Whats on your last minute shopping list?

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I have a "last minute" shopping list and assume that you do too. I would be interested in knowing what is on your lists. I am sure I have left some things off of mine. I need all the help I can get.

Mayonaise, margarine, velveta cheese, p-nut butter, cereal, crackers, canned tomatoes, nuts, yeast, cookies, dog and cat kibble, ketchup, parrot food, rabbit food, chicken feed.

Taz

-- Taz (Tassie @aol.com), May 01, 1999

Answers

Anti-tank mines, surface-to-air missles, and Q-tips.

-- Lassie (carter@peace.com), May 01, 1999.

Taz,

I thought that canned tomatoes and ketchup had a long shelf life, so I'm wondering why you'd wait for the last minute on these things. Mayonaise, margarine, and other refrigerator dependent things also seem strange to have on a last minute list. I thought that a last minute list would be for things that had a short shelf life (one to six months) in the pantry. Are these some of your favorites? I have a late November/early December list and a last minute list.

LATE NOVEMBER/ EARLY DECEMBER A case or two of canned beef ravioli is on the top of my last minute list (since I can't find shelf life information on Chef Boyardee), 10 lbs of high quality beef jerky from Kansas or Amish country ( for us and the dogs), a case or two of chow chow (it's like bean salad), and several cases of canned vegetables and fruits that I couldn't find previously (or couldn't translate the codes for the expiration dates). Add to that a case of Joseph Schmidt's milk chocolate biscotti bars, 10 lbs of Dean and Delucca's Georgetown blend whole coffee beans, a case of olive oil and vegetable oil each, and other stuff to be added.

LAST MINUTE LIST Bread, fresh fruit and vegetables, milk, eggs, gas, kerosene, and etc.

-- Stan Faryna (info@giglobal.com), May 01, 1999.


Taz,

I added the fresh foods thanks to your list. It's easy to overlook things!

Sincerely, Stan Faryna

-- Stan Faryna (info@giglobal.com), May 01, 1999.


Evaporated milk, various cheeses and spices.

-- Max Dixon (mcdixon@konnections.com), May 01, 1999.

I use a lot of canned diced tomatoes in pasta dishes. Its been my experience that if a can of something is going to go bad, it will be canned tomatoe products. I don't know what my reasoning is on the ketchup in plastic squeeze bottles, to be quite honest. Re margarine, all that I have looked at have a 6 month shelf life, but its been my experience, at least with Blue Bonnet, that if you can keep a case of it in a cool dark place it will last upwards of a year. So thats why its on my last minute list. Velveeta cheese vs Velveeta cheese. There is a difference. You will find Velveeta in the refrigerated areas and then you will find what looks to be the same cheese standing in the aisles of WalMart. You MUST BUY THE UNREFRIGERATED CHEESE in order to store without refrieration. Also, while looking at dates and prices, I found that WalMart has their own brand that is cheaper than Velveeta and even cheaper is Borden's. I am not a lover of any of that kind of cheese, but beats no cheese. I also have a couple of cases of Ragus cheese sauce and that makes a pretty good macaroni and cheese. And their Roasted Garlic Parmasan cheese sauce is down right gourmet. Unfortunately the price has gone up 20% since I bought mine. And as we have been eating from our stash, I am going to have to take inventory and replenish it soon.

Taz

-- Taz (Tassie @aol.com), May 01, 1999.



Lots of ammo and guns to shoot anyone that even thinks about going near my mailbox to steal my latest issue of the Remnant Review, since I just got another two year subscription that goes till 2001.

Happy reading =>

-- Pat (BAMECW@aol.com), May 01, 1999.


Unbleached flour, white wine, olive oil, vinegar, bleach.

Am unsure of the shelf life of the vinegar and bleach so will save them for last.

LM***This is not the time to delay the ammo purchases***

-- LM (latemarch@usa.net), May 01, 1999.


Any food with a shelf life of less than 6 months. Gasoline. Magazine subscriptions.

-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), May 01, 1999.

Whiskey, Rum, Coke a Cola, Smokes, and all the beer that will fit in my truck!

-- SCOTTY (BLehman202@aol.com), May 01, 1999.

Matches Matches Matches, because you can never have enough. I have the magnesium fire starter blocks, and I still get matches. Free you know, at a host of sotres if you ask.

-- James D. (sibola@hotmail.com), May 01, 1999.


anti-diareah meds,fever breaking meds,tick repellant,tampons,t.p.,BIRTH CONTROL,more tampons,cocoa.

-- zoobie (zoobie@zoob.zab), May 01, 1999.

Re shelf-life of bean coffee--we're drinking some that was purchased last July in vacuum packages, kept cool, dry, dark. (Millstone, 2lb bags from Sam's.) No loss of flavor that we can detect.

Since we're vegetarians, our list is a bit different to other people's. The main thing is lots of ice for that new cooler I bought at Sam's this week (keeps ice solid for five days at 90 deg--we live in central NC, could be anywhere from 15-80 deg at the rollover). It's our wedding anniversary so I think I'd be down at the Whole Foods megalomart to pick up some of their outrageously expensive but wonderful take-out foods NYE.

Also: shredded wheat, Weetabix, 9th St. Bakery bread (local), milk, Stilton cheese, Bass Pale Ale (at least 4 x 6-packs) for Sweetie, several small jars of mayo, bleach (starts losing strength at 6 mos, loses half by 12 mos--so use double), and anything else my impulse tells me to buy. I'll do this immediately after Christmas (26th) before everybody panics on New Year's Eve.

And I MUST remember to mail my Dad as many cigarettes as possible during November and December. (He's almost 83 and he ain't gonna quit now.)

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), May 01, 1999.


Peanut butter, fresh fruits and veggies, vegetable oil, small jars of mayo, bread, canned nuts, bleach, pop, milk; in short, anything with a shelf life shorter than 3 months. Everything else will already be purchased (or has already been purchased.) Linda, who has to keep shuffling supplies around every time she goes to the store or finishes another canning day.

-- newbiebutnodummy (Linda@home.com), May 01, 1999.

Close to last minute ... a full gas tank.

Last 10 minutes ... meditation and prayer.

Last 10 seconds ... a sip of shared champaign to honor the new millennium (one year early ... for the 2001 purists).

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), May 01, 1999.


Old Git you sound like a Brit with your Weetabix and Pale Ale. Weetabix is on my list too. I don't think a 24 of Pale Ale will last you long. It wouldn't around here. We can get Weetabix and British beers here in Canada. My Dad used to get Charringtons Toby.

My last minute list is a mile long. My husband will have a fit when I do last minute shopping. He retires at the end of this month, so money will be short. I will be able to get dog and cat chow, and bird food (lovebird) while everyone is scratching each others eyes out for cans of soup or jugs of water.

-- Kath Wingrove (wingy@sprint.ca), May 01, 1999.



Stan, canned ravioli is good for 18 months+. Don't know if there's a Martin's supermarket near you, but their store brand ravioli is 35+ cents cheaper per can than name brand & just as tasty. Your comment about Amish beef jerky set my salivary glands to waterin' double time!

I'll be buyin' mayo in packets (6 month shelf life), smoked pig ears, parmesan & romano cheeses, brown rice.

-- Bingo1 (howe9@pop.shentel.net), May 01, 1999.


Bingo 1,

How do you read the code on Chef Boyardee? It's funny, you can't miss the fact that I'm a GI when I go to Costco. I've got three separate code decoders flapping between my fingers as I inspect the cans for expiration dates. It all started when I found Del Monte peas by the case and one case had 30 days left before exp. and another had 12 months. Both cases looked the same, but I was quite surprised that they'd be selling something so near to the expiration. Makes me worry about people not checking codes.

Sincerely, Stan Faryna

-- Stan Faryna (info@giglobal.com), May 01, 1999.


Depends on what happens in Australia when the clock strikes 12. If it's a fiasco, smokes, booze and items for barter. If it's not, which I doubt that it will be, cigars, beer, and champagne. 1/1/00 is not the magic date or time in my opinion. It will be throughout the first quarter as the JIT systems and transportation methods fall to hell in a handbasket.

Got a container ship?

John

-- John Galt (jgaltfla@hotmail.com), May 01, 1999.


Twinkees

-- Johnny (jljtm@bellsouth.net), May 01, 1999.

Chocolate. and more chocolate.

-- anita (hillsidefarm@drbs.com), May 01, 1999.

Guns, guns, and more guns. And ammo. Lots of ammo.

A box of fresh Bibles.

A stack of Gary North's writings.

Then I'll be ready, damn it.

-- nospam (nospam@nospam.com), May 01, 1999.


Seems like one will never feel ready....I have most of the big items, but keep buying misc. canned foods, first aid supplies, personal supplies, etc., as well as pet foods. Biggest concern, now, is whether I should get a big tank to hold kerosene for heating, this winter. If no electrticity to run my gas furnace, I'll have to depend on a kerosene heater. Could get 5 gall. cans of kero, but would need a lot of them! It's a major decision whether to spend that much money on a tank, and the space to put it in the garage.

Need something to cook on, in the winter, too- thinking of investing in a kerosene stove with one burner that heats the room, as well.

I wonder how many of you have thought to get rain barrels....two nursery catalogs I get have them...I acquired several, since I have a garden. The rain water can also be used for washing and even drinking, since I have a purifier.

A down comforter might go on my list, later this year.

-- Jo Ann (MaJo@Michiana.com), May 01, 1999.


Late summer/early fall, I'm going to be buying a lot of meat. Whatever is on special. Lots of hamburger and chicken.

Starting in about November, I'll be doing a lot of cooking. I'll make chili, cabbage rolls, stew, stir-fry, and anything else I can think of that does well in the freezer. All of this stuff will be frozen in single-meal sized packages.

When Jan 1 2000 hits, I'll have a freezer full of meals. If Y2k is a bump in the road, my husband will have very nice lunches to take to work for 6 months. If Y2k brings power problems to my area, my frozen meals will be OK for at least 10 days, and we will be able to eat them without doing any heavy-duty cooking. Thaw them out, warm them up, and dinner is on the table.

I also want to lay in a supply of easy-to-store vegetables and fruit. Potatoes, onions, turnips, carrots, cabbage, and apples, for example. These all keep for a long time in the cold, and you can eat them raw. They are also very cheap.

Good cheese keeps for a fairly long time if you have a cool place to store it. Waxed Edam, Gouda, and Havarti are good examples, along with blocks of parmesan and romano.

These are about the only "last minute" things I can think of that I'll be buying.

-- Jo Anne Slaven (slaven@home.com), May 01, 1999.


I hope none of you over read what old git said. Bleach loose its power. After a while..increase the amount. Merci Old git. I did not know.

-- Daniele (daniele@aiservice.com), May 02, 1999.

Bug spray... I have just noticed that the termites are eating my patio furniture and I realize if the SHTF I will not have good access to pesticides. A trip to the hardware store is in order in the morning....

-- helium (heliumavid@yahoo.com), May 02, 1999.

The last minute is getting closer and closer... How about aseptic packages of tofu?

-- Libby Alexander (libbyalex@aol.com), June 13, 1999.

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