How To Think Like a Prepper

When people are preparing they often look for the "ultimate list for prepping". One of the most valuable lessons I have learned in my prepping is how to develop the thought process of prepping.
First you just need to start preparing. Storing what you use and use what you store. We have all heard that.
Instead of trying to find that ultimate list of what to store, I want to encourage you to create your own list.
I am going to start gearing towards developing how to think like a prepper. I hope you will find that this will be a much better fit for you and your family. Today I am sharing how I determine what spices we store & in what quantity. 

Think Prepping Spices

1) Use: First make a list of what spices you use. Just go through your spice cabinet. Those old spices from 2006, guess what? You probably don't need to store them. What do you buy all the time? 

2) Grow: Are you able to grow that particular spice? If you are able to grow it, then get seeds and start growing. Chilies, garlic, thyme, oregano, mint..only you know what you use all the time. For example, I have been getting home grown chilies from a friend. I have been dehydrating them and storing them. I will be growing them next summer. Here are the garlic bulbs I ordered from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds to plant this month. 

3) Buy: Here is where I have several spices that I am not able to grow based on my location. Some of these are critical & I purchase them based on how much I believe I will use. Some things like salt & pepper, I buy in bulk and store and continue to add more to my preps. Because of the multi purpose use of salt, I will probably continue to add to my preps forever.
For other important but less utilized utilized spices I buy whole in bulk with a focus on organic.  The way I look at it, I might as well get a pound of something and store it properly rather than buy those little bottles. Usually these are more expensive. Here is one example: whole cloves. .62 oz of whole cloves in a small bottle is $2.53. Whereas 16 oz certified organic whole cloves is $24.95. Now I am not great at math, but you can easily see that the 16 oz is way more cost effective. Plus, I have determined that one pound of cloves certainly will last me my lifetime if stored properly. Just a few things on this list for me is cloves, allspice, cinnamon, vanilla beans (to make my own vanilla extract).

 


4) Store: Then what I store & how much I store is what I have determined from an actual list of items I know works for our family.
Let's start with things I have determined I am able to grow. 
That photo above is an array of various chili peppers I have. This last week I dehydrated some hot peppers.

 

At this point I simply vacuum sealed them in a small canning jar after they came out of the the dehydrator.
Recently I also added a pound of organic whole cloves to my preps.

Planning to grid your spices. Beside a salt & pepper mill, I also have two mortar and pestles. First as a back up, but I also currently have mine designated: one for baking spice & one for hot spices.

 

Last but not least, don't forget about plan, prepare for and learning how to vacuum seal when the grid is down.

Hopefully this was helpful. Today I have a big list of the items I have purchased and used. First these are just  few of the spices I have ordered:


 

Yes, I have two dehydrators, two vacuum sealers and a MityVac



  

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