Firemouse wrote on another thread, ". . .The only doomer to admit to having purple sparkle toe-nail polish on her list of essential preps."

You know what? I believe her. Firemouse is like that, very purply sparkly.

So what did you have on your list that you thought of as essential but that others might think was, um, frivolous? Okay, if not rivolous--what did you go overboard on?

I think my porta-potty was about as frivolous as I got. I can't remember--there was so much STUFF. There still IS so much stuff. I'm still using stash coffee beans--and still replenishing, although not in such enormous quantity as before :)

-- Anonymous, April 23, 2001

Answers

I really wasn't sure how long some of the stuff would last.

Just ran out of hair conditioner, but still have a couple bottles of shampoo. What was really unnerving, though, is that it has been so long since I have purchased any conditioner (like 2 years) that nothing remotely resembling my old brand is on the shelf anymore. I felt like I had entered a time zone where the usual beauty aids aren't available any more, and I have no idea how to make a selection.

OTOH, I appear to have several years' stash of tampons. Enough to get me way past menopause prolly.

-- Anonymous, April 23, 2001

Guess I should have saved more water. LOL

almanac

We also just had to go buy more TP. But we do have all the old t- shirts and socks and stuff as rags....

-- Anonymous, April 23, 2001

If you run out, lemme know, Brooks. Guess who finished menopause right after she bought cases of that stuff? Still, they'll come in useful as swabs for through-and-through gunshot wounds.

-- Anonymous, April 23, 2001

The case of Ghiaradelli semi sweet chocolate chips? No, I ate those, so they can't be frivolous.

The extra needlepoint kits for all my spare time (hah!) were my most frivolous purchase. However, I'm still keeping them for a rainy day.

-- Anonymous, April 23, 2001

"The case of Ghiaradelli semi sweet chocolate chips? No, I ate those, so they can't be frivolous"

Bardou, if you tune in, I wanted to commend you on your success in shedding those y2k pounds and expunging your y2k larder of the carbo culprits. You were part of the inspiration that helped me shed all that weight as well. Of course, it wasn't practicable until I found a charity for the 100 Hershey's candy bars, after having first disappeared the rest of the choco larder.

-- Anonymous, April 23, 2001

For the serious gun shot wounds, you just save up the champagne corks and re-use 'em as plugs...

The old t-shirts -- uh, I'm still wearing them. One of the great joys of being self-employed, I can look like a bum on days when I don't even have to go out to the post office. Had to wear pantyhose for a business thing in NY this weekend, it was such a pleasure going to the ladies' room afterward and cutting them off me with my swiss army knife. Real primal moment.

I think I still have two boxes of TP up in the attic, I guess I over- estimated. But what a blessing it was, given what a disaster the year was for me. At least I didn't have to remind my husband to go out and get it all the time.

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2001

Well. . .don't know what I fell short of stocking. Ask anyone who was involved helping me with my move from KC last fall, and they'll likely answer "Nothing!". Even with me sharing great portions of my 'stash' with my movers, there's quite enough of most everything left that we could conceiveably go through the end of this year and into next without purchasing much of anything if we had to. I guess the one thing I've been buying is coffee, and that's not so much because I underestimated, but because there's another coffee drinker I share a cup with now, and I hadn't planned on that when I was stocking up. :-)

When we were in the process of moving, I briefly entertained the notion of not moving everything, and instead donating it locally. But I didn't. . .and we moved it all. I'm glad we did, too. But, talk about combining households of 'doomers'! LOL!

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2001

". . .combining households of 'doomers'!" Ohmigawd! What a terrible mental image! I mean, we still don't have any spare space in this almost 2,000 sf house, but I can't imagine two portapotties and accompanying chemicals, two howitzers, two M*A*S*H units, two portable bunkers, etc. Good heavens! And I bet you never have to buy matches again. . .

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2001

I bought too much shaving creme -- still have another six months' worth, I think. I really can't whine about the rest. I priced some razor blades and shampoo recently. Talk about sticker shock . . .

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2001