# Week food prepping on a budget & small space.



## n9neside (Sep 3, 2015)

Good day all,

As the title reads, I have a small amount of space (small apartment/two people inside) & limited money (tight budget). 

I want to start prepping for a couple day supply. Is canned food the best for what I need? I just want enough for me and the mrs. Plus maybe an extra 2-4 family/friends. What routes should I take for this & also if this is just a repeat post feel free to delete it haha. I tried searching "budget" and other cheap food prepping key words in the forums but couldn't find them. 

Thank yall ahead of time


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## Reblazed (Nov 11, 2010)

*Thinking the least amount of space and fewest ingredients*

... without announcing to your other half you are prepping would be ...

1 Knorr Pasta Sides and Rice Sides ... These would give you the starch and spices needed in your meal. If using as a main dish add canned chicken, ham, or whatever to give you the protein. (You could add veggies, too.) I would think one envelope per 2 people.

2 Envelopes of Instant Mashed potatoes ... Add at least double the liquid (milk is probably best) To make an easy potato soup ... again add any meat and/or veggies to make it more filling.

3 Easy chili is one pkg of dry chili mix, one can of beans, one can of tomatoes. Add ground beef and onions if you have it but we are talking easy and few ingredients here.

Might make sure there is always oatmeal, dried fruit (raisins) and dried milk in your cupboards also.

That should keep you alive for a couple of days.

.


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

Your best bet is to start off small, The Government encourages people to have at least 72 Hrs. of food and water in case of an emergency and that is a good place to start. Figure out how much food it takes to make a meal, perhaps from cans, and then put that meal together in your pantry. Consider one Gallon of water per person per day to be a minimum. Canned Soups, Stews, Chili, Fish, Fruits and Vegetables are good places to start, add some instant Coffee and/or Tea and you're good to go. Remember to start slow, buy at your local Dollar store, and buy things you like to eat


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

I started prepping when we lived in an apartment- my husband, myself and our 6 month old daughter. I made space to store everything. All closets had a heavy duty shelf put up over the door on the inside. I used this space to store things out of sight. The bedframe we had at the time had drawers under it. We kept a lot of storage there too. Jugs of water were kept behind the toilet and in the undersink cabinet.

What I stored were canned foods and dried beans. I was starting to can my own foods so those added to the stores as well. Buying only foods we ate made sure things got rotated often and no one thought anything of us having the extras. Keep the basics you would need to make a filling but simple meal.

Now, with the baby we had a cabinet we bought at Target we kept all her formula and jarred foods in. I kept several months of her foods at a time and was able to buy on sales to save us money. The money saved bought more food storage.

I was only able to get away with this because when I had been pregnant K was out of work. We were barely able to cover our own butts on the unemployment. (I was in school at the time taking some college classes)


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## haley4217 (Dec 16, 2012)

The previous posts are very good advice for small items to get started. Water is very important, but don't forget that first aid items, candles, matches and flashlights are also important. From a budget standpoint, when you go to the store buy a couple extra of what you're already buying. If you're getting canned soup, then buy a couple extra. This way you can work them in to a rotation. When you use one of the prepped items in rotation, replace it with two. This way you store things you might actually like.


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## n9neside (Sep 3, 2015)

Thank you all very much


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## kilagal (Nov 8, 2011)

You might also consider getting a dehydrator and drying food it takes up a lot less space.


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## jimLE (Feb 25, 2015)

might consider oil lamps as well as candles..they not only give off light during a outage.but heat as well.which is at least,a small pluse during the winter..grimm mentioned shelve above a closet door.might try that.or cabinets...as for stocking up on canned foods,and other foods go..stock up on what yall already eat.eat what yall buy.and rotate.if yall eat one can of food.buy 2 or 3 on the next shopping trip..it'll add up eventully that way..i've lived in apartments.so i know that some have walk in closets.might look into sheelves or cabenets to store items there.1 gallon per person per day.pluss lots more water for everyday use.like cooking and flushing,and persanol hygeyne..


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## notyermomma (Feb 11, 2014)

Also, most kitchen cabinets have dead space where the walls meet and one side goes all the way back into the corner. It makes rotation a challenge because you can't see back there without taking things out (which requires a long reach) but for keeping stuff out of the way it can't be beat.


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## Genevieve (Sep 21, 2009)

Since you have storage issues I would go with things in packets that are light and smaller in size.










I forgot to add the large envelope of ground beef by Libby's in the pic.
I found all of them at local grocery stores on sale for 1$ or less. The justin's peanut butter was/is at walmart in the pb aisle.

I also stock up on dried fruits and nuts when they're on sale seasonally. they're usually cheaper in the winter when holiday baking starts. I just vacuum seal them to make them last longer.

can't go wrong with instant oatmeal. and you can make your own flavored ones with powdered creamer along with spices and such. dried fruits and creamer, peanut butter and choc chips, baking extracts and spices, canned fruits and spices.
all this stuff can be bought at a dollars store or maybe even cheaper at a regular grocery store on sale and with coupons.
instant coffee comes in small "straws" so do flavors for water that are small and take up little space and of course tea bags. salt and pepper and sugar packets can be picked up every where along with mustard, relish and catsup

if you can swing the money buy a large water bob that fits in the tub. but water is the most important thing to start with.
extra blanket/quilts/comforters from the thrift store to help keep everyone warm and even to build a tent or cover doors and windows to help keep the heat in.


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## Cud579 (Apr 26, 2010)

These soup mixes are pretty good. The package is for 8 servings. Granted 1 serving would not equal 1 complete meal but you only add water to these. They can be found at grocery stores and even farm feed stores.


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## n9neside (Sep 3, 2015)

Thank yall!!!!!


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## Genevieve (Sep 21, 2009)

lol I'd fry some spam or dak ham and add to the potato soup. or even use some jerky. those bear creeks are expensive here for some reason so I just use instant mash potatoes envelope and add seasonings, fried meat, extra water and some powdered milk. If I have cans of potatoes I add one of those diced. nothing like potato soup when its cold outside yum.

just like someone mentioned the knorr/lipton envelopes. you can add some canned meats to those too to beef up the staying power in the stomach.

so much you can do with stuff if you think about it lol


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## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

Like Camo2460 stated, ready to eat foods are the best, water is important and focus on what you and the wife likes, comfort foods are important too a cup of instant hot chocolate helps to calm the nerves, instant coffee is good also, the less mess the better I find that individual food kits like those that come with crackers and ham or tuna or chicken spreads are great also, just don`t complicated yourself with expensive junk or gadgets having a few days of emergency goods is a step forward don`t forget also to rotated your food items and water that way they will always be fresh, canning and drying is not for everyone and the equipment can be expensive .Good luck.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Here is my trick when we first started and money was very tight (new baby).

Hit up all the food storage companies and ask for samples. I was able to get 2 weeks of food for 4 people for free or very cheap (just the cost of shipping). I keep this food in a duffle bag as our grab and go. There is food in our BOBs but this bag is for extended evacuation beyond 3 days (fire/earthquake/flood).


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## jimLE (Feb 25, 2015)

powdered drinks was mentioned..wal-mart has great value drinks..both,the small and large boxes say 16.09 ounce drinks.but for the 1st one is good for 12 to 24 ounce drinks for me.and the 2nd one,is the larger 1 of the 2,when it comes to the packets in them..and i find that a idea size for my everyday 32 ounce bottle i always use to drink from.be it water,or what ever..


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## n9neside (Sep 3, 2015)

I have never thought about those things.... Thank you for the info


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## jimLE (Feb 25, 2015)

i didnt know about them untill my mom came across them.in which she had gotton 2 or 3.and liked them.now we both use the powdered drink mix.and they come in at least 4 to 6 diff flavores if i remember right..


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

jimLE said:


> powdered drinks was mentioned..wal-mart has great value drinks..both,the small and large boxes say 16.09 ounce drinks.but for the 1st one is good for 12 to 24 ounce drinks for me.and the 2nd one,is the larger 1 of the 2,when it comes to the packets in them..and i find that a idea size for my everyday 32 ounce bottle i always use to drink from.be it water,or what ever..


Good to see there are options that do not contain artificial sweeteners. They can give both my daughter and me headaches.


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## fteter (May 23, 2014)

Check out http://www.calamityjanet.com/one-year-supply-easy--cheap.html

_One Year Supply of Food: Easy, Cheap, Compact

I cannot count the times I have heard people tell me that they know they ought to be prepping, but they can't because they don't have the money to do so, and they don't have the space to store the stuff. I thought it would be helpful if I showed you how much money a one year supply costs, and what kind of space it takes up. It is surprisingly simple to stockpile a one-year supply of things that are cheap, non-perishable, compact, yummy, and nutritious. Just steer away from the pricey MREs and freeze-dried survival foods and stick to the basics found at any grocery store.

My containers of choice for his project are filing boxes of the sort found in any business or home office. I rarely use five-gallon buckets because they are so heavy and unwieldy when packed. My food storage system is all about hiding food in unexpected places where it doesn't take up any of my limited living space. It's really hard to hide big plastic bucket. But these file boxes, which come in two sizes, are easy to tuck under a table, behind a couch, beneath the desk, or in a closet, where they blend in with all the other junk in the household and do not arouse suspicion if the home is being ransacked by looters. Be sure to mark them clearly with labels saying "Mother's Medical Records" and "Little Jimmy's Art Projects" and "Honeymoon Photos" and "Tax Receipts, 2009". I prefer the metal file boxes, but will settle for the plastic variety, but I NEVER use the cardboard kind, which offer little protection from rodents, insects, or water. I buy these second hand usually for about $1 each.

PANCAKES FOR BREAKFAST
My locally owned grocery store often puts 5-pound bags of instant pancake mix on sale for $5 each. Cooking instructions are "Just add water" which will be appreciated in a SHTF scenario when you're not going to be able to track down other ingredients. A five-pound bag of pancake mix will make 75 servings of pancakes, with a serving defined as three 6-inch pancakes. Therefore, five of these five pound bags will be enough to feed one person pancakes for one year, for a total of $25. A half-gallon of cheap corn syrup-based pancake syrup runs $10 in my town; corn syrup will last for decades. Maple syrup will also last indefinitely but it's considerably more expensive than corn syrup. Because my project is to see how cheaply I can purchase food for a year, I'm sticking with corn syrup. Four of the 5-lb sacks fit nicely into one of the larger size file boxes. A second file box holds the fifth sack of pancake mix and the three half gallon jugs of syrup. If there are berries or fruit of any kind growing nearby, those go into the pancakes, and the pancake mix can also be used to make fruit cobbler. I now have breakfast for 375 days for a total cost of $55 and a total space of two file boxes.

I shrink-wrapped these for extra protection. Eventually I'll get around to storing them inside mylar.

The file box will be sealed shut with duct tape. If you've got any kind of berries or fruit growing near you, add those to the pancakes.

SOUP FOR LUNCH

I really love quality soup mixes. Bear Creek makes some of the best. These soup packets are also a "just add water" deal, and each packet makes a huge pot of thick rich hearty soup with the addition of eight cups of water. There are about 20 different varieties of soup and I've included some of each. I can fit 23 soup packets into a single large size file box. Each packet makes eight servings of soup. If garden vegetables or game meat are available, that will stretch things nicely. The normal price for a soup mix is about $4 or $5. The Wal-Mart price is about $3. I lucked into a two-for-the-price-of-one sale and picked these up for only $2 each. Two bucks for a big pot of soup is a screaming deal. I packed two large file boxes with soup mixes and that will provide 368 lunches for a total cost of $92 using a total space of two more file boxes.

SPAGHETTI FOR DINNER

Spaghetti is absolutely one of the cheapest foods available today. It stores well for decades, requires only water to cook, and is a perennial favorite among children and adults alike. Spaghetti noodles often go on sale for 50 cents for a one-pound package, so it cost me only $24 to purchase 48 pounds. Each pound of spaghetti makes 8 servings. I store my spaghetti in the smaller file boxes because they are so easy to hide around the house in the unused nooks and crannies of closets and corners. Each file box holds 12 lbs of noodles, along with a selection of sauces in glass jars (tomato sauce keeps better in glass than in metal cans) as well as a fat bundle of sauce and seasoning packets which were on sale four for a dollar. I also included herbs and spices that I picked up for 50 cents each. If gardening is possible, tomatoes are among the easiest things to grow, and that will supply fresh spaghetti sauce. I now have four small file boxes, each containing 12 lbs of noodles and about $5 worth of sauces and seasonings. Therefore, the total outlay for 384 spaghetti dinners is a grand total of $44, and the total space taken is four small file boxes.

ONE YEAR SUPPLY

Add up $55 for pancakes, $92 for soup, and $44 for spaghetti, and the grand total is $191 for enough food to keep one person from starving to death for one year. That works out to a little more than 50 cents a day for three meals, or 17 cents per meal. This is the size of the pile that food for one year makes, a small enough pile to fit underneath a typical table, disguised by a floor-length tablecloth. Clean out your closets and store one or two file boxes in each closet. Put your bed on stilts and slide these underneath. Multiply this expense and this space by the number of people in your family or the number of neighbors you'd like to feed. If you can, add a file box full of rice, another one full of beans, another one full of mashed potato mix, and maybe one full of powdered milk, or cocoa powder, maybe honey, Jell-O, or popcorn, and you'll be living high on the hog while others around you are starving. Also consider making a trip to your warehouse store where you can buy 125 pounds of food for about $50, including 25 pounds each of rice, beans, flour, salt, and sugar:

Food for one person for one year: $191
Not starving to death: PRICELESS

_


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## lanahi (Jun 22, 2009)

In an emergency situation, you will probably not want or be able to do much cooking or even much heating food. You also need water. I would get several cans of food that don't require cooking and some packed with water. This takes more space than packages, but you should have a few canned goods such as canned milk, Spam, peanut butter, tuna, fruits, vegetables packed with water, etc. These in addition of packages of food.

People have survived a month without food under extreme situations. We wouldn't suggest that, of course, but food is far less important than water. Morale is also important in keeping things together, though, so your favorite foods might as well go into your emergency supplies. As was already suggested, buy two cans of what you usually buy, instead of just one, and put one aside for emergencies. Buy foods on sale that you like, planning at least one to store. Keep doing that each time you shop, and you'll soon have fairly good stores put away.

Remember that the hot water tank has clean water in case of emergency. So does the toilet TANK. It is difficult to find space for all the water that is needed, but these are two sources already there. I'd also buy a water filter in case you have a source of water close by. You do not need to pay hundreds of dollars for one. Here's a whole bunch of fine filters:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_s...ilters&sprefix=backpack+water+filters,aps,263

In an emergency, calories are very important, especially if it is cold. Fat is the best source of calories and will sustain energy longer than sweets or carbohydrates. Store canned meat and other high fat foods that you might like.

I knew someone who bought two end tables with drawers in them, took all the drawers out and just glued on the drawer facings to the cabinet so that the end tables were hollow. The top of the tables were removable with a hidden latch in back, and the end tables were used for dry storage without anyone knowing about it.

RVs have built-in beds that can be lifted up easily, and the whole under-bed area is for storage. One could build something like that anywhere.

Something I always keep is brown sugar. It can be used as sugar but, with enough water just to dissolve it, and a little simmering to thicken, it makes excellent syrup. You can add a couple drops of maple flavoring if you like. Brown sugar stores forever and can make some great comfort foods.

I am also a wild plant food forager and find it a great hobby to share with the whole family. You would be surprised how many types of flours you can find in the wild, and then there are fruits, nuts, vegetables, potato substitutes, a little of everything...and some really fine eating! Acorns, for instance, when leached in water of all their tannin, are very sweet and make excellent breads, cookies, pancakes, etc. Cattail pollen pancakes are a pretty yellow and have a slightly nutty taste. The possibilities are endless.


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

weedygarden said:


> Good to see there are options that do not contain artificial sweeteners. They can give both my daughter and me headaches.


The Great Value mixes contain artificial sweeteners.

Koolaid & Country Time lemonade both make singles with real sugar or you could get those packs of Real Lime or Real Lemon & add your own sugar (or not).

Both Lipton & Luzianne tea make a cold brew that requires only 30 minutes in cold water to make tea, great for those who are used to drinking caffeinated beverages all day. They will likely get a splitting headache if cutoff cold turkey.


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## jimLE (Feb 25, 2015)

i got a friendly reminder of the importance of water this last friday.the line going from the main water line to the meter,had to be replaced.in which we were with out running water for the better part of the day.i already had 12 store bought 1 gallon jugs of water.and 5-1/2 gallon jugs that tea and apple juice came in. i only had to use 3 gallons for the toliet..but yet,they did come in very handy..


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## lanahi (Jun 22, 2009)

I would also suggest that you concentrate on food high in fats since their survival value is highest, especially in cold climates. (Calories = heat and energy, and fats are more concentrated and longer sustaining calories. Sugar and starch are often high in calories but give quick energy that is just as quickly burned off and does not sustain you throughout the day.) Canned meats, cheese, or condensed milk are highest in fat calories. A small can of Crisco if you will have fuel to cook with. 

One of my favorite shelf foods is Fritos cheddar cheese dip found with the potato chips in the grocery store. Love the stuff, especially the one with jalapenos in it, and it can be used as a sauce for anything, including macaroni and cheese, potatoes, vegetables, etc., and doesn't require cooking to use. I also have a couple of cans of refried beans and tortillas handy for a quick and filling meal with the canned cheese dip. Or spread it on tortilla chips and warm it up. But I love cheese.

Several small cans of condensed milk (small because there will may be no refrigeration available) is very versatile and fit in those spaces where larger cans won't. You could store a couple of boxes of high nutrient cold cereal and, if you can boil water, some oatmeal or cream of wheat to use with the milk. Add a box of raisins to storage.

Starches give mostly empty calories, but calories are needed, and there is no end to what is available in the grocery store for quick starches if you have a way to cook them and have enough water. Instant rice and mashed potato flakes are good, as are noodles. What you add to them will determine other food value, such as a couple of jars of meat spaghetti sauce, etc.

Suggest you plan a week's worth of menus that you like that are simple, quick or no cooking, require few ingredients, and satisfy calorie (especially fat) needs. You can repeat those menus for another week or month if you like those foods. Don't necessarily get stuck on the idea of three meals a day...calories for the day is what is important. Sometimes a snack is better every couple of hours instead of three larger meals. Eating more frequently will help keep blood sugar levels on an even keel for the day instead of peaks and lows of sugar levels.

Be sure to have salt in storage. Salt is necessary for life, and it is also a preservative and antibiotic. True, there is salt in everything boxed or canned, but if you run out of storage foods before the emergency is over, you will not have the excess of salt found on most grocery shelves even if you can forage for some wild foods. Store at least one box of salt to begin with.

An idea for free food is to forage wild fruits in their season. No matter where you live, there is likely to be some wild fruits, such as blackberries or apples. You can often dry some of these fruits like you would raisins or dry the pulp for fruit "leathers". It also isn't too difficult or too expensive to make jellies and jams from them or fruit syrups, although the jars take up more space on the shelf. With apples, you don't even need pectin.


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

We just recently foraged and canned about Three Bushels of Pears from a friends property. At some point soon we're going to go back and pick Persimmons and Purslane. We'll can the Purslane, and dry the Persimmons as Fruit leather.


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## Scprepper91 (Jan 14, 2016)

Start with water! That's the most important prep. I got this from another website but very useful if on a budget. All cost around $5 give or take depending on where you live

Food items:
Five packages of Idahoan instant potatoes (flavored)
A case of ramen noodles (20 pkgs)
five cans of sardines
five gallons of purified water
nearly two cases of bottled water
four cans of peaches, pears or fruit cockatail
2 jars of mandarin oranges
five pounds of rice
three to four pounds of spaghetti
Two cans of spaghetti sauce
three bags of egg noodles
eight packages of gravy mix
four cans of whole or sliced new potatos
four cans of green beans or at least three cans of carrots, greens, peas or mixed veggies
Two cans of Yams
six cans of pork and beans
one 40 ounce can of Dinty Moore Beef Stew
Two 12 ounce cans of chicken, tuna or roast beef
One 1lb canned ham
three cans of refried beans
three 12 oz cans of raviolis or spaghetti O's.
Two 12.5 ounce cans of Salmon
Five pounds of Oatmeal
Four packages Dinty Moore heat and eat meals
five packages of corn bread mix
Four pounds of Sugar
Five pound of Flour
1.5 quarts of cooking oil
three one pound bags of dry beans
two cans of apple juice
a jar of peanut butter
two boxes of yeast
two bags of generic breakfast cereal
10 8 oz cans of tomato paste/tomato sauce
four cans of soup
four cans of Chunky soup
8-10 pounds of Iodized salt
two bottles of garlic powder or other spices
Two boxes of kool aid
A can of coffee
2 bottles of powdered coffee creamer


Non-Food Items:
one manual can opener
two bottles of camp stove fuel
100 rounds of .22lr ammo
25 rounds of 12 ga birdshot or small game loads
20 rounds of Monarch 7.62x39 ammo
a spool of 12lb test monofilament fishing line
2 packages of hooks and some sinkers or corks.
artificial lure
two packages of soft plastic worms
three Bic Lighters or two big boxes of matches
A package of tea lights
50 ft of para cord
a roll of duct tape
a box of nails or other fasteners
a flashlight
two D-batteries, four AA or AAA batteries or two 9v batteries
a toothbrush and tooth paste
a bag of disposable razors
eight bars of ivory soap (it floats)
a box or tampons or bag of pads for the ladies
two gallons of bleach
needles and thread
a ball of yarn


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## jimLE (Feb 25, 2015)

might even look into sites like wise foods and food4patriots.they at least offer a one serving of some sort of food.we have one coming in from wise foods.we also got 4-72hr pouches food supply.in which that adds up to 144 hr's of food for me.and all we had to pay for,is shipping.


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## lanahi (Jun 22, 2009)

Scprepper91 said:


> Start with water! That's the most important prep. I got this from another website but very useful if on a budget. All cost around $5 give or take depending on where you live
> 
> Food items:
> Five packages of Idahoan instant potatoes (flavored)
> ...


Looks good. Many of the nonfood items we already have. The food costs above, at $5 each comes to $205, which isn't bad if you add it a little at a time, and try to get items when they are on sale. Get items you actually would like to eat because in a SHTF scenario, any comfort you can get from anywhere will make a difference in morale, which could help your survival. It would help to test out each of those foods ahead of time, if you don't already know how they will taste.

If you have a water source, such as a river nearby, it would pay to get a water filter instead of having to store so much water, which takes up a lot of space, and water is also very heavy, which might be a problem for some. Remember also the hot water tank has clean water in it. If you have a 40 gallon water tank, that saves having to store that much water. Bleach can be used to disinfect water, but remember that bleach has a shelf life of about six months and may not be as effective after that.


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## lanahi (Jun 22, 2009)

jimLE said:


> might even look into sites like wise foods and food4patriots.they at least offer a one serving of some sort of food.we have one coming in from wise foods.we also got 4-72hr pouches food supply.in which that adds up to 144 hr's of food for me.and all we had to pay for,is shipping.


It might be different now, but Wise foods keeps pestering you to buy more after you receive your free sample. It is also too highly salty, I understand, although I haven't tried my free sample. I got it for storage.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

*Easy, cheap and doable*



fteter said:


> Check out http://www.calamityjanet.com/one-year-supply-easy--cheap.html
> 
> _One Year Supply of Food: Easy, Cheap, Compact
> 
> ...


I think this makes it so simple. I love the idea of the file boxes, labeled as something that might be so boring no one will look in it--2000 tax information. I think if you buy two of something, with the idea of one being for food storage, it is good to put it in the box and not in the main pantry. Once you start, a little here and little there, you will be surprised at how quickly your food storage develops, if you keep it on your plans and keep working on it.

I do know that while I love the things that are the mainstays, many will be quickly bored with it, called food fatique. It is good to work on getting variety now.


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## lanahi (Jun 22, 2009)

weedygarden said:


> I think this makes it so simple. I love the idea of the file boxes, labeled as something that might be so boring no one will look in it--2000 tax information. I think if you buy two of something, with the idea of one being for food storage, it is good to put it in the box and not in the main pantry. Once you start, a little here and little there, you will be surprised at how quickly your food storage develops, if you keep it on your plans and keep working on it.
> 
> I do know that while I love the things that are the mainstays, many will be quickly bored with it, called food fatique. It is good to work on getting variety now.


I used to keep bees but then moved where I couldn't keep them anymore. The hives I had left were used as end tables, with a skirt over them. Inside the hive bodies I had various supplies, and no one was the wiser. I could even have left the skirt off and the hive bodies would have been a good conversation starter about beekeeping...I would have nailed the cover on so no one would look inside them. You can do this with boxes of any kind. Most people would have room for an end table.

This is the time to learn about edible wild plants...even as the snow is falling. You can't find much edible now except maybe some rose hips and hawthorne berries, but you can read up on the preparations of dandelions, clover, etc, now and learn the plants in your own back yard for when they come up again in spring. Your local library might have books like this or can get them through inter-library loans if you cannot afford some books, although I think everyone should have a few of them at home. Your storage foods will only last so long, and then you have to take your living from the earth directly.


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## Asiza (Aug 24, 2014)

n9neside said:


> Good day all,
> 
> As the title reads, I have a small amount of space (small apartment/two people inside) & limited money (tight budget).
> 
> ...


This is more than you've asked for but maybe it will inspire something:

I am below the poverty level and because we live in the country, we are prone to power outages. One thing I learned very quickly is how to create meals that need no refrigeration and no cooking. For this, think hiking/trail food - Pork-N-Beans, any canned or potted meat, any pre-cooked pouch-type dish that gets reheated in the pouch (via boiling water) can be eaten cold - crackers, canned fruit, and peanut butter and bread for the kids.

Cooking stuff without power became a Butane stove in conjunction with a Saratoga using canned food "dump" recipes - think chili, cowboy beans and soup. Add a thermos or two and you can keep hot water for cocoa and coffee/tea or slow cook other things like oat meal (or even make yogurt with the milk that will go bad in the frig if you have the bacteria).

You should keep canned and dried food in the pantry for sure and start experimenting so that you actual like whatever you'd have for emergency. And while your at it, get some cards, an oil lantern or two and a bottle of wine :cheers:


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## jimLE (Feb 25, 2015)

lanahi said:


> It might be different now, but Wise foods keeps pestering you to buy more after you receive your free sample. It is also too highly salty, I understand, although I haven't tried my free sample. I got it for storage.


we got the wise sample 2 days ago.cheesy lasagna.i went ahead and tryed it.it tasted pretty good,it'd take at least 2 of them to fill me up.as for being to salty.didnt taste as if it is..and as for pestering me.it hasnt happened (yet)..


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

I have two thoughts that have come up for me since I posted previously:

1. A two drawer metal file cabinet would also be a great place to store some food or other preps. They could be used as night stand or end tables. The top drawer could be used for other stuff. I would not have just an end table. I would have a small cabinet of one sort or another for additional storage. 

Also, make sure you are using space vertically as well. A storage shelf could hold lots of preps.

2. I do not know you at all, but I do know people who try to hit me up for money. It has caused the end of a few friendships, because people want what they want, and do not want to listen when someone says no.

I know people who have little money, but do not have their priorities figured out. Some always have to have some booze to drink. Some have to have weed to smoke. Some smoke cigarettes. Some have to spend money on entertainment, such as concerts, or other ways. Some have to have the latest and the greatest of anything. I know someone whose house is packed to the gills with crafting materials that she will never be able to use in her lifetime. For entertainment, she travels the country, visiting needlecraft and quilting shops, buying souvenirs and more stuff than she could ever use. 

If you have developed a taste for something that is not a necessity, consider giving it up.

Me? I do not spend money nor partake in any of these. For entertainment, I check out movies and books from the library, go for walks with friends, belong to a crafting group where I can stay focused on making things like quilts and more. I have friends over for a meal, which gets me cooking and baking. I always cook more than I need and unlike some, love to eat leftovers. I also freeze meal sized servings for future meals. I also shop for clothing and more on sale. I do shop in thrift stores, at garage sales, and get things for little or nothing from my local facebook groups and Craigslist. I also have plenty to do around my home, painting, cleaning, yard work, gardening and more. I have additional garden space in the neighborhood community garden. I live a very boring life! People ask me what is new? Nothing. 

There are many ways to be entertained for very little money, but many people have to spend the last nickel in their pocket, or load up their credit cards with debt.
For many years, I worked a second job to fill the gap and to try to get ahead.

I am retired now, and sell books online on Amazon and half.com. I have many books from my teaching days that I am going through and listing, but I also get lots of free books from Craigslist. Not all free books are worth reselling. I pass them on to my local thrift shop or recycle the books that are in poor condition.


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## jimLE (Feb 25, 2015)

we dont go to the movies.to expensive.so we either buy the movie on cd,and/or wait untill it's on tv.as for books go.we either buy them in yard sales or used book stores.


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