Is anyone else stocking up?

DH and i were talking last night about our future. Noone knows what to expect.
We decided that it wouldnt be a bad idea to stock up on canned goods, vegetable seeds, non perishables, etc.
We are extremely concerned about the economy, and i think everyones future is unclear.
I'm terrified that Anthrax will be unleashed on us..awful dreams of steven kings "the stand"...
We're kind of looking at it like our yearly hurricane package that we have, just a little more expansive.
I received a package yest for some brugs that ive been waiting 6 months for....i was AFRAID to open it..awful thoughts of is there a bomb?? i actually convinced myself that there was one there!! anyone else panicing?
jen

There's a song that comes to mind:

I don't know who holds the future,
But I know who hold my hand.

Take deep breaths, be in constant prayer. Here's another part of a song:

Just because you say the word Amen
It doesn't mean the conversation has to end.
Let Us Pray.

I'm not trying to preach to you. I'm trying to help you receive peace. "T" :)

No, not doing anything I don't usually do. It is always a good idea to have a supply of emergency food and water but when people start panic buying they create shortages and then the panic really takes over. I remember a toilet paper shortage a few years ago caused by panic buying because someone stated a rumor. Y2K was another example. Trust God, pray and relax.

I just take each day as it comes. I feel, if it is my time to go,I have no say so in that. What good does worry do,anyway,but give you an upset stomach. I feel everthing is in God's hands anyway. I just live my life like I normally would. By everyone panicing, and stocking up,just raises the prices up. Take a look at what happened to gas prices,everyone panics and make long lines at the pumps and prices go up. Will be the same in the grocery stores. I try to lead a normal life as possible and only get the items that I really, truely need. If I am here tomorrow,I thank the Lord for giving me another day,and if not then it was God's wish to take me to be an angel for someone else to watch over. My life is in His hands,always was, and always will be.

In our small community we barter if another is in need'Or pick up for others when going to town. We've all discussed the situation and know what our necessaties are and are not buying anything extra. Also, this time of year,the winter clothes trading begins.Many of us sew,children too,so we manage.We're pretty self sufficient and don't worry'We share taking our elders food,ice,whatever and make sure their needs are met also' With all the flags being sold out our little daycare is having the children color the flag on paper and provide them for those without any'Yesterday a neighbor paid a water bill for a family struggling,just the way we live here' Peace' Sis'

MSJen,.....stop....take a deep breath.......count to ten....exhale
Now look towards the future.

"eyes"

I grew up in Earthquake Country. I married a Marine. The Emergency Crews say it takes 3 days to get to you in a major desaster (longer if you live in the coutry). Even though we don't have a years worth of food, we always have lots of drinking water, flash lights, batteries and a solar powered radio. We have a wrench taped to the wall next to the gas valve - with instructions. We have an extensive first aid kit, and everyone knows how to use everything in it. And, last but not least, we have lots of duct tape. Having this "little stash" lets me sleep better at night - not so much for my peace of mind, but so I don't have to listen to my DH lecture me on Being Prepared! (He never got the opportunity to be a Boy Scout, but I just know he was one in spirit ;-) ...anyway, I think if you've taken some reasonable precautions, that you don't need to panic.

Sending happy, calm thoughts your way (and to everyone else, too!).

Karla

Sis, what a wonderful community you live in! That's a nice way to live. Sounds like you enjoy it too. I feel like getting in the car and heading out your way! John

Thanks John,c'mon over'We have plenty if not we make do''

We do enjoy our lifestyle here' You'd have to drag me kickin' an screamin' back to the "city",lol'

i didnt mean to sound like i was buying the last can of spam of the shelf, lol...just a few extras here and there.
dh works for a company that has, guess what, alot of government contracts : (.
i guess my fear is if the contracts dry up, etc, and the money isn't there, that the things we take for granted today may not be financially accessible tomorrow.
i guess being on the "inside" of the military circle, our fear runs deeper as wifes, mothers, etc because we hear things that alot of "civilians" arent hearing.

MsJen,if it were me,I'd concentrate on the "staples"

Crackers,instant potatoes,Toilet necessaties,soup(both canned and dry) beans(any legumes)six packs of bottled water, Since you're military should'nt be a prob' Do you shop at a commisary??

I have always believed you should always be prepared to live for two weeks.

I live in an earth quake area and we had one blizzard where the closest town 30 miles away was closed for 5 days,The mississippi floods periodically and I have had to boat in and out of my area to buy groceries several times.We were without power and stuck for 4 days in the last flood.

So we always keep can goods, water, extra batteries and toilet paper on hand....

It does not hurt to be prepared...........

........But when the world shuts down it is time to play all the board games that you never have time for........

MisJen I would have thought that in the military you wouldn't have had to worry about stocking up. My husband isretired now from the Air Force. I never doubted they would look after us in a crisis. After all you do have the commissary :-) Don't worry love, I'm not. We are in God's hands - peace!! Sis - I think I will move to your neck of the woods - that's what I'm talking about (((hugs)))

Wide open spaces Lou,plenty of runnin'and garden room,lol'

wide open spaces?, sis?, and lots o'room to garden?? where are you? sounds like heaven! can i come stay with you???

Sunflower State,Kansas'Sure tootsie,if ya can handle a mower'lol'

ok sis i'am on my way, look for me. i'll be the one driving the car with my head out the window with seed packages in my mouth. and my garden tools on the dash :)

I do think the one thing people take for granted is fresh water. Try putting tape over all your faucets and toilet handles and see if you can keep track of all the water you use in one day. I think you'd be beyond amazed.

Sis, Ya know, what you described used to be how it was here. For some of us it still is. We've had alot of new folks move down here, and that's great, but alot of them just don't understand about trust. We are one big Happy Family. I had taken my neice into a little country grocery store here called Super Foods. Last night at the dinner table she said, "Aunt Trace", I like Super Foods, everybody knows everybody in there. Who were all of those people talking to me? I told her lots of them I did know, but some of them I didn't. They are just all good and nice folks. My neice is 7 and she noticed that. It really made me proud to be from the country! I'm like you Sis, to get me out of here, I'd go kickin and screaming!!!

Thanks for the thoughts!
Traci S

You're very welcome,Traci':D

The Christian Bible teaches faith as a substitute for fear."Take no thought for the morrow" and "lay up your treasures in heaven" for instance. Life comes one day at a time and that's how I live it. I do can my vegetables though because "waste not want not" is a good old adage too!

Very true Tig' We just got on rural water recently but still maintain our tower.

Also was forced to sell our city lake as the co community(another town)needed to update their sewage system. They did not budget for it as our community has done.They needed "quick money",sued us' We considered it a "blessing in disguise" as we've been very fortunate that no one through the years was hurt using our lake'It was our only source of water(fresh,spring fed)for many,many years here'

Many of know how precious a glass of water is,drew it from a well as a child myself,many still are today' But then my family considered everyone and everything precious' Peace'

When we lived in OH we had lots of bad weather in winter and a terrible blizzard in '78. We were without electric for a few days and have always been on a well - even now - so I've always stocked up on water because even if we lose electric for a few hours in a thunderstorm we have no water. I usually have quite a bit of canned goods but at this time we are not stock piling. The economy scares me too but I have to have faith that all will be well. I hope I'm in not in denial. I have read The Stand and seen the movie and yes, it's horrible. But I know in my heart that as long as I keep my faith in God, all will be well.

I have done real good in not panicing. Last Saturday I broke down a little and told my husband through the tears that I wanted to build abomb shelter. I have to keep reminding myself of
1 Corinthians 10:13...but God is faithful, who will not suffer(allow) you to be tempeted above that which you are able to bear;but with that temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be abole to bear it.

No matter what happens I know I will be OK...whether it be here, alive, or asleep awaiting the return.

This message was edited Friday, Sep 21st 1:05 PM

Years ago i lost faith in our food system so i started growing most of the food we consume and have been stocking up for the past 8 years. I belong to a bulk buying club so I buy most things I cannot grow by the case. Water we distill as the local ground water is contaminated by various pesticides so we usually have 5 gallons on hand in the distiller and can fill up water jugs if we think we need to. The house is heated with wood so power outages in the winter are less stressful than summer outages when we could lose the contents in our produce cooler and two meat freezers. most winters we get a storm that will keep us off the roads for a few days. We live about 6 miles from the nearest store (a truckstop) and 7 miles from the nearest town

I too keep a freezer full and a "pantry stocked". I usually stock up on groceries when on sale as I hate to pay full price for anything. We have two generators - one for the house and one for the outside for the barns. Several years ago we had a freak blizzard that hit in late October before all the leaves had fallen and the leaf laden branches knocked out the electric lines. We were without electricity for a week. Living in the country and 8 miles from the nearest store, I can't believe how many of my neighbors couldn't survive for more than a few days without going to the store.

Well i am surprised by you all,i dont shout my religion but one thing i do know is in God i trust so i dont stockpile anything and i have never ran short, he has given me all i need not what i want.Yes i do think you Americans would suffer if things became short cos you are basically materialistic compared to the rest of the world, if i lived in American i would join sis, she sounds like my kind of person,dont worry the British are catching up with you in the want want it now and boy are we suffering for it, once you could leave your doors open and nothing would get stolen basically because you had nothing to steal,so Americans get back to your old way of life who knows you may like it better. Give unto Caesar those which are Caesars etc etc. Sheila in NW England. I bet i get flamed but it is my opinion.

MsJen,
You have a package of Brugmansia your afraid to open for fear of a bomb. Well, if you need someone to help just send them my way. I'll take my chances for some Brugs. Of course, I may have to grow/cut them a bit to enable a safe ride back. Take care and remember some things are worth risking and others are not.

brugman, I wouldn't hesitate to open a box from a brug dealer (ha, that sounds funny)
I'd be ripping that package open, no matter what:)

MsJen,
I read most of the post made here and I agree with you to be prepared for whatever...I am going out this weekend and buy all I can to store away in case my whole family needs it and I have a big one, these young ones these days do not worry about tomorrow and you still have to look out for them too.

As with the millinium, no one knew what to expect and I was prepared then as I will be for whatever happens now!

Anyone can laugh if they want to at me but I will not laugh at them if the need comes that they need food and I will have it to share with them!

You go and prepare and be happy because you are doing the right thing...Preparing for the future of who knows what!

Cheers!

oh, in case I didn't say it, don't think I did, I'm prepared for most anything. Hope at the worst it's a three day storm:)

After we had an emergency with our water supply and were not allowed to turn on our taps for 3 days, (bottled water was supplies for drinking), but NO bathing or washing allowed for 36 hours. I now have 15 gallons of water in my freezer, plus about 5 gallons which I rotate every week.

Many years ago, in another city, I had a friend who was of the Morman faith, they ALWAYS keep ONE YEARS supply of food on hand. I used to think that excessive, but after being without water for a week and the present crisis in the USA, I am beginning to think they have the right idea.

They keep one years supplies on hand, rice, beans, flour, sugar etc (dried supplies). You just need the basics, but of course if you dont have water, all the supplies of food are useless as you are dead after a week!!

tiG - "brug dealer" - lol! I have a suggestion for the water. If you happen to have some room in your freezer, you can freeze water in 2 litre bottles and freeze. It helps keep your freezer full so that it runs more efficiently and you have water on hand "just in case".

This message was edited Saturday, Sep 22nd 12:41 PM

I am sure that all of us gardeners that can, freeze and dehydrate things are stocked up... with fall here in just hours. So, in that sense, we are stocked up here, I am trying to "encourage" my husband to reinforce the shelves for the canned goods this year. Our well is inside our house, so even if the electricity is out and the pump won't work, we just lower buckets down with a rope and dip in. I am trying to picture a whle years supply of food, and the extra room we would need to build on to store it in, LOL!

The Bible also advises us to be good stewards, and I believe that includes of our families and our resources both edible and potable. :O) We have a few extra's like bags of pinto beans and rice, and we have leftover Y2K water containers filled. Unfortunately, my DH filled them in the bathroom and that is where they still are stacked! We've both got back problems and can't get them into the basement. *sigh* LOL

BTW, how long is stored water safe if sealed?

gw, I'm trying to get in the habit of refilling mine every 3 months. That way if something leaks (did last time) I will find out sooner than later.

I'm with kmom246 on this. We always have bottled water, canned goods, rice, beans, flour, batteries, etc. We would be ok for about 4 months.

Going to check out our first aid kit.

I still have water from Y2K!!! I only "stocked up" 2 gallon and still have one.

Hey Gardenwife,

I read somewhere that sealed water will last and not go bad...so don't open it!

Cheers!

If we have a shortage, I'm going to my son's house in Tenn. He still has stuff "stocked" from the Y2K scare! LOL