Inventory and Preventative Maintenance
Is there a sexy side to recordkeeping? Okay, it’s not the most scintillating topic but if you think having hot water and eating is sexy, then recordkeeping is the precursor.
Recordkeeping
I’ll admit, I actually enjoy creating spreadsheets for budgeting and inventory - I even have one for my garden journal so I can compare, year to year, what I planted and the results. Every year, I modify my practices based on what I learned from the year before.
Keeping records of our stocks reveals what we actually use and what we need more of. Also, being able to see the things we thought we’d use but didn’t (like powdered eggs) prevents wasted energy continuing to buy and store them. One day, these things might serve as valuable barter items because someone else might love to have them.
Simply put, keeping track helps you make the most of what you have. It also makes me feel very good inside, for some odd reason.
When I was in Elementary school, my mother worked in the school library. After class, I had another hour to kill before her workday ended. Often, she put me to work returning books to the shelves. I felt a sense of joy and accomplishment as I made sure every book found its proper spot in accordance with the magical Dewey decimal system.
Even as a young child, that system made sense to me. It was logical and kept everything in its place. Yes, my nerdiness began early.
Later on, when I was assigned to write a school report with a Table of Contents, I had a hard time keeping it simple. I imagine Dewey wrestled similar demons when he thought of the category Mathematics. The label Mathematics falls short of the description needed. In the end, we have this sort of breakdown, thanks to Dewey:
500 Natural sciences and mathematics
510 Mathematics
516 Geometry
516.3 Analytic geometries
516.37 Metric differential geometries
516.375 Finsler geometry
Bless your heart, Dewey. I feel you.
The first inventory sheet I made started to look a lot like Dewey’s Mathematics category. It was overwhelming because I was trying too hard to achieve specificity that, in the end, doesn’t really matter.
Since that first sheet, I’ve learned to simplify. I’m not categorizing a world of library books, after all, and no one but me and John will ever use our lists. Thus, I’ve simplified and personalized my system.
Instead of having dozens of types of beef, I have finally settled on a few categories like Beef Roast, Beef Ground, and Beef Steaks. Flour is still at six types, but that’s manageable down from ten.
I say all this to make a simple point: While it’s absolutely vital to know what you have, don’t get lost in the minutia of brands and cuts of meat. It just doesn’t matter. But DO keep track. Whether you use an Excel spreadsheet or paper and pencil (not pen!), keeping track of your supplies and systems is vital to preparedness.
I’ll include a list of inventory items at the end of this post. My actual spreadsheet includes columns for Pantry/Freezer/Cellar, but yours may look different. Peruse the list to see if it reminds you to add anything to your stocks, and add a comment if you notice I’m missing something important.
Some Stocking Tips:
When you stock your shelves, rotate the older items forward. Think like a grocer - because you are. Always label your purchases with the date (month and year). When you open something, write the date on it. For instance, I know that a tube of toothpaste lasts me six months. I don’t know if that’s a long time or not relative to anyone else, but I know how many years worth I have in stock because I track it.
Some people say they have “Two years worth of food”, but how do they know? Hopefully, they know because they’ve been tracking their actual practices.
I did a post last summer about Preserving foods so if you want to dig deeper into building your stocks, you’ll find helpful information there.
Preventive Maintenance
While I’m usually the one who takes care of growing, tracking, buying and cooking the food, John keeps a watchful eye on our systems. John was a maintenance supervisor for several years and a hands-on maintenance guy for almost twenty years, so preventative maintenance is in his blood.
Sunday Routine
Every Sunday, like clockwork, John checks the water level of our cistern by dipping a measuring stick in the top and recording the level. He set our well pump to automatically come on when the water falls to a certain level in the tank. Sometimes we notice it come on, sometimes we don’t notice.
You don’t want to find out your well pump has an issue by turning on the faucet and having no water come out. That’s finding out the hard way. By checking the water level every week, he can make sure it stays at a good level and nothing is amiss. If it’s off, he can investigate it before it becomes an emergency.
Next, John checks the propane level of our main tank and records it. We’ve been doing this for a little over three years now so we have a good understanding of how much propane we use. Checking the level will alert us to any possible leaks if our level dips below what’s normal for us.
Finally, John checks and records the generator hours. We usually notice when the generator comes on (it’s set to come on automatically if the batteries dip below a certain level), but it’s possible we could miss it. While he’s there, he’s also checking for any faults that might be have been triggered.
John jots all of these Sunday metrics on our calendar so they’re easy to keep an eye on. We now have three years worth of info to compare. Because of this, we know how much propane we need to budget for, approximately how long our generator should last us, and how much water we use in winter vs. summer. These are helpful tools in planning for the future.
Other preventative maintenance (although not weekly), includes checking the mouse traps (yeah, he can do that…), monitoring the water level of the lead acid batteries, battery equalization, changing the oil in the generator (and vehicles, tractor and snowmobiles), and so on. The frequency of these jobs will obviously vary but I stress: Get in the habit of keeping an eye on things so you can address problems before they become emergencies.
“They used to check your oil when you got gas. Usually the oil is fine, but just the act of opening the hood is important. You might see something while you’re in there like a leak or a worn belt and you can fix it before it becomes an issue.”
Wise words from John
While service station attendants that check your oil don’t exist anymore (do they?), the philosophy is sound. Just by being in the space and having a look around, you might discover an issue you didn’t know you had. For instance, I lost a lot of salt and baking soda several months ago because we didn’t realize how much humidity we had in the cellar. As a result, all my salt and baking soda solidified into bricks.
We live in a very dry climate - usually. Winters are different, with all the snow and snow melt. Now we know. We’ve since put some dehumidifiers in the cellar and installed a couple ventilation fans. While I had to throw out what was ruined, I now store our salts, baking soda and other powdered items in the indoor pantry. I’m glad I didn’t discover my salt bricks two years from now.
I also make a habit of checking for soft potatoes, pumpkins and squash in the cellar. One soft potato can ruin a whole bag. I also pay attention to my cans to look for rust or bloating (none so far!); I check my jars for leaks, cracks and discoloration (again, none so far!). While I’m looking, I keep any eye out for any rodent droppings in the cellar (which is rare). If we find any, we address it right away.
Familiar eyes overlook much.
We stop seeing the things we walk by everyday. We get used to our environment and become desensitized. Take care to set aside time to really see your home and belongings, to look for problems, and think of ways you can improve your systems.
Here’s that inventory list I promised you. We’re always refining it and trying to replace or supplement stock items with things we can produce ourselves (like supplementing store-bought chicken feed with our own grains and corn). It’s a work in progress, but it’s a system that works for us.
Some of the items are necessities, some are luxuries, and some are things you might not even need but could possibly use to barter later (like reading glasses!).
If my list helps you with your preps, feel free to use it and share with a friend.
Meats (Canned, dried, and frozen)
Bacon
Beef
Ground
Beef Roasts
Beef Steaks
Crab
Chicken
Chicken Breasts
Chicken Drumsticks
Chicken Thighs
Chicken Whole
Chicken Other
Cornish Hens
Duck
Fish
Salmon
Fish Other
Pork
Ham
Pork Chops
Prosciutto
Shrimp
Turkey
Turkey Ground
Turkey Whole
Turkey Sausage
Tuna
Vegetables (canned, dried and frozen)
Artichoke
Beets
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts
Butternut Squash
Capers
Carrots
Corn
Cranberry Sauce
Eggplant
Garlic
Green Beans
Mushrooms
Onions
Parsnips
Peas
Peppers
Pickles
Potatoes
Potato Hashbrowns
Sweet Potatoes/Yams
Pumpkin
Radishes
Rhubarb
Spinach
Squash
Tomatoes
Fruits (canned, dried and frozen)
Apples
Blueberries
Cherries
Cranberries
Mango
Mixed Fruits
Peaches
Pears
Pineapple
Raisins
Strawberries
Jams/Preserves (canned)
Apple
Apricot
Blueberry
Fig
Peach
Raspberry
Strawberry
Walnut/Maple/Praline
Stews/Soups
Beef Stew
Chili
Soups
Homemade
Variety canned
Dry Goods
Au Gratin Potatoes
Beans
Cornmeal
Granola
Gravy Mix
Grits
Mashed Potatoes Instant
Oats
Peanut Butter
Rice
Rice Arborio
Rice Cilantro
Rice Jambalaya
Rice White
Rice Whole Grain
Rice Dirty
Dairy
Butter
Salted
Unsalted
Butter Powder
Ghee (Make your own)
Milk
Buttermilk Powder
Heavy Cream Mix
Condensed Milk
Evaporated Milk
Storable Whole Milk Dried
Cheese
Cheddar
Chevre
Feta
Mozzarella
Parmesan
Swiss
Other
Baking/Cooking Supplies
Salt
Almond Milk
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Balsamic Vinegar
Breadcrumbs
Chocolate Chips
Cocoa Powdered
Coconut
Coconut Milk
Corn Starch
Corn Syrup
Crisco
Flour
All Purpose Flour
Almond Flour
Bread Flour
Cake Flour
Self-Rising Flour
Whole Wheat
Gelatin
Lemon Juice
Nuts
Oil
Coconut Oil
Olive Oil
Vegetable
Sugar
Brown Sugar
Confectioners Sugar
Fine Baking Sugar
Granulated Sugar
Yeast (very important)
Broths (useful in canning, but you can use water also)
Vegetable Broth
Beef Broth
Chicken Broth
Mixes (none of these are necessary, but they’re nice to have sometimes)
Cake Mix
Brownie Mix
Cheese Biscuit Mix
Cookie Mix
Cornbread Mix
Corn Muffin Mix
Frosting
Hushpuppy Mix
Muffin Mix
Pudding Mix
Sauces/Condiments
Barbeque
Chocolate Syrup
Enchilada
Honey
Ketchup
Manwich
Maple Syrup
Mayonnaise
Meat Sauce
Nutella
Pancake Syrup
Pesto
Salsa
Spaghetti Sauce
Vodka Sauce
Salad Dressing
Pasta (Pasta isn’t hard to make, by the way, if you run out of stock)
Canned
Fettuccini
Gnocchi
Penne
Spaghetti
Other
Drinks
Apple Juice
Cranberry Juice (acts to treat Urinary Tract Infections)
Coffee
Hot Cocoa
Orange Juice
Tea (medicinal/herbal and other)
Water
Wine
Snacks/Desserts
Jiffy Pop
Kernels
Trailmix
Personal Care
Astringent
Contacts (you can order online with a scrip from your ophthalmologist)
Contact Solution
Bar Soap/Body Wash
Conditioner
Deodorant
Eye glasses (extras!)
Floss
Moisturizer
Razors
Shampoo
Shave Cream
Sunscreen
Tampons/Etc. (Even if you don’t use these, they’re a great barter item)
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Household
Multi-purpose Cleaner (Simple Green concentrate)
Bleach
Dish Detergent
Hand Soap
Laundry Detergent
Sponges
Trash bags
Paper Products
Paper Towels
Toilet Tissue
First Aid
Acetaminophen
Advil PM
Alka Selzer Cold
Antacid
Antibiotics (Jase Medical is a great resource)
Antibiotic Lotion
Bacitracin Zinc
Band Aids
Bleed stop spray and powder
Castor Oil
Cotton Balls
Decolorized Iodine
Echinacea tinctures
Ibuprofen
Mucinex
Nyquil
Peroxide
Potassium Iodine (just in case)
Rolled Gauze
Rubbing Alcohol
Theraflu
Wrap Bandage
Kitchen Tools
Clingfilm
Foil
Freezer Paper
Parchment Paper
Freezer Bags
Vacuum bags for vacuum sealer
Vitamins/Other
Cranberry Caplets
Vitamin D3
Fish Oil Krill CoQ10
Lemon Balm
Omega 3
Quercetin
Vitamin C
Zinc/Calcium/Magnesium
Animals
Dogs
Canned Food
Dry Food
Treats
For emergency (CA Vet Supply is a great online resource)
Antibiotic
Bleed stop spray and powder
Disinfectant with lidocaine
Chickens
Grow Crumbles Layer
Layer Pellets
Oyster Shell
Grit
Meal Worms
Someone likes cheese!