Give Away Today

I came across a new website today. MyGiveWayToday.com. They are not specifically an emergency preparedness site, but today they happen to be giving something away I know readers will love. The Reserve 72" Shelf from Shelf Reliance. Go here to enter. The also have a discount on their page as well if you are just looking to purchase one for yourself.

Case Lot Shopping

The week after Labor Day is a great day to build upon your food storage or even start from scratch. Often it is the week grocers will hold their bi-annual case lot sale. Near me, this week both Smith's and Harmon's are having case lot sales.






Here is what I added to my storage by the case
1 case of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix- 24 for $7.90 or $.33 a box
1 case of Kroger Cream of Chicken Soup 24 for 11.99 or $.49 a can
1 case of Libby corn- 24 for $10.56 or $.59 a can
1 case of Barletts Pears -24 for 16.32 or $.68 a can
1 case 500ml Kroger Bottled Water. 24 bottles for $2.50 or $.10 a bottle.
Total $49.30



Often when there is a case lot sale you can also get items individually (if you do not want a whole case) for a marked down price. I took advantage of this and added these

Libby Peas $.76 a can
Handi Snack Pudding- $.80 for 4
canned mushrooms- $.52 a can
Tomatoe Sauce- $ .27 a can
Stewed Tomatoes- $.53 a can
Kroger instant oatmeal-$1.25 for 10 ind. packets
Kroger Ranch Salad Dressing- $1.00
Assortment of Pastas. $.79 for 8 servings
Kroger grape Jelly- $1.89 for 32 oz
Kroger Peanut Butter- $1.25 for 16.4 oz
Kroger Apple Juice- $125
Total $16.36

I bought a few other groceries for the pantry as well.
4.5 lbs of Minute Rice- $7.99
Enfamil- 2 13 oz cans- 13.99 a peice
Two 5lb bags of all purpose flour- $1.55 a bag
6 1 cup packages of Crisco- $3.69 for 3
Total $46.45

I had a $5.00 store coupon as well as $6.00 in Enafmil coupons that come in the mail.
If I spend over $90 at Smith's I get $.15/ gallon of gas. I filled up and save $2.10. So I will subtract $13.10 from the total for a new total of.....

$99.89

I was just adding to an already formed storage. They had lots of other items on sale in their case lot sale like
Tuna case of 48 for $24.00
Beef Stew 12 cans for $20.28
24 counts Top Ramen Noodles for $3.oo
Betty Crocker Cake Mix 12 for $10.80
Hormel Chili 12 for $10.68
Evaporated Milk 24 for $15.60

If you have no storage but want to start, check with your local grocer to see when they host their case lot sale. Another tip, since you may not have the funds to purchase tons of food storage at once, is to take along a friend, and split each case. This way you still get all the savings of shopping case lot, but have a greater variety of items.

What are MRE's

If you are new to the Emergency Preparedness world you have likely heard the term "MRE" throw around but may not know what they are and how they can or if they can benefit your family.
MRE stands for "Moms Really Exhausted", or at least that is the first thing that came to my mind- HA!, but actually it stands for Meals, Ready to Eat. Originally designed for the military by the U.S. Government MRE's have gained an audience with civilian backpackers, hunters, campers, and home emergency reserves.





What makes us like MRE's
-They require no cooking and can be eaten strait from the package
-Each pouch is one meal between 1000-1200 calories
-Easily trasported and stored
- Shelf Life is 4-6 years
-More expensive than freeze dried foods.

Disadvantages to the MRE
-Some don't like their taste
-Not a vary vast selection of meal options
-Cost

Another interesting thing about MRE's is that there has been for years a sort of black market for the military grade meals. Silly because not only it is illegal to buy and sell these you can purchase civillian MRE's from retialers like this or this

As of right now I do not actually have any MRE's in our emergency supply. The place I see them as of most use however would be in an emergency car kit or 72 hour kit, for when you may be stranded without water and any option for cooking. Having one or two of these for each member of you family seems like it would be a wise preperation. Be advised however that they are vulnerable to temperature extremes (as is most food storage) in reducing their shelf life.

Food Storage Anaylizer

I received my Emergency Essentials catalog for September in the mail last night. I went online to their website to look around and found this.

A Food Storage Analyzer where you can input the members of you family's age and gender and it will outline all the items you need for your food storage pantry. You can enter what you have in your pantry, and it will adjust the list. It is both savable and printable. What a great tool. I am creating my account today.

I also found a Food Storage Calculator at Shelf Reliance. While there I noticed they have several calculators to help you plan what you need for your emergency supplies, including customizable calculators for school kits, office kits, natural disaster kits. I love lists I can check off- almost as much as I like being prepared.