Quote Originally Posted by Hummer View Post
I just finished reading One Year After, the sequel to William Forstchen's novel, One Second After, about the effects of an EMP detonation over the United States. I've also read Lights Out and Collision Course by David Crawford. All, highly recommended reading. These books address the scenario in which 80-90% of the US population is projected to die off within 6 months due to starvation, medical emergency, rioting and warfare. I'm now starting Lights Out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath, by Ted Koppel. Whether the SHTF happens by and EMP or some other widespread disaster, the apocalyptic scenario seems very plausible to me.


For me (as an Eagle Scout), being prepared is one of my core values. I suppose I first learned from my grandmother who lived through the Great Depression and always kept a locked cold cellar pantry in the basement, stocked with canned and dry goods. My wife and I do much the same and we could possibly live for 2 years off what we have stored in the pantry and freezers. I do keep some bulk dry goods such as beans, rice, lentils, coffee, dehydrated fruit and veggies, etc., in buckets and tubs. Recently, our supply of pinto beans (that I packed 7 years ago) was running low so I picked up a 10 lb. bag and vacuum packed them in meal sized portions. 2 1/2 cups of pinto weighs about a pound and will make a crock pot full of food, enough for several meals. It's a great addition to elk steak, hamburger, or any other red meat. We usually freeze leftover beans but I like the idea of canning them and may put up a batch or two of that soon.


I want to increase my dry goods storage and am curious what types of dry goods you guys have put up for long term storage, what methods you use, and how long you've been able to keep it in good condition?






I haven't read any of those books except One Second After, so I've got to catch up!

I have a dehydrator, but aside from drying cherries, I haven't used it much. One thing that concerns me about keeping things like dried beans and such is that they use up a lot of water to rehydrate. We're not really near a source of decent water, so if any sort of disaster happens and we're without city water for whatever reason, we must rely on the water that I've stored. If our electricity is knocked out, that means no crock-pot. Come to think of it, a Sun Oven may be the way to go with this. I can more food than I freeze, ever since we lost electricity in a house fire and everything in the freezer was gone.

I would love to know more about dry storage. Can you tell me more about how to secure coffee? Do you keep dry beans or grounds? How will it keep from going stale? What is the best way to keep flour and sugar? I have read books and blogs, but they all say something a bit different from each other.