Posted on 04/15/2006 6:20:52 PM PDT by Chickensoup
I received some money recently. I have decided to put a portion of it aside to spend on retrofitting the house and packing in some supplies for 6 for a year.
I want to be able to rotate the supplies through our regular pantry. I also will be retrofitting our well to pump into a holding tank...and I am looking for a good wood cookstove, I have a big jotol in the living room.
Candles, oil lamps whatever. Your input and links would be appreciated.
It's all quite simple. You gotta look at it like a list.
1.Heat, 2,food, 3, safety, 4 comfort, 5, water
If you can keep your family fed, warm, clean, safe and with enough water, then you can last a katrina or a blizzard, or a man made SHTF situation.
If you foresee a bird flu style catastrophe, then plan to have a safe place to stay, warmth, food for at least a couple of weeks, and enough water for each person in your charge to have at least a couple of quarts per day.
150 bucks at the cheap grocery store can get you enough filling canned goods, crackers, cereal, powdered milk and bottled water to last a small family for a couple of weeks. The trick is, to anticipate the disaster as soon as you think it might be coming and beat everyone else to the store. Buy all the bottled water you can afford.
Have a good folding knife for each responsible person, along with a flashlight for each person.
I have a couple of the tactical flashlights, like the surefires, but for the mundane lighting jobs, I most rely on the LED lights like the streamlight 4AA, which uses 4 AA batteries, and puts out plenty of light for finding things in the dark. These batteries are cheaper than the 123 lithium cells the surefires use. I reserve the surefire for use with guns.
An axe, a full set of carpentry tools, crowbars and wrenches for trying to fix broken pipes is never a bad idea.
Let us not forget about cleaning supplies. Have plenty of bleach, handsoap and paper towels. The biggest killer in extended periods of self reliance like a hurricane tends to be disease. Keep your hands and food free of germs, then youve won half the battle.
Books, board games, and batteries for your IPODS, gameboys, etc, is also a good thing. You might need to spend some time at home without tv or this computer to keep you company. The same with your kids. Occupied kids are quiet, happy kids.
Get a couple of the crank Baygen radios. Crank em up, and they play the AM/FM bands for up to an hour or so on a couple of cranks. Information is key. You need to know what is up.
Personally, I am printing pertinent articles from www.survivalblog.com and www.equipped.com and putting them into a ring binder. Making myself a customized survival manual, if you will.
As for self defense, thats up to you. Before you get a gun, I strongly suggest training. I have two 9mm glocks, a 17 and a 26. I also have a snubby 357 mag revolver, and a lot of ammo. A 12 ga pump shotgun, a 22 Ruger 10-22 and a marlin deer rifle are within easy reach.
HAVE PLENTY OF AMMO. If it goes to hell, you probably wont be able to run down to Wal Mart to buy shotgun shells. Have them ahead of time. Dicks Sporting Goods is currently offering great deals on case lots of 9mm, 40 smith and wesson, and 45 acp factory ammo. Assume the gun stores will be closed for at least two months and plan accordingly. I sure have.
Finally, there are lots and lots of resources on the web to learn about survival. These include survivalblog, equipped to survive, buckshots camp, knifeforums.com and pax baculum.
Take advantage of them, print them out, they are free.
Some good suggestions as far as food & weapons. I'd add a few things; mainly health, medical, and sanitation supplies:
Vitamin C tablets, Suture Kits, Superglue (can be used for emergency repairs, or to suture small wounds), Sterile Gauze Bandages (waterproof packaging, rolled), Medical Tape, Iodine Solution, Rubbing Alcohol, Razors, Strike Anywhere Matches (several thousand stored in waterproof containers), Nylon Fishing Line (more durable than thread for clothing repairs, and can double as suture material), Magnifying Glass, Medical Tweezers, Nail Clippers, Toilet Paper, Bath, Dish, and Laundry Soap, Nylon Rope, Clothespins, Protein Powder, Aspirin, Table Salt, Sugar, Chlorine Bleach (as many 5-gallon buckets as you can afford to store), Heavy-Duty Garbage Bags, DEET-based Insect Repellant, Toothpaste, Toothbrushes, Pot-Scrubbers, Anti-Bacterial Ointment, Quart-sized Ziploc Baggies, Adjustable Crutches, Splinting Material, De-Lousing Treatment, Sterile Scalpel, Sunscreen, Lip-Balm, Wool Socks & Sweaters, Several Rolls of Contractor-Grade Viscuene, Sterile Medical Gloves, Sturdy Backpacks
Far more people in the 3rd-world die from poor sanitation, insect-borne disease, and lack of basic medical care, than from starvation or exposure.
Adding to my list, thank you
Thanks
add a case of duct tape to your list, some mouse traps and jars of vicks vapor rub ( it has many uses)
I lost some money recently, what a coincidence. :)
Feel free to freepmail me if you have any more questions. As you can see, Ive given this stuff a lot of thought.
If my family is injured due to poor planning during or after a SHTF situation, thats no ones fault but mine. I compliment you on at least thinking about it.
That puts you miles ahead of 99 out of a hundred people.
I lost some money recently, what a coincidence. :)
Hope you find it!
Thanks. I have been thinking of this since the ice storm a number of years ago. I lost power for quite a while. Homesteaded many years ago and enjoyed it so it was no problem.
I like living by my wits and I want my children as safe as possible.
Terror Tips
various links and websites | 02-11-03 | The Heavy Equipment Guy
Posted on 02/11/2003 4:27:10 AM MST by backhoe
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/840488/posts
Thanks for the ping WCG!
Chickensoup, see my FR homepage for some helpful hints. It's by no means a complete list but it will give you some ideas how to proceed.
Will be checking the posts myself for more info. This is an important subject. Glad to hear you are thinking about this. Everyone should. Good luck.
AD
Since we are on the road to third world status, those folks will be roving in gangs to steal what thoughtful law abiding American citizens have stocked up on.
Sad, we had the choice to bring people up to First World status or slide down to third world status, and look where we are going.
Thank you for the infomation. I plan to use my drilled well as a source of H2O. I have found several hand pumps and was thinking of setting a bicycle pumping mechanism to get it up from the well. and then to push it up to a tank on the second floor.
Does this make sense?
I also have a small stream but who knows what ground water will be like.
What kind of man would be able to help me design and build the water pumper? A plumber? a hydrolics guy?
No not like a machine gun. Its a pull the trigger once shoot once rifle that can take a 20-30 cartridge "magazine" (sheet metal box with a spring inside)that fires a over glorified .22 caliber bullet.
cigars?
William Clinton is not spending any time near my house.
I mean c'mon if your gonna be holed up you might as well have a drink and a smoke once in a while.
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