Looking out at the snow coming down this morning got me thinking about how rough things can get in a bad snow and ice situation. Its a good idea to have some supplies on hand all the time to get you through tough times.

Things that wont go bad if the power goes down due to ice storms breaking down trees and power lines. Roads to bad to get out and go to the store or even for supplies to be replaced in the stores. When I was growing up we didnt have money on a regular basis and many families didnt have a vehicle to drive to town when we wanted or needed to so when we had money and transportation we laid in basic supplies that would last us for an extended period of time

We always had things like flour and meal salt sugar coffee and lard, dried beans rice and oats., powdered milk when we didnt cow for that. Baking powder yeast Usually things like honey as well things that keep a long time. We dried beans from the garden in summer as well as dried apples. You can even dehydrate meats and keep them sealed and they will keep for a long time. Then there is canning as long as you have a place to keep the jars that wont freeze if you lose heat. Potatoes keep for a long time in a dry place that wont freeze cellar if you have one or even a well insulated closet or in a barrel buried in the ground out behind the house.

A means to cook of course is also necessary. We cooked with propane most of the time but had a wood fired cook stove as well .. Those are harder to come by these day but you can get a break down wood camp stove you can set up outside in tough times if the need arises which is much easier to manage than a camp fire especially in more densely populated areas and suburban settings. Colman type camp stoves that will run on unleaded gas are a good back porch back up source of cooking heat as well. and in a pinch things like the Kelly Kettle camp cooker that will burn anything from twigs to pine cones will work,

I am not encouraging anyone to rush out and panic buy because there is some snow coming in but to think about being able to get by for a mater of weeks or even a month or two if things should bet bad weather wise or the political/economic situation should take a bad turn and things get chaotic for a spell. Also of you a bit of yard with arable soil and some sun get you some seeds and grow a bit of your own food and learn to preserve it. This can make a big difference in a tough spell.

Just some thing to think about folks it never hurts to have a bit set by against hard times. Have a plan and basic needs just in case.