Challenge - 60l box prep

[CookieMumsters]

I've always been inclined to have stuff in 'just in case' whereas my husband is very much the wing-it type. He has (finally) agreed to let me keep a little stash, for 'emergencies' and we've negotiated to 1 60litre storage box

So, if all of your supplies had to fit into a single box, what would you be putting in it?

[BlackeyedSusan]

A tardis...

[bluefoxmug]

biscuits.

[BlackeyedSusan]

rice is compact. If you want pasta, spaghetti. pasata in boxes stacks neatly.



I would be discovering the ability to hide things in plain sight... a couple of extra things here and there about the house? you know useful tools in the garge/toolbox, a torch under the stairs by the fuse box, with spare batteries. matches with the candles.

stuff in the bottom of your wardrobe?

I told ex he needed to get his own preparations as I was not going to be supplying him with food taking it away from the children.

[BlackeyedSusan]

He is still of the mindset that he does not need more than one or two of things, but then runs out of stuff that can not be got hold of and is shocked by this.

he thought I was crazy but was bloody grateful to eat the crackers I had ordered him.

[GeriGeranium]

Rice, lentils, dried beans are all compact and nutritious. Dried fruit. Powdered milk. Hand sanitizer, soap, toilet paper (squash the rolls as flat as possible).

[BlackeyedSusan]

seeds to grow your own.
1kg brownrice
500g cous cous
500graisins
500g sultanas
4 boxes pasata
500g red lentils (protein and veg)
500g dried peas (to grow fresh pea shoots or cook)
sachets of instant custard (pudding custard and dried fruit?)
sachets of cup a soup
powerbank
windup radio
matches
500g dried mung beans (beansprouts and cooked beans)
a couple of sachets of herbs, spices and stock cubes (dense bits of flavour to flavour cous cous or curries)
bars of dark chocalate.
popcorn kernals if you have room.
small pots of salt and pepper.

[RhubarbTea]

Well if he thinks he can fit all his stuff in the 60l box, good for him. That leaves a lot of space in the house for prep stuff.

Seriously, I would just go ahead and buy what you need and put it where the f you want, but I'm contrary that way.

If you are really restricted to one box... I would aim for high protein, filling and versatile things which can be used in multiple ways. So not loads of pasta (you can hide that under the bed ) but instead tinned black beans, chickpeas, some tinned veg, tuna fish. Don't forget condiments like ketchup and mayo as I found I really appreciated these when the shops were bare. If you have a freezer then stuff which could be bought frozen and put in there can then be omitted from the store cupboard versions of the same thing in the box.

[lexloofah]

I agree with RhubarbTea, seems a daft limit. Why not fill it then get him to live off it for 3 weeks.

We used to have to do a hurricane box like this as had to be watertight and transportable. DH always put beer in, I made sure there were other more useful emergency supplies but was only supposed to be for days rather than weeks.

I would add jam, good for toast, sandwiches, tarts, stirred into porridge or my favourite: spread on a dry weetabix

[CookieMumsters]

I should have been more clear, this was all meant to be a bit lighthearted. Of course I'll buy what I want, and as I said I've always bought just in case, so I could probably do 3 weeks out of what I have already

[Ladybookreader]

I have things in suitcases like more teabags pastas, sweets, chocolate, nuts and tinned meats, if I had only a box it would have to be peanut butter, dried fruit/nuts, pumpanickle bread, high protein snacks and tinned fish and stock cubes. Plus if your hubby's anything like mine hes probably not going to notice what you have stocked away

[Dyrne]

Ooh I love stuff like this. I’ve made a few ‘survival’ boxes even though I’m never really going to be anywhere remote enough to need them, as I love playing around and seeing what I can fit in various sized containers

Might get hold of a box and see what I can fit in there just for fun. Plus it isn’t the worst thing in the world to have one box to go to where you know stuff is, or can grab and chuck in the car if needed.

[IloveParmaViolets]

Since we're not going on holiday this year, all the suitcases have been turned into prepping storage. All hidden in plain site, the kids haven't twigged that one suitcase is full of treats and crisps.

[BiddyPop]

In terms of small items that are useful for the box, things to make more basic staples interesting would be good, so different spices or seasoning mixes to make the same basic meal different. Like beans done with Mexican seasoning and rice, or added into a Moroccan type stew, or made into a French cassoulet with a salami or chorizo sausage.....the same basic meal but you don't get totally fed up of it too fast.

I have a couple of the tiny and very highly concentrated squashes that Robinson's make, I bring them camping too, and come in a few different flavours, so help to keep drinking plenty of water. I also have some sachets of instant coffee, individually wrapped teabags, sticks of sugar (like those in coffee shops) and sachets of instant lemonade mix (latter from a transatlantic trip a while back) for camping and emergencies. But in my more general stores, I have a large box of my preferred teabags and 3 bags of ground coffee (knowing how much we're using when DH and I are both home!).

I don't have granulated sugar at home anyway as we use so little, I just buy castor instead - we use it in baking and it's just smaller ground for regular use. I buy that in 3kg bags, and have 1 in my stores. And a couple of 500g bags of brown sugar as I bake with that a fair bit.

Rice and pasta are regular staples anyway, but I also have other grains too. Long spaghetti, linguine and lasagna sheets. Arborio and pudding and sushi and basmati rice. Couscous and polenta. 1 long life pack of potato gnocchi. And a pack of panko bead crumbs. I should put a pack of instant mash in there too but we always have lots of both regular, baby and sweet potatoes that I can run through first.

Other than regular tins, the ones I have in my stash for more emergency situations are things like some bamboo shoots, clams, bean sprouts, corn etc - that I can use to pad out stir fry type ingredients (Chinese or Indian style mostly), and jars of sun dried tomatoes, peppers and olives to do more Italian/Mediterranean or Moroccan type padding of fresh stuff. I also have 1 bag of dried mushy peas for DH, and different types of tinned beans (4 bean mix, kidney, canellini, haricot, baked...) and pulses (chickpeas, lentils etc).

I've got 2 tins of evaporated milk and 2 of condensed milk (1 for baking the other for adding water and drinking), and some oat milk as a long life option. Which has surprisingly become a weekly shopping item in this lockdown! (I only opened it to try, DH and dd both loved it! And they drink pints and pints each week between them, so having oat in coffee/porridge and cows in tea and plain glasses is working well).

I also have treats in my tub in the wardrobe, and spare liquid soap for hand washing as that was very hard to get. Some cans of coke, lots of cans of tonic. A couple of specific toiletries that we've found hard to get, to have a spare (other than the "next one to open" in the bathroom cupboard). Batteries for torches and radios. A deck of cards, notebook and pen. I have meds in a different place, but enough general pain, upset stomach and gut, hay fever and muscle strain relief as well as general first aid supplies in there. Not enough gloves, but will restock those soon.

Prepping for Covid and lockdown at home when general services are functioning ok is different to thinking about storms or other natural disasters, and the preparation you might need to do for those. I am starting to think about potential water issues this summer. So think carefully about the "why am I prepping?" before starting the buying and filling, to know what best to buy.