1St Year Supplies

[Anataq]

I think I should have posted this question one thread above, but here goes anyway...

Pam and I are trying to sort out what food supplies we will want to bring with us into the bush for the first year and how much money to budget for it. We will be moving out to our land in the Spring, (Not this spring) the second half of May with the intention of wintering the first year. Whether, or not we spend the first winter on our homestead will depend largely on our ability to close in our home before the snow starts falling.

What do you suggest as a first year grocery list, how much money would you budget for a full years groceries? What types of supplies and staples would you consider a priority? We don't want to buy to much, and we certainly don't want to run out. We would like to supplement with a fall moose and fish we catch, but nothing is garanteed the first year. We will be so busy building and learning a thousand new tasks, that we don't want to rely completely on the land to feed us, especially considering our son will still be very young.

So how much to buy, what to buy, and how much money should we budget for it?

Can't wait to hear input on this subject,

All the best,
Ryan & Pam

[Chuck]

Might take a few days but between the two of us I think we can get you close.

[Jenny]

Hi,

I've been planning to start a thread like this, but wasn't sure how to organize it, or how to do it without writing a book ! ! ! As you've probably noticed, I can get rather wordy with my posts.

As Chuck said, we'll give this more thought, and probably make several posts. But, the very first thing I would start doing today is put a date on everything you open. Or you could make a list when you open a new package of something, noting the item, size (weight, volume, etc), and the date. Note when it's all used up. That way you know how long things last. If it's a seasonal thing, note that. For example, during the year I don't use much sugar, but in the early fall when I'm making jellies, fruit butters, etc, I use lots. So I note how much I use for that sort of thing, and how much I normally use in a month when I'm not making fruit goodies.

Also, as you said, you don't want to rely too heavily on a moose the first year. I'd get in a good supply of rice and beans. They'll keep pretty much forever, and will do in a bind if you HAVE to rely on it. Keep them away from your house or where you live. If you have a fire, or lose your main supply of food, you'll always have something. Not that you want to live on them, but you can if you have to. We've done it. No fun, but it's not forever. Store them in buckets or barrels with locking rings. Something to keep bears and other critters out. I'll look up how much we went through our first winter. Everyone's different, but it will be a guide.

Gotta go. More on this later. Have fun planning

Jenny

[Freeholdfarm]

The reason old cabins usually had a cache nearby was to store food and other supplies safely in case the main cabin burned. Especially in the winter, it would have been fatal to lose the cabin with no back-up supplies. There was usually a gun and ammunition in the cache, food, bedding, and maybe a small wood stove. Perhaps some other spare tools, like an ax. It was up on legs to keep the bears out, and usually had tin or something wrapped around the legs to keep things like mice out. If you are going to live out in the bush, it would be a really good idea to have a cache of your own. It could also serve as temporary housing while you build your cabin, if you don't make it too tiny.

Kathleen

[Anataq]

Thanks for the reply guys I look forward to hearing more. Kathleen, we will most certainly build a cache, not sure that it will be the traditional cache because we have airtight storage conatainers that are bear proof stored in our storage shed. These are large storage boxes that orginally caried ordinance for Vietnam, they work fantastic. We are also including among our supplies, numerous fire extinguishers, which were not common in the early homesteading days. You are absolutely right though, would not want to get caught in the bush in the winter without emergency supplies.

Thanks for responding, can't wait to hear more.

-Ryan

[Chuck]

Tools

You need to go through everything saws, generators, lanterns, anything that will take a tool to fix and make sure you have the tools your going to need, there is nothing more frustrating than get in the middle of project and find you don't have the right tools. I can't remember all the times I had to modify a tool or otherwise improvise one from another tool. A lot of older chainsaws and generators use allen wrenches the newer ones have torx screws. Don't forget your going to need both SAE and metric wrenches and sockets.
Sharpening stones for knives and axes. A file guide and files for saws. Also a flat file and Gage for the raker's. I think you said you were using an 044, you might consider something smaller for general work (firewood, brushing, ect.) I use an 029 and 039 for all of my firewood and an 056 for the mill and Lewis wench.

Parts and other stuff

filters-oil-air-fuel
spark plugs
brushes for electric motors and generators
oil for 4 cycle and 2 cycle engines

[Anataq]

Thanks Chuck, good advice. I have been acumulating tools for quite some time now and have been slowly filling in the gaps, buying tools I think I might need. For saws I have an 026pro, an 036QS, and the 044 Arctic. I have a couple 16" bars, 18" bars and one 24" bar.

What are your thoughts on buying chain, would you buy it by the roll, or in loops? I do have a break and spin tool and I made sure I had numerous odds and ends for the saws, replacement parts etc.

I used bar oil to wipe down all my tools before I stored them just in case there might be moisture in the cases. Especially on all the blades, like draw knives, and chisels.

Ryan

[Chuck]

Ryan

I just happened to think of something else. 029s and 039s use a nylon worm drive to run the oil pump, if you have regular bar oil in the saw when the temptures drop to somewhere around zero the oil will be to thick to pump and strip the worm gear.
You should either take a supply of Stilh's cold weather bar oil or use kerosene to cut the regular bar oil. If you don't you will be like me and changing gears in the middle of wood cutting season.

Alaska HOMESTEADING Journal

[UgashikBob]

Anatag:
We order our groceries every fall before freeze up and they have to last till breakup in the April time frame. Our order is usually in the neighborhood of 3.5-4K for that 6-7 month time frame for two people and a dog. There are a lot of variables that can effect that. We use a expediter in Anchorage who charges 15% over the cost of the goods and the figures I gave you include that and the postage to mail them to the nearest village. Intrastate postage under 70 lbs is still a bargain in Alaska even though the rates have almost doubled in the last ten years. There is also a 60 mile boat trip involved to get them here after they arrive at the village We do no eat high on the hog and supplement our store bought goods with moose, fish, berries and some garden grown vegetables.
We store most of our dry goods in an underground cellar we made in a seperate building that uses the same logic as the cache. We use a lot of salt and brown sugar for example because we have a lot of salmon to smoke available at our doorstep. It is a rare treat when we get a plane in during the winter with fresh vegatables, fruit or ice cream.

[Jenny]

Thanks for posting. Chuck and I were talking this morning about supplies to keep on hand and such --- things we need to get before flying back to our homestead. We were going to PM you and ask you and your wife to start joining this thread since you have to fly things out, too.

Thanks!

Jenny

[Anataq]

Bob,

Thanks so much for responding. This topic has been a challenge for us, so input from someone who is allready doing what we are about to undertake is fantastic. What expiditer do you use in Anchorage? I read that there are a few businesses that will do this for families in the bush. Do you shop online and then place your orders with the expidtor? We will be ordering groceries in Fall and will need them to last the same period of time, until breakup and from the look of it we have a similar climate considering we are at the base of the Alaska Pen, and you are a bit farther south. I also noticed that you have quite the setup where you're at, I can see that you have quite a bit of money in your homestead. Do you fish comercially, what do you do for income? We too have access to more salmon that we will know what to do with, how much salt etc. do you order to prepare meet and fish?

Thanks again,

-Ryan

[UgashikBob]

Anatag:
Here is the website for our expediter::http://alaskabushservice.com
We have been very pleased with the service we get from these people. We fill out a order form and fax it to them.
I try not to think about how much money we have in our place but think we have a lot more sweat than money as we built all of it ourself. We don't do anything for income as we are both retired and live off from our retirement. We use about 150 lbs of brown suger and 100 lbs of sallt a year for smoked salmon brine. Would have to ask my bride about the specifics but if it looks like it won't keep long it probably will not. We make our own beer, wine and soda and keep it cool under the floor and it is feed to taps by co2. Just had a plane in from King Salmon today and we have fresh eggs, tomatoes and lettuce so Its kind of lke Christmas tonight.
Were are you located on the Alaska Peninsula?
Bob

[kasilofhome]

I know that it can be a pain to get supplies I have to go to town every day. so if I can be of help to people who are really in the bush let me know.

its our 2nd year here in the pen. of ak. when I worked at the store I loved how organized the bush shoppers were. Many of the cashiers hated the large orders but I found that were a great way to speed up "item per min scores."

Check to see if you can do couponding because i had one bushy as i called them that did it for one person's order.

People in
Ak are very helpfull. we had a bad start the first year but that is a LONG story. People help us through the first winter. Like to repay if i can
kasilof

[Washkeeton]

Hi again. You need to eat at home now minus the salmon and moose etc, how you will be eating when you move. Are you planning to have wheat to grind? If so you will need to think of something to do for your son. He wont be able to handle whole wheat products constantly for a while. Email me and I can give you some of the web sites I have used for food storage as well as figuring for a years supply. You will need to start buying now. You and your wife need to keep track of what you eat now at home. Make a list of the menues, then break it down to what makes up the meal. Keep breaking it down until you have how much in a week then figure per month then figure per year.
I do the once a month cooking thing and I make menus and have been able to break down then I can shop for 6 months at at time. I dont hunt for food. In my home it would be a waste right now. Later Wash

[Stumpy]

Has anyone composed a partial list ever? Since conditions for storage will be different, preparations will be different, as well as caloric requirements, might make for interesting reading?

Anyone want to take a stab at it? Would help with the notion of cache size requirements

Thanks,
Sean