“A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. Proverbs 27:12

Remember having a deep pantry isn’t just about having extra food on hand. It is also about having the means to survive in an emergency situation, having all the extra food isn’t going to do you much good if you can’t cook it when the power is out.

If you are having a hard time trying to afford filling a deep pantry, read my post on having a Deep Pantry on a tight budget.

Don’t forget to share what you were able to do this past week to have a deep pantry/food storage. Let’s encourage each other. And if you have a question feel free to ask or if you have the answer to a question feel free to answer. If you have a tip or idea you can share that also. As I said let’s make this a place where we can share and encourage others to get that deep pantry.

10 Pounds of Powder Milk / Garbage bags

10 Pounds of powder milk when you get this you do need to repackage. I put mine in quart jars and dry pack. Powder milk if stored correctly will last a very long time. Wal-Mart has powdered milk 64 ounces for 15.98 or 25.60 ounces for 7.98.

First off there is Nonfat powdered milk and Dry whole milk, I keep both in my pantry. Nonfat is the most popular and the easiest to find. I find my dry whole milk in the Hispanic food section of the store it is called Nido. It does have a higher fat content so the storage life isn’t as long so you will want to watch it and rotate. I have heard it taste better than regular nonfat dry milk ( I don’t drink milk so I can’t tell you if this is correct).

Powdered nonfat milk will last a very long time in storage (20 to 25 years stored in a cool dark place) but I have heard that it will lose some of the nutritional value after a while so be sure to rotate. Some say to repackage other say if stored in a cool dark place that isn’t necessary. I have both some I have poured into half gallon jars and vacuum sealed and some still in the original box. In fact, I opened a box that I have had for 6 years the day and it is great.

You can go here for 14 ways to use powdered milk.

Garbage bags, there are so many other uses for these, it is a good idea to have extras on hand. Get various sizes.

Are you finding your shut off valves and breakers, and learning how to close and shut off them? You never know when you may need to do this, like a huge water leak, being able to shut off the water at the main could save a lot of water damage and a large water bill.

Are you finding any games, puzzles, or books? When getting books also try to get history books, the older the better. With things the way they are in the world, they are rewriting history. So have the older books so you can pass on the real histories. Here is a list of a few of the books that I have that I think are important to have.

What was I able to get done this week?

I canned 20 pints of strawberry jam, 16 pints of strawberry syrup, froze 4 gallons strawberries, got set up on my weekly milk delivery, made butter, and got a greenhouse.

Don’t forget to add some to your money stash even if it only a few dollars, it all adds up.

Put back more water.

What were you able to get done this week?