I agree with your eating habits 🙄 and gave away much of what I see in the cupboards while writing this spreadsheet. You can easily delete all items and add your own. I will start a locked down version so that folks can do this without compromising the integrity of the sheets formulas.
It's the inventory part that I want suggestions on though. I don't know if there is a simpler way of approaching this, it's just the way that seemed logical so far. The program has to factor in such things as... how much salt is in your present diet? Do you need to purchase more or do you already have too much versus the protein or carb intake? If your going to use salt in preserving, you'd likely have to have a replenishment supply as that requires vast quantities otherwise.
Yes, and I have a section I'd started on regarding having enough TP for the allotted duration? I do like the questions you ask of how your ancestors accomplished this minor detail. I also laugh at the fact that you never mentioned they possibility of using large leaves in the summer and sticks though as they are often how you get by in a bad situation as many of us had likely already experienced. 🙄 When I've read where others mentioned hankies for blowing their nose compared to the usual horn-blowing tactic, there is the "uncouth" factor which women often loudly proclaim as a man commences to "clean the pipes". Yet there is never any mention of how gross it is to pocket one's obstructions in the guise of a now dirty hanky..... I have to bring up this sensitive issue because you now have to have you consider that you are now talking of possibly pocketing skid-marked hankies with this same intent of recycling later? 😕 No ones going to want to do the laundry now.... 😆 And if your going to stock up on vinegar for this sole purpose, why not just stock up on TP instead and avoid this unpleasantness?
I don't do the long-term decline of mankind scenario in my mind. I guess I don't believe we are that doomed. I do believe that bad times are likely not too far ahead and thus we should be prepared for disruptions in supply lines "just in case". It is likely obvious that I read alot of psychology and I can therefore relate to the concept where many state we are only 9 meals away from social anarchy. If one has even a small stockpile, then you logically wouldn't have to resort to this fight for the last crumbs so quickly. In fact, I'd like to believe that I'd instead share while we maybe organized and created better options than total anarchy... but maybe that's just me!
Meanwhile, I share such as this program with others in hopes that maybe it prevents others from having to make such critical decisions too. If we cover enough aspects of any given crisis, maybe those crisis's never take us to that next level where we become part of the problem instead of being part of the solution.
One thing I would do with your list is simplify it....meaning instead of name brand cereal have steel cut oats, have the ingredients to make the cereal not something that came from a factory with so many different unpronounceable unfood stuff in it.
If you don't already, cook from scratch....your main meal which you should have in the morning maybe stew.....what ever meat is available and vegetables that are in season. Leaf greens in the summer and root veg in the winter.
Salads - there won't be factory made dressings after a short time and what you have stocked up with will get used out or become out dated so make your own or eat with out dressings....I sometimes will go and sit in the garden and just pick and eat right there....nothing like peas and their pods right off the vine.
Breads find a recipe that you like that has the fewest ingredients.....baking powder biscuits or roti (unoven flat bread) or banuck are other choices.
Meat will not be coming from the super market it will be what you raise or hunt....do you know how to butcher an animal? Most people don't. Another alternative that stores well is dried beans. You don't have to eat meat to get your protein needs you can get all you need from beans and vegetables.
We will be going back to basics and for me I eat mostly that way and am healthier than when I was eating SAD unfoods. I'm not trying to change the way you are eating, its just that if tshtf we will be going back to the 1880's ways of living and if we don't learn and try/practice that way of life when we really have to change we aren't prepared. 🙂
I've been thinking hard on your suggestions.
I wrote this program with the idea that most folks would
1. stockpile the things they already eat daily first as they could easily rotate these items often
2. stockpile items for easy to make meals without refrigeration and have a long shelf life
3. have a varied selection that wouldn't require cooking at all if need be
The gardening and dehydrating sections are after thoughts as I read what folks were doing her on this forum. As I often mention, gardening is not an area I have much knowledge on but I can see that it's potential for renewable quantities to one's food supplies means it should given great thought. Seeing the forethought required to determine the proper quantities of each vegetable, then factoring the size of garden, plant cycles, harvesting and storing until the next harvest seems a quest only for the experienced gardener. I figure to at least supply the math to give some the confidence to continue beyond the planning stage anyways.
Now you've mentioned recipes and stews, I can't quit trying to see an answer to formulating this into the program too and tying it into the menu option somehow. Meanwhile, I have attacked the supplies section and resolved that TP problem with ways to formulate usage per person(if they answer honestly) 😉 and am doing the same approach to all basic supply needs. Once formulated, then the program can properly determine the duration your present inventory can last and what you need to stock up on too.
I was wanting to make a section on butchering and smoking meats under the meats section. The 256k limit is getting close so I don't know how far I can follow this concept though. I wanted to deduce the amount of lbs of each type of meat one should expect by imputing the approximate weight of say, a moose. In this way you could determine how long that it would feed your clan and how much salt and other preserves one should stockpile to meet these future needs.
And this is why my programs never seem complete.....
I wanted to deduce the amount of lbs of each type of meat one should expect by imputing the approximate weight of say, a moose. In this way you could determine how long that it would feed your clan and how much salt and other preserves one should stockpile to meet these future needs.
Cross your fingers for the link - it's a pdf auto-download that I can't get to save or paste in Word and we can't load pdfs.
Here's a formula: http://www.huntfishsport.com/web.aspx?cmd=deerWeightCalculator
They hold pretty true across split-hoof non-cattle critters so far, and pretty close with rabbits and the lighter-built razorbacks, too. Neither (none that I've seen) take into account marrow or edible organs.
While the numbers hold for some other game, and likely would for moose (does for elk and mountain goat), it doesn't work well for bear because of the difference in meat-fat-bone ratios in those first few years and domestic stock is heavier than wildlife.
I still think simplifying is the answer instead of adding if you really want people to use the tool. It's just cumbersome.
Screen grab of that chart. Weight in pounds. Won't go up to moose and elk still, but the formula in the other link holds for elk.
That's cool. I'd like to add that chart to my pile of paper. Thanks MrsPrepswPets.
The prudent see danger and take refuge but the simple keep going and suffer for it...
Holy crap Knuckle that is quite the spreadsheet! Thanks!
Your welcome TinFoilHats. Stay tuned for the next episode of FoodSupply coming to a forum near you 😀
I've been fixing and locking things so folks can't wreck it anymore. I'm rearranging the Garden section and now I have to fix all the errors that caused. And Mrs Prep has come to the rescue with more info to add in also. Factors I also wish to include regarding butchering was approx weight % of cuts and organs to define nutritional & protein values per each. What I often do is just start plugging in the data and see where things eventually go as I try to make my intentions understood by the user. Seems I am learning more these days in presentation as color and groupings seem to help clarify sections better.
As much as I'd like to reduce the size of this monster, it seems that to disclude a section makes it less complete. The overall program is large because you can see all the data pertaining to each food item. I will start to hide the non required data to make it easier for you (the user) to understand, but leave pertinent areas so you can input your own food selections and their specific data. Once I figure out the whole thing, maybe I'll even work on a more simplified version for SHTF scenario. (But as many say, if that were to happen, could folks still access this data?)
I figure that this data has to function in a manner that you can ignore the program and when you do come back to it, you just need to recount inventory those sections that you use daily to be back on track. If your stockpile remains untouched, you can trust the data you plugged in before without a recount. This means that you should have a pretty good idea immediately of what items are where, and how long your supplies will last if a crisis does arrive.
I still want to finish processes where you can enter pertinent data such as # of people and # of weeks, and the program what to stock up on and how much it will cost you to meet those requirements while pointing out % of deficiencies in your selection of diet. That's why you can see this mention at the bottom of most sections. As you change the selections of what to get, those numbers should change to show your corrections to the deficiencies.....that's the plan anyways!
My suggestions to those who have downloaded it so far is to play with it and try to see and understand all it's functions. I will soon upload a locked down version so that you can use it without risk of damaging a formula and getting errors across the board due to that. As with the Weapons Stats program I wrote, I think each version has vast improvements before I upload a new release. I keep wanting more input as to what considerations might be missing and pointing out errors that you find along the way.
Any chance of a chart with expiry dates of certain prepper foods? I gravitate towards best before dates and add five years. Couldn't believe my eyes yesterday when I was shopping for goods at the local grocery outlet.. cans of sockeye salmon were 13.00 for 3 small tins!! Usually this time of year they are 1.99 for a large tin as the new catch is coming in onto the shelf.
Currently trying to find powdered eggs (whole ) to add to the stash. Cant seem to find the stuff locally. 🙁 Whole powdered eggs are awesome. I ate them in the military all the time. lol There are egg supplements and egg white avail for baking here but that's all. The powder is good for 10 years. A good source of protein.
The prudent see danger and take refuge but the simple keep going and suffer for it...
Any chance of a chart with expiry dates of certain prepper foods?
Hmmm....a shelf life column to add....might be a thought too! Running out of room as I close in on the 256K upload limit. Yet this pretty much pertains to each individual item as a whole. I do have a general shelf life chart but don't feel it priority to add over other things that need completion first. If there is still room, it could be slotted in later.
I have now included Mrs Prep's calculation chart for weights along with one for bear and had to reverse-engineer the formulas(which took about 3 hours and factor out to the 10th decimal) for designing a chart for carcass breakdown showing selective cuts and their expected weights when you enter the animals dressed weight. This will allow you to better calculate proteins, vitamins, number of meals and thus specific meal types and how this prey will effect duration of food reserves. I also did a quartered meat calculator as this method is better suited for moose and other larger game that the girth methods scale doesn't quite go up to.
Keep the ideas coming as I'm plugging code in continually before I do the Alzheimer bike run this weekend...with my luck and memory loss, I might even forget to go! 😮 🙄 😎
If you run a column, would you be able to do each item by year?
For instance, some of the canned peaches (any kind of canned, home-jarred, store-tinned, freeze dried, home or commercial dehydrated) would last 2,3 or 5 years, some 10-15, some 20-30.
On the long range, not an issue, really, until you've been doing this 5+ years.
On the short range, though, the 36 tins of peaches purchased two years ago expire last year and are "good" for what I consider next year. The ones that were bought last year still have two years. The ones I bought yesterday have a different expiration.
If there's just one listing for canned peaches in the log, you have 108 cans that are marked as "expiring" and in need of rotation in that column.
Solutions:
- Yes, have the listing for the earliest date, and just be organized enough that when you get in there, you have them all at hand, and you see it's actually only 36 of them, so you only delete those from the stock to go to the pantry-closet, and reset the date for the next expiration that's decided.
- Keep an additional journal to tell you what's where and which numbered box or bucket is expiring (so why have it in the food calc?)
- List your duplicate items separately ("peaches, light syrup, home/store canned, 14 oz./1 pint, 2012" and "peaches...2013") so that the expiration is in the ballpark.
Could be oats or pasta or any of them, but eventually, you're trying to rotate.
If I'm misunderstanding and we're not looking at actual expiration per calculated item, I'm not sure why the shelf life goes in. You know, if all oats say "3 years, 10 years or 25 years by storage container and conditions". Unless you just want to include it as a general guideline by temp, I guess, as a separate page, but I don't know why that wouldn't just be a spare info sheet in a binder on the shelf and saved on the removable drive/USB, since you're already pushing the edge on space.
I've played with it a bit and looked through, and I'd already need a full video tutorial to use this puppy. I don't know if it's worth taking up the space for a column that would be variable or the ability to flip to another of the pages to see a ROT for shelf life.
If you're looking for general stuff...
Conservative estimates for household conditions and grocery items: http://food.unl.edu/safety/chart
Okay, but by-item grocery breakdown, not chart: http://www.stilltasty.com/
General chart for storage items, perfect conditions: http://www.family-survival-planning.com/long-term-food-shelf-life.html
Another similar one: http://survivalacres.com/shop/content/18-bulk-food-shelf-life
More stuff on this one (printable PDF): http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/fsme/docs/shelflife.pdf
Broken into lifespan increments, shortish list: http://foodstorageandsurvival.com/food-storage-shelf-life/
Cheers!
P
Okay, I guess it's time to share and show where I'm going with this now.
You'll see that a lot is done and simplified so as to be less intimidating. It is now locked down also so that you can delete my data with no fears...hopefully!
Check out the Meats section. By entering in a carcass, it auto fills the freezer section.(for now)I'll create an actuals section for accurate counts where the pricing data presently is.
I'm still working on the Brine calculator so it will tell you how much salt you need for # of lbs meat entered at your choice of %. Might as well cover all aspects of meat calculations while I'm at it...
Also check out the TP calculators in the supplies section. I just guessed at different random data so I'm unsure if the specific section are big enough or too big. I also did fuel projections and have more ideas of combo's to formulate calculations here. ie: enter the km needed to travel per vehicle and fuel consumption, it formulates the # liters required. ie: enter average miles travelled weekly and it will determine fuel supply required for specified period of time and how much investment. Even figured one might have to add in section for fuel additives now too 🙄 Still a work in progress!
Let me know what you think>>>
Please download my Food Stores Program and check it out so I can maybe hear some more ideas if it's functional. I have further revamped and simplified it so that users can get around alot easier. Hunters should like all the options now added for simplifying inclusion to their present supplies.
As usual, the garden section is incomplete as I haven't figured all the data columns one should include to go from seed to harvesting. I have some basic ideas submitted into the seed section for play by those hold knowledge of this subject. The following Garden Veggies Section is supposed to be the harvest of the seeded items above. Do I need a % failure column(or factor) added for user control? What other things require consideration to formulate the process to the final harvest?
I started adding in the expiry column but as I thought , it brought my file size too high to upload to this site. I'm already at 248K of 256K max so not much else can happen. Anyways, please download the file below and start playing with it. It is locked so formulas cannot be damaged. Simply delete my items to add your own.
Let me know what areas are too small and what others could be deleted to make it more well rounded overall.
~ enjoy ~
Knuckle
Thanx Knuckle.. 🙂
The prudent see danger and take refuge but the simple keep going and suffer for it...
Holy smokes, that is an absolute treasure of a spreadsheet. 😀 Thanks!
My only suggestion at the moment will be to have a "front-facing" page that allows the user (any member of the family) to easily deduct items as they are consumed on a daily basis. This will enable it to return a report on inventory management, such as how much is being consumed, at what rate it is being consumed, estimates on how long it will last at the current rate, etc. For instance, if SHTF for 18 months, I would like to be able to easily pull down 3 cups of rice, 2 cans of beans and 3 gallons of water on a drop-down menu, and have a projected estimate for how many more days I can continue at that rate, just like how most modern cars have mileage projections on a digital readout.
I know it'll be a lot of work, I'd be willing to help out.
Holy smokes, that is an absolute treasure of a spreadsheet. 😀 Thanks!
My only suggestion at the moment will be to have a "front-facing" page that allows the user (any member of the family) to easily deduct items as they are consumed on a daily basis. This will enable it to return a report on inventory management, such as how much is being consumed, at what rate it is being consumed, estimates on how long it will last at the current rate, etc. For instance, if SHTF for 18 months, I would like to be able to easily pull down 3 cups of rice, 2 cans of beans and 3 gallons of water on a drop-down menu, and have a projected estimate for how many more days I can continue at that rate, just like how most modern cars have mileage projections on a digital readout.
I know it'll be a lot of work, I'd be willing to help out.
I appreciate the Input RT. That is how I would like things to work. You receive and in thanks, offer some constructive advice so I benefit too. Nice!
I dream of doing such a front to all my sheets but size is a major factor and the limits of this forum is 256K. If I exceed that, I need to post a link and while many sites accept photos, file sharing is sketchier in many ways and privacy is less acceptable too.
I am already reworking the front sheet to be user friendly and include directions also. I now have a total for water supplies and separate its totals into weeks also. I am also working on being able to run scenarios such as if you wish to preset values to show, say 8 weeks supplies, the program should then show you where your present supplies are falling short. This process was always intended and I'm trying to finalize this concept and simplify it's function across each section. The Difficiencies factor (at the bottom of each sheet) will turn Red when say, Protein (or another item)is low, and you can then experiment by raising your minimum values on various high protein items until they meet the criteria set and the deficiency warning disappears. Then the Total Prices of all these suggested purchases required are tallied on the front sheet to show you how much it will cost you to meet this endevour. " NEAT EH ? "
The water section will also consider all possible containers and formulas to interpret the filling of bathtubs, water heaters, water beds and such and add their content to the mix. The water filter formula will factor in the amount of this that you can filter safely to show your total supply of safe drinkable water. I would like to further this consider using grey water for flushing and such too.
I still REALLY need input from Mrs Prep and other gardeners to be able to sort out the garden section properly. They need only to give suggestions of how they mentally factor in the growing process in their heads to get from plating to harvest...watering, weedng times....(I dunno as you can see 😆 ) I just want to make it as accurate as the other sections have become.
The Meat section now allows you to run scenarios to see the changes any large kill would make upon your food stores. Then I even started down the path of Brine for pickling and salting just to try to factor this eventually into the Total Salt requirements section.
I removed the Supplies section completely and will have to do this on another spreadsheet eventually as I needed the room to finish present ideas. I also deleted the menus section as it too would require vast data to program in meals selections and factor their quantities. Many told me to KISS (keep it simple stupid) and I digressed as it was true enough!
Anyways, stay tuned for I am nearing the finish line somewhat.... Keep a Lookout for those pesky errors that ruin a programs trustworthiness too! My goal in the end is maybe this program might save others from headaches trying to sort out such thoughts on a daily basis. I share them freely so others will hopefully remember to share freely too!
I also leave formulas viewable as a courtesy to those who wish to learn by examples here in designing their own works in the future. Since I am self taught at this, I don't know if my approach is proper, but it seems to work. The next update will hopefully have all the above mentioned functioning and ready for testing by you.
REMEMBER: If you want things included, you must suggest them...and I'm still considering sliding in a expiry column at the end if it will still fit in....
BTW, if you program in excel also, I will gladly accept any input. PM me thru this forum and I'll send you my daily work for your review and possible modifications as it will also be unlocked.