Posted on 04/08/2010 5:19:45 AM PDT by Red in Blue PA
How many acres of storage sheds would one need to have to sustain a family of 4 for 25 years?
Check out this site for a list of foods for one adult for one year, http://www.grandpappy.info/hfood1yr.htm
Also, my blog has tons of info about preparedness, www.thesurvivalmom.com
Storage is only necessary to get you through the times when your garden and livestock production is lower than what you need,
like when the S first HTF.
“With guns and ammunition, you can get the rest.”
You get dead, that’s all. With every nitwit thinking their guns will get them “the rest”, there isn’t enough the rest of us have to go around for all those thinking they are going to get “the rest”. We’re no sheep and damned well armed. At the first signs you are trying to “get the rest” is hunting time for us and you won’t survive.
It looked like the ammo prices were about to dip (they did for a bit at some places) and then they went up again; although not to the record highs.......
SOME firearms prices (Ak-47s depending on actual models/fancy add ons) have dropped a little bit. As have some of the uzis, Dragunovs, and AR-15s.....
Ping for later, thanks
I’ve done some research on pool water for drinking. Turns out the main problem is a stabilizer used with the chlorine, not the chlorine itself. If you don’t use chemicals with the stabilizer, you run into the problem of water growing who-knows-what in terms of pathogens. Buy a WAPI for about $8, make sure you always have a way for heating up your water, and you’ll be able to pasteurize it for drinking. WAPIs are available at sunoven.com.
The wife and I tried to do it at the regular grocery store (with incorporating coupons), but it was an uphill battle and expensive.
A word of advice is to familiarize yourself with price per unit. Sometimes a "deal" at COSTCO or Sams isn't. I had a hard time getting over the $50 membership fee to shop at COSTCO, but after 4 trips I easily saved twice that (we did A LOT of stocking).
Also, once you have a good litte supply going it is easier to add to. Just remember FIRST IN FIRST OUT. They have FIFO things (like the soup can displays at the grocery tore only smaller) at COSTCO for about $20 to make it easier and save on cabinet space. We bought one each trip to lessen the impact of dropping $20 a pop.... we thought in turms of this is 5giat jars of p. butter, o 4 sheets of canned corn etc.
You can also order Mylar bags and food buckets for flour/sugar that will help keep these items for 10 yrs or more..... and it doesn't hurt that COSTCO sells flour and sugar i 25 and 50lb sacks.
Key words of advice..... don't go broke doing it and try to avoid running up the credit card unless you think the credit agencies will all go broke/busted in next week and the power will go out and all of your bills erased.
That said YOU CAN find good deals at the grocery store and coupons (especially stores that double/tripple) can help with costs. Also, some places like Walgreens have reward points that you can use to purchase items (free or super discounted prices). Their are other blogs out there that explain how to do this (moneysavingmom?). No, you don't need 12 bottles of shampoo (while you rack up rewards points) but you may end up uing them later and at $0.25 is it all that bad?
Also, you mentioned a lot of other people in your post. Get it into their mind now they need to stock up. Tell as FEW people as possible that you are stocking up (word travels fast that you have planned). If you are intending on supporting others... make a short list and stick to it. The last thing you want is the SHTF and 30 people show up at your door. Then you try to support everyone and 2 weeks later YOUR family is starving.
Also, things like tobacco, alcohol, candy, shaving razors, and other convience/comfort items can be used to barter and trade with.... so it might be wise to grab extra of those.
Try getting the book "How to Survive the End of the World As We Know It." It is a good book for the BASICS (though some of the things he mentions aren't feasible for everyone and I don't 100% agree with). It will help you think ofthings you may need in a SHTF scenario (med supplies, hand tools etc). Once you have a basis...... make a list and prioritze. And then re-stock, replenish, add on.
Also, you may do well to find others that are like minded (CLOSE friends/family that may help split costs of big ticket items, but you are ultimately responsible for your family).
Hope this helps.... I'm sure others here have opinions too.
Most planning can be done by shopping locally. Depending on your income and storage space, you might only be able to stock up a few extra canned goods each time you go to the grocery store. Same goes for the medicine cabinet, hygiene and cleaning products, and don’t forget the pets. A little here and a little there will eventually set you in good stead. Be creative in finding storage. It’s amazing how much room can be found under and behind furniture. Plastic milk crates hold more cans than you’d think, then turn them upside down and cover them for extra seating in the kids’ room and no one’s the wiser. Don’t store foodstuff in the attic because of the temperature changes.
Now might be a good time for a spring cleaning and get rid of excess clutter (just tell the family they need to help spring clean and don’t mention your prepping). That will open more storage space. Have a garage sale and use the profits for your prep so the family won’t complain about excess spending.
While cleaning out, don’t forget to organize. I know, it’s not fun but necessary and you’ll likely find you have more prep supplies than what you might have thought. Make a list of what you need to resupply and what areas you need to begin gathering information on.
Sprouts and mushrooms.
Gun and ammo sales have been very good since he got elected. Way up.
Name one civilization that has lasted from when it started until today; say 500 years old at least.
They all come and go, it’s the nature of the world.
Where is the Holy Roman Empire? The Byzantine Empire? The Middle Kingdom? The great Vedic rajas? The British Empire? The Visigoths and all those guys?
Gone, all of them, like the wind in the trees.
Has anywone ever heard anything good or bad about a site called The Ready Store. They sell all kinds of MRE’s and freeze dried food products. Just wondering before I start stocking up
You sound like an obama supporter with a line like that.
Take from the people who took time to prepare.
Try it (with me) and you will wind up dead.
I’ve placed several orders through them and cannot say enough good things.
Forgot to add to that post. Have a LOT of garbage bags ready for a disaster.....you may need them to keep the food and the cans from being seen by the neighbors.
If someone sees you are living high on the hog (relatively speaking) you may get a visit in the middle of the night.
Keep a low profile and stay off anyone’s radar.
Not paranoid.....just the common sense thing to do for the situation.
I live in S.E. Michigan which is high population and commuter traffic. It took me 4 hours to get home from work, approx. 18 miles. All traffic lights were out which caused traffic gridlock virtually everywhere.
There was a run on the local supermarkets I'd never witnessed before in my life.......
I'm currently reading the book "One Second After" which kinda chronicles the activities of a a small country town after an EMP device wipes out the entire electrical grid in the U.S.
There doesn't have to be a full scale nuclear war to send us back to the 1700's, just wipe out our electricty............
I have a sheet of paper on top of my supplies which simply reads: “the veneer of civilization is thin.”
Knock out a few basic amenities and we are indeed back several hundred years.
Prepping is seen by many as a luxury expense, as you are buying things you will probably never need. IMO, the probability that we will need them has gone up dramatically in the past 15 months. Imagine if our debt is downgraded......if a few supply routes are cut......the possibilities are endless. ANd anyone thinking that the govt will be there for them only needs to look back to Katrina.
They don't come close to beating those #10 can prices but comparing some other products they do have some better deals.
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