Beginning Prepping 101 PT. 1 : Rice, Rice and More Rice !

Time to check your tears at the door. BO is back for 4 more years and there is nothing we can do about it. Now is the moment if you haven't all ready to think of food storage for you and your loved ones. If our economy hasn't awoken you to the idea, then look no farther then those folks in the Northeast and the conditions they are now living in due to mother nature. I betcha 9 out of 10 of them never thought it could happen, and they expected the government they voted for this week would swoop  in on white horses to help them out...well, we can see where that is going. So let it all be a lesson to you.

My first food item I recommend to stock pile is RICE, and lots of it.. If it has been good enough for a billion chinese for thousands of years, then its good enough for us. It is a dry grain and if stored correctly can be saved for 15 -25 years.

Rice is a staple in most of our cabinets. You can add it to any main course, or meat. ND and NW love plain ole rice and gravy more then anything. I love plain white rice with a little bit of butter. We eat rice at least 2-3 times per week in one form or the other. Whether its done in my rice cooker, or some sort of boxed dinner mix...
Plus, you can mix plain white rice with  boiled chicken and feed your dog.

Senior and I go to SAMS club and buy the large commercial size bags.We use to go out to COSTCO, but the drive was just getting to be too much.  We then bring it home and separate it down to manageable sizes, by pouring it in to mylar bags, and adding oxygen eaters. Occasionally we will use the extra large bags, but we have recently  began to use the smaller zip lock bags and can do smaller portions which is more manageable for small families like ours. 
I have blogged about it before and here are the links to the posts:

Storing Rice and Sugar

Mylar Bags

We ordered our mylar bags from USA EMERGENCY they are really nice folks that carry
a cornucopia of storing supplies and emergency essentials which can help get you started on  your own food storage. You can also get the oxygen eaters from these fine people.

Another good tip: start buying and saving those 5 gallon buckets..You can  buy them at any home improvement stores, or go to your local bakery..they get all their cake frosting and cake mixes in the same size buckets. Ask the owner or manager if they are willing to either give you some or sell you some. We scored once by doing this and brought home 20 + buckets.
You can go to Home Dept for lids...Senior and I found these awesome Gamma Lids..which If they are affordable for you I recommend spending the extra money and getting these instead of the normal bucket lids.

Now that we have all our rice sealed in our mylar bags and buckets Senior adds our food items to  the most fascinating food storage list he created on excel. You want to know how much you have stored and how long will it sustain you. He just did a post about it, so swing over to his blog and check it out: SENIORS FOOD STORAGE EXCEL FILE

I hope this first lesson has helped some of you out, even if it is just one person..then I will consider it a success.

So Good Luck In your beginning prepping items, and If you have any questions just ask...REMEMBER: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A DUMB QUESTION, ONLY DUMB PEOPLE..    :  )

Mylar bags: Not Kid Proof....

After returning from camping yesterday, I was trying to get a jump start on all the laundry, and cleaning, had to wash the Jeep, because it was filthy. Once back in side and doing all the "inside chores" which also included cooking an amazing Corn Beef Brisket with Cabbage...I realized how quiet everything in the house was...
 I have learned from experience that when you have 2 boys, and everything gets quiet...something is wrong.

I was then sitting at the computer desk, researching college grant money.. If I do enroll, I am worried about the financial burden. But it is something I really want to accomplish, and I feel that in these uncertain times, and when SHTF, having a nursing degree could really come in handy. Okay, so the house is drop dead quiet, suddenly the oldest walks in, our computer room is also where we keep our food storage. I don't hear anything at first...then it happens :

Oldest: "ummm mommy" ?
Me:  " Yes" ?
Oldest: "Look at these metal bags"

I look over and there to my wondering eyes...2 of our Mylar rice bags,  had hundreds of pin holes in them. "What The"  ???  " How in the heck did that happen"? My initial thought..was the cat...but then the  Oldest gets  a guilty look on his face, and then I see the thumb tack.. 

Me: " Did you do this" ? 
Oldest: " A little, but brother did it all first"....

FYI: In our house...our Youngest is the leader- he is the one with the brass pair- he knows NO FEAR... Senior and I will have our hands full for many years to come with him.

At that precise time, Senior walks in and  turns red, he yells for the youngest.... I proceeded to send the boys straight to their room, no toys, or leapster games. They were to only sit on their bed and think of what they did.  They cried how sorry they were, but I had to make them understand the consequences of the action...

After the revelation  hit them, they came apologizing...then asked for ice cream. All it took was Senior looking in to those big puppy eyes of theirs before he caved....  And for now, all is back right in our world...Until the house gets quiet again....   : )