72 Hour kits - make them or buy them?

Truth to be known - our family's 72-hour kits are in sad shape and need some revising. Maybe even starting from scratch. The question is whether to assemble my own - a cheaper option - or buy something preassembled - much quicker, but more expensive. I've started watching for good deals for the make-my-own option and will post the results, but in the meantime the video below gives some options for the preassembled kind. Actually, infomercial mostly talks about products they offer for a monthly food storage plan, but it does gives you http://www.thereadyproject.com/p-79-new-grab-n-go-72-hour-kit.aspx

A single kit is on sale for $45.95 (price includes tax, shipping and handling) and contains the following:
1 - Plastic Bucket
12 - 4.2 oz water pouches
2 - 3600 Calorie Food Bars
2 - Protective Masks
2 - Emergency Ponchos
2 - Tissue Packs
2 - Emergency Blankets
2 - Pair of Latex Gloves
1 - Emergency Light Stick
1 - Whistle
1 - First Aid Kit (40 Piece)
1 - Shake Flashlight

We'll see if I can come up with something comparable for cheaper.

Fred Meyer good deals 1/25-1/30

Another great week for stockpiling at Fred Meyers. My personal favorites:

In-store coupon specials (be sure to check quantities allowed)-

Fred Meyer canned veggies 2/$1

Fred Meyer butter 3/$5

Fred Meyer peanut butter or preserves 10/$10

Fred Meyer canned tomatoes or beans 2/$1

On-the-shelf-specials:

Kraft Mayonaise or Miracle Whip 2/$5

Cucumbers or green bell 58 cents

Roma tomatoes 99 cents

8 oz. Kraft grated Parmesan Cheese $3.99

Haven't checked out milk prices at Fred Meyer's yet - but Safeways jumped this last week from $1.99 a gallon on a two gallon purchase to $2.39 a gallon for two. Not a lot of exceptional deals at Safeway this week but I did find an item or two worth stopping in for:

Lucerne 32 oz. medium cheese $3.99

Ragu Pasta Sauce 4/$5

16 oz. Ronzini Pasta 75 cents

Wondering how to store all those cans of food?

If you're looking for an efficient way to store your canned food items, Jodi and Julie - the geniuses behind "Food Storage Made Easy" - have researched an easy and relatively cheap way to make your shelves rival those in the grocery stores. The cardboard units are two cans high, load on the top level and roll down to the bottom level - just like they do in grocery stores in the soup section.

Grocery deals for this week

It's a great week for stocking up - Safeway, Albertsons and Fred Meyers all have good deals worth checking out, but if you're not heading to Ellensburg, Safeway has plenty of choices to keep you busy including:

Pork shoulder country style ribs - 99 cents a lb.

lean ground beef 99 cents a lb.

Foster farms split chicken breasts 99 cents a lb.

Barilla pasta 99 cents

Progresso soups $1.11 a can

If you like Capn Crunch or Life cereal - $1.00 a box if you buy four or $1.00 for their Betty Crocker fruit snacks if you buy 4. There's also a selection of $1.50 and $2.00 cereals.

Saturday only deals include:

Breyers Ice Cream $1.99

2 liter 7-up or A&W 88 cents

Safeway Select frozen pizza $2.99

Albertson's deals include:

Campbell's Chunky Soup 99 cents

Green Bell Peppers 69 cents

And a list of items that you can get an additional $5.00 off if you spend $20. This gets fairly complicated and if you don't do it exactly right - you won't get the extra savings. They have 3 categories - 10 for $10, 3 for $5.00 and 2 for $5.00. The 10/$10 category looks like the best offerings - if you spend $20 on El Paso refried beans, Hamburger Helper, Betty Crocker Specialty Potatoes, El Paso Enchilada Sauce and Betty Crocker frosting tubs, you get all those items for 75 cents a piece.

Fred Meyers

Still doing their in-store coupons through Saturday which include the 2 lb. blocks of medium cheddar cheese for $3.99 and if you have cats - good deals on cat liter and cat food. Extra large eggs or Vita Bee Bread is 4/$5.00 with their coupon and broccoli is 98 cents a lb.

Watch for rising dairy prices

I started researching dairy price projections for 2010 after my daughter told me powdered milk prices had spiked at the LDS cannery in Ogden. As it turns out, 2009 was a devastating year for dairy farmers with surplus stock on hand and low demand reflective of our faltering economy. Bad news for farmers but makes for great grocery store prices on butter, cheese and milk.

But things are changing.

According to an Oct. 2009 article in Agri-View http://www.agriview.com/articles/2009/10/29/dairy_news/dairy05.txt, milk production is down in almost every state (including Washington) and demand is up - all the classic symptoms of prices going up in the ole supply and demand scenario. You've probably noticed those great butter deals are fast disappearing and powdered milk is climbing as well. Cheese prices will probably be next. Some forecasts predict butter, milk and cheese prices will continue rising and peak in September 2010 - good news if you are a dairy farmer. For the rest of us - time to stock up while prices are still relatively low!

Which brings me to this week's Fred Meyers' flyer which has an in-store coupon -
$3.99 each for two 2 lbs. blocks of medium cheddar cheese.
Below is a link with cheese storage tips if you are concerned about how long you can safely keep cheese on your refrigerator shelf. Bottom line - hard cheeses like cheddar that are tightly sealed can keep for several months.
http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/food/food_safety/handling/hgic3506.html

Lastly - Safeway has some great in-store coupons that are good through 1/19/10 and:
Progresso Soups for $1.11 a can.
Several brands of on-the-shelf juices are $1.49 when you buy 5 - another great stock-up item.

Happy shopping!

"Food Storage Made Easy" website

Even if you've been diligently stocking your shelves, the real test to how well you've done is actually living off of your food storage. Do you have the necessary supplies on hand to go three months without going to the grocery store? Having three hundred pounds of wheat is great, but it won't keep the clothes clean, wash the dishes, or relieve a headache.

Two Utah moms have created a Food Storage website
http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/ that is an amazing resource for beginning to advanced food storagers... Really amazing.

There are so many things to check out...
-If storage is an issue - check out their links for can storage on their home page for a slick way to organize your shelves.
-If you want some accountability in your collecting process - click on check lists and sign up for bi-monthly email alerts reminding of what needs to be done to stay on task.
-Another great resource - a pdf file that helps you plan and shop for a three month supply - click on "baby steps"on the home page and then go to step 3.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Let us know what you found most interesting or comments on their food storage expertise.

Nature's First Aid Starter Kit class Jan. 12

Gail Richmond sent out an email about a Jan. 12th class in Cle Elum making emergency preparedness kits out of natural products. Sounded interesting, so I talked to the instructor, Kylene Lessig, and she sent me a link http://ellensburgadventist.org/article.php?id=33 that gives more information about making this free "starter" kit. The class requires preregistration, so if you are interested, fill out their on-line form and send it in ASAP because it sounds like it is filling fast. The location is handy for everyone in Upper Kittitas County - The Seventh Day Adventist Church just below Safeway off first street at 7:00 p.m.

Safeway online coupons

Okay, I realize the whole idea of couponing is a little hard to swallow, but Safeway is making it a whole lot easier. If you go to this link http://www.safeway.com/IFL/Grocery/Print-Coupons#iframetop and sign up at their coupon center, you can directly load the coupons onto your Safeway Club card. No cutting out and dragging them along with you to the store. To sign up for this feature, you have to know your Safeway card number which is the number printed on your card (not your phone number). If you don't know your number, there is a link to their customer service site where you can ask them to send the number to you.

Safeway also has in-store coupons in this week's flyer (1/6-1/12) and some Saturday and Sunday only deals which include:

Fuji Apples 78 cents a pound

Hormel lunch meat $1.99 a package
For more details - here's a link to their website http://weeklyspecials.safeway.com/customer_Frame.jsp?drpStoreID=1135 or grab an instore flyer when you're in the store.
Happy Shopping!