On preparedness

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by melbo, Dec 4, 2005.


  1. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    The Tribe, which is slowly growing, has often come into the "Survival" section enmasse when we saw Katrina and other natural disasters happening. I bet that the traffic stats on preparedness sites went off the charts on 9/12/2001.

    Just want to make sure that we are keeping ourselves squared away here in a lull time. I'd rather be the one Not scrambling for stuff/plans when another bad thing strikes.

    I think we need to keep the regional group idea alive. I've been stocking things away here and there and have recently been re-evaluating my stockpile of goods. I need to thin some things out and grow a few other areas. I hope everyone else is doing the same.

    I've never been a doom and gloomer by nature. I do however feel that the overall pulse of the world will lead to a few likely scenarios. Oil, Terrorism, War, Economy. These are daily headlines and I'd like to think we here can and are able to deal with any future bumps in the road.
     
  2. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I was doing pretty good until I had the influx of 13 Rita evacuees. Five of which were here for 17 days. Needless to day our canned goods and spices stock took a big hit as nobody wanted to go to the store to help replace it. I was taking inventory of the pantry the other day and it is in sad shape compared to how it was. ;) I have to stock up. ;)
     
  3. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    I travel light, and do not require much. It is still a great idea to stock up on certain food items. I keep Spam in the can and tunafish in the foil packages, as well as some MRE's and other essentials like bottled water. I do not have enough yet, which is surprising for a tinfoil hatter like myself :eek: -In any case, I also have some survival food tabs that last me about two weeks alone, and have a shelf-life of over 12 years. The tuna has a shelf-life of 8 years, and so does the Spam. I think. Spam is always good. [afro]

    I am making a rough checklist for what I need as of right now, (BIB) and perhaps others may find it of some use:

    -Vitamins (long life)
    -Pain reliever
    -I simply must have more tuna
    -Mountainhouse freeze-dried foods
    -Water treater, 50 gallon water container
    -Toilet paper
     
  4. RightHand

    RightHand Been There, Done That RIP 4/15/21 Moderator Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I suppose if I had nothing else, no food, not lichen, no mountan peas, no birch bark, spam might be okay but for me, it would have to be my last meal before starvation.
     
  5. Bear

    Bear Monkey+++ Founding Member Iron Monkey

    Melbo makes a good point.
    A well balanced plan with well balanced supplies and preparations will ensure that you just don't "weather" a crisis.... but that you "weather" the crisis "well"....
    I've also reviewed my situation and find that I am a bit "heavy" in some areas and "light" in others...
    That includes updating and revising my thoughts and getting them written down so I don't go nuts trying to remember everything.... sort of like having your emergency info down to your street address written down near the phone.... I hear your mind tends to go blank in high stress situations depending your situation .....
    I would guess most could make it through a short term "crisis"..... how about longer?
    Its interesting that the amount of recommended "emergency supplies" seems to be growing.... I've seen government sources recommending longer than the normal 3 days... up to 3-6 months in some cases.... The hurricanes and bird flu seem to be affecting that....
    Shelter, Food, Water, Sanitation, Medical, Records, Personal Security and Financial Security are important areas to consider and review.... I'm sure I've left some out....
    Planning for yourself is hard enough... planning for your family is even harder... planning for a group is really tough....
    Living "well" in any situation takes a bit of planning and work...
    This forum is a good way to throw some of those ideas out and test some plans and theories and get feedback.... feedback is a good way to adjust... and change is just a fact of life.....
    Unfortunately, I agree with Melbo.... I'm not a doomer by any stretch of the imagination... but there just seems to be a little more than usual out there right now....
    I'm not sure what kind it will be.... but change is coming.... are you ready to not just handle it.... but handle it well ????
    Sorry for the long winded observation.... JMHO....
     
  6. ghostrider

    ghostrider Resident Poltergeist Founding Member

    Yeah, you can pretty much forget getting help in three days. Unless you can drive or walk there in three days.
    Whether the disaster is man made or natural, the next one will be worse. I looked on-line a couple of days ago, and most distributors were out of freeze-dried food since the hurricanes.
    When the disaster starts, it's too late to go get groceries and ammo.
     
  7. Bear

    Bear Monkey+++ Founding Member Iron Monkey

    Yup.... 3 days just won't cut it.... worse... in a quarantine.... you'll be confined at home... that may be great for those that have what they need... it will be tough if all you have is water in the fridge and 1/2 a jar of peanut butter and stale crackers in the cupboard.... (although I like peanut butter and crackers)
    Keeping an eye on the horizon is a good way to make sure you don't get caught in the middle of a frenzy.... Any likely threats... say in the next 3-6 months?... how about 12 months?.... 12-36 months?.... 3-5 years?.....
    I understand after the hurricanes.... there were and still are delays on shipping for items like Mountain House.... ordering after a disaster is just not a smart thing to do.... I guess its better than nothing.... some folks see and hear but still don't get it.....
    I expect certain items to start having delayed shipping, harder to find and higher prices....
    I think its a good thing to start looking around you and at least do a mental inventory.... see where you are strong and where you need to start focusing on building up some strength.....
     
  8. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I know we have a couple of points that are real weak. One being that we need to get a new well done or the old on fixed, just hasnt been in the budget so far so we just haul it from town 500 gallons at a time. The other is that we need to load up heavy on canning lids. We have a LOT of jars and rings but not nearly enouph lids and since we cant afford to keep lots of gas on had and get a really reliable generator we would need to be able to can up all the meats (or dry them) in the freezers if the weather wasnt cold enouph to keep it frozen and power was out for more than a few days. We currently have a closet size pantry FULL of canned goods, about 75 pounds of flour in buckets under the table and about 75 pounds of sugar along with a couple pounds of yeast and LOADS of seasonings (EASILY enouph for 6 months to a year with no conservation) and 2 big chest freezers packed with meat.
    If that runs out we also have the livestock we grow here. We have 2 pregnant goats an a male goat, half a dozen female rabbits and a few males in cages and a couple dozen free rangeing tame rabbits, along with about 75 chickens. So on food we would be WELL set to get by for a year or more with little strain.
    As far as the ammo and such we have enouph to get by but would always like to have more guns and ammo, one extra is that I do have the mold to mold bullets for the black powder and could in a pinch make powder for it and use that if needed for most day to day stuff reserving the factory stuff for necessity.
     
  9. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    I made the mistake of trying to order some Solar panels shortly after Katrina. Not because of the hurricane, It was just on that months plan to purchase. 8 week wait I was told from the source I had planned on buying from.

    Some things will go sooner than others. I still buy an extra $15 a week in canned goods to throw under the house.

    Good thoughts Bear.
     
  10. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Monkeyman, I think you are better equipped than 99% out there. That is a nice supply.
     
  11. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I dont know, to me it seems kind of under preped. My dads basement is better stocked than the local grocery store down here, has shelves floor to cealing all along one end of his basement filled with canned goods, shampoo, drink mixs, soap, dish soap, light bulbs, seasonings and most anything else he ever uses. lol No as far as food we stay pretty well stocked most of the time in part just due to the fact we always stock up heavily when we have money and add a little all the time even when things are a little tight just because we have had to many real hard times and know how valuable it is to have extra food when theres no money for a trip to the store. As far as some of the other stuff especialy like the water though we definatly need to get it set up a lot better.
    While I stock some against various kinds of SHTF the biggest one we try to be prepaired for is financial, have just seen to many bad times as well as others who were doing fine untill say they fell off a lader and got hurt and couldnt work for a few months and were really screwed. Kind of like one family my dad and some folks got together and helped out once that was self employed and doing decent then broke his pelvis. His wife and daughter both had problems and couldnt work and by the time dad and the guys came along the family had no food left in the house (and were getting the run around on gov help like food stamps) and were just a few weeks from looseing their house that only had about 1k left owed against it. They got lucky and had a group of good guys find out their situation and help out with a few hundred $ and a ride to the store, utilities caught up and credited and the last K on the house payed off. Im generaly not real lucky so figure I have to store my own luck.
     
  12. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Smart thinking.
     
  13. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

    :eek: Spam is great in the woods!
     
  14. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    My wife has this nasty habit of looking in the pantry and in my food supply storage area whenever she needs anything, then not replacing it. So my canned goods stocks have been taking a hit. I keep telling her to replace what she uses, but it never seems to happen. Today I got ticked and just bought about $200 worth of canned goods and other long term food supplies. I was doing really well until Rita hit, then slowly I bought some more, but here over the last month or two the levels have been dropping. I would rather just buy a little here and a little there, but since I don't do the shopping and cannot convince anyone to do it my way, it will just have to be bought in bunches. Everything I did buy was a good deal, and my wife was amazed at how much I could get with $200. I was just wondering if anyone here besides MM has actually taken an inventory of what they have on hand, and figured out how long it would last them? Not to mention, how much water do you have on hand?
     
  15. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    I still add another $50ish a week to the can supplies.

    Sitting on 2 tons of 'untouchable' dehyrated too. Looking at a few mountain house buys as well.
     
  16. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Well I just increased my 'mobile' supply over the weekend (the stuff in my truck for get home and also what I generaly eat on if we take a lunch at work). I grabbed stuff at Walmart and for about $30 fot the stuff and made up about 2 gallons of trail mix (rasins, peanuts, dried mixed berries, M&Ms, chocolate chips, coconut, dried pineapple), a couple boxes of little Debbie stuff and a case of cup of noodle soups, and a big can of honey roasted peanuts. Most of the money was on the trail mix but since small packs (about a cup or so) runs like $2.50 I figure it wasnt to bad and will keep for ever.
    We haul water and use it out of a 500 gallon tank and try not to let it get under about 200 gallons plus keep a couple 60 gallon barrels of water in the house that we use when the pipes freeze then refill when they thaw. When we can get the money I definatly want to get our well redone but just not in the budget at the present.
     
  17. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I was talking to the IT head of one of my big plants, and this guy was telling me about some houses a builder is building in Florida that are basically hurricane, water, looter and of course zombie proof. They are made out of concrete with bulletproof lexan glass. All door and windows (including the garage door) are watertight. The house get this, a parapet on the roof and ports for rifles. When I get all of the info and a website on it I will post it.
     
  18. sniper-66

    sniper-66 Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I read about this before. It is a spay on concrete. Looks really nice, but expensive as all get out!
     
  19. ghostrider

    ghostrider Resident Poltergeist Founding Member

    If it's a dome, it's probably the shotcrete. They build a lot of the dome type earth sheltered with the shotcrete. E.L., I believe there's a contractor in Dallas that does the shotcrete.
     
  20. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    From what he said they are actually poured concrete walls. About three feet thick. Expensive, yes, he said they were around $800K.
     
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