Posted on 11/01/2012 10:46:33 AM PDT by Joseph Harrolds
Just how prepared should you be to ride out a disaster, man-made or otherwise? For purposes of this thread, we'll define the various levels of "prepping" as follows, mostly dependent on how long you can "ride it out" before needing to leave your home or receive aid from the authorities:
Level 0: Nothin'. Your emergency supplies consist of half a box of Cheerios and a cigarette lighter. In case of disaster, you'll be first in line for some government-issue MREs and a seat at a football stadium.
Level 1: While you don't keep things at home with disasters in mind, you at least could live on the supplies in your cupboard & refrigerator (assume the electricity is the first thing to go, though) for a few days to a week. If the tap water stops flowing you're in trouble, though.
Level 2: You've thought about prepping to the extent that you have actually bought a fair amount of supplies with just that in mind. You have enough food and stored water to last a month, and you have at least the level of supplies suggested by FEMA at http://www.ready.gov/basic-disaster-supplies-kit. You routinely keep a survival kit in your vehicle...just in case.
Level 3: Serious prepping. Forget being prepared for the sorts of disasters that have struck this country in the past, you're prepared for worse, more hypothetical ones; nuclear terrorism, bio-terrorism, hyper-inflation, etc. Instead of a savings account or CDs, you have gold and silver. You have enough food and supplies to last a year...at least.
Level 4: It's not just a hobby, it's a lifestyle. You're ready for the End Times, full-blown nuclear war, a zombie apocalypse, the complete collapse of society, etc. You have the supplies, land, and skills to make it on your own (or with the help of your friends/family/survival group) for the rest of your life. You either live on a survival retreat already or plan to go there when TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It) strikes.
So the question is, which category do you most closely fit, and do you aspire to a higher (or lower) category?
I'm around level 2 myself, and would like to get to about 2.5 or so.
I bought some from an Army Surplus store once, gave them to my son in law. How do those work out?
May I suggest adding to that plan? All "normal" bathtug drain seals leak small amounts. They are good for hours, not normally days.
And if you need it to be your drinking supply, you may wish it was not open to the cat/dog/kids etc.
Several companies make inexpensive tub "bags" to keep your water in the tub and keep it clean.
http://www.aquapodkit.com/order
http://www.amazon.com/waterBOB-Emergency-Drinking-Water-Storage/dp/B001AXLUX2
Not near as prepped as I want to be, better than most.
I’m working on building my bug out shelters (two bug out locations) using compressed earth blocks (building the CEB machine this winter). Bug out #1 is 1 hr drive away, #2 is 3 hrs away.
Already have some food (1 weeks worth - 2 if rationed) and adding more weekly, water filtration and purification, guns, ammo, 100 lbs of propane, enough camping gear for my whole family and 24 ft trailer if needed.
Still need:
a propane space heater
a 7kw portable generator (multi fuel)
finish out food for family of 5 for 1 year
ethanol still
more guns and ammo (never have enough)
1 year of seeds (x2 - one for each location)
solar powered water well and septic system at bug out location #2
equipment to build a high tunnel green house at each location
By this time next year - should be 100% at home (bug in) and bug out #1. Might still need some work at bug out #2. Might need some more food, but essentially done.
I love this topic. When I bought 20 acres south of Kansas City, and was having a water well drilled, the drillers tapped into a natural gas reservoir.
I have two generators at my home. I have one in the garage which powers the house, which is used when we lose power due to winter storms, and I have another in my outbuilding which can power every structure I ow, plus I have consider extra to help people I like.
We have about three years worth of food, canned and frozen, with a five acre spot already prepped for a garden. The most important item I have is a celltion of 5 M-4’s with 20K rounds of ammunition.
So what am I. I think I’m about a 9.5!!!!
I love this topic. When I bought 20 acres south of Kansas City, and was having a water well drilled, the drillers tapped into a natural gas reservoir.
I have two generators at my home. I have one in the garage which powers the house, which is used when we lose power due to winter storms, and I have another in my outbuilding which can power every structure I ow, plus I have consider extra to help people I like.
We have about three years worth of food, canned and frozen, with a five acre spot already prepped for a garden. The most important item I have is a celltion of 5 M-4’s with 20K rounds of ammunition.
So what am I. I think I’m about a 9.5!!!!
I’m probably a 1.5 would like to be a 2.5.
I have a generator but have no plans to use it other than a short time during power outages.
Living in the woods I would simply go back to what my parents did when they were young. You cook with wood. You get your water from a well or spring.
I am too old to re-learn how to farm with a horse or mule. I will just have to depend on what I can grow in a garden or have saved for food. I do have a lot of fruit and pecan trees so that would help during the Summer and even during the Winter with a couple of things.
I am lucky that water is always available. I have camped with my Father and Brothers while hunting. We did live off the land for a week or so. Of course Daddy always brought a jar of grease and a frying pan.
The main problem would be heat in the Summer. This brick house was not built for living without AC. It has double paned windows and low ceilings.
I remember growing up in an old frame house with large windows and screens. It had high ceilings. It was perfectly comfortable in the Summer with the windows open.
not a chance -
most of us have collections of weapons lost in unfortunate incidents....just last week I retold the story of losing mine in an asbestos factory fire....many others lost theirs in similar accidents, be it sudden opening chasms that suddenly close without leaving a trace, or the fellow who lost everything - including his prep goods to the unfortunate flood....he lived in the city I think - somewhere on the 15th floor
A solid 3 - with a remote off-grid location to retreat to should I need to evacuate from my primary residence. Supplies and equipment at the ready at both sites.
*
I have tried their freeze dried bags where you just add boiling water. This was while camping.
It was extremely tasty, better than most meals prepared the regular way. Of course things tend to taste better while camping. I am not sure why.
Personally I expect something much like the well I think that we are in for something like the collapse of Argentina ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yerKMQc7-w&feature=grec_index )but on a global scale.
When you add in the fact that their is a growing concern for social unrest regardless of which way the election goes, the next few months will be like walking a mine field.
Recent events show (Flash Mobs, OWS, etc) we have a large entitlement minded population that is violent prone and armed. I think that during a collapse you will see many small businesses wiped out by flash mob looting, and once started it will quickly spread to rape, robbery and murder for murder sake. You will see what I call ‘pocket pogroms’ and if you ain’t ‘Amish’ you better not be around when they come.
Many of these ‘yutes’ will think no more about killing you than most people think about stepping on a roach. That will be the test of many. Most preppers I know are Christian people and they will hesitate to do what they might have to do to stop the ‘yutes’. On the other hand the ‘yutes’ won’t think twice nor lose a minute of sleep, in fact they will smile and laugh about it.
I can’t help, but think of this quote which is one of my favorites:
“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Siege of AR-558 (#7.8)” (1998)
Quark: “Let me tell you something about Hew-mons, Nephew. They’re a wonderful, friendly people, as long as their bellies are full and their holosuites are working. But take away their creature comforts, deprive them of food, sleep, sonic showers, put their lives in jeopardy over an extended period of time and those same friendly, intelligent, wonderful people... will become as nasty and as violent as the most bloodthirsty Klingon. You don’t believe me? Look at those faces. Look in their eyes.”
Clearly there’s a storm coming, as great as a hurricane and like you do when a hurricane comes your way you either prepare to weather it or you become a victim of it.
For those who are just starting or are old hands at prepping you may find my Preparedness Manual helpfull. You can download it at:
http://tomeaker.com/kart/Preparedness1j.pdf
NOTE! THIS IS A FREE DOWNLOAD. I DO NOT MAKE ONE CENT OFF MY PREPAREDNESS MANUAL!
For those of you who haven’t started already it’s time to prepare almost past time maybe. You needed to be stocking up on food guns, ammo, basic household supplies like soap, papergoods, cleaning supplies, good sturdy clothes including extra socks, underwear and extra shoes and boots, a extra couple changes of oil and filters for your car, tools, things you buy everyday start buying two and put one up.
As the LDS say “When the emergency is upon us the time for preparedness has past.”
Or as the bible says: A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.
NIV Proverbs 22:3
“There is no greater disaster than to underestimate danger.
Underestimation can be fatal.”
We’re probably a 2.5 here.
That sure is a great start, both of those have a 10 year plus shelf life, and while not a complete larder, it would suffice for a long while before diet deficiencies kicked in.
With enough water and fuel (a pressure cooker reduces that) to cook a cup of dry rice and a third of a can of spam every day, you would be getting about 1,000 to 1200 calories and the spam could probably get by without refrigeration during the three days of using it, also, the cooked rice can get by without refrigeration for a few hours, so you could split your cooked daily ration into two meals.
With the odds and ends and misc canned goods and oil, maybe even some daily vitamins that you already have in the pantry, it is easy to have a desperation level of short term survival food for a month or two or three.
People will correctly point out the inadequacies of rice and Spam for sustaining health and physical vigor after a couple of weeks, but when you read about the American POWs in Japanese camps and what they ate, you realize that 1100 calories and some protein, can keep you alive for a long while.
While more is needed, you sure made good choices on those two.
The first year that we moved up here, to WA, we went through a 100 year storm, with 15 degree temperatures, 15 inches of snow that was covered with 2 inches of ice by the time the storm ended. We were without electricity for five days, pipes broke when the temperatures warmed and we had only been the house for two months, so we were totally unprepared.
We lost electricity for three days at a time, two more times that winter. My husband is determined that we will never be that unprepared, again. The only problem could be that we have not stored enough gasoline for a long period of time. We might consider getting a propane fired, whole house generator instead of the gas powered one.
The problem with gasoline generators is they are an internal combustion engine with a carburator. They NEED to be started once a month and run for 15 minutes. You need to check the oil. You need to make sure the gasoline stored in them has fuel stabilizer in it. When you turn it off, it is best to run it dry so there is no fuel left in the carburator. You also need the ability to store several days worth of fuel. They burn about 5 gallons/day. IF you fail to do any of these things your generator may not start when you need it most.
Also, there are many differnt brands of liquid fuel generators. The best are diesel. The best gasoline are Honda Inventers(this is what I have). It was $3600. You can buy an OK Generac for $700. The next thing you need to do is have an electrician wire in a Gentran or Protran switch box next to your house panal. This allows you to bypass your main box and power a select number of circuits in your home($600-1100 installed). This also keeps the power from your generator from going back from your house out to the street and frying the electrcal worker trying to resore power down the road.
The BEST solution is to buy a gas(natural or propane) if you have that available already piped into your house. These turn on automatically once a month and within seconds of losing power. They also cost more($6 to $10k) plus they Gentran switch box. This eliminates the need to run out with your three 5 gallon gas jugs and wait in line(like the poor people today in NJ) and buy the gas you need to run your generator. The problem with that is the gas filling stations pumps run on electricity too.
Google Wendy deWitt or Everything Under the Sun. Ms. deWitt is a Morman and has written the booklet "Everything Under the Sun". She gives excellent advice on how to prepare yourself for disasters. She emphasizes inexpensive preparations that most people can make, given time. The thing is to never stop - make it a lifestyle.
I probably have about 3 years worth of food at this time. I have enough to share with my family and neighbors. I have a whole house generator capable of running all of my electrical needs and a water collection system (thanks to my nephew who is an engineer). I live in hurricane area and we have never lost gas service during a storm. Something to consider is a small investment in Space Bags for vital records, photographs and your food preparation items in the event of flooding.
When I was living off-grid and doing the mountain-man thing, I was using about 4000 calories a day. Less during the summer, more during the winter.
/johnny
The #10 cans contain 10 servings or more of each entree at a significant cost savings over the individual packets. I think that once a can is opened it should be used within a month or so, but I haven't tested it out. I would be interested to know from others who have used the cans what a reasonable time period would be. They are definitely the best tasting of the freeze dried products but do contain a pretty hefty dose of sodium.
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