Water is one item that is so often over looked in survival planning and yet is one of the most important. That’s one reason why I arranged my Preparedness Manual according to the rule of three:
3 minutes without breathing
3 hours without shelter in an extreme environment
3 days without water
3 weeks without food
This too is in the manual:
From a Sarajevo War Survivor: Experiencing horrible things that can happen in a war - death of parents and friends, hunger and malnutrition, endless freezing cold, fear, sniper attacks. 1. Stockpiling helps. but you never no how long trouble will last, so locate near renewable food sources.
2. Living near a well with a manual pump is like being in Eden.
3. After awhile, even gold can lose its luster. But there is no luxury in war quite like toilet paper. Its surplus value is greater than gold’s.
4. If you had to go without one utility, lose electricity - it’s the easiest to do without (unless you’re in a very nice climate with no need for heat.)
5. Canned foods are awesome, especially if their contents are tasty without heating. One of the best things to stockpile is canned gravy - it makes a lot of the dry unappetizing things you find to eat in war somewhat edible. Only needs enough heat to “warm”, not to cook. It’s cheap too, especially if you buy it in bulk.
6. Bring some books - escapist ones like romance or mysteries become more valuable as the war continues. Sure, it’s great to have a lot of survival guides, but you’ll figure most of that out on your own anyway - trust me, you’ll have a lot of time on your hands.
7. The feeling that you’re human can fade pretty fast. I can’t tell you how many people I knew who would have traded a much needed meal for just a little bit of toothpaste, rouge, soap or cologne. Not much point in fighting if you have to lose your humanity. These things are morale-
builders like nothing else.
8. Slow burning candles and matches, matches, matches
Big thumbs up to the gravy, which I have some of in canned form but literally over a hundred of the dried gravy packages.
Three cups of water brought to a boil, toss in a handful of egg noodles or rice, add gravy pack, little pepper, maybe some oregano (in my garden!!! Very easy to grow! It’s a dang weed!)
Then chow down!
(and I’ve tried this scenario a couple times. It is very, very filling, and quite tasty!)
Thanks for all the info. And thanks for reminding me about the toilet paper issue. Totally forgot about that.
WARM clothes, blankets, and survival blankets, wool socks, wool "anything," and a way to make a fire indoors if your electricity goes out in the winter. Fireplaces/woodstoves are not just pretty additions here, they are survival items.
Render suet into tallow, which will keep indefinitely. Buy Red Devil lye, and make soap with it. Stockpile tinder for firestarters. I've even put dryer lint into paper egg cartons, drizzled the whole thing with melted wax, and broken them off as needed to start a fire.
Food Saver bags! Large plastic pails, jars, and tubs. Dark, cold, storage spaces. The list is endless. 19th century, here we come, apparently! (Prof. Farnsworth)
Hey Kart. Funny you bring up gravy. I was at Walgreen’s today and they were clearing out their inventory of gravy for $0.25 a can. I cleaned them out. Also visited the “Hispanic” store. Pinto bean in bulk on sale for $0.65 a pound.