Down and Dirty Urban Prepping on a Budget

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by Goblin, Dec 23, 2011.


  1. Goblin

    Goblin Monkey++

    So your're not terribly detail oriented. You are not rich nor do you own a car. You live in an Apt. Bldg. You are reasonably fit and have the proper mind-set to prepare. Is there a KISS method for preps? I offer these suggestions for a cheap, bare essentials 30 day prep per person.
    FOOD
    Store 30 cans of beef stew, 30 cans of mixed veggies, and 30 gal. of water . Do not store any food that requires water to prepare.
    LIGHT
    1 hurricane lamp and 2 gal lamp oil. The oil burns 1/2 oz per hour. Batteries don't last long enough. Use a flashlight only when you have to search outside.
    HEAT
    The lamp puts a surprising amount of heat...especially in a small room. Otherwise, have a lot of warm clothing and wool blankets. No fires...too dangerous. Remember ventilation.
    SANITATION
    5 gal toilet bucket and a box of garbage bags. Toilet paper based on your usage.
    Bottle of waterless soap. The stuff mechanics use will do.
    HEALTH
    Alcohol, pain killers, and bandages(dish towels, pillow cases ,or sheets can be used) to stop any bleeding. Anything more serious will require improvisation.
    SECURITY
    Throw some 2x4's under the bed. Use them to nail across the door and windows. In a pinch, you can use closet or bathroom doors for the same thing. Also have a hammer, nails, and screw driver on hand. I'm assuming your building will have fire escapes or firestairs for emergency egress.
    If possible where you live, have a shotgun for apt. defense, and a concealable high-cap pistol to carry if you have to go outside.
    You can assemble this stuff fairly quickly and easily. The food can be rotated into your daily food consumption when you need to replenish. Any SHTF that exceeds your supply will have become TEOTWAWKI. In that case, your are going to have suck it up and start getting out and finding what you need. Just remember to keep a low profile and try to stay out of sight as much as possible.
     
  2. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    1) I'd say expand the choices for your food - plenty of canned options besides beefstew. Hormel makes a world of products, as does Chef Boyardee - choice beats a serious case of boring.....
    2) Medical - plenty of larger bandages (for wounds), white medical tape, antibacterial salve and PovidoneIodine for wound cleansing - sucks to get shot or stabbed, then die of infection.
    3) Protection - a good shotgun is better - wide selection of shot, to take care of everything from birds & small game, through medium game (urban = dogs?), and two-legged predators. A good used shotty is cheap at a gun&pawnshop. Ammo at Wallyworld.
    4) If you know the 'troubles' will last more than your thirty days of food preps, maybe cultivate friendships with like-minded folks, for mutual protection and survival? Decide a good place to meet, that is defendable yet reachable by all the 'friends'.

    Other Monkeys will add more thoughts. This is a good thought-exercise.
     
    Cephus, STANGF150, Alpha Dog and 3 others like this.
  3. Dogfood

    Dogfood Monkey+++

    Plus on top of gear learn as much about construction chemistry engineering and anything else you can take in. A good tool to have for urban survival in the Stanley Fubar Tool. It's just as much about what you can do with what you have as what you can stock up.
     
  4. mysterymet

    mysterymet Monkey+++

    Can't go wrong with picking up a few cans of spam. I agree with the chef boyardee. A lot of times the stores around us have 10 for $10 sales on it and a bunch of other can goods too. A small easily portable bottle of plain chlorox is a good thing to have too and doesn't cost much.
     
  5. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Just a NOTE, here: Remember that most of Urban Housing Units (apartments) have Hot Water heaters, in each unit, that can be tapped for water, long after the Domestic Supply stops flowing..... Most will have Check Valves to keep the water in them, after the pressure drops to zero. ........ YMMV.....
     
  6. Huntinbull

    Huntinbull Monkey+

    That Fubar tool looks handy. I currently have a flat bar in my BOB, but may try one of those out and replace my current flat bars. Besides a flatbar and some hacksaw blades and a grinder or file can become a knife in a pinch.
     
  7. Tikka

    Tikka Monkey+++

    You'll need water to flush the toilet. Sanitation and hygiene are two of the biggest consumers of water.
     
  8. Goblin

    Goblin Monkey++

    Fill the tub.
     
  9. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    The "Bush Rule" that covers the Toilet, in Water Conservation Mode, is:
    "If it is Yellow, let it Mellow. If it is Brown, flush it down."
    ....... YMMV.....
     
  10. Goblin

    Goblin Monkey++

    I mean fill the tub with water to use to flush the toilet!!!!!! The water will flow a few hours after a power loss.
     
  11. jim2

    jim2 Monkey+++

    LOL!!!!! Made my day![fnny]

    Having a couple of Tbsp Pinole that I made a few months ago for breakfast. I used corn meal heated it in a skillet until tan in color and added some salt and brown sugar. It's still good after three months.

    jim
     
  12. fedorthedog

    fedorthedog Monkey+++

    Your thirty day plan is ok for starters but living in an apartment is only tenable if no one thinks if fire. Canned goods will have to be left if you have to run or move. Try dry soup mixes for at least part of your supply. Quite frankly the last place I would want to be is in a multiple family dwelling in an emergency. They can smell your food when heating or cooking, They can smell the lamp or candle when they are in the dark. I would look for a single family dwelling close by that I could run to, it will give you a little better defensive position.
     
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