Grain storage:
Recently I had to toss several hundred pounds of grain (corn) I had stored as food for my livestock and for my family if times got really desperate. The corn and had been stored in an unheated shed in 50 gallon metal drums. The drums kept the grain safe from rats and mice but not mold, humidity and condensation. The grain started to ferment and had to be disposed of. I'm not sure which was worse the expense or the cleanup effort.
Spice Cabinet:
Yesterday we tackled the spice cabinet. Many leafy spices are only good for a year or two. Even whole seed spices, which usually last longer than ground in storage do not last forever. Jars of whole fennel and caraway seeds were tossed. I didn't know that dried cinnamon sticks or crystalized ginger store in a sealed glass jars could mold. They can and did.
72 hour kits aka Bug out Bag:
Each member of the family has one. Snacks, even energy bars and candy do not last forever and need to be swapped out. I also have to remember that kids grow and seasons change. I'd like to say mine have been kept up to date with clothing appropriate for the season and size of the family member and with supplies also appropriate to the age and needs of the individual. I haven't been as dedicated about this as I should but will keep trying.
Food Inventory:
During the recent Halloween snow storm I found out the hard way that preps that can't be located during an emergency can be worse than no preps at all because a lot of time and energy can be wasted trying to locate them that would be better spent looking for other alternatives. l also came across forgotten stores of now uselessly out of date food. With the price to replace these stores this was an ouch! Those who put some food and other preps by back when bird flu H5N1 was the big news story of the day may want to check to see if they are still good and and safe to use.
OTC drugs & first aid supplies:
It is also about time to check the expirations dates on the OTC drugs. While some claim drugs can be taken out of date there is a question on diminishing effectiveness over time and other issues. My personal preference to keep things in date. Even bandages needed to be replaced after they had been bounced around in the Mom Mobile for a few years, had soda and who knows what spilled on the not so water proof container. I found sealed in thier manufatuer's containers, disposable N95 masks put by several years ago are now useless because the glue sealing the filter to the plastic cuff (looks like a pig's snout) had failed. This was another expensive loss that if there was a pandemic and it had not been found could have cost a lot more than the price of the masks.
Please remember to check and rotate preps.
If preps can not be used by the experation or best used by date and are to be swapped out, please consider food banks and other charitable organizations that could use them.
Recently I had to toss several hundred pounds of grain (corn) I had stored as food for my livestock and for my family if times got really desperate. The corn and had been stored in an unheated shed in 50 gallon metal drums. The drums kept the grain safe from rats and mice but not mold, humidity and condensation. The grain started to ferment and had to be disposed of. I'm not sure which was worse the expense or the cleanup effort.
Spice Cabinet:
Yesterday we tackled the spice cabinet. Many leafy spices are only good for a year or two. Even whole seed spices, which usually last longer than ground in storage do not last forever. Jars of whole fennel and caraway seeds were tossed. I didn't know that dried cinnamon sticks or crystalized ginger store in a sealed glass jars could mold. They can and did.
72 hour kits aka Bug out Bag:
Each member of the family has one. Snacks, even energy bars and candy do not last forever and need to be swapped out. I also have to remember that kids grow and seasons change. I'd like to say mine have been kept up to date with clothing appropriate for the season and size of the family member and with supplies also appropriate to the age and needs of the individual. I haven't been as dedicated about this as I should but will keep trying.
Food Inventory:
During the recent Halloween snow storm I found out the hard way that preps that can't be located during an emergency can be worse than no preps at all because a lot of time and energy can be wasted trying to locate them that would be better spent looking for other alternatives. l also came across forgotten stores of now uselessly out of date food. With the price to replace these stores this was an ouch! Those who put some food and other preps by back when bird flu H5N1 was the big news story of the day may want to check to see if they are still good and and safe to use.
OTC drugs & first aid supplies:
It is also about time to check the expirations dates on the OTC drugs. While some claim drugs can be taken out of date there is a question on diminishing effectiveness over time and other issues. My personal preference to keep things in date. Even bandages needed to be replaced after they had been bounced around in the Mom Mobile for a few years, had soda and who knows what spilled on the not so water proof container. I found sealed in thier manufatuer's containers, disposable N95 masks put by several years ago are now useless because the glue sealing the filter to the plastic cuff (looks like a pig's snout) had failed. This was another expensive loss that if there was a pandemic and it had not been found could have cost a lot more than the price of the masks.
Please remember to check and rotate preps.
If preps can not be used by the experation or best used by date and are to be swapped out, please consider food banks and other charitable organizations that could use them.
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