Organized Stock for SHTF

[tortoise]

I'm cleaning my basement due to a mouse invasion. I store extra kitchen items in my basement and they all need to be washed.

I'm surprised how badly my organization has slipped. I don't think I would actually find things quickly or have inventory of non-food items.

I had used my last wide mouth quart jars without realizing! Fortunately a friend gave me some jars when she moved and my brother gave me some tattlers when he moved, so I can put up the squash and sweet potatoes I already bought. During a multi-year jar shortage is not a great time to run out.

 

[Hinotori]

We don't have dangerous snakes here. I've found garter snakes in the house twice. They just get moved back outside.

Rodents are an issue. Mice, rats, voles, and shrews have all found their way in. The stupid wolf spiders have been coming in like they do every autumn. I kill them. The cellar spiders live inside in certain spots. There is always one or two in the corner of the shower. We leave them. They catch bugs and are fairly easy to teach to stay in certain spots, like near the backdoor.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I am the worlds worst at organizing. It's funny though because when I worked I was the opposite. I knew where everything was, how many I had, how many I needed and blah...blah...blah.

At home I am the opposite. I even went through my pantry fairly recently and had a whole bunch of stuff sorted and organized and arranged by expiration dates. Oldest in the front and all that. My "pantry" is actually an extra room. I have one entire wall covered with closed door shelving so what we have isn't open anyone walking through the room. My extra refrigerator is in there too. There are several other open shelving units that have all my kitchen appliances and canning supplies. The room is quite crowded. Oh - the dogs crates are there too.

I've always thought I should have a white board attached to every closed cabinet with a list of what's in there for easy reference and to help with inventory. I do keep like things with like things. Soups on one shelf, canned meats on another. That sort of thing. But,, if I'm cooking and I go to the pantry to find a needed ingredient I oftentimes have to look for it instead of knowing exactly where it is.

I need to make another stab at rehabbing it, lol.

 

[tortoise]

I heard a rumor that Ball canning lids will be back April 2022. 🤞

 

[Hinotori]

i leave most of the spiders alone, wolf spiders are active hunters and will keep other bugs and spiders down in numbers. we have cellar spiders too and i don't normally mind them. some of the smallest spiders i've ever seen are being used by me as a control for fungus gnats and other small flying bugs that can pop up in the worm buckets (since i bring in dirt and other stuff from the outside once in a while to put in them) - so far they're working out very well.

the jumping spiders are usually around too, often i end up putting them back outside after they've hitch hiked in on our clothes.

Too many wolf spiders have climbed over me in bed. They don't get a pass. They also look very similar to hobo spiders which we also have.

I used to have a hen I could go grab and bring in. Hold her up near a spider and it would vanish. If the old lady could see better I'd bring her in for it. She isn't as reliable as she gets distracted thinking about the dog food she knows is in the house.

 

[tortoise]

Newer isnt always better!

Omg I sound old now 🤣

 

[tortoise]

DH and kids helped clean up the basement. We still have to wash extra kitchen items (DH is a packrat, its stuff I would donate).

I didnt find any other goodies.

DS14 raided emergency cooking/fire starting stash. Not sure I will replace it until he moves out. 🤔

 

[tortoise]

You might find treasures! I just found quite a few boxes of canning lids. Score! 😂 Might need to barter lids for jars!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Mice invasions are bad but serpent one are far worse !!!

I cannot imagine. Just burn the house down.

Ahhhhh - I just picked up a little snake that was in the house a couple days ago. It was a tiny little ribbon snake that just lost his way.

A million years ago in another house and another life I found a copperhead under my kitchen sink. That was NOT ok. My dog was trying to get him. I was trying to hold the dog back and control the snake at the same time. I finally held it down with a broom stick and was able to chop his head off with a butcher knife, lol! Good times!

 

[flowerbug]

...During a multi-year jar shortage is not a great time to run out.

ugh mice!

we've been seeing jars in the stores more often than we're seeing lids. we have tons of pint jars to use and not many quarts. i'd gladly trade people for regular sized jars as wide-mouth are just an extra expense. we have lids of either kind on hand now but we ran out of regular jars towards the end of the canning season. we freeze the squash after i roast and scoop it out of the skins. i need to start picking the squash that are ready to come in.