Posted on 01/18/2025 9:03:35 AM PST by Mean Daddy
Water is the biggest hurdle.
Try to rotate as much as possible.
*bulk dry goods (rice, wheat berries, beans)
*canned meat (spam, chicken, tuna, salmon)
*canned veggies
*canned V8 juice
*canned fruits
*canned coffee
*tea boxes
*learn to garden and hunt
*raise rabbits and chickens
*heirloom seeds
*solar panel, converter and multiple UV-C light (100-280nm)for bio purification of water
*learn how to create your own waterfilter to filter out everything except bio threats
The first 7 things will run out so its best to learn how to do the other latter itemized things asap.
“There was a reason candles used to be short, thick and in a low, heavy candle holder.”
And if you have pets, those candles can wind up knocked off of any table (cats jumping up or dog tails wagging) if not secured by a holder or set up high enough. In a pinch. I like the candles that you can usually find at the dollar stores... in glass, heavy enough to not be easily knocked off a table and long-burning. I have over a dozen left over from past hurricane preps.
Good post ! Thanks.
One thing to keep in mind is that mice, rats, squirrels and other animals can chew through a plastic bucket with ease.
And they are very good at sniffing out buckets that contain food.
Even when the food is treated with oxygen absorbers and heat sealed in Mylar bags.
Check out post 14 as an example of the damage varmits can do.
We store plastic food buckets in the house and check on them fairly often. It’s advisable to protect food products stored in a barn, garage or shed by storing them in clean metal garbage cans or metal cabinets.
And yeah digging a hole in the back yard is not the best way to deal with it.
It is a way but not the best or most comfortable.
Heirloom seeds work well if you know how to save seeds, a skill most people don’t have any more.
I’ve been doing it for a few years now, trying to learn. There is a learning curve with it.
“”””I’d start by taking a weekend camping trip out of your car. Bring several freeze dried meals meant for camping/hiking and a way to boil water. It’s best to figure out what you can handle in a fun weekend trip. Note what you liked and lacked. Living out of your car for a couple of days will teach you a lot about what you want and need.””””
So true, camping and backpacking are the most practical ways to learn about prepping, it gives a person the foundation and the basic gear to build on, once you are a comfortable camper, then becoming a prepper becomes easy and natural.
And it is the first step in learning what to do if you have to evacuate. Which I consider the second step of prepping.
If you want to take the next step in the "shelter in place" scenario you just need to flip off your breaker.
Not long, 24 hours will be enough for you to learn several things about what to do when the lights go out.
Questions like this always make me think of Mel Tappan’s columns in Guns & Ammo. Your answer really depends on how bad you are preparing for. High unemployment? Hyper inflation? A bad recession? A solar storm knocking most global electric grids? US Civil War? Global war?
Questions like this always make me think of Mel Tappan’s columns in Guns & Ammo. Your answer really depends on how bad you are preparing for. High unemployment? Hyper inflation? A bad recession? A solar storm knocking most global electric grids? US Civil War? Global war?
Canned food is an excellent start. You can always put rice into LARGE lock lid jars. That works for me.
Canned food is an excellent start. You can always put rice into LARGE lock lid jars. That works for me.
When it comes to food, prep what you eat. And rotate through it. If you want to store some MREs or dehydrated stuff—test it first. Some of that stuff could mess up your system if you just “start eating it.”
Honestly, I just started buying what was on sale and sticking it away. My 3 Costco toilet papers packages used to get me laughed at. During COVID, I wads a hero!
Think about what you are prepping for. Snow? Hurricane? End of Days? Then make your plan around that.
First Aid is a great start. Having the basic stuff is easy to put together. Getting into antibiotics and what not takes some “effort.”
Communications is important. Ham radio license is easy to get and having a small radio is inexpensive and it will keep you in touch. With digital radios you can get quite a distance and exchange a ton of vital information. If you have a bit of the nerd in you…you will learn it and it will be fun.
If you are where it’s going to be cold…how are you going to stay warm?
The biggest thing with “prepping” is to have a plan, build it out. And practice. You do not want to be figuring out how a little generator works in the middle of the night in a blizzard. Or having the propane heater for your house…but no propane.
A lot of people make it way, way more complicated than it needs to be.
(And I am assuming you probably have firearms. You will also need a modest cash stash, and maybe some “junk silver” that could be liquidated if you need it.)
I did that almost three years ago, and could not agree more. I live in a tiny, run-down rural town in Northwest TN where a person can still leave their door unlocked. This small town is surrounded by other small towns, which are themselves surrounded by small towns.
I particularly recommend tuna packets, which I do rotate. I've had some lately that were almost 5 years past the "best buy" date. They're tasty, don't require refrigeration, and come in a variety of flavors.
I stay a bit away from prepper threads because they never address the proper scenario.
Forever. It’s not a storm or an earthquake. Whatever happens, envision forever.
That will change everything. Money means nothing. No contact with the Federal Reserve. Gold certainly means nothing because you can’t eat it.
Forever. What ever happened is never going back to how it was. Think in terms of 90% or more loss of human lives. Then you understand forever, not to mention the fly population on urban corpses.
Don’t forget your black-and-white Nike Decades athletic shoes!
We all learn as we go...I’ve decided to not go too crazy about prepping...I do short term...
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