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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be annoyed at my husband's prepping?

129 replies

Laura199 · 02/12/2023 20:04

My DH is a prepper. He has tins of food stockpiled in our pantry to last for years. He knows I'm not really on board with it, but each to their own and I'm fine with jt as long as it doesn't impact on our household finances/ life/ space.

I also think we should be rotating his "stockpile" and not leaving things there for years. He says all of his tins are fine for 30 years.

He buys things we don't eat like tinned chicken??? And army ration packs (we have a full suitcase of this).

He's just had a delivery this evening of another 100 tins of food. We have no space for this and I'm at the end of my tether. Aibu??

OP posts:
Excited101 · 02/12/2023 20:09

Jesus op, it sounds like he’s got a real problem!

MrsClatterbuck · 02/12/2023 20:17

The answer to this is food banks. No way would I put up with this. I do sometimes get a bit carried away with special offers and had quite the stock of soup cans so to reduce it I just took them to Tesco and donated them into their food bank trolley. I did this 1st thing going into the store so not through the barrier. Didn't want to get accused of shoplifting.

Thepeopleversuswork · 02/12/2023 20:17

Er, he sounds unwell. Does he have any other mental health issues?

Have you confronted him about the fact this is very abnormal?

ErrolTheDragon · 02/12/2023 20:18

He says all of his tins are fine for 30 years.

While most canned foods last longer than their 'best before dates', they won't necessarily be as good if kept longer and some - particularly acidic foods - probably shouldn't be kept for decades.

Thepeopleversuswork · 02/12/2023 20:19

ErrolTheDragon · 02/12/2023 20:18

He says all of his tins are fine for 30 years.

While most canned foods last longer than their 'best before dates', they won't necessarily be as good if kept longer and some - particularly acidic foods - probably shouldn't be kept for decades.

OK this isn’t really the main issue is it?

Jackfrostnippingatmynose · 02/12/2023 20:21

He needs to speak to his GP about his mental health

CeeceeBloomingdale · 02/12/2023 20:21

I recently had food poisoning after eating tinned meet only a few weeks past it's best before date. We have one cupboard for tinned and packet food and that's the limit. DH would probably buy more without this rule. I rarely eat tinned foods so I find it rather pointless.

Grimmz · 02/12/2023 20:21

Mine does this too unfortunately and it's caused lots of disagreements over the years.

But what I've learned is that one of the tenets of prepping is "store what you eat and eat what you store" which basically means only store food you will actually eat, and gradually eat & replace your stored items to keep the stock fresh. If your DH is a prepper, he should know this

MadamVastra · 02/12/2023 20:22

Don't let him watch extreme couponing op for gods sake 😂

Tighginn · 02/12/2023 20:23

Childhood neglect?

HouseInTheMiddle · 02/12/2023 20:32

My prepper pantry has stuff we use/eat, its rotated as and when I top up (continually) otherwise its just waste.

Doesn't he see you aren't using the food?

Onabench · 02/12/2023 20:36

I get your annoyance. I’m am not a prepper but I like to have enough tinned food/cupboard foods that we’d be okay for a while (6 weeks maybe?) Honestly I felt so relieved going into lockdown and having plenty in the cupboard and a stash of toilet roll 😂 but getting food you won’t eat and not rotating is just bad maintenance and wasteful. It sounds like he is in a bit too deep and needs a wobble

CranfordScones · 02/12/2023 20:39

Out of interest, what specific event is he prepping for?

Panderoo · 02/12/2023 20:41

I thought my 5 litres of soy sauce was excessive. Did he not have enough to eat as a child? I could see this being a root cause easily or more worryingly him being a conspiracy theorist.

Yetmorebeanstocount · 02/12/2023 21:01

Grimmz · 02/12/2023 20:21

Mine does this too unfortunately and it's caused lots of disagreements over the years.

But what I've learned is that one of the tenets of prepping is "store what you eat and eat what you store" which basically means only store food you will actually eat, and gradually eat & replace your stored items to keep the stock fresh. If your DH is a prepper, he should know this

This,
Everyone should store what they eat and eat what they store (i.e. rotate stocks), space permitting. And not just food either.

Then when pandemic / flood / snowstorm etc. next hits, you won't have to join the panic in the supermarkets.

And if you both lost your jobs at the same time, you would be okay for a few weeks, or at least it would help not to worry about weekly shopping as well as all the other bills.

But if DH is not rotating stock, then tell him he is doing it wrong. I would suggest getting involved in his 'hobby', build up your knowledge of the subject, then discuss with him ways to improve his 'methods'.

It may be that he does need to see the GP if he is showing signs of extreme anxiety or paranoia.

Yetmorebeanstocount · 02/12/2023 21:04

CranfordScones · 02/12/2023 20:39

Out of interest, what specific event is he prepping for?

Prepping is about planning and preparing for every possible eventuality that you can think of, within reason.

Museum10660 · 02/12/2023 21:05

From my understanding of watching extreme couponing episodes on YouTube, if you have lots of canned foods, then they still need rotating and using after x years, rather than a blanket 30 years, etc.

Museum10660 · 02/12/2023 21:06

his prepping would of been perfect during covid @Laura199

Aquamarine1029 · 02/12/2023 21:09

I'm fine with jt as long as it doesn't impact on our household finances/ life/ space.

He's blown this out of the water, hasn't he?

It would be ultimatum time for me, I'm afraid. I would absolutely refuse to live like this.

BMW6 · 02/12/2023 21:10

Museum10660 · 02/12/2023 21:06

his prepping would of been perfect during covid @Laura199

No, his prepping would have been perfect BEFORE Covid.............😏

user1468867181 · 02/12/2023 21:10

My uncle hoarded lots of tinned food some tins were more than 5 years old. When he went into care we started to sort out the tins and found that one had exploded in the cupboard.

MargotBamborough · 02/12/2023 21:11

Once I made my dad open a tin of beef ravioli that was 5 years past its use by date and throw it away.

When he opened it, it made a noise like a gun going off and exploded all over the wall. Tinned food definitely doesn't keep for 30 years.

More seriously, OP, I think your husband has a mental health problem.

theduchessofspork · 02/12/2023 21:13

It is a mental health issue and he needs to see his Gp.

As a PP says you are supposed to gradually eat your stock and replace it.

PTSDBarbiegirl · 02/12/2023 21:14

Is this anything to do with being Mormons or is it a compulsion.

TomatoSandwiches · 02/12/2023 21:16

What does he know that we don't?

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