[Wquon]

hi, ive been tryint to prep for a few years now but cannot seem to get the wife on board. mainly the only thing i have asked of her deals with food storage. i grew up in a relativley poor household where we made monthly trips to walmart for the staples of our diet & had a chicken, rabbits & a garden. its been a long while since then & id like to get back to that (maybe every 2 weeks for the walmart trip lol).

i eat almost anything but my wife & daughter have a sensitive pallet ( & are very grumpy when theyre hungry).
over the years ive introduce my wife to variouse ideas that i think could work for us & some of them she seems enthused about but never ending up goin past a weeks worth of storage. from different cookbooks,Wendy Dewitt,analyticalsurvival & canning/preserving i cant get her motivated to store food. once i get back home i think she would do good to have a community to help us get a firmer start thats my last option.

recently i spoke with her on getting some actual staples for our meals (were all over the plave on eating & go to the store more than once a week).

could anyone help me out because i know food & water storage is one of the basic principles to prepping.

 

[Meangreen]

It's not easy especially if there is nothing to motivate a person to do so. Try from a different angle like the fact that it is healthier and it's great for losing weight. Try and do some of the projects as a family like canning and gardening. I'm not Mormon but I found some great classes at the local Mormon church on canning and food preservation.

 

[Inor]

I got lucky because I basically married a clone of Laura Ingalls Wilder. So there was no convincing to do.

You might want to try the financial angle. I have noticed our food expenses were cut by at least a third since we have been actively prepping. Beyond that maybe start with some small things that provide an immediate return such as cheese making or sausage making. Not only is it really fun to do, but homemade cheese and sausage taste far better than anything you can buy in the store.

 

[inceptor]

Texas is tornado and hurricane country depending on what part of the state you live in. My wife started giving me much less grief after I explained that if a tornado hits and takes out power, it could be a while before the stores reopen.

 

[MrsInor]

Start with a food dehydrator. It is kind of fun and if your wife and daughter like healthy snacks - dried apples, berries and peaches are great. Home dehydrating is a lot cheaper than buying store bought and better for you. As Inor pointed out the money angle is a great way to point out the sensible reasons for buying in bulk. If she is a reader try getting a few of the shtf books - Lights Out comes to mind. At last resort (when you get back home) just start filling up the storage space you have with food and water and when she says she needs to go to the store for whatever - bring that item out.

 

[inceptor]

Start with a food dehydrator. It is kind of fun and if your wife and daughter like healthy snacks - dried apples, berries and peaches are great. Home dehydrating is a lot cheaper than buying store bought and better for you. As Inor pointed out the money angle is a great way to point out the sensible reasons for buying in bulk. If she is a reader try getting a few of the shtf books - Lights Out comes to mind. At last resort (when you get back home) just start filling up the storage space you have with food and water and when she says she needs to go to the store for whatever - bring that item out.

That too also worked for me. ::clapping:: She hates running out.

 

[punch]

Howdy from TEXAS!
I got a jump start on prepping in the food dept. after Katrina. The National Guard handed out MRE"S water, ice, tarps and gasoline. Even put it in your truck so you didn't have to get out. I kept coming back day after day even after I had what most people consider well stocked. You may want to start simple with canned goods. After eating MRE"S for a week you will quickly find there are tasty MRE's and far too many tasteless MRE's. A can of pork and beans, chili or chicken soup would be a welcome change in the menu. Of course if you get hungry enough you will eat most any thing. How keen is your mrs's to roasting veggies? I was digging up potatoes and picking quash and it all grilled up nicely. I also joined a site/newsletter called "mylitter.com" Its run by a gal in the Woodlands named Tiffany who was once feature on one of those extreme coupon reality shows. I haven't bought $300.00 worth of groceries for a nickel yet but I have save a substanicial amount on groceries and snagged a lot of free stuff from heads up emails she sends out. Remember, you can never have enough water and have filter.treatment solutions for water as well. Good luck and welcome to the Forum!

 

[punch]

Texas is tornado and hurricane country depending on what part of the state you live in. My wife started giving me much less grief after I explained that if a tornado hits and takes out power, it could be a while before the stores reopen.

After hurrican Rita, I primiive camped and watched over my property for three weeks until power was restored. (family stayed with relatives in Austin) But you are so right Sir. After 2 weeks I was looking forward to a fresh cup of coffee and a donut. I had plenty of food, I just ran out of coffee.

punch

 

[Ripon]

Dear OP,

My dear wife grew up in a life of luxury. Her father, a great man I admired very much, was very successful in his business endeavors. She was the last child, seriously spoiled monetarily, and she is accustomed to eating out, often and well. When I owned my own business that was easy and I didn't balk at it - should have - but didn't. When I lost the business and she was suddenly married to a "failure" in business I thought we might part ways - I worried about it but she remained true, faithful and loving. She even gets pissed if I use that "failure" word. Since then I've done research projects, investigative work, and odd jobs here and there but its going on 4 years now since I've had reliable and steady income. In that time I learned the hard way about "SHTF" though not my natural disaster. I just went from living on $120k a year to $36k a year. Since I could not find a new career I focused on making $36k as comfortable as possible. I expanded the farm land on my dads property which increased the lease payments to us and our income a little. That was done by myself, with an old tractor, a few thousand square feet at a time until the acres added up. I also began earnest gardening and we now buy no vegetables at all. I learned to butcher my own deer which are plentiful on my property and we enjoy a lot of red meat thanks to it. I'm still not raising chickens and should because its one thing we buy a lot of. In a nutt shell I focused on prepping and didn't bother her with it. Being home I changed our diet from dinning out for $30 to a meal of veggies, rice, (or pasta) and chicken or deer. She noticed but didn't complain and now even likes it better. We rarely eat out anymore. She notices the financial benefit of it too - we easily expended a $1000 a month in dining out years ago.

My advise to you is take control of those things you need to in order to validate and expand preps without her input. Change the diet. Reduce your food costs. Garden if you can.

About 18 months ago my wife lost a bet on something significant and was compelled in her defeat to read "One Second After." That got her reconizing my preps and thanking me for them.

 

[Wquon]

thanks. 36k is awsome, i dont think ive ever made over 15k in a year.

 

[Wquon]

grew up in AR & know how that is, some of the best times weve had as a family is when the powers been out for a few days lol (never for weeks at a time fortunatly). thank you

 

[Wquon]

she said she'll give it a try... for us, shes burned out on fruits. i like me some banana chips

 

[Ripon]

It is awesome except when you've enjoyed 120k for a decade plus.

And of course didn't really worry about anything then so my preps were limited to the firearms I bought, expanded on and trained with. In the last year of my business I "knew" and preparations started big time. I recall the statement about a political campaign. You can always get more volunteers, always raise more money, and always come up with new terms / messages but you can't buy more time.

thanks. 36k is awsome, i dont think ive ever made over 15k in a year.

 

[Lucky Jim]

hi, ive been tryint to prep for a few years now but cannot seem to get the wife on board....

Ask her if she'd rather help get your supplies in NOW rather than wait til AFTER the riots start..

Typical forecast for all cities anywhere in the world-

 

[paraquack]

If you have children, ask her how she will answer the kids when they want to know why there isn't any food or water after the first few days. Ask her how she will deal with the death of her children when they die of dehydration. Prepping is "real life insurance".

 

[Infidel]

If you have children, ask her how she will answer the kids when they want to know why there isn't any food or water after the first few days. Ask her how she will deal with the death of her children when they die of dehydration. Prepping is "real life insurance".

While it might work, I wouldn't recommend this idea that is unless you like sleeping on the couch after she says you accused her of not caring about the well being of her children. I like the idea of using the financial aspects of buying in bulk. Also the natural disaster end of prepping may be the way to go if your area is prone to weather events. My wife is still getting used to the idea of me prepping. Since I'm not stockpiling food at this point it hasn't really affected her yet. Unfortunately my house is too small to store a vast amounts of food, we generally keep about 2 weeks worth of food on hand at any one time, this should get us through any weather event that may hit us here. If we know something's coming we may put in a bit extra. I also keep a bit of gasoline on hand to run the generator until I can get out and get more (a few days worth generally).

-Infidel

 

[paraquack]

I would never suggest that any mother doesn't care about the well being of her children, but we all know that there are plenty who don't think about it that light and some who consider their children a pain the arse, and only have them for the government handouts they garner. You should know be know how to deal with your wife. Either she gets the idea or do it the hard way and you sleep on the couch for a few days to a week. Personally, I sit her down, take her hands in mine, look her in the eye, explain to her how much you love her and the children. Tell her concerned you are for everybody's well being, and how much better you'd feel if she bought a little extra food, maybe 1 day's worth, each time she went shopping. This food would go into your emergency storage. If that doesn't work, then you have to tippy toe around her and do what you have to do without her knowing about it. Then when you get caught, you end up on the couch again. No easy way, unless you have a wife who gets it.

 

[inceptor]

If you have children, ask her how she will answer the kids when they want to know why there isn't any food or water after the first few days. Ask her how she will deal with the death of her children when they die of dehydration. Prepping is "real life insurance".

LOL, that should set you on your way to a divorce.

 

[PaulS]

Rational communication, in an honest and open setting, one on one is the best way to discuss any matter with your wife.
Begin by saying, "I feel vulnerable and unable to provide for you and the children in an emergency because I don't have a months supply of food on hand."
Then talk about the "what if's" - Natural disaster, getting laid off or fired, Korea launching an EMP and taking down power, food shortages, etc.
Listen to what she says and repeat her words back to her to show that you understand and EMPATHIZE with her. Repeat how you FEEL like you are not doing your job as a provider. Work it out. She may not want to think about something going seriously wrong so let her know that you can do it but you want her to know so you don't have to lie about it and sneak around.

It won't go that smoothly (or it would surprise me if it did) but being honest and letting her know that you don't want to sneak around behind her back will help. She will trust you more and trust that you are doing this for her and the kids.

Paul - minister and counsellor

 

[paraquack]

LOL, that should set you on your way to a divorce.

I'm not saying be a hard a_s about it but, if a discussion like that is going to cause a divorce, why did you marry her???? If she is really reacts that way, then she must be in one hell of a state of denial. I've met a couple of people where one spouse believes prepping is necessary and the other thinks it's a waste of time and money. One family worked it out, and the other will probably be knocking on my door. I'm am truly sorry if anyone takes offense to my opinion. But think of it as an intervention. Besides, if the husband and wife can't come to terms, how are you going to answer your children when they ask you, why didn't you make mommy put food and stuff away for us, so we weren't starving!
If it's really that bad, it sounds to me like like you guys and your spouses don't have the ability to really communicate with each other. If that's true, well, you got more serious problems than to prep or not to prep. Prepping is "real life insurance".