DH Update and My Stockpile

"The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining." — John F. Kennedy

In the "good news, bad news" corner -- DH went to work yesterday (against my suggestions ... but since when do DH's listen to their wives? *sigh*) and was in so much pain by the time he got to his desk (that's the bad news, in case you wondered) decided that maybe he should have a medical professional look at his foot/ankle (and that's the good news).

So, he's home today, with an doctor's appointment. I swear, there are days I want to deck the man. And ... he's already starting to qualify everything: "I won't wear a cast. I won't go to PT." Oy...

Men.

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A few days ago when I discussed couponing, several folks mentioned that they felt the extreme couponers were hoarders. I've heard the term "neat hoarders" used to describe them as well. Aside from the ones who have enough deodorant to last the average person 230 years, I disagree. Most of those folks have families, some of them quite large (like the mother of ten). It doesn't take long at all to go through insane amounts of food and sundries when you're dealing with that many people. Additionally, at least half the people showcased give away much of what they get for free to food pantries, other family members and one man gives to the care packages for soldiers overseas.

I have a stockpile myself... though nowhere near as large because it's expensive to maintain -- which is why I'm excited to try to do a bit more couponing when I can. I was raised to have a year's supply of food on hand, and told that if you don't have real storage for it, then you put it wherever you can: under the bed, etc.

Again, I don't consider that hoarding. When we got hit by a blizzard in Colorado in 1997, we were buried under about 8' of snow. Oddly, Colorado isn't really prepared for that -- the snow there (at least in Colorado Springs) tends to fall and then melt. We seldom even shoveled, and they had *maybe* one plow for the entire city.

They didn't plow our road for three days.

Our neighbors ran of of food like milk, bread, etc. Ran. Out.

That's ridiculous.

I'm hoping to at least double the size of my stockpile over the next few months, plus I intend to do a lot more canning this year, even if I have to BUY fruits and veggies when they go on sale to do it. In the meantime, let me share.

This set of shelves has my beans (plain, refried and baked) and tuna, juice, canned fruit (which I hope to do myself this year), Gatorade for DH, homemade jam, natural peanut butter and pumpkin.



Next comes my canned tomatoes (which I hope to do myself this year), spaghetti sauce, canned veggies, and cold cereal (plus rolled oats that I use to make granola):



The next is my condiments and pasta shelf. There are homemade pickles and pickle relish (I'm almost out of pickles, so will definitely be making those this year -- it's SO easy to make pickles), various condiments like mayo, dressings, BBQ sauces, etc., and my pasta (the Ramen is for DH):



And the box on that middle shelf is for my dried beans,peas and brown rice:



I look at that and tell myself that it's not enough. It's NOT. Worse, my paper goods are lacking. I probably only have 6 rolls of paper towels and about 50 rolls of toilet paper -- nowhere near enough what I'd like to have on hand.

Am I a hoarder? I don't think so. I'm practical and prepared.

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You Are Determined

You are a very passionate person. You know what you want out of life, and nothing is going to stop you. You stay energetic and motivated. There's so much that you want to get accomplished. You are outdoorsy and nature oriented. All sorts of outdoor activities appeal to you. At the end of a hard day, you enjoy a little luxury. You like to spoil yourself.

What Does Your Favorite Breed of Dog Say About You?

That's about 75% right.

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