Does anyone have suggestions for apartments?

[Sunday21]

Can anyone suggest what one can do for apartments? Can one use a generator in an apartment? Is it a good idea to store food in a storage area in the basement? What is the smallest form of food storage?

[Iggy]

Can anyone suggest what one can do for apartments? Can one use a generator in an apartment? Is it a good idea to store food in a storage area in the basement? What is the smallest form of food storage?

Most generators are gas powered. If you put the generator on your balcony, then that might work.

If the storage area you are allotted is clean, dry and secure it would work. The smallest form? 3 days.

Family Home Storage this link is to Provident Living. You can also talk with your Ward/Branch Preparedness/Emergency person. At our Branch, that is one of the RS sisters.

Personally, I have a 6+ month food storage. But I also have personal hygiene, and laundry soap, etc. stored. When husband and I moved from Arizona the neighbor men who we hired to load our truck laughed when they saw how much tpaper and ptowels there was. There were 2 retail cases of ptowels (48 in each) and 20 pkgs of 12 dbl rolls of tpaper.

I bought the tp when it was on sale for $4.99 & $5.99 a pkg. The brand I get is Northern or MD. Here in Oregon, I buy Fred Meyer brand- get 24 rolls of the dbl size for $6.99- and it is better quality than Northern.

Bath soap I buy at at Costco. I give the money to one of the sisters at Church when she goes- The only brand I refuse to use is Ivory. I want the 8 packs. It has been sooooo long since I bought any- like back in 2009- got it at the Costco in Seattle. Any way, I remove the packaging and place the bars in baskets or decorative boxes and put them in my clothes and linen closets. That dries them out, and they last longer in the shower. Just a little more than twice as long.

I also buy shampoo in the largest container for the cheapest price I can get. Then I mix the 'El Cheapo shampoo with Jhirmack shampoo. One bottle of cheap, one bottle of Jhirmack and one Jhirmack bottle of water.

I have silvery grey hair, and Jhirmack keeps it bright. But straight Jhirmack is too much- my scalp is sensitive to it full strength.

When I moved into this house, the previous owner left a bottle of Aussie shampoo in a pump bottle here. Brand new, never used. I love the pump bottle- so I mixed my Jhirmack concoction and refill the pump bottle. I keep my mix in 2 ltr. soda bottles in the linen cupboard.

There have been several other threads in this forum. Use Search and put in food storage and you should get quite a few hits.

[mirkwood]

There are lots of places you can put food storage. Remember when storing long term foods, heat affects the shelf life. I know of people who put thier long term food storage in one of the closests. It was their designated storage space. Another one was able to put some behind an entertainment center that was put on an angle, creating a triangular space behind it. Under your bed will also work. All your food does not have to be kept in the same spot, use whatever space is available to you.

[marshac]

Can one use a generator in an apartment?

IN the apartment? no. You would die. Outside? Perhaps- although your neighbors might kill you if it's a noisy one. You see the problem here- either way you're toast. What do you need a generator for? If it's for the freezer, you would be better off figuring out where you can buy dry ice and making a beeline for it when the power goes out... since you're in an apt, it's unlikely you have a huge chest freezer with $2k of food in it. For lighting- get some flashlights. Heating? Dress warm. If after all that you STILL need power, you might check out some of the battery pack + inverter combos out on the market-

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[shine7]

Can anyone suggest what one can do for apartments?

after doing this myself.....no one can ever tell me that you can't store food in an apartment: we partitioned off part of an apartment bedroom for our food storage using blueboard and duct tape, we even made the door into the storage 'room' with blueboard and duct tape, it went from floor to ceiling and you don't need nails to put it up.....we ran a small fan 24/7 to keep the area dry.....make sure your heat source is not in the area you choose......would be best to choose a northeast bedroom if possible. We still had a bed and desk in the room, though it was crowded, it worked. Our storage area was 4' by whatever the room length was. We had 3 gorilla shelves full of storage, they are 4' wide.....one shelf on each end and one in middle, with buckets stacked in there too......you could hardly believe how much food storage was in there!!

ps......my friend has those bed post things that raise up her beds, and she then puts her storage under the beds......my only concern is this will not keep the food as cold as if you can partition off an area.

Is it a good idea to store food in a storage area in the basement?

yes, that will work, but to control any moisture, run a fan for 24/7 in your food storage room.

What is the smallest form of food storage?

note: I am not acquainted with mylar bags/storing, so can only suggest what I know

Here's what I'd get for one person:

emergency water: 20 gallons....this is more than minimum 2 week requirement for one person

48 #10 cans of wheat (that is 8 cases)....lds cannery

6 #10 cans of oatmeal (that is 1 case)....lds cannery

12 #10 cans of white rice (that is 2 cases)....lds cannery

6 #10 cans of flour*** (that is 1 case)

6 #10 cans of dry milk (that is 1 case)....lds cannery

12 #10 cans of dry pinto, black, white beans....maybe 4 of each kind (that is 2 cases)....lds cannery

6 #10 cans of green or brown lentils** (that is 1 case)

6 #10 cans of dried whole eggs (that is 1 case) (honeyville grains)

3 #10 cans of dried chopped onions....lds cannery

5 #10 cans of dried carrots....lds cannery

4 #10 cans of potato flakes....lds cannery (2 cases for total vegetables)

6 #10 cans of dried apple slices (that is 1 case) .....lds cannery

6 #10 cans of dried strawberries or fruits (that is 1 case) (honeyville grains)

60 lb. honey or sugar

some meat: canned/dried/home bottled

tomatoes or sauce: cans or dried powder

I'd want 2 #10 cans of cornmeal from somewhere.....I think Walton's has it

12 quarts of cooking oil (note that one quart is equal to 32 ounces....so it would take 8 bottles of vegetable oil if they were the 48 oz. size) ......oil must be rotated every year, so make sure you use it and rotate it on a consistent basis. The olive oil is an exception.....it will store 10 years, but must be refrigerated after opening or it goes rancid easily, so it will coagulate when in fridge, but comes to room temp. quickly. All oil needs to be in a very dark place, so cover it perhaps with paper sacks for extra 'darkness' even in your storage area.

Also will need: about 2 lb. dry yeast, about 10 to 12 lb. salt, plus baking soda, baking powder, pepper, seasonings, herbs, flavorings, etc. to enhance the basic foods

**(you must 'can' the lentils yourself by borrowing a portable dry pack canner, buying the empty #10 cans/top lid, oxy pack from them; buying your own dry lentils somewhere....will need about 30 lbs.)

***(personally, I don't use white flour, I buy unbleached, so this in my opinion would also need to be canned just like the lentils....at home by borrowing a portable dry pack canner from the lds cannery)

A few ideas for use/cooking:

whole wheat bread will be a staple

biscuits using part whole wheat flour, made with oil unless you want to store and rotate shortening

multigrain french bread

french toast

cracked wheat cereal

home-made wheaty cream of wheat cereal

whole wheat pancakes

oatmeal with dried fruit

oatmeal pancakes

white rice cereal

oven/german pancake

golden wheat patties/mashed potatoes

wheat dinner crepes with filling

oat dinner patties/mashed potatoes

fried rice

beans n' rice

bean soups n' whole wheat bread

pinto refried bean burritos or tostados....make own flour tortillas

chili n' cornbread or corn muffins

lentils over rice

lentil soups n' whole wheat bead

lentil, veg, bean soups/whole wheat muffins

potato onion soup/multigrain french bread

occasional dessert:

cinnamon rolls

bread pudding

oatmeal cookies

apple dessert oven pancake

carrot cake

snickerdoodles

apple lentil cake

pudding

Edited December 19, 2011 by shine7

[Guest]

I don't know how to cook any of those things mentioned above. So, for me, storing 10 cans of wheat is just going to be a waste. If you know what to do with wheat in a no-electricity situation, go for it. If not, store what you know to make. I can cook rice with my eyes closed in a fire pit. So, I store a year's worth of rice and cycle through it since we eat rice a lot. It doesn't take up much room. We love canned spam, corned beef, and vienna sausage. We can live off of those things - by choice - for months at a time. So, I have lots of those in my food storage that we cycle through. Basically, we store what we eat and not things that we have never tried before.

In an apartment, I would pick one closet and use it for food storage. Underbed storage is good too. I have a friend who uses food storage cans as the base for her coffee table. There are many ways to find room for food storage. But yes, you'll have to keep it dry and you'll have to know how to cycle through the storage so it doesn't end up getting thrown out when the stuff expires.

You can't use a regular generator in an apartment. It's a safety hazard. You can use UPS but they don't last too long and they don't power big appliances like a freezer.

Therefore, in an apartment scenario, your best bet is to prepare for a powerless emergency scenario - even if this means having to evacuate to a safer environment.

[Sunday21]

Thanks so much! I lost this posting and wanted so much to thank you for all your great advice! I have searched and searched to find you! Thanks again!

[shine7]

When we first stored wheat, we also didn't know how to use it and cook it. But we learned and are now healthier for our efforts.