Are there any food storage guidelines or calculators online besides the one used by the LDS?

Most of those are SWAGS ( Scientific Willd Ass Guesses ). It’s not an exact science. Just go with what you think is appropriate and add a margin for error.

Prepping for an apocalypse is a hobby now? Anyway there is just tons information out there. Hundreds and hundreds survivalist websites with the kind of information you are looking for.

Just one

Google “survival checklist” or “survivalist checklist” or “survivalism” or “emergency preparation,” things like that, and you will find a lot of information. Hopefully someone here might be able to recommend something specific, but there is no shortage of information on line if you look for it.

@CaptainHarley Thank you. That’s good advice.

@lillycoyote Thanks. I’ve been looking at some of those and have found some really great advice. Only, with food storage it’s all over the place. Your site you recommended is the first one that says anything besides 14 gallons of water.
For me, it’s a hobby. You never know what might happen and no, I’m not going all Mayan 2012 crazy. I’m not expecting anything really to happen, but I’d rather have it than not, you know.

@perspicacious I’m not an idiot. I’m asking this community because I’m having trouble with certain information on other sites using search engines. In the future I would advise against wasting everyone’s time answering a question with a snide remark, if at all.

@CaptainHarley I love the SWAG… Mind if I borrow that one?

If I lived in the US and wanted to do this, I would probably invest in some sort of water purification system, rather than put down loads of water.

I don’t think this is that crazy. There were tornadoes this past summer that wiped out so much, and hurricanes as well. I had cousins that lived out in the country and they had a well that relied on an electric pump. If the power went out they didn’t have any water. Not ideal. Having enough to handle 4 or 5 days of no power and no change to get to the stores isn’t a bad idea.

We get snow storms where I live, but our power supply is very reliable. The thing I need to think about, especially because I am on my own with kids all the time, is having enough supplies to feed us when we get snowed in. Hubby is leaving in January for over 4 weeks and our car is dead. I hate winter here.

@shpadoinkle_sue I hope you didn’t take offense. :- ) I get on those kicks every once in while, to be honest. It doesn’t hurt to be prepared, it only hurts to be unreasonably and crazy paranoid, and it doesn’t sound like you are. I must admit, I have a few things stashed away myself, for a rainy apocalypse. :-)

@cazzie We live in a valley between Longview and Vancouver, Washington about 1000’ above sea level and we get some pretty nasty weather. So awesome being about 30 miles away from Mt. St. Helens. There isn’t anything that anyone has said here that my mother hasn’t. It’s been a lot of fun so far. You should have seen me learning about tying knots yesterday. I did a little dance when I learned the Bowline. I’m also learning about water purification, so thanks for reminding about that. It’s raining a ton right now. :) Good info.

@lillycoyote Oh, no offense taken at all. There isn’t anything that anyone has said that my mother hasn’t. So far the only real thing that I’ve finished are mine and my two dog’s 3 day packs. I probably should have stated that I didn’t have that mindset. Probably should have.

To everyone, I found a couple of meetup groups. Being very wary of them, but it connects me, at least online, to real people who are like minded. Just google prepper groups. I was looking for free adult education classes that I could take and these popped up.

I belong to a club of women who get together every now and then to learn and teach each other primitive skills. Much like the work women did before the industrial age. (I taught soap making at our last meeting, but it wasn’t that primitive. They wanted the real thing, not the goop that our ancestors would have made.)

Our next project is to learn how to make cheese, but it’s been hard to get the calf stomach for the rennet. They did some canning of berries and fruit this fall, but I didn’t go to that meet.

@cazzie LOL! Of course you can use the “SWAG” acronym! Sorry that you’re going to be on your own for awhile, but that’s the sort of thing that builds character, believe it or not. Let us know on here if we can help at any point. : )

@CaptainHarley Just knowing you’re all out there at the end of my computer to chat to is enough. And, this is not the first time I’ve been on my own with the kids for an extended period of time. (he’s not that helpful when he’s home, so it only means one less person to pick up after.)