[Diana in Wisconsin]

9. Collect and filter your rain water for home use

A lot of water gushes down your gutter pipes during a rain storm. A typical suburban roof has about 1,000 square feet of rain-catching surface that could be put to good use with the strategic placement of a barrel or two. If a meteor strikes the nation's capital and we're cast into anarchy, it's a good bet your city water will stop flowing after the food riots subside. Assuming it rains where you live, you could provide drinking water for a small family with a couple of good rain barrels.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

8) Grow a backyard garden

Growing a garden in your back yard will save you money on your shopping bill now, but will literally save your life when aliens invade and the world destroys itself fighting off the invasion. People are doing miraculous things with very small space, turning typical suburban back yards into teeming microfarms that produce a wide and tasty array of fruits and vegetables. It might not be a bad idea to invest in a few robot machine-gun nests to protect the crop after the invasion.

[fanfan]

9. Collect and filter your rain water for home use

LOL. I did that, but forgot to empty it before it froze, so I now have a massive barrel of ice.

We are planning to roll it down the hill towards the snowmobile racers.