lets discuss preps for disasters

[GreenYellow]

I have an "ok" supply of essentials -- though life wouldn't be comfortable.

One thing I have to plan for is extended family. My inlaws, parents, and others are not adept to surviving on their own when it's rough. So, besides my wife and 3 daughters, I tend to plan for a dozen or more people. It would just be that way... They all come to me when things get tough.

Food:
I tend to think about cheap things that go a long way. (many mouths to feed) Pinto beans in an cast iron pot will feed half an army for about $2. Rice goes well too.
Spaghetti and other pastas do well. Canned spaghetti sauce lasts well and is only about $1 a can for the cheap stuff.
Any kind of canned vegetable. I don't have a "stash" of canned vegetables, but we keep the pantry pretty stocked. Hard to say how long it would last, but it would be a while.

Water is pretty simple. Our well is only 40 feet deep. (36") A bucket and a rope = infinite water. Plus, our well water is spectacularly clear and great tasting. We could seriously bottle and sell it.

I have 3 bottles of propane at any given time. Countless uses for heating, cooking, sterilizing, etc.
I have (for some reason) about 20 tarps of all shapes and sizes.
Something I haven't seen listed above -- SEEDS. This is more for long terms hardships. I have several envelopes of seeds in the freezer. When they stores clearance them in summer, grab a handful.
We have a dozen chickens. I wouldn't expect to eat them until it gets BAD. Their eggs are way more valuable than their meat in terms of sustainability. Plus they last well.
Perservatives: Salt and vinegar. Meat (and eggs) can be salted to preserve them. You can pickle nearly anything... May not taste how you want it, but hey... It works.
Mason jars and the knowledge of how to can food. (also more for long term) Chances are, your freezer would be useless. Canning is a PERFECT way to preserve what food you get. Meat can be canned too.

Of course, I have axes, tools, guns, etc... Goes without saying.

In my opinion, the most important thing of all is YOUR BRAIN and your attitude. The ability to adapt is what will make you or break you. As long as you have a handful of things to work with, your knowledge will carry you farther than a whole truckload of supplies.

 

[Loadstar]

Good thread! About all I have is a way to heat (although it's natural gas) and I also maintain an oil lamp in most rooms. Also have a fleet of hurricane lanterns and parts. I do plan to get a bit more at least to sustain for a couple weeks.

 

[paulharvey]

I have an "ok" supply of essentials -- though life wouldn't be comfortable.

One thing I have to plan for is extended family. My inlaws, parents, and others are not adept to surviving on their own when it's rough. So, besides my wife and 3 daughters, I tend to plan for a dozen or more people. It would just be that way... They all come to me when things get tough.

This is an important point. Me and wife where joking about it after watching "fear the walking dead" the other night. People are social animals, and you would need a group to survive into the longer term (probably anything past 3-6 months) but you couldn't take care of dead weight, and too large of a group would burn though resources fast. I'm thinking anything more than a dozen people would be hard to support. In those early days when you don't know how long something will last, you would have to be careful how big your extended family gets. Ie, neighbors wouldn't and couldn't be welcome if they show up empty handed.

One thing people over look is, people deep down, are tough. Look at Bosnia, the siege of Leningrad, the Holodomor, the Black Death, even the Armenian genocide; the deaths where staggering, but in all cases over 50% of the people made it though. The siege of Sarajevo only saw deaths in the 10-15% range despite lasting many months.

 

[/pine]

Something I have not seen mentioned (mostly I suppose because we have not really experienced a really bad one) but another threat is EMF's and CME's ...either one has the potential to damage communication infrastructure to the point where we could be back to using smoke signals...

IMO...Hand crank dynamos and GMRS radios would be worthy things to have on hand...regardless of the cause or circumstances of a disaster...

 

[Jstpssng]

I have an "ok" supply of essentials -- though life wouldn't be comfortable.

One thing I have to plan for is extended family. My inlaws, parents, and others are not adept to surviving on their own when it's rough. So, besides my wife and 3 daughters, I tend to plan for a dozen or more people. It would just be that way... They all come to me when things get tough.

Food:
I tend to think about cheap things that go a long way. (many mouths to feed) Pinto beans in an cast iron pot will feed half an army for about $2. Rice goes well too.
Spaghetti and other pastas do well. Canned spaghetti sauce lasts well and is only about $1 a can for the cheap stuff.
Any kind of canned vegetable. I don't have a "stash" of canned vegetables, but we keep the pantry pretty stocked. Hard to say how long it would last, but it would be a while.

Water is pretty simple. Our well is only 40 feet deep. (36") A bucket and a rope = infinite water. Plus, our well water is spectacularly clear and great tasting. We could seriously bottle and sell it.

I have 3 bottles of propane at any given time. Countless uses for heating, cooking, sterilizing, etc.
I have (for some reason) about 20 tarps of all shapes and sizes.
Something I haven't seen listed above -- SEEDS. This is more for long terms hardships. I have several envelopes of seeds in the freezer. When they stores clearance them in summer, grab a handful.
We have a dozen chickens. I wouldn't expect to eat them until it gets BAD. Their eggs are way more valuable than their meat in terms of sustainability. Plus they last well.
Perservatives: Salt and vinegar. Meat (and eggs) can be salted to preserve them. You can pickle nearly anything... May not taste how you want it, but hey... It works.
Mason jars and the knowledge of how to can food. (also more for long term) Chances are, your freezer would be useless. Canning is a PERFECT way to preserve what food you get. Meat can be canned too.

Of course, I have axes, tools, guns, etc... Goes without saying.

In my opinion, the most important thing of all is YOUR BRAIN and your attitude. The ability to adapt is what will make you or break you. As long as you have a handful of things to work with, your knowledge will carry you farther than a whole truckload of supplies.

Now you're talking long term, in which case I had better save one of the roosters. On the subject or seeds, you might be more careful about what you choose. Some of the heirloom varieties of tomatoes, corn, and cucumbers for instance. Dried beans can be planted as well as eaten, and potatoes of course. A lot of what we now consider ornamental was once a food source. Day lilies for example, can be eaten at any stage. A perennial herb bed can add a little pizazz to a mundane diet.
Those of you in the south can grow food year round (although someone else might end up helping themselves in the middle of the night.) I have a small greenhouse going onto the side of my building, which can be used to start seedlings, raise Cole products in winter, plus add some heat on suñny days. Like Eddie I have a summer kitchen planned, which will hold my maple syrup evaporator, then give me a place to can and process food throughout the growing season.

 

[Gunny]

Side note on the flavor of the survival rations - We were a test unit for "T Rations" before they were issued to the bulk of the military, things were sealed in a can and heated up by just throwing them in a large pan of boiling water for a specified number of minutes.

One of the breakfast meals had orange scrambled eggs (I mean real orange in color) and had these tiny little link sausages mixed in (heartburn city if you were brave enough to try them). Most of my soldiers passed on them simply because of the color, but one of my guys ate several portions of it every time it was served. When I asked him how in the world he could eat it, he told me that if you poured enough Tabasco sauce on it, it tasted just like Tabasco sauce!

 

[Sprinklerman]

Bleach is one essential often overlooked . You can sanitize water .( dont get scented bleach )

 

[Soundguy]

Wow.. every day, more great posts. lots of good points.

I actually have a friend that keeps a few FRS radios in aluminum fol wrapping faraday shielding.

Here's another thought. Most of us are talking short term preps ( which is what 99% of us, hopefully will ever need ).. but one onther long term thing that some forget is teamwork.

It's hard to stay up 24 hrs a day, guard the family, go hunt or gather supplies.

you need ( 100% trust your life/wife around ) trusted team members to take turns guarding and gathering.

It helps if your groups team members also each bring their own unique skills. IE.. our family/friendly group has members with medic and 1st responder training, engineering and electronics, tactical ( many members are former military ).. etc.

all those skills in tandem are as important as many of our other preps.

 

[Soundguy]

Wow.. every day, more great posts. lots of good points.

I actually have a friend that keeps a few FRS radios in aluminum fol wrapping faraday shielding.

Here's another thought. Most of us are talking short term preps ( which is what 99% of us, hopefully will ever need ).. but one onther long term thing that some forget is teamwork.

It's hard to stay up 24 hrs a day, guard the family, go hunt or gather supplies.

you need ( 100% trust your life/wife around ) trusted team members to take turns guarding and gathering.

It helps if your groups team members also each bring their own unique skills. IE.. our family/friendly group has members with medic and 1st responder training, engineering and electronics, tactical ( many members are former military ).. etc.

all those skills in tandem are as important as many of our other preps.

 

[kcflhrc]

Man, this sure got weird. Almost cult like. Keep the foil on your heads too so the scanners cant get you. :thumbsup: