Starting Again

[Red Doe]

A wee while back I had a full stockpile in the pantry and a small but crucial store of coal and peat for the fire.
Then I got ill, and money got even tighter (as I`m self employed and can`t work or pay myself sick pay) so we had to rely on the store cupboard to see us through and the fuel ran out...
So now I`m back at square one...empty cupboards and struggling with the fuel, and having to begin again.
But I can tell you from bitter experience, prepping does work...if I hadn`t had those resources to fall back on, well, I don`t know really what would have happened.
The last two winters have been particularly bad here too, so I`m already looking at next winter and thinking about what I need to lay by...oil for the lamps, fuel for the fire, bought and foraged, and what foods I inadvertantly missed out on when I`d to use the store I had put by.
Anyone got any ideas on what to use for storing things like flour, without having to buy expensive purpose made containers?

[Carrot Cruncher]

This site has some good tips on the best way to store different types of flour http://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/ ... -guide.asp

Is it worth buying grain and grinding it as you need it ? it's a lot easier to store grain

[Red Doe]

Thanks for that link CC I don`t have a mill though, and this isn`t grain growing country up here, it`s all sheep (and nettles, thistles, heather and bracken in which hide horrible ticks but that`s another story....)

[wildone_uk]

sorry to hear your probs hopeing things get better for you soon,laurence

[diamond lil]

Get in a good store of porridge oats, they do breakfast and flapjacks and biscuits /oatcakes and thicken thin gravy . Also lentils are cheap and handy. I'm wondering if you could - if you've got a sewing machine - make bags to store flour in ? strong brown paper like the bags you use for mailing stuff in ? Or if not paper, then maybe muslin and keep them up high for mice etc ?

[dch]

sorry to hear about your health problems red doe, this is what i keep thinking about as i build my stores and rethink my activitys, what if, and not the american red dawn what if but illness or power problems/ weather, you have inspired me to redouble my efforts,

thank you

and i wish you good health in the future.

[hobo]

Our food preps got us through a really bad few months last year when we both ended up in hospital for a few weeks (at different times thank goodness). The stored food meant there was one less thing to worry about for the parent at home. The big hole in our stores though was....yes, you guessed it....NOT ENOUGH CHOCOLATE!

Hobo