3 minutes without air (I don’t recommend trying this)
3 hours without shelter (Extreme heat or cold weather)
3 days without water (you need water or you’ll perish)
3 weeks without food (I promise this would not be fun)
25 Important Items
1. Spices
Let’s be real here, everything tastes better with our favorites spices, right? I was talking to my daughter last night and I mentioned, “I sure wish In knew what Mexicans put in their refried beans.” Yes, I make them all the time, but there is something missing as far as spicey flavor.
When I visited Texas to see my sister and her family, we went to several restaurants over the course of a couple of weeks. Let me say this, Texans know how to cook, they really do. We had black beans and refried beans that were the best I have ever had in my life. I just want the secret to those beans, it’s spices, but which ones?
2. Oils
Please keep in mind that most recipes call for some type of oil. The problem with oil is the shelf-life is not very long. Please keep in mind that oils go rancid very quickly. Coconut oil lasts a bit longer.
3. Grains/Beans
I personally, store a lot of hard white wheat berries because I grind them to make homemade whole wheat bread. In case you missed my How To Make Whole Wheat Bread. It’s critical we know how to make cooked beans like black beans, pinto beans, etc. I’m going to start writing a post or two on how to use lentils, we must be able to cook from scratch.
4. Salt
We need salt for cooking, baking and even for our health. Of course, if your doctor said to cut way back on salt, you must listen, obviously. We need sodium to maintain fluid levels. A balance of sodium and fluid is necessary for the health of our heart, liver, and kidneys. Salt regulates blood fluids and prevents low blood pressure.
5. Pasta
Do you love spaghetti as much as I do? I buy those frozen meatballs at Costco and drop 3 or 4 in the sauce for Mark and me. They are cooked and ready to add to any dish. Oh, what about macaroni and cheese? Have you tried making my Baked Mac and Cheese?
6. Dairy
It’s important we have some “eggs” or a substitute for baking. In case you missed this post What Can You Use as an Egg Substitute? Of course, we should have eggs in our refrigerator and possibly some eggs in #10 cans.
About the only eggs I can eat that are out of a package are OvaEasy, but wow, the prices have gone sky high for that product! We can also freeze our excess eggs.
Have any of you tried storing freeze-dried cheese? I have several cans that I purchased years ago. Man, everything is so expensive now. The thing you need to be aware of with freeze-dried cheese is that when you need to use it be sure to rehydrate it with cool water, not warm or you will have a cheesy mess.
Now, it works great in casseroles, but not so well on top of tacos, just being real here.
There is nothing better than freshly grated cheese, right? I also stock shredded or grated cheese in the freezer. I have to have freshly grated cheese, and the freezer is my answer to no waste. It works great. I freeze it in the original bags or I put 2-cups in mason jars or FoodSaver bags. A freezer is one of my best friends.
7. Condiments
We need to stock mayonnaise, Miracle Whip, mustard, relish, ketchup, or any other condiment you love to have on hand. Olives add a great touch to so many meals or dips.
Green chilies are kind of a condiment, I have those in pantry cans and also some in those little 4-ounce cans. Balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, and white vinegar are also my favorites.
8. Rice
If you haven’t stocked rice, I highly recommend you get some. Costco had some in 50-pound bags. Mark sent me a text when he was at Costco, “Do we need rice?” He mentioned they had some 50-pound bags. I paused for a minute and then I said, “We need some.”
We can share with others if things get bad. I was also worried that rice would be in short supply. Rice is one of my favorite foods, but I don’t stock brown rice because it goes rancid so quickly.
9. Frozen Tortillas
Yes, I freeze the small flour tortillas from Costco, six to a baggie. You can get like 40 for $3.99, what a deal! I saw an older gentleman at Costco, and he mentioned, “I wish I could eat all those tortillas because they are so cheap.” I told him how to freeze them in bags. He bought a package and told me he appreciated the tip. Life is good.
10. Canned Veggies
Here’s the deal, not only do the cans fill your belly, they have liquid in them that can be used to make soups. I stock, Non-GMO corn, and green beans. I also stock cream of chicken soup and cream of mushroom soup.
11. Frozen Vegetables
I started buying frozen onions and freezing cut up bell peppers so I can make fajitas, or whatever, any day of the week. I used to buy fresh onions by the bag, but they would go bad before I could use up the bag. I still buy a few onions here and there, but I love those small bags of onions in the freezer section.
12. Canned Fruits
When my girls were growing up we canned every kind of fruit we could get our hands one. Well, I now buy canned fruits, like peaches, fruit cocktail, and pears, to name a few. I love knowing I have fruit in my house in case we can’t get fresh fruit at the local stores.
13. Frozen Fruits
Did you know that Costco sells organic frozen fruit that is priced really low? Yep, they do. I buy frozen strawberries, blueberries, and the 3 berry bags. They make the best smoothies in the world.
14. Canned Meats
Yep, I love having tuna, canned chicken, and my beloved chipped beef in the pantry. Have you tried making Cream Chipped Beef? I grew up on it and my family loves it.
15. Spaghetti Sauce
I used to bottle my own spaghetti sauce, not anymore. Now, I buy bottles when they have those case lot sales which makes a bottle about $1.00 for each one. Yay! Next year ask your local grocery stores to offer case lot sales. I live in Utah, and my entire life I have purchased many cases every fall. If we can get them in Utah, you should be able to where you live too.
16. Nuts
Nuts are a bonus for snacks or baking. Just remember to freeze them as they can go rancid very quickly. I use my FoodSaver to seal my nuts in bags before freezing them. I stock, pine nuts, pecans, almonds, and walnuts.
17. Baking Supplies
This year has a been a crazy year to stock up on flour, yeast, and even sugar. I’m hoping all the people who bought the yeast and flour learned how to make bread, wouldn’t that be awesome? I saw carts filled to the brim with flour, and I thought to myself, you know that flour is only good for 12-18 months, right?
I didn’t say anything to them. Maybe they had large families. I was glad to restock my baking soda and baking powder because they were in short supply. Life is good if our pantry is stocked.
18. Cereal
Here’s the deal, cereal is a great food item to stock, and not just for Mark and his early morning cereal routine. Kids love cereal, and if some families didn’t prepare very well, we could make a child super happy with a bowl of cereal after a disaster in our neighborhood.
19. Chocolate
Need I say more, my favorite is a jar or two of M & M’s. Everyone needs some chocolate after a disaster hits.
20. Toilet Paper/Paper Towels
We soon realized why we as preppers stocked toilet paper and paper towels this past year. Those of us who were prepared couldn’t believe people were fighting over a large package of toilet paper at Costco. Oh, the memories of this year.
Now every time I go to Costco, almost every basket has one large package of TP and paper towels. I think people are starting to understand why we prep.
21. Cleaning Supplies
For years many people were saying they can’t use bleach and only use natural cleaners. I get it. But germs need bleach, in my humble opinion. This is why bleach and hand sanitizer were in short supply for a while after the pandemic started.
Well, not anymore. There is so much hand sanitizer everywhere now. Clorox wipes are still in short supply where I live.
22. Paper Products
It’s critical we store some paper plates, bowls, cups (hot and cold), and some plastic silverware. Here’s the deal, we don’t want to use our fuel and water to wash ALL our dishes.
We have to cut back in some areas to conserve fuel and water. Watch for these to go on sale at clearance prices after the holidays.
23. Cloth Products
I have switched to cloth for napkins and paper towels to save money. I still need some paper towels for cooking bacon. Cloth Paper Towels
24. First Aid Supplies/Pet Supplies
And don’t forget to stock First Aid Supplies, OTC Medications, and pet supplies. You can organize them as you gather them in order to be prepared for the unexpected.
25. Water
This one is simple, please stock 4-gallons of water per person per day. If you need help on how to store water here is a great post to check out: How To Store Water-Pros And Cons
Final Word
I think sometimes you have to see lists over and over before it sinks in what you need to have stocked. It’s all about 25 important items we need in our home now.
Please keep prepping, the challenges we are facing are not going to go away. We must be prepared for the unexpected. May God Bless you, Linda
Copyright Images: Glass Jars AdobeStock_306388626 by New Africa
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