You're storing what?!?

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I started this thread several months ago on the other forum, and here we go again.

We are all storing food and candles, but what items are you storing that don't usually get mentioned? Maybe, like me, you aren't even sure why you are storing some of them. Here are some of mine:

Storage containers, from empty pill bottles to cheap cannister sets from the Goodwill

plastic tarp

old clothes (I never throw anything out now)

needles for sewing leather

small, individual servings of anything (good for barter)

-- Pearlie Sweetcake (storestuff@home.now), August 26, 1999

Answers

My wife and I have been saving plastic grocery bags. I'm not sure what we'd use them for, although they have the obvious use of being good to carry items on a bicycle, etc. I have a vague feeling that we could use them for some window repairs or something. They don't cost anything and they scrunch up to nothing, so space isn't an issue. Just one of the weird things we do...

-- Dog Gone (layinglow@rollover.now), August 26, 1999.

Motor oil. oil filters, fuel filters, air filters, spark plugs, belts, etc., for the cars, truck, tractor, rototiller and generator engines so we can use these machines as long as we have gasoline.

Files and sharpening stones for sharpening all kinds of tools.

Every kind of hand tool that I may need.(Already have these!)

Rope, of many sizes.

Roll of plastic- 4 mil or heavier by 8 feet by 100 feet.

Every size of nail, bolt, and screw that I think I may need. (Usually have these on hand anyway in my shop.)

Pipe fittings, wire, and related stuff to fix or modify or remodel electrical or plumbing in our buildings.

Case of good moly automotive grease.

Piles of sawdust, wood chips, and spoiled hay for mulch, etc., on next year's garden.

Spare hand saws, axes, brace and bits, etc., to share with friends and neighbors. Picked up at garage sales, and refurbished over the past few years. (Can't stand to see a good tool go to waste.)

Thousands of how-to books and technical books that we have picked up over the last 25 years- with many duplicates that we regularly share.

-- Jim (jiminwis@yahoo.com), August 26, 1999.


Jim...do you have a twin brother named Duane who lives in Florida with his wife Taz???? If my husband knew where the on and off switch to the computer was, I would swear you were he. You forgot the X number of pieces of angle iron. The brass barrel, the aluminum barrel, the steel barrel, the tons of nuts and bolts and nails,and glue and welding rods and tanks of O2 for welders and extra hose for the two compressors in the shop and on and on and on.

Taz...who is gratefu to have a man who can do anything and has a shop and a tool to do it with.

-- Taz (Tassie@aol.com), August 26, 1999.


Dog -- you can nest two or three bags and carry water. You can fill them with dirt to hold the edges of a tarp down. You can fill them with paper and stuff them into holes for insulation. We've done this.

Things to stock up on: paints, glues, shingles, general building repair stuff. Lots of plastic film. Extra fencing, chain, ropes, pulleys, a come-along, knives of all sizes.

Chocolate!

-- helen (sstaten@fullnet.net), August 26, 1999.


A few items I added..

hand potato masher, extra pot-holders (iron skillets : ) rain gear, extra tomato stakes, flyswatters, mousetraps, gloves, hats (knit and straw), insulated underwear, cover-alls, extra fishing tackle and in my case, more barrels to burn my trash in.

Oh, and those little floatie rings. : ) My kids use these when we are on the boat and can't get to shore in time to use the bathroom. They fit on top of a 5 gal. bucket, just right. I do line it first with garbage bags. : )

-- Traci (lostinoz32@hotmail.com), August 26, 1999.



For some reason,I've been collecting string & plastic baler twine & rubber bands which I keep in my collection of plastic carrier bags ! I've quite a few padlocks too.

-- Chris (griffen@globalnet.co.uk), August 26, 1999.

I go through various compulsive 'must have' phases I've noticed over this last year. Some of the stuff I go 'why do I think I need that?' and then I go through all the mental scenarios that go through my head at different times, so I end up with: rope, tarps, matches, safety pins, pens, pencils, sharpeners. Burlap, cheesecloth, strainers, funnels, water bags (easy to store), grates - all sizes -, hand egg beaters, can openers (must have 25 or 30), shower caps (for bowl covers) can pick these up for about .05 at the goodwill, small hand soaps and other sundry and various 'stuff' for barter or give away.

Sometimes I see useful stuff so cheap, that I may not need it, but I sure figure someone will! I also picked up chicken wire and stakes, plastic sheets, whew, I'm tired just trying to think of all the strange stuff. Do I sound like a bag lady? sorry ;-)

-- Sammie Davis (sammie0nospam@hotmail.com), August 26, 1999.


Twist ties
Garbage/trash/can liner bags...many sizes 4 to 60 gal.
T-shirt/supermkt bags....could put a couple in your indoor stool or homemade 5 gal port-a- potty.
I have been walking through Home Depot, Walmart, Costco, Sams and my supermarket, looking at each item, and asking myself ....do I have it? .....do I need it? .....should I stock it? How many will I need? Buy now or later? (because of shelf life...would apply to some foods and meds)
Some things I buy some of now (in case I wakeup and find it to be TO LATE) with plans to get more in October.
Continue to shop the bargins and STRIKE when you see one!
Keeping all empty coffee cans & lids.

-- rb (ronbanks_2000@yahoo.com), August 26, 1999.

Nyquil, Nyquil and more Nyquil (actually the generic). Can't imagine getting through the flu without it. Baby wipes - imagine the possiblities (sp?), every "quality" lidded glass or plastic food/beverage container I can clean out and salvage - Yikes! What a pile forming! My husband just shakes his head. Oh well.....

-- Kristi (securxsys@cs.com), August 26, 1999.

Canning flats - I buy some at every store I go into. Coloring books, PENCILS, notebook paper(easy 'cause it's on sale right now), spices, spices, spices, koolaid and nestle's Quik, tons of duct tape, mantles for the lantern(did you know they're made in BRAZIL?!), toothbrushes, yarn, lots and lots of yarn.

Got warm "woolies"?

-- lvz (lvzinser@hotmail.com), August 27, 1999.



might I mention;

bulk lead for, bullets, sinkers.

bullet molds

sinker molds

lots of extra fishing tackle.

seeds for the garden which you don't have substitutes for.

A leather stitching awl.

plywood cut to size for your broken out windows predrilled for the screws you bought.

Web gear to hold your stuff should you have to leave the nest for any long period of time.

Good sharpening devices for your knives.

Good dope, tobacco, alcohol to trade for stuff you didn't think of.

-- nine (nine_fingers@hotmail.com), August 27, 1999.


I may have missed it in the long list of things to be saved (thanks, every one!) but one additional freebie: save newspapers! Many uses for them, including firestarting, window insulation, dropcloth substitutes, etc.

-- LurkerII (Lurker@stillalert.com), August 27, 1999.

Went to Sam's yesterday. Didn't get much, not enough time, but...

Got some of those 'office' size coffee packets. You know, the little one-pot baglets of Folgers, Maxwell House, etc, that they have in the office break room? If you can catch a good price, I think these will be good for barter.

Also, I snagged a couple of Home Schooling books, for the grade my daughter is entering next week. They had every grade from Pre K up to 6th. Thought they might come in handy; even if Y2K impact is moderate, the schools will be used for shelters, don't ya think?

She was not thrilled.

Got more wood, too. Got a great deal from a local lumber yard on 'slab wood' (the ends an edges they cut from logs to make planks, etc.) None treated, all nice & dry and CLEAN. Not quite ready to burn, be ready by Jan, though. Husby loves it 'cause it stacks so neatly. Plus, got quite a few short (18") boards that will become narrow shelves very soon. Y'all might want to call the local saw mills in your area, if you'll be using wood this winter!

-- Arewyn (isitthatlate@lready.com), August 27, 1999.


I am hung up on rubber pencil earasers for some nagging reason. I have bought a lot of those recently. My daughter and I are going to a large second hand store today, I am going to buy extra bed linens to have enough to not have to worry about laundry for at least 3 months for those items. I am also gathering up extra silverware.

-- Carol (glear@usa.net), August 27, 1999.

Welding rods, fish hooks, any type of sealable container,

-- kevin (innxxs@yahoo.com), August 27, 1999.


"I am hung up on rubber pencil earasers for some nagging reason."

That's great! My ten year old grandson actually asked me about these the other day...as in did I have any in my stock of school stuff. He now loves to think of things that I or his mom may have overlooked. He decided we didn't have enough glue. We do not discourage his critiques and he's been very helpful in filling in the gaps.

-- Shelia (Shelia@active-stream.com), August 27, 1999.


Large bags of rock salt (use & barter). Bags of fertilizer (use & barter). PVC pipe in assorted sized with assorted plumbing fittings. Rolls of and bits of electrical wire, plus wiring materials (terminals, wire nuts and such) and household electrical fixtures (outlets & covers, wall switches, light fixtures & repair kits).

WW

-- Wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), August 27, 1999.


Lead, lure molds, hooks, and stuff for fishing lures.

Fertilizer.

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), August 27, 1999.


From: Y2K, ` la Carte by Dancr near Monterey, California

Why, Y2K Breathspray, of course. Actually, though... doesn't the breath go south when one gets seriously hungry? Alternatively, that may be a good thing. In some situations I can easily imagine, it would be politically incorrect to smell as though one has had anything to eat during recent weeks. Not to mention tuna breath.

-- Dancr (addy.available@my.webpage.neener.autospammers--regrets.greenspun), August 27, 1999.


In the fix-it category, be sure to include tubes of epoxy cement and Durham's Rock Hard Water putty. For the chain saw: spare blades, spare bar and sprocket, air filters, spark plug, sharpening file. For the first aid kit, a box of plaster of paris for fractures.

-- Stephen McGehee (scm@adjutant.com), August 28, 1999.

I forgot to mention that I'm collecting tea kettles from Goodwill. There will be a need for containers to boil water in. I've also found a couple of non-electric coffee pots for all of that cheap coffee I bought.

-- Pearlie Sweetcake (storestuff@home.now), August 28, 1999.

ok,I am a hardcore doomer,in case the worst should happen and I should actualy use up my thousands of wood matches,I have been saving my drier lint for fire tinder.BWAHAHA!it's funny because it's true!I'm trying to consider the absolutly worst case.Helps me realize I'll never be as ready as I'd like to be.

-- zoobie (zoobiezoob@yahoo.com), August 28, 1999.

zoobie,

LOL! Ingenious but tres funny! How long does dryer lint "keep"? If you squish it tight, does it lose fire-starting ability?

-- Elbow Grease (LBO Grise@aol.com), August 29, 1999.


dryer lint is great for making paper. no one has mentioned paper products, notebooks,pens,ink,lithium grease,w-d 40, sanitary supplies, iodine, methiolate, sudephred,toothbrushes,combs,hairbrushes,slateboards,slate pencils,dentalfloss. going nuts

-- going nuts (makeyourown@athome.com), October 01, 1999.

I am currently combining two households worth of stuff. One class of items I am holding onto (rather than trying to sell) are small appliances (microwave, toaster, radio, tv, etc.). I'm thinking that there is great potential to lose expensive appliances next year if there are massive power fluctuations. If so, I'd rather have the backup appliance than some cash pittance on hand. Nothing we can't live without, but nice to have on hand.

-- Brooks (brooksbie@hotmail.com), October 01, 1999.

Lord I hope I don't die suddenly if y2k is BITR. My poor children will have a nightmare going through the collection of nuggests such as old washboards, wringers, etc.

-- anon (anon@anon.calm), October 01, 1999.

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