, let’s identify what, and how much to buy, and more importantly, how does one rotate the stores to ensure that the canned food don’t spoil.
Meal size is a determining factor.So let’s talk about the meal size, everyone wants to have the full enchilada. The first question that has been asked since the beginning of time is “how many calories is enough calories?” we need to consider the idea that in an emergency type situation we are possibly going to be burning many more calories to distress, and action steps. This additional requirement of calories for burning is going to leave us needing quite a few calories. However, the idea of having calories, versus smart calories is really where we can minimize the amount of stores while increasing the benefit to your organization, or team. We know as a matter of fact, that we can survive technically, for three weeks without food. In addition, will be able to secure additional caloric intake along the way. Given a Survival type scenario we could technically find leaves and bark and other food groups that could provide us with the caloric intake necessary to sustain life. As an example, if we use the standard measurement tool we see that 2000 cal per day per adult and roughly 17 to 1800 for young child, depending on the age, is what’s necessary to just maintain.
Meal preparation is another factor. Next up on the discussion channel, to determine how much stores he is also this idea/premise of how hard is it going to be to prepare this without some outside influence. We have no idea if they’ll be cooking materials, or the necessary parts to make sure is prepared accurately. Remember, not only do we have a need for Quick preparation, but we will also need to ensure that the meal is prepared enough to not create an additional health hazard. That means when cooking meat, that means ensuring that whatever we find as we forage, that it is prepared enough to not be a health hazard.
What your family eats is another factor to consider. Many people have asked me if the pre-prepared meals are enough. It has been my experience that the these types of meals should be used to supplement other foods that family members are used to, and may have acquired a taste for. Using them as your sole source of caloric intake would be this advantageous to your family or team. Supplementing those meals ready to eat with canned goods and possibly fresh meat and fresh vegetables or fresh fruits both of which provide you with a fully balanced meal that now your family can succeed with.
Identifying the storage life of canned foods. What many people don’t think about when building up their stores is that even canned goods you have a shelf-life, and extending that shelf life can lead to a health hazard. Honestly, even spam has a limit. This scenario leads us to our next point of discussion and that is setting up a rotation schedule that your family can deploy to ensure that your king goods are rotated and shelf lives are extended as far as possible.
A typical rotation plan for stores. So let’s talk about the typical rotation plan for canned goods, or other shelved goods that we would include in our stores for disaster preparedness. Firstly and foremost, we will need to ensure that goods that are not sealed up are protected from gases, pests, or environmental factors that are contradictory to successful long-term storage. Once you have a baseline store going, you’ll want to supplement two cans per week, by ensuring that you use them in regular nightly meals.
When we talk about constructing your stores, you’ll want to make sure that up to 50% of your stores can be meals ready to eat, 10% should be fruits and vegetables (dehydrated is fine), with the remaining 40% of canned goods and shelf materials. You want to be sure that you are rotating both your meals ready to eat, and your canned goods on a frequent basis. In a previous show we talked about the best method of actually starting the creation of a prepared store. We spoke about grabbing a little something extra every time you visited the market, as the best way to build your stores without breaking the bank.
So, we’ve got a general idea about what kinds of stuff we need to include in our prep, let’s talk about where are we going to put it. Storage space for a substantial store is going to be much more encompassing, therefore there is a balancing act that we must undergo when we talk about how much to store. My stores can fit within either: in Sterolite(R) tubs, or on metal shelves within my garage. Currently I have just over six months of stores for a family of six, plus two adult dogs. So, let’s talk about your possible threats to your stores, by thinking about what large-scale disaster could possibly impact a storage location. First, we’ll talk about possibly flooding. Having the stores in a basement or lower floor. Talking about the avoidance of unnecessary risks, we don’t want to have to maneuver through raising flood waters to ensure our stores remain safe. Storing them on an upper level is optimal for this type of threat, because as the water rises, access to the stores remains constant without any additional threats to our safety.
Tornadoes might be exactly opposite, as the threat is going to be coming from the sides and/or from the roof. Storing stores in the cellar makes absolute sense in that case. Earthquakes could add another location as we seek to store our preps near weight bearing walls toward the center of a residence. In conclusion, the storage location may be very different depending on what threats we anticipate. Be sure to include high humidity and temperature swings that might affect the stored goods, as this may be just as big a threat. While being prepared for certain event types, we may also associate multiple scenarios as hurricanes may bring the winds of a tornado, and the rising waters of flooding. Finding the balance in the desired storage location then becomes a little more complicated, but leaning towards the side of safety is the ultimate goal there.
Finally, let’s talk about some concepts that we need in the back of our head when we are planning our prep stores. First, our type divisions are 50% can be meals-ready-to-eat, 40% canned goods and shelf stores, and 10% fruits and vegetables. Set the bar at needing 2000 calories per day for an adult, and about 1700 for children under 12. We need to minimize the overload of sugars and sodium, focusing on proteins. Be sure to store the proper amount of water, as many will confuse thirst for hunger. Ultimately our desires is to ensure that we can continue to eat when there has been an interruption of local services.
As always my friends, I am honored and humbled that you have chosen to spend this time listening to me. I deeply appreciate each and every one of you. Being prepared provides each of us with the confidence for successful survival. We mentioned before, and will certainly say again, that survival is a 90% mental task, but that 10% of physical resources is critically important.. By having a confidence and discipline, we can and will survive. Remember to be strong, be safe, and keep your head on a swivel… Peace.
