I have recently been asked to leave my my wife, so I lost a lot of my preps. I still have most of the guns, ammo, camping gear and stuff, but she kept all of the food, and a lot of the food related items.

Here is how I am getting myself back on track, and this would be a good way for new preppers to get started as well.

Since I had nothing for food, prep wise or daily use, I sat down and made myself a shopping list that would stock my pantry for 30 days. I planned carefully considering that by myself, certain items like vegetables would produce leftovers that I will use before opening another can. I bought a small freezer so I could buy bulk packs of meat and divide it into individual portions. Items like rice and beans, I figured out what I would use in a 30 day period, and those I doubled.

I took my list to the grocery store and gave myself a budget of $500. I figured I may as well buy the food while I have the money. Shopping carefully, I was able to complete my list for about $350 while still getting quality foods. Right now I have my base line to start with and add to.

Once I get my budget worked out with all of my bills and such, I will be giving myself a budgeted amount I can spend every pay day on food. As I use an item it will get added to my shopping list to be replaced. Any money I have left from my food budget after replacing the used items will be used to purchase extra items to add to my stores. This is where I will start adding the dried foods back in, canned meats, and other items I bought more for survival than every day use.

I hate having to rely so much on perishable type foods right now, but as I type this I can survive for a good 30 days bugging in even without being able to add a single item to my stocks. To help get away from this, I am going to start learning how to can. As I buy bulk meats to replace what I use every day, I am going to start canning the excess above my 30 days supply, and add that to my stocks. To keep that from sitting and going bad, I will also use this in the summer when camping since keeping meat fresh is so hard to do with nothing more than a cooler for refrigeration. That is one mistake I have seen with preppers. They stock something and don't use it so they can rotate in fresh. This may get some people into trouble when it is really needed.

So there is the plan I have implemented to get back on track. Does anyone have any other ideas or suggestions that may help me or someone new get their preps stocked up?

_________________
Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.

NRA Certified Instructor for Basic Handgun and Personal protection in the Home.
V.F.W. Life Member
NRA Member
U.S. Army Veteran

First off, sorry to hear about your domestic situation...As a divorce lawyer, feel free to pm me if you have any questions (though specific laws do vary from state to state).

Getting to the meat and potatoes of your post...I think you've got a good handle on your food preps and can expand nicely from there...

What about other prep items such as:

- flashlights, flares, batteries
- fire starting gear
- first aid supplies
- water storage
- hand tools

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If it's in your pack, but you don't know how to use it...it's useless. So, always test your skills as a form of preparation...Don't wait until your life depends on it. That's a lesson you don't want to learn the hard way.

Flashlights and batteries I'm OK on. I have a case of batteries for the flashlights and radios, plus several sets of rechargeable that I have house and solar chargers for.

I don't have any flares. I never really used them anyhow.

As far as the camping gear and the stuff in my BOB goes, it is still intact and I have all of it here. I do need to get some more containers for water and fuel storage as they were left behind. She can use them and it will probably be easier to replace then go through all of the work to remove them. They are attached to racks I built in the garage.

First Aid stuff I will need to work on again, and I have replaced some of the basics that I keep separate from my standard kit. I am going to have to get one of my daughters to get my puncture wound plugs. That could be a little embarrassing. Right now I am light here, but what I have is workable. I will slowly build this stock back up along with my food stores.

Hand tools are no problem. I was a mechanic and I am still certified, even though I don't work that job any more. I have enough tools to rebuild most anything. I was able to set her up with a basic house hold set without even putting a ding in that stock. I also have other tools that I brought with me that are more survival related, but just stay put in case they are really needed.

It could have been much worse than it was. She could have taken more legally. It was basically we agreed that she keeps the food (the only survival prepping she actually agrees with), and I get to keep everything else. I did leave her with enough flash lights, emergency lights and batteries to run them for a week or two, along with what was in her BOB I put together for her. She may not use it, but it is there if she needs it.

I also got to keep the generator, so my bug in situation won't change much, except for the fact that the house I got in the settlement, (We also had a rental property, which I moved into) is less defensible than the other one. I am still working on modifying my plans and tactics I am training for a bug in situation to match what I now have to work with.

I did find one really neat feature in this house That's caused by the way the roof lines run. In Between a walk in closet and the upstairs bathroom I found an interior dead space that is about 24 inches deep, 48 inches wide, and about 55 inches tall at its highest point, and about 36 inches tall at the lowest. I am building a hidden gun and valuable vault that will be impossible to find if you don't know it is there. I work with electronics, so I am working on a a lock system that I can hook up to an alarm key pad that will allow me to have it securely locked without giving away the location. This will be set up with a battery backup feature so I can use it if the power fails. If I plan accordingly, I should be able to store all of my guns along with some of my more valuable items and gear in there.

_________________
Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.

NRA Certified Instructor for Basic Handgun and Personal protection in the Home.
V.F.W. Life Member
NRA Member
U.S. Army Veteran

now that you have your 30 days basics it might save you money to buy the basics in bulk.