Is it Truly a Year’s Supply?

This is my fourth or fifth attempt to write on this subject. It just never comes out the way I want it to nor does it convey what I am trying to express. I will try again and see how it goes.

We always hear and read about how much folks have supplied. This guy has two years worth of food and the other guy has six months of gasoline. Have you wondered how they know those numbers?

Over the last few years I have kept track of several things I use daily to see just how much I would need for a year’s supply. Just before we moved to the farm I found a store going out of business that had three bottles of shampoo on sale for a ridiculously low price, three for a dollar I think it was, maybe 50 cents each. Anyway I figured that would last me most of the rest of my life. It turns out that one bottle will last 24 months. My second bottle is about used up and except for the time I was in the hospital and used the shampoo they gave me I have pretty much stuck with my “supply”.

My wife and I each use a separate bathroom for showering and well, other stuff. One roll of toilet paper will last me two weeks. I have tracked this for a while and that is my average. The other day I was in the bathroom changing out a roll of toilet paper. I knew it was Friday because I change out the toilet paper every other Friday, almost like clockwork. A four pack of rolls is good for about two months in my bathroom. Six to eight packages of toilet paper should last me one year. My wife goes through a little more in her bathroom. Add in the additional usage from guests and the boys home on leave and the total of rolls we use in a year is right around 100 rolls. Call it a case of toilet paper, 96 rolls. I no longer have that much in storage, but I did a few years ago.

It is very easy to underestimate the amount of an item you hope to have a year’s supply of. When we moved back to the farm I loaded a shelf in the basement with paper towels. My wife and I looked at the full shelves and decided we were good for at least a year. Six months later we were buying towels again. Underestimating some items is no big deal, but if you have made a short guess on your food supply you might be in for a long hungry time until crops grow. Or if you heat with wood and you figure two cords is enough and you need four, you will be down right cold or working in the subfreezing weather trying to cut wood.

It is an easy task to track usage. Make that list and write down how much of something you use. Once you get a handle on it the task of maintaining a year’s supply of anything gets easier. If you know you need 96 rolls of TP for the family for a year once you reach that you can move on to other items. A few times a year you stock up and forget about that item again. It takes a load off of your mind and helps you feel like you have accomplished something.

Start with a few items and keep building on the list. Before long you will know the peace of mind of having a year’s supply put away. The more items you do that with the more peace of mind you will have as we race toward TEOTWAWKI.

Wolverine