I Was Thinking Of Making A Cache , Dried Goods Ect For When Tshtf

I have a cabin in the canadian north, i was wondering what the experts would say about making a cache in the attic of my cabin. it freezes every year so no canned goods, but what about putting dried goods, oatmeal, rice, dried veg, dried peas. sugar, salt, flour, yeast, spices, crackers, dried beans, corn meal, grits, dried soups, you get the picture. putting all this stuff in zip lock bags , and then in a large plastic tub . Off the floor so mices ect do not get it. . would his work? i am looking for a cache that would augment fish, hunting meats and veg and fruits that i would be growing . it this a good idea ?

 

I do not have rats, i do have mice though. that is why i would hang it from the rafters , i will think about steel. thanks. would the dried food last if well sealed for several years?

 

This is something that I came up with many years ago for stashing things. Buy some big PVC pipe and pipe caps. You also will want to buy some schrader valves like you use in air conditioning and refrigeration. Fill the pipes up with whatever you want then after you instal a schrader valve in one of the caps you glue them on. Take them to any ac man and for just a little they will draw the air out of the pipe. Once this is done ask them to put a slight positive pressure charge of nitrogen in and then cap off the valve.

I buried this under a junk pile where a metal detector will be useless. Food, gun, ammo, money, water filter, small pack and various other survival tools. In a sealed nitrogen atmosphere this stuff will last indefinitely.

 

O K , so i went out and bought a ton of tried foods, Rice, oatmeal. dried vegetables, flour, dried beans, dried peas. pancake mix, dried soup mixes, dried cereals, bisquick , cream of wheat,spices of all types . brown sugar, honey. maple syrup, baking soda sugar cooking oil, vinegar . baking powder . yeast. I put all this stuff in heavy ziplock bags, and then sealed in in two large plastic tubs. I figure it is enough for a family of four to last about 3-4 month. could be a lot more with rationing .

 

Beans, Rice, Cornmeal. Powdered Milk, Powdered Eggs, Cooking Grease and those little canned hams can go a long way towards keeping a southern boy fed. They all store well and are fairly cheap. I also usually have a hundred pounds or so of corn. They sell it here at convenience stores starting in late summer through the end of deer season for deer feeders. I feed it to the critters and rotate it that way. With my grain mill that is another dirt cheap source of calories. Ramen noodles are also dirt cheap and store well. For me survival rations has to do with basic stuff. I want to be able to cook it with just a pot, a pan and a fire.

 

For most items such as rice, beans, dried fruit, pasta (tiny macaroni), and such, use glass jars. Put a clean piece of card-paper atop the stored material and throw one or two oxygen-absorber packs atop that thick paper (I don't like these packs touching the food, maybe I'm just being OCD/neurotic about this). When sealed, the oxygen gets absorbed and mainly what is left is nitrogen (our atmosphere is like 77% nitrogen). Neither rats nor bugs are going to chew through glass or metal lids. The food material is dry, therefore there is precious little H2O to freeze and expand. Just protect the glass jars from breaking when jostled about.

 

If storing machinery & tools in a very cold climate, remember that oil turns into tar. Use dry lubricants such as Teflon powder. Powders find their way into the micro-pores of the metal itself and allow two pieces of metal to glide over each other. Regular gun oils will freeze-up the action of rifles. Imagine pouring Karo syrup into your rifle's receiver. Fun fun.

 

I'm glad that where I live it doesn't get that cold. The one thing that I do when it is cold and raining is put tape over the end of the barrel to keep water out of the works. It has no effect on the shooting and is blown off before the bullet or shot ever gets to the end of the barrel.

 

Old geezer. try making up a lub of kerosene and diesel oil . it will work to 60 below.

 

By the way , still winter in the woods, still using snow shoes to walk around, but melting very fast .

 

Sorry my mistake the mixture is 50% gas and 50% DIESEL OIL , GOOD TO 60 BELOW.

 

I don't even want to THINK about it being 60 below!! I like global warming. I can always cool off in the pool or sit in the shade but at 60 below there just is no place for a Texas boy to hide. The lowest temperature that I have experienced was 0 one time for one morning. I spent the next two weeks fixing busted pipes for people and replacing pumps on washing machines that were in unheated garages.

 

I think my grandmother used the mix you are talking about. She soaked a towel with it, then put it on my chest. She called it a "mustard plaster". Heaven only knows what else she put in that killer mix; I think camphor, menthol whatever, forest floor mints, ... .

I'd get better quick, 'cause if you didn't, she'd keep that up until you died of mustard plaster.

 

I lived a few years where the snot would freeze in your nose. I'd put on shoe cleats to walk on the ice. My wife gave me the Oldtomatom: "Get me out of here or I'm just leaving." In a couple of jobs / moves, were back South of the Mason-Dixon. I want to head even further South.

 

Where I live 40F is cold! That is 40F ABOVE zero by the way!! Thats 4.4 C .

 

Bill, have you considered storing grains instead of flour? Some say they keep far longer and are more resilient. Of course this would also mean that you'd need a small mill to grind it before you'd be able to use it. If you use a refractometer on the grain to check moisture content is low enough before you seal your barrels it will prevent molds such as ergot contaminating your cashe.
Re the earlier comment by Keith about steel or plastic barrels, I also store vaccum sealed dry goods in food grade plastic barrels and have not yet had any problems from rodents insects or mold.

 

a nice afternoon where i am from

 

The original idea of a cache was that if the cabin burned down, you could survive in the cache. Where you kept not only food, but spare everything.......sleeping bag, snowshoes, parkas, etc..

A few years ago I rethunked my needs and assumed that I might be leaving the cabin at 2:AM mid Jan. @ minus 30 degrees, totally naked, with the cabin on fire and out of control.
https://survivalforum.survivalmagaz...16538-the-leatherman-this-is-a-wonderful-read

 

I have a side cabin a couple hundred yards from my main house. If I lost the house there is everything I need in the cabin. If I were in a remote area like some of y'all, My cache would be another cabin or sod igloo. Something large enough to take up residence.