Both say it better than I can. Check out Ted Talk: The Earth Is Full. Very calm and rational. If any of you are in the area tonight, come on down. Guy is speaking at 7:00. Peak Energy, Peak Economy and Climate Chaos. This is the convergence. How well we plan for it will determine how well we cope.
It’s the Great Spring Purge. With 4 people moving in, I need to make room. My food storage room is going to be Henry’s bedroom so I spent Saturday cleaning it out and finding homes for all of the pantry food. It was eye-opening and led me to make a pledge. I will cook more with my stored foods. I will plan two bean meals a week and two pasta meals. I will use tha danged canned peas or feed them to the chickens. They are taking up valuable real estate and they are way outdated. I thought that didn’t matter but I opened a 2009 can and found it too yucky even for hens who are not at all particular. The peas were grey and mushy. There is a lesson here but it’s too painful for me to tackle just now. I know we have all done it but it just sucks to see wasted food.
Speaking of food. I’m about 1/4 of the way through The Hunger Of War. It is a very dry but excellent read. I give it a 5 star rating and put it on the short list of books that have changed my life. Please beg your local library to get a copy.
Short post today. I have to get the AV equipment for Guy picked up and I still have laundry to finish and bread that needs baking. And then there is the darn book, calling from my duties.
April 9, 2012 at 11:19 am
I too have found way outdated food in my storage area. Five years ago when I started canning and storing food for the imminent collapse, I went way overboard and canned far more than I could ever eat. Most of this has been fed to my chickens. I just gave 12 pints of canned pickled beets to my brother who visited for a Passover Seder last night. I canned over 100 pints and will not eat them all by the time I can again. However, as long as the food is eaten by someone it is ok.
April 9, 2012 at 12:47 pm
After doing something similar, I find that I am now in need of beefing up our storage. We’ve still got quite a bit, but there are several holes that need to be filled in.
April 9, 2012 at 2:24 pm
Can you tell us more about the book, The Hunger of War? I can’t find it on amazon. Thanks!
April 9, 2012 at 2:37 pm
I am thinking that I can tackle some inventorying over spring break next week. Of course, I am thinking that I am going to paint a bathroom, too. We shall see! I am definitely down in some categories, though.
April 9, 2012 at 6:05 pm
You can’t find it because I gave you the wrong name. It’s The Taste Of War. Sorry.
April 9, 2012 at 7:27 pm
It’s all a never-ending learning experience. In my periodic organizations, I find some things that have lurked in the pantry or chest freezer for years. I try to make meals out of these, but also try to take a lesson in that we just don’t eat as much frozen corn or pickled beets as I think we might! I hate to see it go to waste, or to the chickens, but also try to see it as less future work. We just don’t need quite as much of some things. Maybe more of others.
And what we eat out of the pantry seems to change year-to-year. My husband has been switched to 2nd shift, and now 2 teenage boys with incredible schedules and appetites, I find we’re all hitting up the “canned goods aisle” in the basement far more frequently. It’s much less stress for me if I know everyone can find a meal from a jar of homemade soup, or pulled pork, or what have you no matter what time of day they are hungry. I find it helps to make lists of all these ready-to-eat meals and pin them to the fridge with magnets. Otherwise the home-grown/home-made food ends up forgotten, and hubby & sons just pick up junk food on their way home.
And is there any way to make everyone in the family enjoy bean meals? – LOL.
Best of luck with all of the extra family members you are about to acquire.