In the winter/spring sometimes we have pretty good wind storms that knock out the power for a day or two. I have a wood stove, so that makes heating and cooking pretty easy in a pinch.

I usually end up using both supplies and skills on camping/hiking or camping/kayaking trips. It keeps me from getting rusty and affords the opportunity to use supplies before their expirations.

It seems to me that there is something deep in human nature that makes us want to build up stores ready for an emergency, even if we live somewhere that is not prone to any kind of disaster. Nowadays those of us who don't live in areas prone to flood, hurricane, or any other probable disaster, still plan for civil unrest, nuclear accident, meteor strike, or whatever. We gain confidence from being prepared. Maybe it is a hangover from our evolutionary past. Apart from having bottled gas should electricity fail, we can also cook on our wood-burning stove. Every so often, I have to use up some of the supplies, though, to keep things up to date.