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A decent list - I wonder how much it would cost to buy everything on it? I also wonder where you store your newfound supplies so as they don't get spoiled?

My only quibble: "10. And lastly pick up the best LED flashlight you can afford, extra batteries and bulb." - most LED flashlights don't really need an extra bulb as they run-and-run-and-run before they burn out. For most, you'd probably run out of batteries (rechargeable or not) before you needed a new bulb.
 
An excellent suggestion list, but that's an awful lot of money all at once. At a quick glance, several hundred dollars, not counting the ammo.

If you could make a perishable item list that was 24 or 36 items long (items with shorter shelf lives can go on the list twice or more) and just buy one thing every month,it makes things more affordable. Go on about a two or three year rotation, that way things are constantly refreshed...

The ammo is a bit harder for me to stockpile, as I tend to shoot it up...
 
I object to number 6. I hate tang. What's wrong with just getting swallowable vitamin C tablets when you go to the vitamin aisle?

That and extra bulbs for LED flashlights. LEDs last almost forever.
 
Though I have plenty more than that stored, it's a great start, do about 1/4th of that per month, or better yet, store what you eat, eat what you store. There's another forum that has a method they call "copy canning", write down everything you eat, when you use 1 can, go to the store and buy 2-3 of whatever you eat. We are now down to just replacing what we use.

Example: Currently I need to get dishwasher detergent, 1gal bleach, laundry detergent, maple syrup, coffee.

I am sure there are more, but I have a 6-12mo. supply of all this stuff, so I just replace what we eat now and life is good.

Canning might be a good suggestion too. I canned 35pints of beef 2mos. ago. REALLY easy. Chunk it up, pack it into pint jars, add some salt and pepper, no water, no nothing, follow the instructions on USDA's website and you are good to go. I made beef bean and cheese burritos for dinner tonight, canned beef and beans made from dry beans.
 
A decent list - I wonder how much it would cost to buy everything on it? I also wonder where you store your newfound supplies so as they don't get spoiled?

My only quibble: "10. And lastly pick up the best LED flashlight you can afford, extra batteries and bulb." - most LED flashlights don't really need an extra bulb as they run-and-run-and-run before they burn out. For most, you'd probably run out of batteries (rechargeable or not) before you needed a new bulb.

You're probably right about the led service life. However, in my experience,.....sometimes things break. Probably a good idea to have an extra of anything you can think of/afford. Especially cheap interchangeable parts.
 
I just invested in flashlights. I started out with Maglites(lets call them $10/ea just for agrument sake), then went to LED "tacticool" lights(read cheap lights that look tactical, about $15/ea), between leaking batteries and broken conacts, I figure they have about a 5yr. survival rate in my home, if they do survive, they are dim until you "tap" them a bit.

I now own 3 Surefire G2's(not LED, on sale for $36-ish with OFAGear.com) and 3 Streamlights(2 tiny LED ones for $25-ish and one nice LED one for $60). I have my eye on a couple others. Total cost about $210.

But let me do the easy math on a GOOD flashlight. I have bought lets say conservatively 10maglites and 8LED tacticool flashlights, at my average purchase price, that is an outlay of $220 of which only half of them still work, so essentially I got 9 "OK" flashlights for $220.

My Surefire and Streamlights are guaranteed for life. So I got 9 crappy flashlights for $220 and I also got 6 AMAZING flashlights for $210 that are lifetime guaranteed. In the end I am getting amazing quality, brightness that is off the scale, no comparison whatsoever, and a lifetime guaranty for 1/3more.

This I will take.
 
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Do people really eat that much canned food? In my house the cans would sit there uneaten for two years then get thrown out when they expire.

I'm not sure how much 'off the shelf' food would last for the full two years in those quantities. E.g. brown rice shelf life is closer to six months unless you take special precautions. Everything I have seen says peanut butter can go rancid in 6-9 months, less than 3 months if opened and not refrigerated.
 
Do people really eat that much canned food? In my house the cans would sit there uneaten for two years then get thrown out when they expire.

I'm not sure how much 'off the shelf' food would last for the full two years in those quantities. E.g. brown rice shelf life is closer to six months unless you take special precautions. Everything I have seen says peanut butter can go rancid in 6-9 months, less than 3 months if opened and not refrigerated.

Great question. We cook a ton from scratch, but from the store we use canned beans, broths, canned corn or green beans, chlis, ravioli(kids), tomatoes(paste, sauce, stewed, chunks), garlic, pickles, ketchup, bbq sauce, salad dressing, mustard, soups(tomato, cream of chicken/celery/mushroom), enchilada sauce, green chiles, pumpkin, tuna, peanut butter.

So for us it is a lot of components of other things we make. But this is just a part of our larger stores. We home can peaches, tuna, beef, chicken, jams galore, tomatoes, green beans, apple sauce, the list goes on. We dehydrate food as well and store dry goods. We rarely go to the store for anything in a can to use right away, it's to replace what came out of storage.
 
Having all these supply's + guns,ammo,clothing,bedding, basic hand tools ect ect would be a huge undertaking to move under the best of conditions and I think impossible after an EMP blast. I have a family of 6. The kids are 10, 6, 4 and 3. I see no way that we can " run for the hills " so I've planed to ride it out in town. After an EMP cars and trucks that have computers and possibly any with fuel injection will not run. You may be stuck miles from home and family. I work 20 miles from home. That's a long hike by any standard and may have to be made in the middle of winter. If you've not planed for this do so now.
 
I read in a blog where someone plans to use a coleman stove if the power is out. I just want to tell people I have known of people who sat their coleman on top of their electric stove to cook when the power went out. They cooked, then left the house with the coleman still on the electric range and an elec. burner was turned to on. The power came back on while they were gone , the gas tank on the gas stove blew up and burned the house down.
 

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