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Part 2-
We try to always have a couple of extra bucks set aside for when a "good deal" comes along. In the late 90's it was cases of MRE fruits, 72 entrees to the case. Normal price on these (at that time) was around $55.00 I found a wholesaler that needed to get rid of about 10 pallets that were a year old by that time. I bought them all for around $15. a case. Most were sold immediately at a great price ($19.-29. a case retail) but we kept a considerable amount of them. MRE tray packs were an excess inventory item for one of the manufacturers a few years ago. These are the big squad meal packs that feed 18 people at one time. Usually these are much cheaper than cases of the same entree. We always keep our eyes open for a really good deal. What gets me is the people that recognize a really good deal "wow, these are normally $10. each and now they are $3.00! I'll take ONE of them." You know what, even if you only need one of them, it's always good to have a few backups and someone else may need one down the road. If your part of a group, you should all be sharing in these deals whenever possible.
With MRE's it's important to keep in mind that you are paying for the packaging. We very rarely buy the full meal packages, they are a waste of money. Typically we will purchase cases of 72 of the meat entrees and sometimes fruit and dessert entrees. The meat is the heart of the full meal. MRE meats are one of the best ways to get "real" meat into your food storage without paying an arm and a leg for them as you would with freeze dried meats.
All your preps will be for naught if they are not where you need them when you need. A layered approach here is very helpful. If you live in the city and plan to bug out to the country if something happens, it's paramount that you pre-position as much of your supplies as possible. This will make your bug out much more possible.
Generally, I advise pre-positioning things like your bulk grains, about half of your ammo stocks, TP and hygiene supplies, etc.
If you have to bug out on short notice you will focus on weapons, ammo, bug out bags and field gear. You could go all out with it and try to fashion a trailer to bug out with as some do, but I think that's just silly. If you already know where you are going, why not pre-position ahead of time. A trailer is just something to slow you down, get stuck or break down. In a true bug out you are going to want to be fast and agile, not slow and cumbersome. If you leave 1 minute too late, the trailer will likely be a beacon to dirtbags watching the highways for refugees. The Ford Festiva with a family carrying just there bug out gear and weapons will likely get p***ed up as it looks like they already have nothing. The SUV with top carriers strapped on, packed to the gills and towing a trailer WILL be a target.
Bugging out you must stack the deck in your favor. Trying to load out everything at the last minute is NOT a truly realistic scenario.
Don't have a retreat? I covered this almost 8 years ago now (wow, I feel old) on the radio show. Figure where you are going (I mean come on, you know that much don't you?) and find a storage center with the 10x20 storage rooms. Rent one, put the bulk of your supplies there- think bulk grains, some of your extra ammo, etc. Then even if you just end up living (squatting) on a parcel of woods, you can make one short trip back to the storage center to retrieve your supplies, versus having to ditch them in the city.
I think pre-positioning has an added bonus to. It helps the mind to rationalize with the idea of having to leave the cities. Too many survivalists kid themselves and think they can make it in the suburbs, just 3 or 4 miles from "da hood" if something happens. "I'll band together with my neighbors." Yeah right. When your neighbors look down their street and it looks like a scene out of BlackHawk Down, they will be running out on you, not watching your back. Please do not kid yourself here.
So with the bulk of your supplies already in place, you have a safety net to where if you do have to leave with not much more than your underwear, you can still have a chance at survival. Many folks I know pre-position all of their food storage with the exception of a couple cases of MRE's. An extra set of field gear, magazines and even an extra weapon isn't a bad idea to have pre-positioned also. I advise people to be able to "walk into where you keep your supplies with absolutely nothing and be able to be effective again." In other words, a backup set of most things.
Some further thoughts on quantities- There is a Russian saying "There is a certain QUALITY about QUANTITY." I'm all for buying the best available but I also agree with this saying 110%
Most survivalists overlook simple facts regarding quantity. Helping some friends put some fruit trees in years ago I asked one of them why they only put in 4 trees. "Geesh, I'll have a truckload of apples with these four!" The better half and I had a great laugh at that one. With almost 150 fruit trees, we are always looking for places to stick a few more of them on our property.
He overlooked the fact that it was possible that:
1. One or more of them could die via various ways- animals, dehydration, disease, run over, etc.
2. Even if they grew well, they may not have been aptly suited to PRODUCE in that particular region.
3. They were semi-dwarf trees that may only live 10-15 years.
I could go on and on. Suffice to say "quantity IS quality" in instances such as these. I've opened so many buckets of food we've put up and seen spoilage, weevils, etc. enough to know that if I had only had 10 buckets put up and lost 5 of them, we'd be SOL. Have enough extra so that normal amounts of spoilage, pest damage, etc. does not hurt your calculations.
Keeping an accurate and up to date inventory is very important. We recently went through our bulk storage and one of the main reasons was to get an accurate inventory. Opening of buckets and inspection of all contents should be done every 5-7 years depending on type of product.
Don't neglect the use of pest control in your storage areas. In the south here, no matter how clean you are, roaches can be a problem. They seem to thrive in the hot and humid climate. Rats and mice can chew right through MRE packaging and also make nests in toilet paper, blankets and clothing.
In areas prone to problems with moisture we use products like Damp Rid to help keep moisture levels down. I've seen extreme cases where double enamaled #10 cans rusted through from moisture. Plan for protection.
For items requiring rotation such as vitamins and supplements such as protein powder mixes we have devoted a specific area of shelving for this. As much as possible we keep these items in the house, thereby avoiding the "out of sight out of mind" phenomenon. I try not to have to rotate items very regularly. Vitamins and supplements are one of those items you just cannot escape rotating regularly.
Some of the best shelving I've used has been made of 3/4" plywood ripped into 2 foot by 8 foot sections, with a 2x4 frame built for it to include 4 supports. Two of these shelves are put together with 2x4's for legs, usually three on each side. Measure and adjust the heights of the shelves before nailing everything together. Mine are made to accomodate two 5 gallon buckets stacked under the bottom shelf. The second (top) shelf is normally 24" above the first shelf. I've stacked literally thousands of pounds on these shelves. Just make sure you keep the legs from leaning in one direction. If you use multiple shelving sections, use a short piece of 2x4 to nail them together on the fronts.
We try to always have a couple of extra bucks set aside for when a "good deal" comes along. In the late 90's it was cases of MRE fruits, 72 entrees to the case. Normal price on these (at that time) was around $55.00 I found a wholesaler that needed to get rid of about 10 pallets that were a year old by that time. I bought them all for around $15. a case. Most were sold immediately at a great price ($19.-29. a case retail) but we kept a considerable amount of them. MRE tray packs were an excess inventory item for one of the manufacturers a few years ago. These are the big squad meal packs that feed 18 people at one time. Usually these are much cheaper than cases of the same entree. We always keep our eyes open for a really good deal. What gets me is the people that recognize a really good deal "wow, these are normally $10. each and now they are $3.00! I'll take ONE of them." You know what, even if you only need one of them, it's always good to have a few backups and someone else may need one down the road. If your part of a group, you should all be sharing in these deals whenever possible.
With MRE's it's important to keep in mind that you are paying for the packaging. We very rarely buy the full meal packages, they are a waste of money. Typically we will purchase cases of 72 of the meat entrees and sometimes fruit and dessert entrees. The meat is the heart of the full meal. MRE meats are one of the best ways to get "real" meat into your food storage without paying an arm and a leg for them as you would with freeze dried meats.
All your preps will be for naught if they are not where you need them when you need. A layered approach here is very helpful. If you live in the city and plan to bug out to the country if something happens, it's paramount that you pre-position as much of your supplies as possible. This will make your bug out much more possible.
Generally, I advise pre-positioning things like your bulk grains, about half of your ammo stocks, TP and hygiene supplies, etc.
If you have to bug out on short notice you will focus on weapons, ammo, bug out bags and field gear. You could go all out with it and try to fashion a trailer to bug out with as some do, but I think that's just silly. If you already know where you are going, why not pre-position ahead of time. A trailer is just something to slow you down, get stuck or break down. In a true bug out you are going to want to be fast and agile, not slow and cumbersome. If you leave 1 minute too late, the trailer will likely be a beacon to dirtbags watching the highways for refugees. The Ford Festiva with a family carrying just there bug out gear and weapons will likely get p***ed up as it looks like they already have nothing. The SUV with top carriers strapped on, packed to the gills and towing a trailer WILL be a target.
Bugging out you must stack the deck in your favor. Trying to load out everything at the last minute is NOT a truly realistic scenario.
Don't have a retreat? I covered this almost 8 years ago now (wow, I feel old) on the radio show. Figure where you are going (I mean come on, you know that much don't you?) and find a storage center with the 10x20 storage rooms. Rent one, put the bulk of your supplies there- think bulk grains, some of your extra ammo, etc. Then even if you just end up living (squatting) on a parcel of woods, you can make one short trip back to the storage center to retrieve your supplies, versus having to ditch them in the city.
I think pre-positioning has an added bonus to. It helps the mind to rationalize with the idea of having to leave the cities. Too many survivalists kid themselves and think they can make it in the suburbs, just 3 or 4 miles from "da hood" if something happens. "I'll band together with my neighbors." Yeah right. When your neighbors look down their street and it looks like a scene out of BlackHawk Down, they will be running out on you, not watching your back. Please do not kid yourself here.
So with the bulk of your supplies already in place, you have a safety net to where if you do have to leave with not much more than your underwear, you can still have a chance at survival. Many folks I know pre-position all of their food storage with the exception of a couple cases of MRE's. An extra set of field gear, magazines and even an extra weapon isn't a bad idea to have pre-positioned also. I advise people to be able to "walk into where you keep your supplies with absolutely nothing and be able to be effective again." In other words, a backup set of most things.
Some further thoughts on quantities- There is a Russian saying "There is a certain QUALITY about QUANTITY." I'm all for buying the best available but I also agree with this saying 110%
Most survivalists overlook simple facts regarding quantity. Helping some friends put some fruit trees in years ago I asked one of them why they only put in 4 trees. "Geesh, I'll have a truckload of apples with these four!" The better half and I had a great laugh at that one. With almost 150 fruit trees, we are always looking for places to stick a few more of them on our property.
He overlooked the fact that it was possible that:
1. One or more of them could die via various ways- animals, dehydration, disease, run over, etc.
2. Even if they grew well, they may not have been aptly suited to PRODUCE in that particular region.
3. They were semi-dwarf trees that may only live 10-15 years.
I could go on and on. Suffice to say "quantity IS quality" in instances such as these. I've opened so many buckets of food we've put up and seen spoilage, weevils, etc. enough to know that if I had only had 10 buckets put up and lost 5 of them, we'd be SOL. Have enough extra so that normal amounts of spoilage, pest damage, etc. does not hurt your calculations.
Keeping an accurate and up to date inventory is very important. We recently went through our bulk storage and one of the main reasons was to get an accurate inventory. Opening of buckets and inspection of all contents should be done every 5-7 years depending on type of product.
Don't neglect the use of pest control in your storage areas. In the south here, no matter how clean you are, roaches can be a problem. They seem to thrive in the hot and humid climate. Rats and mice can chew right through MRE packaging and also make nests in toilet paper, blankets and clothing.
In areas prone to problems with moisture we use products like Damp Rid to help keep moisture levels down. I've seen extreme cases where double enamaled #10 cans rusted through from moisture. Plan for protection.
For items requiring rotation such as vitamins and supplements such as protein powder mixes we have devoted a specific area of shelving for this. As much as possible we keep these items in the house, thereby avoiding the "out of sight out of mind" phenomenon. I try not to have to rotate items very regularly. Vitamins and supplements are one of those items you just cannot escape rotating regularly.
Some of the best shelving I've used has been made of 3/4" plywood ripped into 2 foot by 8 foot sections, with a 2x4 frame built for it to include 4 supports. Two of these shelves are put together with 2x4's for legs, usually three on each side. Measure and adjust the heights of the shelves before nailing everything together. Mine are made to accomodate two 5 gallon buckets stacked under the bottom shelf. The second (top) shelf is normally 24" above the first shelf. I've stacked literally thousands of pounds on these shelves. Just make sure you keep the legs from leaning in one direction. If you use multiple shelving sections, use a short piece of 2x4 to nail them together on the fronts.