“...waste water for washing your behind is still an option.”
What type of wastewater are you talking about?
The very last thing you want to invite during a crisis is an infection “down there” or anywhere, for that matter.
A second point to ponder. Have you priced TP and paper products lately? Around here it has nearly doubled in price this past year. It’s not ALL about prepping for a SHTF scenario, it’s a matter of saving money. We’re still using TP from the three cases we bought last year when it was on sale.
Same with food. I almost passed out last week when shopping at Walmart. Last year at this time JIF peanut butter in the large size ‘double-pack’ was $7.88. Last week it was $12.78. We were forced to buy Walmart’s “Great-Value” brand.
Mrs. panax and I have a saying around here...”buy two today ‘cause it’s only gonna be more expensive tomorrow”. 99% of the time that proves true. Few food items are dropping in price.
I agree that some good folks out there are taking this ‘prepping thing’ to the extreme, but common sense says that buying an extra item now and then isn’t going to hurt you.
Here’s an example. My neighbor drives to town every few days just to buy a single gallon of milk. It’s 15 miles to the nearest store. That’s a gallon of gas one way in his truck. With gas at $4.00 and him using 2 gallons round trip, he’s paying $10-$11 for a gallon of milk! Why he doesn’t buy two gallons at a time, I’ll never know.
The way I look at it is that anybody that has a savings account at the bank is a ‘prepper’ of sorts. Preparing for rough or possible lean times is smart.
Rambled long enough....
What we in the 1st world would consider waste water.
i.e. - The water left in your cup after rinsing your mouth after brushing your teeth, the water you may have used for boiling eggs, etc.
Point taken on rising prices. It's not always about being a "prepper" or not.
but buying ahead and being organized is just plain good old common sense, no matter the reason...
food prices are high...packages are smaller and there is not as much selection....
play it smart and start buying things when they have a sale....
i do try to be well "rounded" but by no means do I have every scenario covered, and I don't think I'll ever be able too...
1) If you have a discount store, USE IT. Aldi's is around 30% - 40% less than other stores, if you can get over the horror of non-name-brand items. Costco is good for some things in general, but can be beat by coupons at other stores.
2) Coupons. I'm not a coupon whisperer or anything, but I typically save 30%-40% on regular grocery store items by matching double coupon days to sales. Try the site http://www.livefabuless.com and look for coupon matchups.
3) For some items -- vitamins, gluten-free, etc., try amazon.com or vitacost.com or iherb.com or swanson.com.
Cheers!