87 replies to this topic

[ArmyOfFive4God]

THNX Cookie! I always "enjoy" looking at these pics. They give me a sense of peace. While I'm still working on a years supply, we could EASILY pass months without shopping.

[HSmom]

I was just thinking of this thread yesterday. I walked thru the water aisle at the grocery store. Things were carefully labelled: first "Drinking," then further down "Spring," next "Sparkling," and lastly "Endurance." What an amazing variety of water people buy and drink!

I recalled this thread and bet that in a :shtf: scenario, that aisle will sell out from the front to the back.

[Grace&Violets]

I'm glad someone bumped this thread. I hadn't seen it yet. It reminds me of the blizzard we had in CO a few days before Christmas 2006. We couldn't get out of our cul-de-sac for days. No one could. My BIL & SIL finally were able to get out of their house and get to us so we could get to the store. I was hosting Christmas dinner at our house and didn't have everything to make my meal, yet! We could have survived for a couple of months on what we did have, but it wouldn't have been our traditional Christmas dinner. Plus, we were out of fresh milk for the kiddos. Anyway, we got to the Safeway and the pictures that were posted in the first few posts were pretty close to how things looked at our store. Except our store was way worse. There were about 2 packages left of toilet paper, just a few gallons of milk left, NO water, NO fresh veggies, although there were some frozen, which is what I bought. There were NO canned veggies, except maybe some okra(which may be big in the south, but not here). I've never seen anything like it in my entire life. Even though I prep, it pretty much freaked me out! This was just a few days without deliveries. I started imagining what it would be like if it lasted a week, or more than a week. They would have to close the store. I heard from some workers there, that they were real close to closing the store, but they had just received a delivery from a truck that braved the roads and it gave them enough stock to keep open one more day. It was actually creepy. Made me glad that I keep so many preps. DH teases me that we could tp our entire town with our preps, but he also knows that he will be happy, if anything does happen. I know our neighbor family was happy, because we ended up feeding their entire family the first night. They had been planning on being out of town for Christmas, so they had not bought groceries and had made sure they had NO food in their house. Not hardly a can! I can't even imagine!

[cookiejar]

Grace&Violets,
I remember that! My family is Western Slope and that was such a hard time for them. Luckily, they bulk shop as my father can only go out on limited time. But, there was nothing fresh and the roads were treacherous to try, ice everywhere.
It creeped my step-mom out too when she made it to their safeway and found it stripped. Ironically, she said she now understood what happens down here in Hurricane season.

Hugs to you

[Abigail]

Originally Posted By: cookiejar

I think this is so important to keep us in the prepping frame of mind!

Hello all! but this strikes a real nerve with me. Hurricane Dean isn't even in the Gulf yet. Guess what? Went to top off a few items yesterday and ALL the 5 gallon gasoline cans were ALREADY gone from big-box stores; this close to a week from any potential landfall. Of course, this is "Katrina country" so we're as skittish about this as a bunch of longtailed cats in a room full of rocking chairs, but still surprising to see...

Abigail

[Abigail]

Originally Posted By: cookiejar

I think this is so important to keep us in the prepping frame of mind!

Hello all! but this strikes a real nerve with me. Hurricane Dean isn't even in the Gulf yet. Guess what? Went to top off a few items yesterday and ALL the 5 gallon gasoline cans were ALREADY gone from big-box stores; this close to a week from any potential landfall. Of course, this is "Katrina country" so we're as skittish about this as a bunch of longtailed cats in a room full of rocking chairs, but still surprising to see...

Abigail

[Darlene]

Yeah Abigail, it'll be a very long time before that knee jerk reaction (which isn't a bad thing actually) to a hurricane being out in the waters, subsides some.

[mommato3boys]

Originally Posted By: Grace&Violets

I'm glad someone bumped this thread. I hadn't seen it yet. It reminds me of the blizzard we had in CO a few days before Christmas 2006. We couldn't get out of our cul-de-sac for days. No one could. My BIL & SIL finally were able to get out of their house and get to us so we could get to the store. I was hosting Christmas dinner at our house and didn't have everything to make my meal, yet! We could have survived for a couple of months on what we did have, but it wouldn't have been our traditional Christmas dinner. Plus, we were out of fresh milk for the kiddos. Anyway, we got to the Safeway and the pictures that were posted in the first few posts were pretty close to how things looked at our store. Except our store was way worse. There were about 2 packages left of toilet paper, just a few gallons of milk left, NO water, NO fresh veggies, although there were some frozen, which is what I bought. There were NO canned veggies, except maybe some okra(which may be big in the south, but not here). I've never seen anything like it in my entire life. Even though I prep, it pretty much freaked me out! This was just a few days without deliveries. I started imagining what it would be like if it lasted a week, or more than a week. They would have to close the store. I heard from some workers there, that they were real close to closing the store, but they had just received a delivery from a truck that braved the roads and it gave them enough stock to keep open one more day. It was actually creepy. Made me glad that I keep so many preps. DH teases me that we could tp our entire town with our preps, but he also knows that he will be happy, if anything does happen. I know our neighbor family was happy, because we ended up feeding their entire family the first night. They had been planning on being out of town for Christmas, so they had not bought groceries and had made sure they had NO food in their house. Not hardly a can! I can't even imagine!

At any given time the most stores have on hand is 3 days supply. That is what is scary.

[Abigail]

Yes, the pictures Darlene posted sure prove that the stores don't have any kind of advance supply. It IS scary. She's right about the knee jerk response being prevalent too. It's not just in the grocery stores, either.

Saw a little knee jerking today at the gas pumps...went out today and filled up my car and four five gallon cans; cost me $90. I'd have filled another 4, but I'm a little skittish about storing too many in my garage; too many combustion sources stored there too. Don't own a shed.

I felt kinda conspicuous about pulling up my hatch with all the red cans lined up until the guy who pulled up in back of me did the same thing!!! I don't care what they're saying about Dean going to Mexico...at least I'll insulate myself from prices going up next week when they pull everyone off the oil rigs in the gulf. That's a given. Maybe I should fill my other 4 cans...

Abigail

[Darlene]

Fill your other 4 cans...better safe and ahead of the game, or sorry.

I brought about 15 of them up with me from my move from Miami. I plan on getting them all filled in the next month or so to store for the winter in case of any generator needs.

[Abigail]

OK, I think I will, if you don't think it's dangerous to keep them in an attached garage. I do have sta-bil, too, so they'll keep. I have propane and charcoal in there, too. Seems I'm probably violating several dozen fire codes, doesn't it? My water heater is in the attic, so no problems with pilot lights; I've got too much cr** in there to park in there, either. So perhaps it's not so dangerous... So be it. At least I won't be stuck here...or stuck with higher prices.

8 cans; That's only two spare tanks when you think about it. It's not so much I can't take it along in an evac. Just rather explosive...

Abigail

[Darlene]

put your charcoal in the house, perhaps in a closet, and perhaps your propane somewhere else...if not, all I can tell you is I stored many, many, many 5 gal jugs of gas in my attached garage for months.

Not recommended but then I do what I hafta do.

[anna]

We bought a Rubbermaid storage unit and put it in the backyard in the shade of a hedge/trees and store gas/kerosene/coleman fuel in that. We keep it paddlelocked. I think it is too dangerous to store in an attached garage.

[Darlene]

[mommato3boys]

Originally Posted By: Darlene

This is still a frightening sight even today after seeing this several times.

[Jeepers]

Wow. Thank you for this bump! Talk about eye opening. Nothing like seeing it as it really was. Frightening.

[cookiejar]

Originally Posted By: Jeepers

Wow. Thank you for this bump! Talk about eye opening. Nothing like seeing it as it really was. Frightening.

Very true Jeepers!

I asked our fearless leader to let us put it up down here to remind people it doesn't take much to start a rush at the stores and the pumps.

It's scary and it's real.

[RNs_girl]

Wow. Thanks so much for bumping this. That is crazy! Makes me glad I am going "prep" shopping tomorrow!

[cookiejar]

Originally Posted By: RNs_girl

Wow. Thanks so much for bumping this. That is crazy! Makes me glad I am going "prep" shopping tomorrow!

your welcome and thanks to Darlene who did the photo work. It's scary to see how fast things can change. I'm glad your getting supplies too.

[barleygirl]

Wow!! I think those pictures are very sad. Eye openers as well. I would feel stupid running to the store last minute like that. I don't have a huge stock up yet but have at least a month or two worth of food in my home, but to think that those who are going to the store last minute probably don't have much at all in their pantries.