Stockpiling?

Regardless of who sits in the White House for the next four years, we will be in for hard times as the reality of our economy hits the fan. In case your name is Rumple Stilskin, the dollar has dropped significantly in relationship to most currencies, the stock market has tanked and last quarter marks the first of this recession or depression.

The question I have been grappling with for some time now is what to stockpile in the coming chaos. Food is the obvious first choice and canned vegetables are an inexpensive start, but I would recommend chunky soups and stews as a better alternative since they contain the protein and vegetables needed for better nutrition. Buy these when at half price and rotate the older stock into your diet as you add new supplies.MRE's are another alternative but more expensive still. A freezer full of poultry, beef, fish and game is an ideal protein bank to use with your other supplies along with jerked and canned meats.

Dry carbohydrates such as rice and noodles should be stockpiles as well as canned sauces to make them a satisfying entree along with some stored meat. A fresh garden salad will make this a truly enjoyable meal.

Aside from the stockpiling of food, I recommend other items but the list is by no means complete as new items occur to me all the time, and you are welcome to submit an article to build upon this foundation. Sanitary items should be stockpiles with at least a two year supply. Soaps such as body and hand as well as disinfectant and laundry detergents would be good choices. Along with that should be bottles of bleach with a small notice on the label it is suitable for water disinfection.

Bottled water should be limited in relationship to the available space but a source for contaminated water should be used to flush the toilets if civilizations collapses to the point potable water becomes scarce.

If it comes down to embargoes or trade wars with China and other trade partners, it might be a good idea to stockpile things they make we no longer do, like lighting, until such time as the industry returns to these shores. Buy a bunch of compact florescent bulbs and save them when they burn out. Someone ought to be smart enough to find some way to use their mercury as a weapon. I haven't searched the Web yet for this information, but I bet it is there somewhere.

A short wave radio with built in hand cranked generator can be had on eBay very cheaply and not a bad addition to your stockpile. You may even want to buy one on the ham bands to keep in touch and establish a network of patriots. It would be a good idea to get a license from the FCC to operate this radio, but when it hits the fan, they will be busy chasing Rush and Glenn Beck around and not care about you.

Clothing that wears out relatively quickly such as undergarments and shoes where sizes aren't subject to change are are good items to stockpile in fairly large quantities. Extra warm clothing should be stockpiles for the coming cold years indicated by the current sun cycle.

Weapons and ammunition will be useful for self-defence as well as barter items, so be heavily stockpiles with these items. I have been told that buying a quantity of 1000 or more rounds of ammo gets you a visit by the FBI so double check on this and keep yourself under the radar.

These are just the start of items that need to be considered if civilization falls apart and America falls into a civil war or chaos. Be prepared!