quote:

Originally posted by TigerDore:
Gas fireplace and gas stove. Longterm storage food with purported shelf-life of 25 years. Canned food, bottled water, outdoor grill with a stockpile of charcoal.

The only thing that I know I need and I haven't done yet is purchase a water distilling machine. I have got to focus on that and get it done.

A still has other uses besides water purification! Creation of trade goods in a SHTF situation should not be ignored. Can you buy a still without drawing the attention of the ATF? I ee several available on Amazon, and I believe you can still create up to 200 gal. for personal use without tax implications. For disinfection purposes, of course!

An associate of mine is adamant that you should prioritize laying in a stock of booze and cigarettes above even ammo. He might be right!

-Plastic sheeting to wall off living room to keep heat in there

-staple gun for sheeting

-clay pot-you light a candle under it-a tea light will work

-candles

-emergency food in a bucket(patriot brand?)

-we keep 2 flats of bottled water in pantry

-games, books, batteries

-oil lamp

-oil for lamp

-5k dual fuel genset

-30lb propane (bbq bottle) I have 3.

-Coleman stove and/or grill we cook outside under porch

-extension cords to run freezer & phone chargers etc

-special cord to split 240 down to 2 120 outlets. So I can run 4 ext. cords from genset

-I have tools etc in garage to repair change oil etc

During power outage due to ice storm we drag blankets/mattress into living room, staple up visqueen, haul in 2 concrete blocks and set up clay pot heat, candles, matches, lighter, move gen set to back porch, rig wires, swap bottle off grill to genset.

Takes about 30 for everything. We’ve done it 2x since freezing out in the big ice storm in Texas couple of years ago.

You’ll want a big enough generator to run your sump pump if you have one.

The little solar sidewalk lanterns come in handy, and you can get them for a couple dollars each. I use a drink bottle or milk jug with some water to hold them upright and sit them outside during the day.

Not really a prepper by choice...just can't afford to live any other way.

We carden and freeze/can a good amount of vegetables every year, so the pantry is always full.

We buy half a cow every spring, and I usually add one or two roadkill deer to the freezer per year, too. I don't hunt anymore due to lack of a good place to do so, but I know how to process them and I'm not above eating fresh roadkill...better than letting it rot.

We're 100 yards from the deepest natural lake in the state, and the river is in my neighbors backyard. We also have well/septic. Water is no problem. Worst case we carry it from the river and boil it. Tons of fish in the lakes, too, and we know where they are and how to catch and clean them.

I have a small generator that will run the fridge and freezer and well pump as long as we've got gas. I've never had to use it.

We have natural gas, but also a propane grill, camp stoves, and a fire pit if things get real bad. We put in a wood stove 2 years ago and primarily heat with that. I only turned the furnace on twice this year...when it got down into the -30s, and even then it barely ran.

I'm the only one in the family on meds. Type 1 diabetic. I try to keep ahead of the refills but insurance will only let you take that so far. If things get so bad that I can't get insulin, that'll be it for me and I guess the rest of the family can eat me first. Other than that we're pretty well set.

We've also got family just down the road and good neighbors. People with skills and people I trust. We've got a camper and the gear to leave if we had to, but I can't think of many situations where we'd be better off anywhere other than here.

Full camping totes. 3500W duel fuel generator, 1KWh solar generator with 200w panel and 245Wh solar generator with 70w panel. Diesel 8KW heater. I keep 26 gallons worth of bottled water in my closet that we rotate often. Ceramic water filter with 2.25ga capacity. Go bags in the all the cars with water, stainless water bottles, LifeStraw's, protein bars, tuna, extra clothes, knife, flashlight, compass, etc. Very well stock bourbon and scotch collection. A ton of extra batteries, flashlights, lanterns, etc.

Just to name a few.

Well we’re smack in the middle of the city unfortunately and will be for at least a few more years. I’m dying to get somewhere more remote… anyway. I have five, 55 gallon drums of good treated drinking water and the means to re-filter it if need be. There’s approximately two months of emergency food stored up and several propane tanks on hand. I was a paramedic for about a decade so we’re pretty good there. Have lotsa emergency meds as well as my RX’s. Comm’s are taken care of now that I’ve finally figured out how to program my amateur radios. No one said how difficult it was to set these up when I got my license! One area I need to focus on is back up power, I just haven’t. had the funds to dive into solar generators yet.

quote:

Originally posted by OttoSig:


I feel like I could be missing some important things to think about.

One is none, two is one. Think about what you need to survive, then layer on top of that what will improve comfort. Consider the top few likely scenarios that would make it impossible or hazardous to obtain necessities elsewhere. Here it would be severe winter weather (electricity, impassable roads), earthquake (power, natural gas, water, impassable roads, possible bugging out, medical first aid), wildfire (clearing trees/shrubs near the house, impassable roads, power, immediately bugging out). Those cover many facets of prepping.

Also consider catastrophic events that disrupt everything everywhere. EMP is the worst as it puts us into the 18th century for many decades. Widespread severe pandemic. Widespread civil unrest. Where will you get food and water after your storage is depleted?

I try to buy extra regular items frequently. TP, tissues, cold remedies, Aleve, salt, honey, soup, canned veges, tuna. Basically staying well ahead so that normally we pull from storage.

A decent solar chargeable battery power station plus a gasoline powered generator (to top off the battery quickly) plus some rational amount of gasoline will keep your home heated and your food cold for a week or two even without sunlight.

A generator access plug for your furnace, and for your home. There are several ways to accomplish this, where you disconnect from the grid and then power important parts of your home safely. Be sure you understand neutral to ground bonding!

A camping stove plus fuel as a backup cooking method.

Wood for the fireplace.

Matches, a bunch of bic lighters, and a bunch of campfire starter methods to light the stove, water heater, fireplace, campstove, etc.

Camping equipment. A tent in the living room can provide a warmer place to sleep. Lanterns for lighting. Cookware that fits on the campstove.

Chainsaw in case of fallen trees, or need to clear near the house in case of wildfire.

Security planning. How will you defend your home from marauders? Will you help out neighbors or strangers who ask for food or supplies? A plan for quiet electricity. Where you can have lighting without broadcasting your home as a place to raid.

Who in your neighborhood might be assets? Try to network before disaster, but without broadcasting that you are a source to be raided by marauders. Who might be a danger? Around here, about half the homes are seasonally unoccupied, so I know where to raid if necessary.

Can you harden your home and property before an event? Strap down water heaters against earthquake. Know where all the shutoffs are for water, gas, and power into your home. Wildfire mitigation (roof, trees/shrubs, hoses to reach around the full perimeter).

Prepping here in FL may mean different things due to hurricane season, but this is what I keep or focus on.

Honda Generator to run fridge and a small AC unit
4-5 gallon jerry cans to fuel the generator (Plus 3 vehicles with 20+gallon tanks each...and a siphon)
Lots of bottled water
2-5 gallon water storage containers for admin things, cooking, drinking.
Canned food for a couple weeks
Pasta/rice for a couple weeks
Gas grill, charcoal grill, gas camp stove
Chainsaws, both gas and battery power
Battery powered lanterns and flashlights