FOOD STORAGE TIP OF THE WEEK
Food Storage: 20 Lbs. of Sugar
Extra Item: 3 Months of Dish Soap
Some Local Bargains:
Lin's
C&H Sugar - 25 lbs. @ $21.99 (88.0 cents/lb.)
Western Family Sugar - 25 lbs. @ $14.99 (59.6 cents/lb.)
Western Family Sugar - 5 lbs. @ $3.79 (75.8 cents/lb.)
Sun Dish Soap - 25 oz. @ $0.88 (3.5 cents/oz.)
Smith's
Kroger Value Sugar - 4 lbs. @ $2.09 (52.3 cents/lb.) ***Best Value***
Kroger Sugar - 10 lbs. @ $5.97 (59.7 cents/lb.)
Kroger Sugar - 25 lbs. @ $14.99 (59.6 cents/lb.)
Kroger Value Dish Soap - 25 oz. @ $0.99 (4.0 cents/oz.)
Family Dollar
Family Gourmet Sugar - 4 lbs. @ $2.25 (56.3 cents/lb.)
Ajax Dish Soap - 34 oz. @ $2.00 (5.9 cents/oz.)
Ajax Dish Soap - 64 oz. @ $3.00 (4.7 cents/oz.)
Smart Solutions Dish Soap - 38 oz. @ $1.50 (2.6 cents/oz.) ***Best Value***
Sun Dish Soap - 25 oz. @ $1.00 (4.0 cents/oz.)
Big Lots
SunSations Dish Soap - 25 oz. @ $1.00 (4.0 cents/oz.)
Wal Mart
Great Values Sugar - 25 lbs. @ $15.54 (62.0 cents/lb.)
Great Values Sugar - 10 lbs. @ $6.22 (62.2 cents/lb.)
Great Values Sugar - 5 lbs. @ $3.12 (62.4 cents/lb.)
Great Values Dish Soap - 24 oz. @ $1.97 (8.2 cents/oz.)
Ajax Dish Soap - 64 oz. @ $2.96 (4.5 cents/oz.)
Ajax Dish Soap - 34 oz. @ $1.97 (5.0 cents/oz.)
Family Gear Box: Cooking Supplies: a single burner propane stove with one or two bottles of gas, a spoon and spatula, a multi-use pan, potholder, and a hot glove.
Family Preparation: If a wildfire threatens your home and time permits, take the following precautions:
1) Shut off natural gas and propane meter
2) Connect garden hose to outside taps. Place lawn sprinklers on the roof to wet the roof. Wet or remove shrubs within 15 feet.
3) Close windows, vents, doors, blinds or noncombustible window coverings, and heavy drapes. Remove flammable drapes and curtains.
4) Gather fire tools such as a rake, axe, handsaw or chainsaw, bucket and shovel.
Food For Thought:
Since this week's Gearbox includes cooking items, here is some great additional information by Greg Pope about emergency cooking supplies:
Cooking
To conserve your cooking fuel storage needs always do your emergency cooking in the most efficient manner possible. Don't boil more water than you need, extinguish the fire as soon as you finished, plan your meals ahead of time to consolidate as much cooking as possible, during the winter cook on top of your heating unit while heating your home, and cook in a pressure cooker or other fuel efficient container as much as possible. Keep enough fuel to provide outdoor cooking for at least 7-10 days.
It is even possible to cook without using fuel at all. For example, to cook dry beans you can place them inside a pressure cooker with the proper amount of water and other ingredients needed and place it on your heat source until it comes up to pressure. Then tum off the heat, remove the pressure cooker and place inside a large box filled with newspapers, blankets, or other insulating materials. Leave it for two and a half hours and then open it, your meal will be done, having cooked for two and a half hours with no heat. If you don't have a large box in which to place the pressure cooker, simply wrap it in several blankets and place it in the corner.
Store matches in waterproof airtight tin with each piece of equipment that must be lit with a flame.
Sterno fuel, a jellied petroleum product, is an excellent source of fuel for inclusion in your back pack as part of your 72 hour kit. Sterno is very light weight and easily ignited with a match or a spark from flint and steel but is not explosive. It is also safe for use indoors. A Sterno stove can be purchased at any sporting goods store and will retail between $3 and $8, depending upon the model you choose. They fold up into a very small, compact unit ideal for carrying in a pack. The fuel is readily available at all sporting goods stores and many drug stores. One can of Sterno fuel, about the diameter of a can of tuna fish and twice as high, will allow you to cook six meals if used frugally. Chafing dishes and fondue pots can also be used with Sterno. Sterno is not without some problems. It will evaporate very easily, even when the lid is securely fastened. If you use Sterno in your 72 hour kit you should check it every six to eight months to insure that it has not evaporated beyond the point of usage. Because of this problem it is not a good fuel for long-term storage. It is a very expensive fuel to use compared to others fuel available, but is extremely convenient and portable.
Coleman fuel (white gas), when used with a Coleman stove is another excellent and convenient fuel for cooking. It is not as portable nor as lightweight as Sterno, but produces a much greater BTU value. Like Sterno, Coleman fuel has a tendency to evaporate even when the container is tightly sealed so it is not a good fuel for long-term storage. Unlike Stemo, however, it is highly volatile; It will explode under the right conditions and should therefore never be stored in the home. Because of its highly flammable nature great care should always be exercised when lighting stoves and lanterns that use Coleman fuel. Many serious bums have been caused by carelessness with this product. Always store Coleman fuel in the garage or shed, out of doors.
Charcoal is the least expensive fuel per BTU that the average family can store. Remember that it must
always be used out of doors because of the vast amounts of poisonous carbon monoxide it produces. Charcoal will store for extended period of time if it is stored in air tight containers. It readily absorbs moisture from the surrounding air so do not store it in the paper bags it comes in for more than a few months or it may be difficult to light. Transfer it to airtight metal or plastic containers and it will keep almost forever.
Fifty or sixty dollars worth of charcoal will provide all the cooking fuel a family will need for an entire year if used sparingly. The best time to buy briquettes inexpensively is at the end of the summer. Broken or torn bags of briquettes are usually sold at a big discount. You will also want to store a small amount of charcoal lighter fluid (or kerosene). Newspapers will also provide an excellent ignition source for charcoal when used in a funnel type of lighting device.
To light charcoal using newspapers use two or three sheets, crumpled up, and a #10 tin can. Cut both ends out of the can. Punch holes every two inches around the lower edge of the can with a punch-type can opener (for opening juice cans). Set the can down so the punches holes are on the bottom. Place the crumpled newspaper in the bottom of the can and place the charcoal briquettes on top of the newspaper.
Lift the can slightly and light the newspaper. Prop a small rock under the bottom edge of the can to create a a good draft. The briquettes will be ready to use in about 20-30 minutes. When the coals are ready remove the chimney and place them in your cooker. Never place burning charcoal directly on concrete or cement because the heat will crack it. A wheelbarrow or old metal garbage can lid makes an excellent container for this type of fire.
One of the nice things about charcoal is that you can regulate the heat you will receive from them. Each briquette will produce about 40 degrees of heat. lf you are baking bread, for example, and need 400 degrees of heat for your oven, simply use ten briquettes.
To conserve heat and thereby get the maximum heat value from your charcoal you must learn to funnel the heat where you want it rather than letting it dissipate into the air around you. One excellent way to do this is to cook inside a cardboard oven. Take a cardboard box, about the size of an orange crate, and cover it with aluminum foil inside and out. Be sure that the shiny side is visible so that maximum reflectivity is achieved. Tum the box on its side so that the opening is no longer on the top but is on the side. Place some small bricks or other noncombustible material inside upon which you can rest a cookie sheet about two or three inches above the bottom of the box. Place ten burning charcoal briquettes between the bricks (if you need 400 degrees), place the support for your cooking vessels, and then place your bread pans or whatever else you are using on top of the cookie sheet. Prop a foil-covered cardboard lid over the open side, leaving a large crack for air to get in (charcoal needs a lot of air to burn) and bake your bread, cake, cookies, etc. just like you would in your regular oven. Your results will amaze you.
To make your own charcoal, select twigs, limbs, and branches of fruit, nut and other hardwood trees; black walnuts and peach or apricot pits may also be used. Cut wood into desired size, place in a large can which has a few holes punched in it, put a lid on the can and place the can in a hot fire. When the flames from the holes in the can turn yellow-red, remove the can from the fire and allow it to cool. Store the briquettes in a moisture-proof container. Burn charcoal only in a well-ventilated area.
Wood and Coal. Many wood and coal buming stoves are made with cooking surface. These are excellent to use indoors during the winter because you may already be using it to heat the home. In the summer, however, they are unbearably hot and are simply not practical cooking appliances for indoor use. If you choose to build a campfire on the ground outside be sure to use caution and follow all the rules for safety. Little children, and even many adults, are not aware of the tremendous dangers that open fires may pose.
Kerosene. Many kerosene heaters will also double as a cooking unit. In fact, it is probably a good idea to not purchase a kerosene heater that cannot be used to cook on as well. Follow the same precautions for cooking over kerosene as was discussed under the section on heating your home with kerosene.
Propane. Many families have propane camp stoves. These are the most convenient and easy to use of all emergency cooking appliances available. They may be used indoors or out. As with other emergency fuel sources, cook with a pressure cooker whenever possible to conserve fuel.
