Exceptions To "Store What You Eat & Eat What You Store"

Shawn and I have approached our Emergency Preparedness by following the above idea.."store what you eat and eat what you store." Basically, what this means is that you only store up the items that your family consumes on a regular basis. Then you rotate through the oldest of your stores while replenishing what's been used with newer product. For example, there's no point in stockpiling mass quantities of canned beets if no one in your family is going to consume them unless they're actually starving..but, if your family does like to eat canned peas, then stock up on those and rotate through by earliest expiration date.

Recently, Shawn and I were able to attend a Survival & Emergency Preparedness Expo. It was a wonderful event that allowed us the opportunity to mingle with like-minded individuals that understand the importance of being prepared. At that event I was able to see that Shawn and I had followed "store what you eat and eat what you store" to a point where we were lacking items that would be beneficial in an emergency situation.

You see, our lifestyle is different than most. We don't use a lot of products that typical families do. Our food choices are different. Our cleaning supplies are different. Our way of treating illness is different.

After thinking this over a bit, I've decided that we needed to add some things to our inventory. Bleach, for instance, is never used in our home. However, in an emergency situation I can see the benefit of having it. Over-the-counter children's medicines that we avoid because of the artificial colors and flavors could be invaluable in an emergency situation when a doctor isn't available and herbal remedies weren't effective. Canned vegetables are used very, very rarely in this home, but I think the importance of having them in an emergency situation is pretty obvious.

So, I'm putting this out there to get everyone to think about their own individual situations. Are there things missing from your household that you would wish you had in an emergency situation?