Prudent Prepping: Pantry Check

The dust has settled and the First 72 Hours have passed. Now we concentrate on what to do in, and how to plan for, the long term via Prudent Prepping.

It has been a while since the last check of the items kept in my emergency supplies. Since the transition to freeze dried food is not going very quickly, I need to rotate the conventionally packaged food out more frequently than I'd like. As I find different items, the contents of my storage buckets changes, hopefully for the better.

Coming Out
Three bags of pasta and their matching sauce jars. Their 'Sell By' dates are getting close, and everything needs to go to the local Food Bank before then. The rest of the food is good for another 6 months at a minimum, so I have set a calendar alert for the end of September as the next time to review the contents.

Going In
Three 2 lb bags of Jasmine rice into the buckets that held the pasta and sauce, and five small bottles of Tapatio hot sauce, one per bucket. As this hot sauce does not have an expiration date (!), I don't think there will be a need to keep it on a calendar alert, unless opened. Even then, there are several people I know that have kept open bottles stored at room temperature for several weeks, with no ill effects.

I personally do not recommend this.

Packages of rice this size are more than what would normally be placed on a 72 Hour Supply list, but rice can be used for every meal and as an extender in just about every recipe. Besides, the price was right, and I can rotate them into my regular pantry when I need more rice.

The Takeaway

• Keep an eye on the regular food items in your pantry. If you don't plan on using them before actual spoilage, donating to a Food Bank or Shelter is a good use.
• Simple items that are adaptable will be appreciated by the recipients.
• There is nothing wrong with inexpensive, either.

The Recap

• Three 2 lb bags of rice from the local Discount grocery: $2.49 ea. $7.47 total.
• Five bottles of Tapatio hot sauce, Discount grocery: $0.69 ea. $3.45 total.

Just a reminder: if you plan on buying anything through Amazon, please consider using our referral link. When you do, a portion of the sale comes back here to help keep this site running!

If you have comments, suggestions or corrections, please post them so we all can learn. And remember, Some Is Always Better Than None!

NOTE: All items tested were purchased by me. No products have been loaned in exchange for a favorable review. Any items sent to me for T&E will be listed as such. Suck it Feds.