This is something I just don't understand! I don't understand how people can choose to not prepare even a little bit. Putting up a few cans of soup or tuna fish once a month isn't that difficult or expensive. I guess it's the mindset that 'the store is only down the street', never thinking one day it might not be (or be shopped out or just be impossible to get to).
In my basement is a 'heavy-duty' shelf I bought at Home Depot which has many canned items like soup, Chef Boyardee, vegetables, fruits, beans, cans of chicken & tuna, Spam and jars of spaghetti sauce, mayo, apple sauce, etc. In metal potato chip/popcorn cans I've got things like pasta (spaghetti, Ramen noodles, etc.) and boxed goods (macaroni & cheese, etc.) and anything else that's 'soft-packaged' and needs to be kept rodent-free. (I've got the word out to all my family and friends that I'll take any and all of those metal chip cans they'd care to give). Paper goods (toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, etc.), soap, shampoo, deodorant, shaving cream, detergent, bleach, etc. There are a few bottles of wine and cases of beer (for emergencies only! - Actually I keep a few bottles of wine on hard for the forgotten birthday gift). I've even got a few children's games in there too (they're both for emergencies and for a quick "Oops, I forgot" birthday gift). When I need something, I get it from downstairs. When 'downstairs' needs something, I get it from the store.
I have to say I've got this thing so loaded, the shelves are badly bending (they're made of 2' x 4' pieces of some kind of particle board, so I'm going to replace them with good heavy-duty 3/4-inch plywood)
I also have two 23,000 BTU kerosene 'convection' heaters (I bought them on sale at Home Depot for $77 bucks each! I doubt if they'll keep the whole house warm but I figure they'll keep it warm enough to keep the pipes from freezing if the main heater fails) and, so far, eight 5 gal. containers of kerosene, and two full 20 lb. bottles of propane for the propane grill and/or my camp stove (Propane bottles should NOT be kept in your basement!! - this is where I'd love to have a small outbuilding, for the propane, bottles of lamp fuel and 55 drums of kerosene and gasoline!).
On the other side of the basement are two 55 gallon drums of water. I got both drums for free from the local sodapop bottler. I just rinsed them out with hot water and then a little bleach, then filled them and added a preservative. I recently checked the water and it was still perfectly clear (They're the milky-white barrels, I'm thinking of changing them to the dark blue ones, to help keep light out).
That's for the 'input.' For the 'output', my next purchase is going to be a Thetford Portapotti. I'm going to get a big one that can take a lot of 'use' before it needs to be emptied. Worst case scenario - using a post hole digger out in the yard to make 'quickie' latrines. This is one area where an outhouse would really come in handy, but here in the city they're a no-go (at least not legally).
Also, to be fair, in my neighborhood, flooding really isn't a problem, but winter storms, among other things, are - not to mention the convenience of just walking downstairs to get something to eat. I use this stuff every day, keep it rotated, and replenish it as needed. It is no more expensive than buying something at the store. I bought all this stuff at the store - I just store it in my basement for a while before I eat it. This helps keep me out of trouble and keeps me from becoming a burden on someone else. - Dave.