lets discuss preps for disasters

Garandman · Oct 3, 2015

We live near Boston Harbor and Hurricane Sandy got my attention. We happen to live high enough flooding is very unlikely, but we'll be on an island 12 hours a day.

Now I find out not only is the ocean rising, parts of the east coast are sinking.....

East Coast Is Extremely Vulnerable to Hurricane Flooding - Scientific American

Winter storms with cold temps and flooding continue to be my main concern, mostly because we get them every year.

GaryLock · Oct 3, 2015

Fantastic thread. Finally got to the end.

Sorry about mis-naming the water catchment system. There were two, AquoPod and WaterBob. I guess I called it AquaBob. Close at least. Someone mentioned not being able to use the tub. True. I was actually building a frame to support the bag in the basement. I was going to fill it with the washer faucets down there. I have so much water, and I still feel I would really need a lot more.

A mention about Meds. If you refill your meds early, and take that many days' worth out of the new bottle and store them, you will start to amass a stockpile. I always use the older pills first, so if you have 14 pills in storage, 14 pills in your bottle, and you refill 90. Take 28 pills out, and store them, and then put the old 28 pills first in line to be used.

I try to be dual-redundant on everything I do. We have two AWD vehicles. Two generators, both being super quiet Honda EU series. I can go 12 days living comfortably with heat, TV, etc.. or 20+ days living with just the necessities. I chose to only run 110v instead of 220v, so I do have a small hot water heater that runs 110v and have piped in three way valves to swap over incase I want to shower (if we have water pressure still). I have been toying with the idea of doubling the fuel storage. I just follow a schedule of putting it in my vehicles and refilling to keep it fresh. I stabilize it from the ethanol, but I really don't trust it long-term. I also stock up on cut wood incase of winter emergencies.

My parents live 1/10th of a mile away. Good for taking care of their property. Also good for getting them over here in an emergency. I have stockpiled a 12+ month supply of water and food for the four of us and also the dog. I do have extras that I will gladly share with my neighbors. They all know I am into prepping, and I have noted which ones possess which skills that I can utilize in a disaster. One guy is a alcohol sales rep. Keep him close!! haha. Three of us are nurses. I have the medical supplies. Three of us are also build-smart, meaning we actually know what a tool is and how to use it. Amazing how many people do not have a clue. I figure most people on a tractor forum know what I mean. I am the only ex-military one in my neighborhood (except for one 80+ yr. old Vet). Strange. I guess the generation gap. So, I have mentioned it to a few people about them coming with me to go shooting. I hope to teach a few people how to handle weapons safely and help me defend what we will have. The neighbor approach for me was the smartest thing compared to locking the doors and hiding.

The movie "Threads" that was described. I have looked, but am unable to locate it. Is there anyone that has it on DVD that wouldn't mind mailing it to me to see? I would gladly return it with your postage paid if so. I usually pick up one or two ideas from almost every doomsday movie I see. The movie American Blackout that was shown on History last year was an okay representation of what could happen if we went grid-down for 12 days. I think it was meant for information to the non-prepper people out there, without scaring them into thinking this could never happen. In 2003, hackers did shut down the grid in the Northeast. Plain and simple...Yeah, it could really happen.

I hope I die a fully-stocked and foolish person. I hope I never need to use a single prep that I have. I hope to never have to shoot at anyone again. I hope that the world just stops getting worse....But, I am surely glad that I have what I have, and I sleep pretty good at night knowing that I have given it a good chance at protecting my family and neighbors.

Soundguy · Oct 3, 2015

paulharvey said:
No, but you'll find you need a piece of plywood for something, and you take that piece. Not to mention, it does take some room to store; like a garage

Agreed, seen my neighbors do that many times, even loose the hurricane clips too.

EddieWalker · Oct 3, 2015

One of my clients had me build a good sized pantry out of part of their garage that they store a variety of food and supplies in, including Thrive dehydrated food. They let me taste a few of the different ones and I was very impressed with how good they where. The corn is just amazing!!!

Thrive Food Storage; Canned Grains, Vegetables and Fruits

Does anybody know anything about it? They have a six month supply for just over $600 which is just $200 a month worth of food. That's pretty good compared to what we pay for a months groceries right now!!! I doubt it's anywhere near what we eat now in calories or flavor, but wonder if it's a good source for having something stored that will last?

Soundguy · Oct 3, 2015

Most insurances won't let you renew early.. At least bcbs has never let me fill a script before running out of the old.

farmer2009 · Oct 3, 2015

Soundguy said:
Most insurances won't let you renew early.. At least bcbs has never let me fill a script before running out of the old.

All my insurances have let me refill anytime within 5 or 7 days of the one month mark. Always thought that was for people going out of town for a week and going to run out of meds during the week. But also let's me call in a refill and then pick it up over the next day or two.

If you refill 5 days early each month for a year. That's a 60 day supply you have stock piled.

SirReal63 · Oct 3, 2015

EddieWalker said:
One of my clients had me build a good sized pantry out of part of their garage that they store a variety of food and supplies in, including Thrive dehydrated food. They let me taste a few of the different ones and I was very impressed with how good they where. The corn is just amazing!!!

Thrive Food Storage; Canned Grains, Vegetables and Fruits

Does anybody know anything about it? They have a six month supply for just over $600 which is just $200 a month worth of food. That's pretty good compared to what we pay for a months groceries right now!!! I doubt it's anywhere near what we eat now in calories or flavor, but wonder if it's a good source for having something stored that will last?

We have a fairly large supply of Thrive and it is a great resource, just a bit expensive. We use it for long term food storage items. Another great one is Rainy Day Foods-food storage--home page-wheat-dehydrated and freeze dried foods-emergency supplies which is a little cheaper if you place a large order to take advantage of freight.

Garycw · Oct 3, 2015

Soundguy said:
Most insurances won't let you renew early.. At least bcbs has never let me fill a script before running out of the old.

Believe it or not you can get a lot of the antibiotics etc at pet store and tsc.
Insulin and high blood pressure pills might be harder.

TnAndy · Oct 3, 2015

EddieWalker said:
One of my clients had me build a good sized pantry out of part of their garage that they store a variety of food and supplies in, including Thrive dehydrated food. They let me taste a few of the different ones and I was very impressed with how good they where. The corn is just amazing!!!

Thrive Food Storage; Canned Grains, Vegetables and Fruits

Does anybody know anything about it? They have a six month supply for just over $600 which is just $200 a month worth of food. That's pretty good compared to what we pay for a months groceries right now!!! I doubt it's anywhere near what we eat now in calories or flavor, but wonder if it's a good source for having something stored that will last?

Eddie:

Haven't used that particular one, but ones we have used are:

Honeyville Grain. You have to compare prices of stuff, of course, but they have a $4.99 flat shipping fee no matter HOW much you order.....which can be a big deal if you get a pile.

Shop Honeyville Online | Dried Food & Baking Ingredients | honeyville.com

Walton Feed is another great place.....now call Rainy Day Foods

Rainy Day Foods-food storage--home page-wheat-dehydrated and freeze dried foods-emergency supplies

Another good one, has good pricing on freeze dried foods, Safecastle. Has the best price on Yoder's canned bacon I can find. If you're never had Yoder's bacon, you OUGHT to order you a few cans and try it....GREAT stuff !

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TnAndy · Oct 3, 2015

Garycw said:
Believe it or not you can get a lot of the antibiotics etc at pet store and tsc.

You can order pet antibiotics online that are EXACTLY the same as the people version for a whale of a lot less money

aczlan · Oct 3, 2015

EddieWalker said:
One of my clients had me build a good sized pantry out of part of their garage that they store a variety of food and supplies in, including Thrive dehydrated food. They let me taste a few of the different ones and I was very impressed with how good they where. The corn is just amazing!!!

Thrive Food Storage; Canned Grains, Vegetables and Fruits

Does anybody know anything about it? They have a six month supply for just over $600 which is just $200 a month worth of food. That's pretty good compared to what we pay for a months groceries right now!!! I doubt it's anywhere near what we eat now in calories or flavor, but wonder if it's a good source for having something stored that will last?

Not bad stuff. I know someone who is a "dealer" (they have a MLM system) and I have tried it, its not bad but its nothing special. I suspect that their portions for "6 months" are small, but it might be worth looking into.

Aaron Z

sea2summit · Oct 3, 2015

aczlan said:
Not bad stuff. I know someone who is a "dealer" (they have a MLM system) and I have tried it, its not bad but its nothing special. I suspect that their portions for "6 months" are small, but it might be worth looking into.

Aaron Z

My wife is a dealer, we're a family of 6 so we buy it by the #10 can full. I have tried a lot of the snacks and they are pretty good.

TomSeller · Oct 3, 2015

I have a 3000W diesel generator as well as a 7000W gas generator. the gas can power more of the house but the diesel will run longer and can be refilled from my 200 gallon tank. The gas has an electric start that the wife can operate and get us through the short outages or until I can get home and start the diesel. Doesn't power much but the fridge and basic circuits but it is good enough.

Soundguy · Oct 3, 2015

farmer2009 said:
All my insurances have let me refill anytime within 5 or 7 days of the one month mark. Always thought that was for people going out of town for a week and going to run out of meds during the week. But also let's me call in a refill and then pick it up over the next day or two.

If you refill 5 days early each month for a year. That's a 60 day supply you have stock piled.

Must be nice, I used to take alergy meds daily, 30 day supply. Walgreens auto refell never let me refill early..

mark02tj · Oct 4, 2015

Soundguy said:
Must be nice, I used to take alergy meds daily, 30 day supply. Walgreens auto refell never let me refill early..

Call around to various pharmacies and ask what the "cash price" is for a 30 or 90 day supply of your med is. You will be shocked to see the differences in prices between pharmacies. Also, check with local pharmacies if you have any in your area. They often have better prices. If you pay cash instead of going through your insurance, you can refill whenever you want.

I'm on a B-P med. If I go through my insurance, it's $22 for a 30 day supply. If I pay cash, it's $35 for a 90 day supply. Guess what I do?

This is at a locally owned pharmacy rather than a CVS/Walgreens. It did take a bit of time on the phone to find this place though.

And, nurse practitioner at the doctor's office is pretty flexible with me. Even though I'm supposed to go every 6 months to have my semi-annual "lose weight and get more exercise" check up, she will write a script for 90 days of BP med with 3 refills - so a total of a year's worth of meds instead of 6 months. This has let me build up a bit of a supply. My previous doc would do the same thing. That's one advantage of going to a small doc instead of one of the large hospital group docs.

Also, there are a ton of meds that are on the "$4 List". If yours are on that, you can refill them on the cheap.

mark02tj · Oct 4, 2015

If someone is really serious about wanting to package their own freeze-dried food, they can buy one of these.

Soundguy · Oct 5, 2015

mark02tj said:
Call around to various pharmacies and ask what the "cash price" is for a 30 or 90 day supply of your med is. You will be shocked to see the differences in prices between pharmacies. Also, check with local pharmacies if you have any in your area. They often have better prices. If you pay cash instead of going through your insurance, you can refill whenever you want.

I'm on a B-P med. If I go through my insurance, it's $22 for a 30 day supply. If I pay cash, it's $35 for a 90 day supply. Guess what I do? This is at a locally owned pharmacy rather than a CVS/Walgreens. It did take a bit of time on the phone to find this place though.

And, nurse practitioner at the doctor's office is pretty flexible with me. Even though I'm supposed to go every 6 months to have my semi-annual "lose weight and get more exercise" check up, she will write a script for 90 days of BP med with 3 refills - so a total of a year's worth of meds instead of 6 months. This has let me build up a bit of a supply. My previous doc would do the same thing. That's one advantage of going to a small doc instead of one of the large hospital group docs.

Also, there are a ton of meds that are on the "$4 List". If yours are on that, you can refill them on the cheap.

You are right, I hadn't thought about purchasing past insurance, as ins has always been the hold up time factor for me.

Soundguy · Oct 5, 2015

mark02tj said:
Call around to various pharmacies and ask what the "cash price" is for a 30 or 90 day supply of your med is. You will be shocked to see the differences in prices between pharmacies. Also, check with local pharmacies if you have any in your area. They often have better prices. If you pay cash instead of going through your insurance, you can refill whenever you want.

I'm on a B-P med. If I go through my insurance, it's $22 for a 30 day supply. If I pay cash, it's $35 for a 90 day supply. Guess what I do? This is at a locally owned pharmacy rather than a CVS/Walgreens. It did take a bit of time on the phone to find this place though.

And, nurse practitioner at the doctor's office is pretty flexible with me. Even though I'm supposed to go every 6 months to have my semi-annual "lose weight and get more exercise" check up, she will write a script for 90 days of BP med with 3 refills - so a total of a year's worth of meds instead of 6 months. This has let me build up a bit of a supply. My previous doc would do the same thing. That's one advantage of going to a small doc instead of one of the large hospital group docs.

Also, there are a ton of meds that are on the "$4 List". If yours are on that, you can refill them on the cheap.

You are right, I hadn't thought about purchasing past insurance, as ins has always been the hold up time factor for me.

Garandman · Oct 5, 2015

We just bought "American Medical Association Family Medical Guide, 4th Edition" for the place up north, with the idea that internet can do down and travel would be difficult. $5.61 used on eBay.