Whether you have a few shelves of canned food in the basement or a fully stocked safe room with months of supplies, one truth applies to every prepper and homesteader:

If you don’t know exactly what you have, you don’t truly know how prepared you are.

Inventorying your stock is one of the most overlooked but most valuable habits in preparedness. A well-maintained inventory system helps you avoid waste, identify weak points, rotate supplies properly, save money, and respond faster during emergencies.

Many people spend thousands of dollars building up food storage, medical supplies, tools, and emergency equipment but never take the time to organize or track it all. The result is expired food hidden behind newer purchases, duplicate gear, forgotten supplies, and dangerous gaps that only become obvious when an emergency actually happens.

Preparedness is not just about accumulation. It is about organization, awareness, and readiness.

Why Inventory Matters

In a real emergency, confusion is the enemy. Imagine needing antibiotics, batteries, water filters, or propane during a prolonged power outage or disaster and not knowing whether you actually have them, where they are stored, or whether they are still usable.

A current inventory eliminates guesswork.

An organized inventory allows you to:

Know exactly what supplies you possess
Quickly locate critical items during emergencies
Identify shortages before a crisis happens
Prevent overbuying duplicates
Rotate perishables before expiration
Budget and plan future purchases intelligently
Track consumption rates over time
Coordinate supplies among family members
Reduce stress during high-pressure situations

Preparedness without organization can create a false sense of security. Inventory turns scattered supplies into a functional preparedness system.

What Should Be Inventoried?

Every homestead and prep setup is different, but most preparedness inventories should include several major categories.

Food Storage

Food is usually the largest category for preppers, and it is also one of the easiest to lose track of.

Inventory:

Freeze-dried meals
Canned goods
Bulk grains
Rice
Beans
Pasta
Baking ingredients
Cooking oils
Spices
Dehydrated foods
MREs
Snacks
Comfort foods
Livestock feed
Garden seed storage

Important details to record include:

Quantity/volume
Purchase date
Expiration date
Storage location
Calories or serving counts

This information helps you estimate how long your food supply will actually last. For example, many people believe they have “six months of food” until they inventory calories and realize they only have enough for six weeks.

Water and Water Treatment Supplies

Water is even more critical than food. That’s why redundancy matters. Have many layers of water options available, and keep track of the usage of your storage, filtration, and treatment options.

Inventory:

Stored drinking water
Water barrels
Water filtration systems
Replacement filters
Purification tablets
Bleach/pool shock
Rainwater collection supplies
Portable filtration devices

Important details to record include:

fill date/treatment type for stored water
filter lifespan and replacement schedules
purification ratios for bleach and tablets
AGE OF BLEACH (bleach starts to break down after a year)

Medical Supplies

Medical preps often expire quietly in the background.

Inventory:

First aid kits
Bandages
Gauze
Medications
Antibiotics
Pain relievers
Prescription medications
Medical tools
Gloves
Masks
Sanitizers
Trauma kits

Important details to record include:

Expiration dates
Dosages
Quantities
Storage conditions

Many medications remain usable beyond printed dates, but inventorying them helps you make informed decisions and replace critical items before they degrade.

Power and Lighting

During emergencies, power supplies become essential.

Inventory:

Flashlights
Lanterns
Batteries
Rechargeable battery systems
Solar generators
Fuel cans
Propane tanks
Extension cords
Chargers
Inverters
Solar panels

Fuel rotation is especially important. Gasoline stored for too long without stabilization may become unusable, and batteries can quietly discharge or corrode over time.

Tools and Equipment

Many preparedness tools disappear into garages, workshops, sheds, and vehicles.

Inventory:

Hand tools
Axes
Chainsaws
Repair parts
Hardware
Gardening tools
Fire-starting equipment
Radios
Protective gear
Hunting equipment
Fishing gear

Inventorying tools prevents unnecessary duplicate purchases and helps ensure essential equipment is maintained and accessible.

Self-Defense Supplies and Ammunition Inventory

Security is an uncomfortable topic for some people, but it is an important part of preparedness.

During emergencies, natural disasters, civil unrest, or prolonged supply shortages, the ability to protect yourself, your family, and your homestead may become critically important. Just like food, water, and medical supplies, self-defense equipment should be carefully organized, maintained, and inventoried.

Many people purchase firearms, ammunition, or defensive tools and simply store them away without tracking quantities, locations, maintenance schedules, or training supplies. Over time, this can create confusion, unsafe storage conditions, or major gaps in preparedness.

A proper self-defense inventory should include:

Firearms
Ammunition
Magazines
Holsters and slings
Cleaning kits
Spare parts
Optics and batteries
Weapon lights
Hearing protection
Body armor
Pepper spray
Archery equipment
Training gear
Safe and lockbox combinations
Maintenance records

For ammunition, inventory details should include:

Caliber
Quantity
Storage location
Purchase date
Lot numbers
Rotation or training usage

Ammunition can quietly disappear over time through training, range use, hunting trips, or borrowing between family members. Without a current inventory, many people drastically overestimate how much defensive ammunition they actually have available.

Inventorying defensive equipment also helps ensure:

Firearms remain properly maintained
Batteries in optics and lights are fresh
Magazines remain functional
Rust or moisture damage is caught early
Critical gear remains accessible during emergencies

Secure storage is equally important. Preparedness should always balance readiness with safety, especially in homes with children. Firearms and ammunition should be stored responsibly, and inventories should remain private and protected from unauthorized access.

A well-maintained self-defense inventory is not about paranoia; it is about responsibility, accountability, and ensuring your equipment works properly if it is ever needed.

Safe Room Supplies

If you maintain a safe room, storm shelter, or emergency retreat area, detailed inventorying becomes even more important.

A safe room inventory should include:

Food
Water
Medical supplies
Sanitation supplies
Communications equipment
Self-defense tools
Bedding
Clothing
Fuel
Lighting
Ventilation supplies
Backup power
Important documents
Cash reserves

Safe room supplies often remain untouched for long periods, making them especially vulnerable to expiration, battery failure, moisture damage, pests, or simple forgetfulness.Without regular inventory checks, a safe room can slowly degrade from a lifeline into a storage closet full of compromised supplies.

The Hidden Costs of Poor Inventory Management

One of the biggest reasons people avoid inventorying is because it feels tedious. But disorganization is usually far more expensive.

Poor inventory practices can lead to:

Expired food waste
Duplicate purchases
Missing gear
Unbalanced supply storage
Overstocking low-priority items
Dangerous shortages of critical supplies
Financial waste
Slower emergency response times

Many preppers unknowingly spend money replacing items they already own simply because they cannot find them. Others discover expired supplies only after an emergency begins. Inventorying saves money because it allows you to buy intentionally instead of emotionally.

Simple Ways to Inventory Your Preps

Your system does not need to be complicated. The best inventory method is the one you will consistently maintain.

Notebook Method

A simple binder or notebook works surprisingly well.

Use sections for:

Food
Water
Medical
Power
Tools
Safe room supplies

Update quantities whenever items are added or removed.

This low-tech method has the advantage of working even during power outages.

Spreadsheet Method

A great option is a digital spreadsheet. It is easy to update and maintain, and it can be easily shared with other members of the household.

Programs like Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, and LibreOffice Calc allow you to organize your inventory lists and make changes without the hassles of pen and paper. These allow sorting by expiration date, category, quantity, location, etc. Spreadsheets also make it easier to calculate calorie totals, track usage trends, and plan purchases.

Print a hard copy and refresh it every time there is an update.

Labeling Systems

One of the simplest improvements is adding clear labels to shelves, bins, and containers.

Label:

Contents
Purchase dates
Expiration dates
Rotation priorities

A visible labeling system dramatically speeds up inventory checks.

First-In, First-Out Rotation

A strong inventory system supports food rotation. The “first in, first out” (FIFO) method means older items are used before newer ones. This minimizes waste and ensures your stored food remains fresh and usable. Without rotation, even large food stores can quietly become expired liabilities.

How Often Should You Update Your Inventory?

Inventorying is not a one-time project. Preparedness supplies constantly change. Try to update your inventory any time you add to it. Check inventory from time to time.

A practical schedule might include:

Quick monthly checks
Quarterly expiration reviews
Annual full inventory audits

Many people combine inventory reviews with seasonal preparedness tasks such as:

Generator maintenance
Garden planning
Fuel rotation
Battery replacement
Storm preparation

Consistency matters more than perfection. Even a basic updated inventory is vastly better than none at all.

Inventorying Builds Confidence

One overlooked benefit of inventorying is peace of mind. Preparedness anxiety often comes from uncertainty.

When you know what you have, where it is, how long it will last, and what still needs improvement, you gain clarity and confidence.

Inventory transforms preparedness from vague fear into practical readiness. It allows you to make rational decisions instead of reactive purchases. And during emergencies, that organization can save valuable time when every minute matters.

Final Thoughts

Buying supplies is only the beginning of preparedness. Real readiness comes from maintaining, organizing, rotating, and understanding those supplies over time. An inventory system turns your homestead or prep storage from a pile of stuff into a reliable survival resource.

Whether your preparations are small or extensive, taking the time to inventory them today could prevent waste, reduce stress, save money, and potentially protect your family during future emergencies.

Preparedness is not just about what you own. It is about knowing exactly what you can depend on when it matters most.

The post Inventory Your Preps: Why Every Homesteader and Prepper Needs a System appeared first on BetterHomestead.

The whole article, with some good recipes, can be found here.

Easy, forgiving, healthy and economical, beans are a home cook’s secret weapon. Yes, canned beans are convenient, but knowing how to cook dried beans gives you flexibility, and makes for a far more delicious meal. This guide will tell you everything you need to know about preparing beans and some of their relatives in the legume family, including lentils and split peas, both on the stove and in the pressure- or slow-cooker.

Before You Start

Check for a date on the beans; freshness matters. Dried beans last up to two years, but are best cooked within a year of harvest. Always rinse beans before cooking, and check for stray rocks, twigs and leaves.

Leave substantial time for bean soaking (either overnight or using our shortcut method) and cooking. If you are short on time, choose lentils or adzuki beans, which cook quickly and don’t need soaking.

To add more flavor, consider cooking your beans in stock or broth instead of water (and see our chapter on seasonings for more ideas).

Choosing Your Bean

There are dozens of varieties of beans, but these are the ones you’re most likely to encounter. Use this list to figure out what to buy when you want them to fall apart into a soup or dal (lentils, flageolet and split peas), or hold their shape for salads (adzuki, black-eyed peas, chickpeas, cranberry and kidney). As a general rule, 1 cup dried beans makes about 3 cups cooked.

Adzuki: These small, scarlet beans cook quickly, with a sweet flavor. They’re often used in Japanese bean paste desserts, but are versatile enough for salads, soups and stews.

Black: Also known as turtle beans, these full-flavored beans are classic in Latin American cooking, usually for soups and stews.

Black-eyed peas: These small earthy-flavored beans, also known as crowder peas and cowpeas, are particularly cherished in Southern cooking.

Cannellini: These mild, starchy white beans are often used in soups and stews, particularly in Italian cooking.

Chickpeas: These nutty-tasting legumes, also known as garbanzo beans, are used all the globe in many guises: soups, stews, dips and even fried or roasted as a snack.

Cranberry: These red-and-brown speckled beans have a rich, toasty flavor. They hold their shape well for salads, soups and stews.

Fava: Dried favas, also known as broad beans, have a very strong, meaty flavor and a somewhat thick skin. Beloved in Middle Eastern cuisine, they are made into soups, stews and salads.

Flageolet: These are a creamy, smooth, pale green-to-white-hued bean from France with a thin skin. They work well for soups and purées.

Great Northern: These large white beans with a firm texture and gentle, nutty flavor are great for stews and soups.

Kidney: These large red beans are often used in salads and chili. Some people find them particularly hard to digest, but soaking and rinsing before cooking can help, as does using a pressure cooker.

Lentils: There are several varieties of these tiny legumes, ranging from shiny black beluga lentils, which remain nicely intact for salads, to orange-hued “red” lentils, which collapse into a thick purée when simmered. In between, there are brown lentils (good all-purpose lentils) and more expensive French green lentils, also called Puy lentils, which take a bit longer to cook and have a nice sweet flavor. All lentils are relatively quick-cooking and don’t need any presoaking.

Lima: Large white dried lima beans take on a velvety, creamy texture after simmering, and hold their shape well.

Navy: These small white beans have a nutty flavor, and cook more quickly than other white beans. They are the traditional choice for Boston baked beans. Like red kidney beans, they can be easier to digest if you soak and rinse before cooking.

Pinto: These are small brownish-pink beans frequently used in Mexican and other Latin American cooking, particularly for refried beans, stews and chili.

Split peas: Green or yellow split peas are small legumes often used in soups, and in the case of the yellow ones, Indian dals. They do not need to be soaked before cooking.

Soaking

Soaking your beans helps them cook faster and more evenly, and it can also make them easier to digest. If you add salt to the soaking water (in other words, make a brine), your beans will cook even faster; the salt helps break down their skins. Here are a few methods; choose the one that best fits your schedule. And keep in mind that you never need to soak legumes like lentils or split peas.

OVERNIGHT SOAKING

To soak beans the traditional way, cover them with water by 2 inches, add 2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt (or 1 tablespoon fine salt) per pound of beans, and let them soak for at least 4 hours or up to 12 hours. Drain them and rinse before using.

QUICK SOAKING

Another option is quick-soaking, which allows you to make a pot of beans within a few hours flat without sacrificing flavor or texture. Put the beans in a pot on the stove, cover with water by two inches, add salt if you like, and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and let them soak for an hour. Drain, rinse and proceed with your recipe.

OR, DON’T SOAK AT ALL

Here’s a secret you may not know: You don’t actually have to soak your beans at all. Just add them to your pot and plan on cooking your recipe for another hour or two beyond the usual cooking time. Keep an eye on the level of liquid, adding more water, broth or stock if the pot looks dry. There should always be liquid covering your beans as they cook.

Seasoning

You can simmer beans and other legumes in nothing but plain water with salt and get great results. But before you start cooking, take a minute to add the herbs, spices, stock and aromatics that make beans even better. Even a humble onion and a bay leaf works wonders.

Salt & Spices

There’s a myth out regarding beans and salt — specifically, that you should never salt your beans before cooking because the salt keeps them from cooking through.

That’s just not true. You can add salt to your bean pot at the beginning of cooking, and your beans will be better seasoned for it.

If you’ve ever cooked beans for hours without them softening, it’s probably because you’re using old beans, or you’ve got hard (mineral-rich) water, or there’s an acidic ingredient in the pot, which can slow down cooking. Using distilled water solves the hard water problem. (And soaking your beans in salt water before cooking not only adds flavor, it can also help them cook more quickly.)

Don’t stop at salt and black pepper. Spices like cumin, cinnamon, coriander, ground chiles and allspice add depth and complexity to your bean pot and are traditional additions in many cultures. To give spices a richer character, toast them in the pot for a few minutes until you can smell them, then add beans and liquid.

Herbs

Fresh or dried branchy herbs — rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, oregano, sage — work best with beans when they are added at the beginning of cooking. Tie them up with some kitchen string if they are still on their branches, or just throw them into the pot if you don’t mind retrieving them later. For a good, all-around basic bouquet garni, tie 1 bay leaf (preferably fresh) together with a sprig or 2 of rosemary, a couple of thyme sprigs and some parsley and/or sage.

Loose dried herbs can be tossed directly into the cooking liquid.

Soft herbs — cilantro, basil, parsley, chives — can be scattered on top of cooked beans as a garnish, or added during the last 15 or so minutes of simmering.

Aromatics

A few aromatics added to your bean pot at the beginning of cooking turns the pot liquor into a rich, heady broth. Add garlic, celery, carrots, chiles, ginger, onions, leeks – anything that you’d add to a stock will work well with beans.

Tie aromatics up in cheesecloth for easy removal, or just throw them into the pot and fish them out later.

Meat and Stock

Consider cooking your beans in stock instead of water. Vegetable, chicken or beef stock will add a rich depth of flavor; consider chicken stock for cannellini beans, or vegetable stock for lentils. If you use stock, you may want to adjust the amount of salt you add to your beans.

If you decide to add meat to your pot, put it in at the beginning of cooking. Bacon and ham (or a ham bone) will add wonderful smokiness that pairs deliciously with pinto, cranberry or white beans. After the beans have finished cooking, remove the meat, chop it up and add it back to the pot.

Cooking

You’ve soaked your beans (or maybe not) and they’re ready for some heat. Simmering them on the stove is the time-honored method, and we’ll tell you how to do it. But you can also cook them in a slow cooker or a pressure cooker — whatever you prefer.

STOVETOP METHOD

Place your beans in your pot and cover them with at least 2 inches of water, and turn the heat to low. Stir them gently and occasionally, never letting them hit a strong boil; this can burst their skins and make them mushy or unevenly cooked. Depending upon the variety, dried beans will cook quickly (about 15 minutes for red lentils) or slowly (up to 3 to 4 hours for unsoaked chickpeas or lima beans).

SLOW-COOKER METHOD

To use a slow cooker, cover your beans with 2 inches of water or broth and salt to taste, and toss any aromatics you like into the pot. Set your machine to the low setting and cook until the beans are done, usually 3 to 6 hours. If you are cooking kidney beans, you need to boil them on the stove for 10 minutes first before adding them to the slow cooker. This makes them much more digestible.

PRESSURE-COOKER METHOD

To cook beans in a pressure cooker, place your soaked or unsoaked beans with enough water to cover by 2 inches into the pressure cooker. Add salt, any aromatics you like, and a tablespoon of neutral oil to help keep the foam from clogging the vent. Make sure not to exceed the maximum fill line for your brand of pressure cooker. This is usually around the halfway mark for beans. Cook at high pressure for anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes for small beans such as black-eyed peas, lentils and split peas, to up to 35 to 40 minutes for larger beans such as chickpeas. Soaked beans will cook more quickly than unsoaked beans.

Testing for Doneness

How do you know when your beans are ready to eat? Read on for the signs that it’s time to taste — and don’t toss that cooking liquid.

To make sure your beans are cooked thoroughly, scoop up a couple of beans and blow on them. The skin should curl and wrinkle. Then taste. They are done when they’re tender and cooked through to the center (but not mushy). Let them cool in their cooking liquid.

A tip: Don’t throw out your bean cooking liquid, that tasty pot liquor. Salt it if need be, and save it. It’s basically a rich vegetarian stock that freezes well for up to six months; use it as you would any other chicken or vegetable stock.

Storage

How and where you store your beans, lentils and more, both before and after cooking, can dramatically affect flavor and texture.

Store uncooked dried beans in a dark, cool cabinet for up to a year. They really go downhill after two years, so throw out all your old beans, especially if you can’t remember when you bought them. If you can find a harvest date on your package of beans, all the better. Some beans may have been stored in a warehouse for months or even a year before they arrive at your market.

Cooked beans are best stored in their cooking liquid in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Or drain the beans and toss them with a little oil, salt and pepper (or a vinaigrette) before chilling. This both preserves them and flavors them.

Beans can turn mushy in the freezer, but if you do want to try to freeze them, do so in their cooking liquid.

The post How To Cook Your Stockpile of Beans appeared first on BetterHomestead.

They discovered a man, believed to be the father of the family, and six of his children aged between 18 and 25 near the village of Ruinerwold in the northern province of Drenthe.

Police arrested a 58-year-old man at the scene but he was not the father.

“I have never come across anything like this before,” local mayor Roger de Groot told a press conference.

“Police investigated after receiving a tip-off from somebody who was concerned about the people’s living conditions” and discovered the adults, de Groot said.

“They lived an isolated lifestyle,” he said, adding that they had been living on the homestead for the past nine years and several of the children “had not been taken up in the birthing register” or officially registrated.

Many questions were unanswered and police are investigating “all scenarios”, the mayor added.

Local news station RTV Drenthe, which first reported the story, said the family “have been living in a basement for years, waiting for the ‘end of time’.”

Some of those freed “had no idea that other people existed,” the station added.

Police were alerted after a man of around 25, believed to be the family’s oldest son, walked into a village bar on Sunday evening.

The dishevelled man, unwashed and wearing old clothes said “he has not been ‘outside’ for the past nine years,” bar owner Chris Westerbeek told RTV Drenthe.

“He said he’d never been to school and seemed very confused. He spoke in a childish way,” said Westerbeek.

The man told Westerbeek he ran away from home and urgently needed help, “so I phoned the police.”

Upon investigation police discovered a hidden staircase behind a cupboard leading to a cellar where a man said to be the family’s father and five others, believed to be his children, were hiding.

The post Dutch family discovered in cellar after spending years ‘waiting for end of time’ appeared first on BetterHomestead.

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Sales of underground survival bunkers have spiked in recent months thanks to increasing uncertainty and fear in the age of Pres. Donald Trump.

A Saturday morning report on MSNBC revealed that Texas contractor Clyde Scott can’t keep up with the demand.

“In the Obama administration our sales went up 250 percent,” Scott said. “The Trump administration, in the past month, our sales went up 500 percent.”

Scott explained that most of his clients hope to never have to use their doomsday shelters.

“If you have to come in here, that means the outside world no longer exists as we know it,” he said. “This is the doomsday scenario, right here.”

Most clients are afraid of war with another country, Scott explained, or civil unrest in the wake of a societal breakdown.

Some shelters are spartan, others are luxurious with pool tables and hot tubs and price tags can range up into the millions of dollars.

However, some customers believe what second-time bunker buyer Josh Greenhaw said, “You can never have too much protection.”

Watch video about this story, embedded below:

Check out our “products we love” section for homesteading, prepping, and green living items that we’ve used and recommend.

The post Sales of survival bunkers jump ‘500%’ since Trump took power appeared first on BetterHomestead.