Managing Expiration Dates
By Dale 
When we think about expiration dates we all think about our food storage, you might have even thought that this article was going to be all about food expiration dates. While food might have the lowest expiration date, and it is important, there are a few more supplies we need to pay attention to, including our own expiration date.
The reason I titles this post “Betting Old Sux! And Managing Expiration Dates” is because no matter how hard we try to be completely prepared, supplies expire, our family makeup changes, our health changes as we get older and life seems to throw us the unexpected at the worst possible times.
Managing expiration dates and changing plans is all part of the game. Whether you are talking about disaster planning, or fixing a broken window, if we can’t get that stuff figured out now while times are good, we have no hope when help is not on the way. 
Expiration is inevitable, even the sun and earth will expire someday. Expiration is a fact of life, and a part of prepping we just have to deal with.
This double edged sward leaves you with 2 options, the first is to wait as long as you can before you buy something, hoping nothing happens before you get to it. The second choice (and smart one) is to purchase these supplies, and pay close attention to rotation and inventory.
This week in the show Lisa and I talked about everything from food storage to medical supplies, and how to maximize their shelf lives.
Food Storage: Everyone has their own method of inventory and rotation, but I can tell you from experience that the more food you store the harder it is to keep track of. This is especially true for canned goods because they tend to hide in the back corners of your cabinets.
This article has an inventory worksheet you can download, and this article explains the different types of food storage and techniques, from canned food to long term food storage.
How you Store Your Supplies: When we think of expiration dates we tend to think about food, but proper storage also plays a role in how long our other supplies last. Temperature, humidity and time are all enemies of our supplies, make sure they are cleaned after use, and stored properly to extend their lifespan.
Fuel and Cars: Hopefully you know about how important fuel storage is, if you don’t this article will explain everything about rotation and fuel additives. It’s not just important to store extra fuel, it’s important to do regular maintenance on our vehicles because you don’t want it to break down when you need it most.
Home Maintenance: There might come a day when the handyman will be gone and fixing something is not just a phone call away. Learning how to do some of these tasks yourself will not only help in a SHTF situation, you might even save a few bucks along the way. There are also other DIY prepping projects you can do to learn new skills and save some money.
General Supplies: There are so many other prepping supplies that at one point or another are going to need replacing. Water filters, air filtration masks and batteries will only last so long, so we need to know how to extend their lifespan, and know how to survive without them.
Medical Supplies: This one really gets me because medical supplies are not cheap, but they are absolutely necessary. Prescription medications, OTC Medications (over the counter) and even Band-Aids all have an expiration date and will need to be replaced. While we can “push” the expiration dates with some of these, they lose their potency and effectiveness over time.
Our Health: Our own expiration date is the most important of all expiration dates. Not only because if we are dead none of this matters, but also because if we are not healthy it makes everything else harder on us and everyone around us.
By eating right, exercising, and paying attention to what our bodies are telling us, we can hopefully increase our expiration dates, and increase our ability to do certain tasks that might be necessary…although nothing in life is guaranteed.
Our Family & Our Plans: Like it or not even the best plans are going to change over time. As our family gets older, as our family structure changes and as our financial situation changes, so will our plans. A disaster preparedness plan that took hours of planning and works perfectly now, might not work so well in a year from now. We need to be able and willing to pivot and change our plan how our situation dictates.
Money: One thing we weren’t able to get to in the show was managing our money. You might not think about money having an expiration date, but depending on our bills our paychecks only last so long. You can spend money wisely, you could save money by using coupons and there are even a few ways to make a little extra cash for prepping.