This article has been generously contributed to our community by M.D. Creekmore and The Survivalist Blog.
This morning as I was trying to catch up on my email (I get a massive amount of email each month, last month over 3,000), I opened a great one from John W. In a nutshell John, is new toprepping and hasn’t really done anything prep-wise yet, but he has been thinking and making plans.
John said that he has his home on two acres paid-off, and that he has a job and works to support his wife and two children (one 6 and the other 9 years old). He said that he knows from all of the newsand the tell-tell signs that something big is coming, and that his main fear is a total economic collapse.
He said that he has $10,000 to spend on preps and that he wanted to be ready as quickly as possible, without all of the buying a can of food here and another can another day or a few extra cans each time he goes to the grocery store. He also insists on long-term storage foods, with a shelf-life of 25 years or more, because he doesn’t want to be bothered with all of the rotating and other stuff involved when stockpiling perishable foods.
John’s question to me was, if you had nothing prep-wise, and just starting out and wanted to be ready within the next month and with a budget of $10,000 what would you do and buy to be prepared as quickly as possible?
I’ll answer that question below.
One Year+ Food Storage for Four People
To start I would order the Augason Farms Deluxe 4-Person One Year Kit – the $3,999.99 might seem like a lot at first glance, but considering this package will provide 21,116 total servings and approximately 1,300 calories per day per person, with a 30 year self-life it’s really a pretty good bargain, especially for those wanting to get prepared NOW.
The Augason Farms products make up the bulk of my long-term food storage and I can attest to the quality and taste of their products, the Honey Coated Banana Slices are absolutely delicious!
I would then order four of the Survive2thrive 100% USDA Organic 40-day Nutrition Emergency Food Supply Buckets, then I would top it all of with eight gallon of cooking oil (store it frozen and it will last a long-time), 32 pounds of salt, yes, some salt is included with the Augason Farms Kit above, but salt is cheap and has so many uses you can’t have to much.
Add another 35 pounds of sugar, and an extra two buckets of Augason Farms Country Fresh 100% Real Instant Nonfat Dry Milk in the 14 pound buckets with a 20 year shelf-life. Then I would add an assortment of herbs and spices for cooking and about 10 pounds of assorted hard candies for threats for the kids (and yourself).
I would also add 12 large jars of peanut butter, 24 cans of SPAM and 12 canned hams.
If you drink coffee be sure to add that in the amounts you normally consume over a 12 month period. And don’t forget multivitamins and extra vitamin C.
Total cost around $5,500 dollars for a family of four.
Protection and Foraging
If I had no firearms now (get training) I would buy a Mossberg 500 Combo package and 100 rounds of 00 buckshot, 50 rifled slugs and 200 bird shot (preferably #6 shot), then I would buy a Ruger 10/22, 1,000 rounds of .22 ammo and five of the Ruger factory 25 round BX 25 magazines.
Total Cost around $750
Water Storage and Purification
I would store as much tap-water as possible (limited by space) in every suitable (but free container – avoid the plastic jugs, they are weak and fall-apart after a few months) that I could find. Then I would order a Big Berkey Water Filter and a set of extra elements.
Total Cost Around $350
Food Production
John said that he had two acres of paid-off property, so I would find the best place (most level, sun exposure and best soil) and have the largest area that I could work tilled and add as much free organic matter that I could get, check with any local large production chicken, horse or dairy farmers in your area, most of the time they will give you all of the manure that you need if you’ll haul it away.
Spread this on your newly tilled garden plot and till again, now cover this all with about six inches of straw and throw some old lumber on top to keep the straw in place. Leave it to compost in the ground over the fall, winter and into spring. When it’s time to plant in late spring, till it all up (including the straw) again and plant.
If I did not already have gardening tools on hand, I would get a good quality shovel, hoe, and a bow rake, spading fork, a big box of Miracle-Gro all purpose plant food and a copy of Gardening When it Counts.
Then I would build a small chicken coop from mostly scrounged building material and buy 8-10 six-month to one-year-old chickens or ducks. Then I would build rabbit hutches along one of the side walls of the coop and buy two does and one buck for breeding stock.
I would also plant fruit and nut trees everywhere that I have space on my property…
Total Cost Under $650
Power Production
I would order a Renogy 200 watt solar panel kit, panel mount, and marine battery, solar 11-in-1 battery charger, rechargeable batteries, and a gas powered portable generator. Then I would getfive-5 gallon fuel cans and fill with gasoline, add STA-BIL fuel stabilizer, then rotate every year.
Total Cost Around $800
Random Items
Two hundred and sixty-five rolls of toilet paper, (more if you have room), 24 tubes of toothpaste, 48 toothbrushes, feminine hygiene products (ladies you know how much you’ll need for a year – I stay as far away as possible during that time), 24 bars of soap for bathing, 24 56 FL OZ bottles of dish-washing liquid, (can also be used for hand-washing of clothing.
A good first-aid medical kit (get training if you need it and include any personal medications), download free copy Where There is no Doctor and Where There is no Dentist and print them to paper orjust buy copies from Amazon.com.
Then while on Amazon.com, I would order a Zoom Versa Stove, aKaito Voyager Pro KA600 Digital Solar/Dynamo AM/FM/LW/SW & NOAA Weather Emergency Radio and two sets of Motorola MR350R 35-Mile Range 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radiosfor family communications when separated from family members.
Cold weather sleeping bags for every family member.
Total Cost Around $900
Conclusion
As you get more money put in a wood stove if possible, or at the least a propane wall heater and enough propane to last a winter. Having both a wood-stove and propane is a better and more flexible solution.
Then add a good handgun or two (I suggest a the Glock model 19 and a Browning Buckmark) extra magazines and ammo. Then look into buying a center-fire rifle, this can be something like an AR-15 or even a 30.30 lever action.
And get all of the training possible. Not only firearms training but, medical, auto mechanics canning, wood-shop, sewing etc. you can never know too much.
Add some non-hybrid garden seed.
So there you have it folks – how to get a family of four quickly prepped to survive for a period of one year or longer – in the easiest way possible… and at a total cost of under $10,000 (approximately)…
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Aww none of this is useful, I have a family of 3. :- P
I say then go with plan and leave the light on,will be some weary lone wolf deserving of a meal.
Canned industrial food? NO WAY!
Learn to bake bread (starting from milling grains into flour).
Learn to butcher cattle, sheep, etc.
Raise your own food if possible or buy from local farms.
Learn how to save/storage what you grew, build storage that works without electricity.
Learn to cook meals for whole family.
You going to do this just how in a few weeks? Get real and get with the question, you are not going to learn to grow wheat harvest it and make bred in a few weeks. If a lifetime of industrial food hasn’t killed you, forget the issue, you have much more important things to get done. I also suggest lots of sugar, pasta, Vinegar, vitamins, rice, spices and other canning supplies, all cheap.
Like it or not. the industrial foods have improved our survival a lot over the “Natural” way of life. If the SHTF things like sugar and Vitamins will be extremely valuable. Look to the old records. they were either non existent or expensive and vitamin deficiencies were rampant.
Your take on Vitamins is one of the most important and yet often forgotten necessities for life in both the pre and post SHTF scenario. Most folks I’ve heard who poo-poo the idea of vitamins really never researched their usefulness as well as their longevity. The idea that they expire on a certain date is just that, an idea as their value will continue to be in place long after the marketer said it was time to throw them out and buy some new ones. Frankly, rickets scares the crap out of me so I’ve done more toward the build up of vitamins and protein than any other aspect of my preps. Well, maybe the medical side has been overdone some but what the heck, if I don’t need it maybe someone else will. great post…. dj
I was thinking the same thing but it just me n the little lady!
So im screwed, bout a 6 person 1 year supply now i need to get rid of it and get a 2 person 1 yr supply. :0P”’
Prepping is a must if you want to live. Prepping comes in many different form, for different situations. Case in point. A young man of 31, from Utah that worked for a company out of Boise, Idaho was just found on Friday and had been missing for a week. He was working in Northwest Wyoming on a Forest Service job and was in very high density bear country and as unbelieveable as it is, he was not carring a gun or pepper spray. He paid the ultimate price. Being properly prepared could have saved this young man life. Trekker Out. Wilderness Is Real!
Never never never just go buy a year of long term food storage. First just buy some small samples to see if you even like the taste of the food. I bought a bucket of WISE food packets and nearly threw up. The salt content was like 300% daily intake if you would like a massive heart attack that year. The photos on the pouches showed vegitables, but the contents reflected none. Just saying that could be a huge waste of money. I would buy regular canned food several 50 lb bags of rice and dry black beans mylar bags an 5 gal buckets with the special seal lids. If you don’t have the basic skills to rotate food according to expiration dates you ain’t going to get through any SHTF situation. Take a black sharpy and rewrite the expiration dates on each can lid in bold large hand writing. Then seperate the food in large bins according tho expiration dates not by food types. And you begin to eat the food the food that expires first. That long term food can be a back up plan but I would not depend or forced to eat slop day after day. It all tastes the same after a few pouches are eaten. Just talking from experience. I do like Mountain house pouches and use that for my bug out bag, etc and MRE’s. MRE’ are pretty tasty and a fairly balanced diet. The Mossberg is Kick ass shotgun. I put a laser light on the magazine tube and use the my pistol grip and is an excellent home defense weapkn with all the 12g specialty ammo, slugs 000buck, dragons breath, tear gas rounds. Etc
Good advise. You need to try it before you buy it, in reference to food. Meal fatigue sets in after about a week or two of eating the same dehydrated food, MREs or just about anything else. Practice OPSEC
First off, opsec has nothing to do with the type of food you eat. Secondly, if it is your only choice, it doesn’t matter what it tastes like, you’re going to eat it. I ate the same 12 MRE’s while deployed for 7 months. Did it get old? Yes. Did I stop eating them? No. If I have no other option, I don’t care what it tastes like.
agree,
I bought some freeze dried foods, decided to try them out after reading an article that basicly said what you were sayin, so we tried it out, was some sort of dish with noodles and a cream sause and chicken if you can call it that, it ended up in the trash after just a few mouth fulls, absolute garbage, I suppose I am spoiled, but I started thinking about it and I can do better from scratch, so my food backups took a different turn, mostly I keep canned veggies, canned corned beef, spam, beans, tons of rice, tons of noodles, assorted sauses etc etc, stuff you might conceivably eat on any given day when you are rummaging through the cupboards looking for something to stir up.
Now Im starting to can stuff and seriously work on my garden, has been quite half hearted up till now, but the last few trips to Costco and the market have made me batshit crazy about the poor quality of some of the produce, and am especially picky being that I put out about 800# of kale a week for a local market,
The only bummer with growing your own and canning is shelf life, and limits, especially if things go real sideways, so am planning for the worst as best we can and hoping for the best, the best being that we are still able to grow a garden and trade or buy whatever small animals we want to get ahold of, in spite of an event of sorts,
I am real serious about getting my fences finished up so I can get a couple goats, and a couple piglets to keep, a friend had a pair of each that he got as babies and used them only for breeding stock, worked out excellent as they didnt really ever try to escape, threats were all exterior, witch was what I found the last time I kept goats, thinking some chickens would be in order as well, but am not real heavy into eggs, just dont really like them except for baking,
Anywho, good article, gets you thinking,
Like I mentioned further down is real easy to get unbalanced in your preps, there is a LOT to consider.
Shelf life of home canned food is much like the “use buy” dates on store bought food. It doesn’t go bad as long as it canned right and is sealed. In fact, home canned probably lasts longer. I was raised on home canned food.
About two years ago when I was building new shelves, I found a jar of home canned pears that was 20 years old. I opened them up and they were still OK. Then I discovered why they were still down there…I can’t stand pears. The chickens finished them off.
Prepper Tip of the Day
do NOT fire dragon’s breath shells
inside yer house
unless of course you want to do a major remodel !
WWT
i noticed that on some my buckets that got rubbed agianst or from stacking that some of the sharpie was rubbing off ,i do a lot of shipping with my buss. ,so i take the scraps from my sticky back shipping lables ,stick them on the buckets and use the sharpie on them
Got my handy-dandy Ptouch label maker. I label everything from soup to nuts and then some.
Old man,
Even in FUCKING WEST VIRGINIA guns are banned in the state park trails.
Now I’m flying to Milwaukee soon and bear spray is banned on the flights. Concealed carry is banned in WI. So what the fuck am I supposed to do? I’m going trekking anyway unarmed.
OPEN CARRY EVERY FUCKING DAY
MOCK THE HYSTERICAL SHEEPLE EVERY FUCKING DAY
You wonder why you get red thumbed. Your comments are stupid and ill informed.
Wisconsin is concealed and open carry. Any county, state, and federal park and trail are concealed carry and many are open carry.
If you’re whining about flying with a weapon, get over it. Buy your own plane, otherwise the feds will tell you what not to do on a plane.
molon labe
Update your info before you make a statement. Conceal Carry in Wisc. is valid and open carry as well. here is a link to get you on the right track – http://www.doj.state.wi.us/dles/cib/conceal-carry/concealed-carry
Great example as to why one “Should never leave home without it” and I am not talking about a credit card.
Thank you! Many good suggestions!
Everyone can and should be prepared. Here is a website for those who want to be prepared, but DON’T have a lot of money.
How to Survive Hard Times – website with lots of useful information.
This website includes a number of useful articles about living in hard times – shelf stable food to buy on a tight budget, simple recipes, gardening, preserving food, how-to make it or do it yourself, etc.
At the top of the page, click on Hard Times Survival.
Remember to ‘store what you eat and eat what you store’.
Note: Older dry beans (pintos, etc.) cook well after overnight soaking in a few tablespoons of baking soda.
http://grandpappy.org/indexhar.htm
Thank you for that very helpful link–TONS of articles!
Buy a Harvist Right freez drying machine 4000.00, a good vac sealer 500-1000, a top quality canning system 750 a 1 killiwatt solar system 2100 spend the rest on guns and add a wood stove. Then buy regular food from local folks and the store and store your own…. the garden, rabbits, chickens are also a great idea.
….in 30 days?
I mean great ideas, but the point to the article was his suggestion for getting as prepped as possible in less than 30 days with 10K. Its not a bad start actually, and I’d lead right in to what you suggested when its done and one has that basic buffer (year of basic food, water, defense, etc) covered. Unless I quit my job and gave up sleep, I don’t think I could find, dry, and properly store 1 years food in that timeframe. Not to mention the outlay in 5gal buckets, packaging etc..
Winco……….
Trekker,
So true! And sad – he was above Brooke’s Lake, yes? Can’t beleive anyone would be in the back country without protection – WTHeck… its not suburbia or Jellystone up here.
In a SHTF situation where folks bug out to the high country, I fear many from the city will be ill-prepared to live in the wilds.
WRM. Heard it was near Cub Creek North of Brooks that whole area is infested with Griz. I also was told that this young man didn’t like guns. Which may or maynot be true. I Don’t want to be critical of such a sad event whether true or not. But protect yourself at all times. Trekker Out. County 10
Trekker,
Always do – whether it be on foot or horseback. Spending some time shooting at the range down in your neck of the woods. Maybe some day I will see you shooting.
Also, some decent folks north and west of us are looking to get a comms system going (for when the sh*t comes down the pike).
Take care.
WRM Maybe you know Lady Vet that does some shooting at range. I only shoot in badlands north of dump. Trekker Out. Nuff Said!
We live pretty rural and have been having a black bear problem the last year. Hes been going for the chickens. Tore apart the coop and took off with a few. I now worry about my little folks being outside without me. They like to swing on their swing set but I cannot let them out alone now. Am I paranoid? I never knew bears would go after chickens so, its kinda put me on edge with the kids.
Speaking of which, what gauge would be best to tackle the problem should circumstance necessitate?
He’s a decent size bear. A neighbor thinks he might have a den up the hill from our house based on the trail and scat.
I wonder if we should just make a phone call to have it all checked out.
I’ve seen many bears killed. I help with training dogs and go out on kills often in season. Seen bears shot with anything from a bow, .357 or .44, 12 ga. slugs, and any centerfire from .223 to .300 mag.
They all work the same, just have a backup shooter. Anything can and will happen. Hate to have a wounded and pissed off bear fall out of the tree and chase you down.
molon labe
Anon,
There is a good recent article in the NRA publication American Hunter about bear quality handguns; please read it. The rule of thumb was: .40caliber or above, a very hard flat nose slug that weights 300grains or more, and the slug must exit at at-least 1000feet per second. As always the more rounds available, the merrier. I’ve already said a prayer for you. I got little folks too.
Wind River Mom, as do I. after the first winter, the “backcountry” is going to be populated by cannibals and the occasional bandit all wearing the latest pricy 72-hour BOB. I’m AVOIDING the so called backcountry for the first year.
Marcus,
If fate allows, I plan on staying hunkered down ‘on the homestead’ for as long as possible. Being forced out into the wilds will be a whole new level of dangerous. Now if I could just cache some ammo in case I run into the bad guys you mentioned. Stay safe!
First thing to do is watch some Ann Barnhardt videos. I just love an angry woman with a pink assault rifle… plus, she’s so danged cute when she screams!
(if Mrs okie had a younger sister, this would be her)
Some of this artical might have had some valid points but the entire piece is commercialized w/ his own referral links. Thumbs down, repeat.
If I want commercials I can turn on the idiot box. I come here hoping for a bit of real news or a few tips. Not real estate bullshit and referral hypes like this. About the only real prepping sites left are Rawles and Modern Survival w/ Ken.
Cal,plenty of other good survival sites,have nothing wrong with a few ads on sites,we all gotta make a living.Ignore the ads but put in your .02 worth,your ideas/plans ect.I will say thought the food thing too expensive,believe author wrote with someone who just wants a quick fix/phone call done solution,better then nothing and a start,tis why I listed a article that did same amount for roughly 3500.00 less,a lot of money to play with then,put in your thoughts on saving a few bucks while prepping.
I got it Warchild but this one is full of links for a kickback. Its deceptive unless you get how the referals work. Ads on the sidebar here aint a problem w/ me, I use Adblocker since I know what is mostly sold. Got the book that Macs wife wrote on cooking w/ preps and weve used it a bunch. That aint the issue. Its getting so that Im watching the artical list to see who the author is before even clicking it.
As always let the buyer beware. For most, money is hard to come by and hang onto.
And never, ever buy a Berkey water filter. Couldn’t even pony up 300.00 plane fare to Toledo to gather a real sample of “Green Slime”. Their official response was “it should be alright for drinking”. They have made millions off the backs of preppers and You don’t even know if the product is safe!…Beware of Berkey!
Wooly Lamb’s Ear – Medicinal and Edible.
A NATURAL MANTIBACTERIAL BANDAGE
“Wooly Lamb’s Ear, botanical name Stachys byzantina, has been used for centuries as a wound dressing on battlefields. Not only do the soft, fuzzy leaves absorb blood and help it to clot more quickly, they also contain antibacterial, antiseptic, and anti-inflammatory properties.”
OTHER MEDICINAL USES:
-Wooly Lamb’s Ear actually has many medicinal uses. You can heat a few bruised leaves in a pot of simmering water, and use the cooled infusion as an eyewash to treat pinkeye and sties.
-Drink a tea made from young, dried Wooly Lamb’s Ear leaves to help with fevers, diarrhea, sore mouth and throat, internal bleeding, and weaknesses of the liver and heart.
-You can bruise the leaves so that the juices are released, and put them on bee stings or other insect bites to help reduce the swelling. The same effect can be seen when used for treating hemorrhoids, or for postpartum recovery.
STILL MORE USES:
-Being soft and super absorbent, Lamb’s Ear leaves can be used as menstrual pads
-Used in place of cotton balls.
-It can be used as TOILET PAPER.
-It’s also edible. The young, tender leaves can be eaten fresh in a salad or steamed as greens.
http://theprepperproject.com/grow-antibacterial-bandages/
Wooly Lamb’s Ear: Natural Antibacterial Bandages that you can grow
http://chippewa.com/lifestyles/greenspace-lamb-s-ear-a-durable-interesting-plant/article_ade717f2-852c-11df-8b64-001cc4c03286.html
(Note: Seeds can be ordered online. This plant can be invasive. So, plant in a contained area.)
This is a good article but it assumes people have money to buy these items.
I have been preparing for years and don’t have as many supplies as is suggested in this article. I simply can not afford it.
I went the Moron’s route and built my food supply on the old Moron’s storage plan. The plan only cost a few hundred dollars for a family of 4.
It can be improved upon and the cost is still very low. It’s similar to this plan
http://www.provident-living-today.com/Bulk-Food-Storage.html
The “ B’s ” have it when it comes to simple guidelines for Prepping
By priority:
Bottles of drinking water (glass preferred in any manageable sizes) gallons!
Bullets = whatever gets the job done for protection and dispatching game
Beans & rice (preferably dried, stored in glass containers)
Brimstone, as in fire or, for ways to make fire for grid-out scenario
Baking/cooking pans & pots
Bag filters for water purification, coffee filters,etc.
Bathing & cleansing products,towels,washcloths,soap,shampoo,etc
Boots, heavyduty and waterproof that will last forever for trekking
Bags = heavy duty sleeping bags for emergencies or BO trekking
Back-pack primarily, for hauling water or use in BO trekking
Bread = skills for grinding of stockpiled wheat and baking it
Butt – wipes, any variety from rolled toilet paper to wet-wipes
(may go before “Bread”, if a grid-out/bo scenario ensues)
Belt = heavy duty waist wrap/rope for use as pulling/tie-down/etc.
Band aids
Bacteria = the prevention of, with anti-bacterial agents, neosporin
Buckets for carrying water or several items at once
Butchering (canning and drying of animal meat)
Bacon – canned (stock up on bacon “pieces” in sealed jars)
Bark-Burner, as in woodstove for heat & cooking/grill/bake
Bunker = simple underground hole for keeping things cool
Or more complicated structure for safety reasons
Beer =wine & making supplies sugar, yeast, containers, etc.
Birds = chickens and or turkeys/pigeons/quail = meat/eggs
Bow & Arrows for stealth hunting/security & protection
Black Powder for use in weapons or making explosives
Last but not least….Barter only when and with whom, it becomes necessary
This list is subject to change based on beseeched B words that are beneficial and befitting.
Pass,if for some reason survive awhile have a b to add to list:babes
Thanks for the addition, WD.
I thought about it briefly, but was hesitant to put in print because the little woman sometimes read these things and I do enough to piss her off as it is.
It sure don’t hurt to look though, just don’t “touch”, as she says.
I am still a red blooded male; even though there is snow on the roof,without visible smoke, doesn’t mean there aren’t coals in the stove.
Pass,you have the babe thing covered,for some of us lone wolves(OK,cornered rabid weasel in my case)we will if we live long enuff need company,as will the single women.
Free,while not a fan/practitioner of the mormon faith as you find their info. helpful kind of being harsh with the moron thing it seems,give em credit where credit is due,these folks do have the food prep thing down.
Ditto Warchild,
I lived among Mormons as a devoted Christian. They have prepping down to mathematical science. Read and heed their wisdom. Prepping IS part of their religion. They can and will help you make fewer mistakes and save money. They may not call you “brother”, but if you respect them, they will respect you, especially if you’re strongly commited to your personal faith.
Yeah – and a GREAT plan – IF you happen to have $10,000 laying around after the monthly bills…
Everyone needs a hobby, something to look forward to, NOT!
Good luck on the 1000 rounds of 22. I still never see any locally.
Plenty on the net,I realize folks do not like ordering ammo off the net(or perhaps anything)but use a debit card and just get it,reasonably priced at moment on slickgun/ammoseek/kucky gunner ect.They come for you for ordering ammo tis all hit the fan anyhow.
A must is a wood stove (heat, cooking). Heirloom seeds a very good! Drill a well! Food preservation supplies.
Have food to keep you going till harvest. So much depends on location! Some good ideas thpugh in article. God bless, James
James said drill a well
That’s almost $20k around here for a lined well 600 ft dp.
Billy, Water is # 1. If STHF electricity will be at a premium if available at all. That’s why I mentioned location. God Bless, James
If your well is deeper than 30 feet you ain’t going to be hand pumping it with a pitchure pump, and need a generator and electric pump to get it out of the ground. Get the facts first and pricing to know what it is going to take. Youtube has some good vids on Drilling your own well yourself. Screw the permit Nazis.
For $75 worth of PCV pipe I home built a hand pump that works like a water ram. It can force water from almost any depth. my rig is very easy to pump and delivers a quart of water every 5 strokes. Much cheaper than a flo jack. Im lucky that I have two wells. one is 450 feet deep drilled well and has a 220 volt submersible pump. the other is a pounded well that apparently hit a spring. ive got my hand pump installed in it.
Security/Protection is # 1
Not arguing with you, but I have to agree with Selco from shtfschool when he says guns and ammo in a collapsed society is key to survival. One can have all the supplies in the world, but without a means to defend it then you won’t have it for long.
Dont get it 600ft deep, we have two one is 50ft and the other is 75ft
Don’t forget the $1000 per year it takes to feed a dog high quality grain-free food. My dogs have the same rights to survive TEOTWAWKI….they earn their food, maybe more than my teenage kid…
Not sure what you feed your dogs but my two dogs eat all natural organic (no grain filler crap either) dog food made from human foods right here in the good ole u.s.a. I buy it from my local groomer who sells a 40 pound bag for $40 (reg price is $50). My 82 pound Golden and 51 pound Husky eat twice a day and go through one bag every eight weeks. We keep six bags on hand in cool, dark storage (vacuum sealed from the factory) so it stays good for a long time. It sure as heck don’t add up to a grand a year. But I do agree ya gotta plan for your pets. Don’t forge heartworm meds too!
That’s a great price for organic grain free dog food! What’s the name of it?!
My dogs are small now. I buy Merrick brand, made in USA food. The bags run me about $50 each, and I supplement their food with baked yams and baked or pressure cooked chicken. Remember to never feed your dog onions, grapes, etc, that can poison them.
Old Man, your post is so stupid it doesn’t deserve a response.
I never buy dog food. my two dogs eat table scraps. the beagle is 11 and healthy. she raised 4 pups two years ago. she was in heat a couple months ago. ive never spent money on a vet. I buy my wormer & rabies vaccine at the feed store. anyone who spends $1000 a year on a dog is a idiot.
Of course, that’s rather impractical for a 100+ pound dog. So nah, not an idiot, just beyond your comprehension which makes you the…
Real good point, i keep telling my mom she needs to get more food for her dogs, so they dont start looking at her like dinner if she runs out.
yeah
remember what happened to the dogs in One Second After !
Regarding natural fertilizer for a garden,
Avoid horse manure like the plague, there are a couple vaccines used on horses regularly that are highly toxic to humans that persist in their manure and transfere to the soil where it is also highly persistent.
Nasty stuff!
Wait when SHTF and people let their pets loose, that will create Feral Dog packs that will attack anything moving. Watch the movie Cujo – The Rabib St Bernard
old mother hubbard went to the cupboard to get poor rover a bone. when she bent over Rover drove her. She found out he had a bone of his own.
Old Guy…
No Stealing my lines!!! 🙂
@ OldGuy,
after reading your comment to my post yesterday, i had assumed you to be a dumbass; now, with this comment, you have removed all doubt.
That is what the bunnies are for.
those of us in Alaska or Hawaii dont have the option of ordering ammo
Never buy anything online with your debit card. Always use a credit credit card. They hack your debit card and can wipe out your entire bank balance. If your credit card gets hacked they are stealing MC or Visas money. Your bank is not obligated to credit you back if your debit card is hacked. Only use your debit card for taking money out of your own banks ATM period. Never use your debit card for anything else.
Who,only have a debit card,not much in account and in theory am not responsible if stolen,of course in theory money is protected by fdic insurance also!I would now not qualify for credit card and yet my life goes on,who would have known!
Warchild,
I only use a debit card to order preps. I only keep a low balance in the account. I deposit money and then order asap.
My account is set up to deny ANY charge made on the card, if there are insufficient funds.
just use a prepaid visa gift card for everything
then no one can rip you off for more than the gift card is worth and no one can track your name
stupid old people
Govt. almost certainly tracks ammo orders,that said,with millions a year gonna be a long ass search!
Ya know, if you would have avoided that last sentence, some people might have actually found your comment useful. Oh well, some people can’t stop being bitter and acting stupid and hateful online.
You can do a lot cheaper by 80-85% savings with can goods that last several years or dried foods.
There some interesting studies by various universities that show can goods will last many years beyond their “best by dates”…the key element is temp…the lower the better to just above freezing.
As an example…I’ve just recently cooked up some baked beans that were 4yrs beyond “best by”…no one got sick… so far I have a loss ratio of less than 10%…
They were stored at 75 degrees…
Those advertised storage foods sold by prep companies are typically not very healthy. I would only eat it if there was nothing else during a disaster.
Isn’t that the idea? That a disaster has occurred and the only food you will have is what you have in your house.
Depending on the season, you can wait nine months for a garden to come in to harvest, that’s a long time to eat stored food.
As I had mentioned, you can save 85% on prep food that’s typically a lot healthier that insurance food sold by prep companies. The only positive of the prep food sold by insurance food tpye comapnies is they take up less space because they are in storage tubs or small boxes.
Did you ever notice that, unlike camping, nobody ever tries to grow *ALL* of their own food for a season. That’s because it isn’t easy. It takes knowledge, skill and hard work plus tools for the job, not to mention space. Growing food for your survival takes much more than growing a couple tomato plants.
If you do not garden now, you won’t have one, or a good one when you need it. You will not have the skills you need, or the soil to grow a good garden. It can take years to condition soil for optimum production, unless you make raised beds. Building a sufficient number of raised beds is an exercise all by itself.
If you don’t garden now, how will you do it when things go south?
That’s why part of my preps is a lot of Ramen. It’s cheap, stores long, easy to prepare and not good for much more than staving off starvation. At $2.22 for a 12 pack, it’s hard to beat in terms of cost per meal. Then again, I am a poverty prepper and so fancy freeze dried foods and MREs are not in the budget.
As for water, I think the better choice for a realistic budget is a set of rain barrels. Some municipalities do not allow you to build a well because of geologic instability (welcome to Florida!). A swimming pool is also an excellent cache of water and could easily be refilled using the gutters off the house. You would have to build a filtration system though and that is something that so far I lack the appropriate knowledge to do. So long as it lacks chemical contamination, you could use clear plastic bottles filled with water and put in the sun for a few hours for purification purposes. It’s actually how I plan to do it since Zephyrhills water is sold in clear (almost) gallon jugs for $1. Use the water and then reuse the bottle to make more. You would also want a way to cook. One of my ideas is to use a camping stove and propane bottles I have put away for a rainy (hurricane) day. My other plan is far more crude and involves the grate from my electric oven mounted on cinder blocks and burning left over scrap lumber that would be around after a storm or other catastrophe. I don’t dare burn my IKEA furniture though as it’s not made of real wood and has toxic plastics in it that would make you sick.
Use that Ramen as college kid bait. They’re drawn to it like flies. Cheerleaders are especially tasty.
Just kiddin’
Sorta.
Use glass bottles if leaving the water in the sun for periods of time for UV purifying. The heat of the sun will cause nasty chemicals to leech from the plastic (plastic is made from oil)into the water.
Also everyone should look under each plastic item, cups, water bottles, jugs…etc for the Recycling Symbol number codes.
Numbers 2, 4 and 5 are food grade, anything else is NOT good.
Hope this helps.
The problem with glass bottles is that they aren’t exactly common nowadays. The only thing I can think of that is sold in them anymore is liquor. I’m a non drinker so it is not likely that I will easily have a ready supply of them. I’ll take my chances with plastic so long as it is a short term emergency (all I am prepped for at the present). It’s better than dying of dehydration.
@ Winston Smith : Beans and rice are almost as cheap as ramen, and are alot better for you. A thick plastic jug with a hot hand inside will keep your beans and rice forever. As for water, you need a little more than the sun shinning through a jug for a couple of hours to purify. Boil it, get some iodine, bleach, or chlorine to purify. Wally World has fairly cheap filters for $20.
As for the well, I to live in Florida. What a blessing. As long as you don’t live to close to the coast, you can put in a surface water well ( 33′ or less ) for cheap. I would not ask for permission. Install it yourself in the back yard. Then, a hand pump. That is the most expensive part. If you can’t afford the hand pump. you can still install the well. Just take 3/4″ – 1″ pvc and make your own little water puller. That is what I call it. A cap, a piece of leather or thin rubber, a stainless steal ball, one hole in the top and one in the bottom. A piece of rope, drop it in the well,. let it fill, pull it up. You don’t get but a pint to a quart at a time, but it is cheap.
Last but definately not least, DON’T COOK ON PREASURE TREATED WOOD. As far as that goes, you don’t really want the pine either. It will taste like crap, but it will not kill you.
@ It Ain’t Easy : Amen brother. I have been gardening for years. It has taken 5 – 6 years to get my soil into good shape. Just starting my third garden this year. About 5000 sqft in total, and the ole lady still has to go grocery shopping every week. I also have 50 fruit and nut trees. NOT all producing yet. If you want fruit, you should have already planted your GRAFTED trees. They take years. In a SHTF situation, I could fill in the blanks, but it takes alot of garden to feed just a couple of people. Don’t forget extra to feed livestock. If you are not currently gardening, you need to get with it. You are not going to run to Lowes/HomeDepot and buy fertilizer, already started plants, or garden tools and seeds. You need that stuff now. A hole lot of practice. You need to start all of your plants from seeds. It takes longer that way. You need to start now.
Nothing worse during a disaster and finding out you food plan is a disaster too. This must be a long term food advertisement article. Like the realestate weekend adds. Always buy samples first before you go blow $4k on food buckets. Remember you are what you eat. Learn to cann food and stock up at a farmers market. Healthy and cheap.
You are what you eat,WHO,you calling me a pussy?!
I’ve eaten 15 year old Pinto beans. The farts were no worse than normal.
@Biden. In long term SHTF if you have to resort to cannibalism for food, a nice young tenderloin or babyback ribs are fine. I would stay away from the 80 year old old wrinkled rump roast though as it eould be tough chewing with lots of grissle.. j/k. I could not eat cat although dog may be tasty. Anybody out there with experience on this subject? I am a newbie on cannibal prepping. Last resort of course. Watch the movie of Stallengrad. Desperate people ate people. No kidding.
File this with your “101 ways to wok your dog” cookbook:
http://buffalohair.wordpress.com/2010/10/09/101-ways-to-prepare-long-pork/
@ WhoWuddaThunkit : If you like chinese, you like cat. Where I live I should never have to eat people, but if any of the neighbors pets go outside to do there business, they will not be going home. Dog, cat, it don’t matter.
PS, My grandpa said the best cat was on a violin.
I’m eating Campbell’s Chunky soups from my basement that expired in 2007. They only been stored in my basement.
That’s right jerrytbg, your nose and eyes can tell you if its any good or not.
Botulism has no taste or smell. But in general…you are correct.
Yes, Po’d P…The lost ratio I cited were bulging cans…
Most obvious…and it was interesting in that they were from one particular canner, Margret Holms, I believe that is the correct spelling…they just barely made it to ” BBD”… shortly after they started going off…almost like they had a timer in the can…
I’ve always made it a point to buy from different sources to avoid being locked in. And in this case it paid off…
Food for thought…
@jerrytbg …one VERY important reason to use canned goods in SHTF is water will be priceless, maybe even MORE expensive, and all those CANS of food have moisture in them….freeze-dried will require adding WATER. rmember the movie “the road” where he’s drinking peach juice because he’s dehydrated?…also to your point about the baked beans. i just fed my nephew and his wife baked beans with a very small amount of BBQ sauce added(learned this trick at costco) that were 5 years old…i told them AFTER they said how great they were, how old they were….amazed, were they.
as far as good buys on food, just look at the weekly ads. i buy from there EVERY week there’s great sales…..like cans of corn, green beans, mixed veggies, chilli is great prepper food…baked beans, BBQ sauce, tuna, spam, fruit cocktail, peaches, pears, apple sauce,tomato sauce, rice, beans, macaroni if you got water to cook them with…canned soups, and fer SHIT’S sake, don’t forget the canned milk, powdered milk, and sugar and flour and baking soda, and baking powder….it will ALL be priceless…. and as much as i don’t like wal-mart(or the people of), they DO pricematch. their prices are actually MUCH higher than other stores around here. bottom line though, is you could go to costco and buy a BUNCH of EVERYTHING for the 4000$ he spent…and i mean everything….spices syrups, honey….if they got it on the shelves at costco, yer probly gonna need some of it SOON!
There is only one problem with canned food. If you have to leave, it is too heavy. Otherwise, in a bug in situation, I would agree. Canned food would be the only way to go for price, flavor, water and nutrients.
You still need some dried goods in case you have to leave. The cheapest is beans and rice.
How right you are…. got CLEAN water…
My understanding is that while canned food is safe to eat well beyond its expiration date, its nutritional value starts to degrade after 7 years.
Check with the LDS, and purchase some food in bulk. With #10 can of wheat, you can make about 10 loaves of bread. Raw grains are better than the bleached / enriched flour. Shelf life is about 30 years. Make sure you have plenty of yeast, or baking powder.
LDS products here
http://store.lds.org/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Category3_715839595_10557_3074457345616706237_-1_N_image_0
Affordable prices and they ship products quickly.
Also, download (free) the LDS Preparedness Manual
https://www.ldsavow.com/PrepManualGeneral.html
The manual is filled with lots of useful information.
Also some LDS churches have a canning room you can use to fill #10 cans. They sell you the cans and buckets etc. and you fill your own.
I doubt a 25 yr shelf life will be needed. I keep commercially canned food and rarely throw anything away. The dehydrated stuff greatly increases your water requirement.
Well then, none must exist at all if you cannot find any.
Plenty of it out there if you go on line.
#1 Your family needs your knowledge of what the scum feds and others have done to this country and stolen from us. There is plenty of evidence available. They need the burning hatred and contempt that we feel regarding these motherfuckers so when the day arrives they will be able to ruthlessly destroy the bastards along side us.
FP,don’t hold back,what are you trying to say?!
I know , right ? holding that stuff in is unhealthy . Let it out FP .
Amen,
Makin a list
Checkin it twice!
Only make a mental list. Surely don’t write it down or put it on a computer. It will or may add to your conviction sentencing time. Lol
Well then, there must not be any out there if you cannot find any, Doubter.
Personally, I doubt if you have looked that hard because there is lot out there.
You can buy 22’s now, if you want to pay centerfire prices.
In central Mississippi you can buy h.v. 50 round boxes of 22 cal. at Academy Sports for around $3 most any day.
Buy a few rounds of .50 cal… You can make your own improvised barrel later on if necessary or take it off a useless blue helmet who no longer can complain.
Which before Obama was 99 cents.
Plenty of the net for ten cents a round, six or seven cents if you find it locally. If you don’t have any .22 ammo, and need it NOW, getting two bricks for $100 is better than not having it at all.
There is a substitution to .22.
It is .17 HMR
I purchased rifle and ammo a year ago without any issues.
Good luck with the FRS radios also…. 1/2 – 2 mile range at best. Get a couple of BaoFeng Ham Two Way Radios / Walkie Talkies. Same money and you can use them as scanners, fm radio, weather radio, and all of the other frequencies including MURS for about $35 ea.
I would start with this,much cheaper then the food plan offered in article:ht tp://americanpreppersnetwork.com/2012/08/a-year-of-food-storage-for-300-for-a-family-of-four.html ,,figure new folks may not have 10,000 to start with,and,even if you do why not start with this basic list and get more bang for your buck,can modify it/add with all the savings,of course,space in http to avoid the moderation time.
Thanks for the tip, Warchild!
John’s question to me was, if you had nothing prep-wise, and just starting out and wanted to be ready within the next month and with a budget of $10,000 what would you do and buy to be prepared as quickly as possible?
Does Mr. Creekmore give an estimate of how much storage space is going to be needed for all his recommendations? Anyone want to give a generous guess of how much square footage and height of room and other infrastructure requirements are needed for these preps?
Free,no problem,I like the article in that it has some great suggestions i.e. seeds/printing some free manuals/chicken coop on a budget,believe author just replied in a way on food for someone to just pickup phone/order/and done.As for space limitations/square footage as for the Augson Farm folks directly and ask,hopefully they would know as this would be a consideration.Keep in mind that budget article a bit bland,will keep ya’s alive,can add sauces/spices ect. and with monies saved can add a lot more food if space there.I will also say there are products you do not want to cheap out on,the quality of product may save you or family/friends life,happy prepping,and remember,the smalls add up!
I built a 6 hen chicken coop out of free wooden pallets. I just sold it on line for $600. I put heavy duty solid dolly wheels on it for easy moving. It was all oak hard wood and will last a long time. Building a rabbit hutch next in my spare time.
I picked up an extra thirty pound propane cylinder at Tractor Supply a couple of days ago. Cheapest around my area. They also fill them there at the store and their prices are reasonable.
Tractor also has the best prices on firebrick/decitemous(spelling,I know!) earth food grade ect.
Diatomaceous earth. Tricky speller.
Diatoms are the little fossil remains infused in the dirt.
You need energy. Put 5 or 10 cords of firewood on the list.
Add propane stoves, propane, untensils.
Lots of stuff to add, long list.
The article falls way short, it doesn’t say what the zoning restrictions are for his home or what state he lives in. Without that information all you can do is sell him a fish and not teach him to fish.
Where I live this is what I would do.
1) Get to know a mentor
2) Put in a well that runs on grid and off grid power, there goes the ten grand or most of it.
3) Chicken coop with solar lighting
4) meat rabbits
5) pressure canner
6) grain mill
7) Green house with aquaponics
8) books and more books
9) 2 acres isn’t that much land so I would get dairy goats
10) It’s almost fall, put in a wood stove and get about 5 chords of wood
11) Screw the 25 year storage foods, buy canned veg and beans and tomatoes. Buy pasta, rice, pinto beans and wheat berries in bulk. Then double it, eat it and replace it before you get into the second level.
12) Buy salt and seasonings in bulk
13) Buy fish antibiotics
14) Buy toiletries in bulk
15) Buy carpentery tools, fasteners, wood, fencing,wire, batteries, inverters, LED light bulbs…..
16) Gardens, Gardens, Gardens everywhere, on property and off property, culinary and medicinal.
17) It takes years before fruit and nut trees start to provide, plant them but don’t plan on using them for a while. They would not be a part of the initial 10 grand purchase.
If you are not making your home something that can provide then you are just buying time, where will you be when time runs out, in other words, when you’ve eaten up your preps.
Rick,will go to Mathews of course,he has only 3 people to feed!
You can put down your own well. There are a lot of videos online. I have the equipment to put in another well. I just need to get some more pipe.
You can dig your own well, I have but it was a bitch. I started with a postholler then hit rock at about six foot. I had to widen the hole so I could climb down it and remove rock, it was about another eight feet of that. I finally made the hole about 20 ft deep. I have a seasonal well with a picture pump, it runs dry in the summer.
I also have a drilled well that’s 70 foot deep that’s good year around. It’s powered with a 220 volt pump. I can power it with grid power or a generator. I tried to wire in solar but ran into a problem with the way inverters -v- grid is grounded. I fried my first inverter.
I’m not an electrician so I put the wiring in of the inverter on the back burner until I can either friend an electrician that knows how to do it or until things get so bad that I can cut the grid power off the circut and rewire it in for just the inverter.
I also have a 12 volt pump that I can place in the well and use it. It doesn’t have the volume that the 220 pump has but it will at least fill a glass of water.
@RickinOregon,
best post yet that I’ve seen on this topic. (except I would double the wood chords to at least 10)
as for ‘John’ having everything paid for, how about property taxes? they will come for those. he doesn’t really own it, unless the state he lives in has no property tax.
The point were it hits fan,well,property tax collectors feel will be a endangered species.
I try to buy canned stuff, and either eat it and keep replenishing or donate it before it expires, or keep it even if its expired for those folks who will inevitably show up wanting a handout,
I buy lots of ramen noodles, the noodles last forever if they dont get bugs in em, can make decent stir fries with em, or ramen or other soup, also buy lots of rice, cant go wrong with white rice
Yep. ‘Cept that ramen and white rice have about zilch nutritional value. Sawdust, while not as tasty, will fill you up just as well.
Yea but i can make a bangin fried rice with a bunch of veggies and a few cups of rice, or maki sushi with a can of tuna and some rice vinegar and some carrot strips, or goes good with a stirfry,,,,,
Its not about what someone ELS likes to eat, its about what I like to eat, dont really pay attention to numbers.
Kula,
Ramen noodles don’t get bugs for the same reason white flour doesn’t. Not enough nutrition to support life.
Stock up on sand bags ans sand. They are a cheap ballistics bullet stopper. Also stock up on 5 gal Jerry cans and gas or diesel and PRI-G or D for diesel additive for long term fuel storage. I also bought 10 gallons of Kerosene. That is getting harder to find and getting pricey. Also buy a few good knives. K-BAR and skinning fillet knives and knife sharpener. A few axes and a nice set of hand metal and wood files. A few hand drills, hand saws. A bench vise. Think like you are back in the 1800’s. Cause that is where we are headed again. Start going to yard and garage sales lots of cheap prepping items for sale or check craigs list. .
@ WHO : Go a little further north. From central Florida north their is still a lot of kerosene heaters up here, which means a lot of the smaller independant gas stations have kerosene.
Rick, damn good list. Id add in honey for immediate consumption, bees, and beekeeping supplies to get set up asap. Under your #16 w/ gardens Id add in some of the perenials like sunchokes and the herbs like oregano sage and chives. Right now the sunchokes are in full bloom here so they are free for the digging. Look for tall yellow petals that look like big black eye susans. Dig at the root and if theres a tuber, its a sunchoke. You can eat those raw steamed fried or boiled. Damn good for free food and hidden in and around your property. Food hiding in the open.
I looked up sunchokes, I didn’t know what they were. It seems that a lot of people have a problem with eating them. They get stomach cramps and the squirts.
I like that they are a tuber. Thanks for mentioning them. I’ll see if they can grow in our zone, if they can I’ll plant some and see if I’m one of those that are effected by them.
Rick some folks do have problems w/ them and its best to just have a few tubers at a time to see what their gut can handle.
If you find those flowers, just dig into the root. If you find a knotty looking tuber that looks a bit like ginger root, you got sunchokes. Theyre also called jerusalem artichokes.
Dont dig them until youre ready to slice and eat them. Leave them in the ground all winter and dig what you want before your meal. Whatever you dont dig up by spring will grow on. Be sure to leave some tubers in the ground too since thats going to be your next years crop.
Deer love the stems and flowers so protect them if need be. Or grow a field of them for deer season.
I grew them for a while, didnt have trouble with side effects but they are just a pain in the ass to clean the skin off and the skin isnt good no matter how you prepare them, they are tasty though but i have potatoes growing wild all over my farm so would go for them first,
The sunchokes are also sort of invasive depending on where you plant them and your cultivation practice, would be ok for an off side area that maybe has poor soil.
Calgagus,
Did you order your sunchokes?
I ordered some and planted them. They have not done well. Both this year and last year, the plants (6ft tall) fell over after a hard rain. They have produced only a couple flowers.
Maybe the variety I planted are not suited to this area.
Any suggestions?
KY Mom we got our start from friends about 10 yrs ago. We got a couple of patches going and want to get more growing for hard times. Free food is good food. We spotted a big area a few days ago and plan to head back there to dig some up for another hidden patch for ourselves.
The wife uses them like water chestnuts in stir fries and such. Sometimes we mash em up too or add them raw into salads.
You said yours fell over after rains but did you check for tubers in October or so? Just follow your dry stem down and see if theres any tubers. First year or so theyll be small since you just got them started up. Theyre hardy and in the wild they get support from the weeds and grasses where they spring up. I bet you see them and dont realize it so start looking hard. We see more along roadsides and in the woods theyll grow if theres some sun for them. If your in KY you should get them to grow. Were in zone 6 and they can handle the cold. Dont know about full shade for a sunchoke but since they like the sun thats your best bet. Put them in regular soil and treat them more like a hardy weed. See if that helps.
Right now wild asparagus fronds are still in full spray and they stand out since grasses are dying back. Take notes where you see them for next years wild harvest. Or dig down about 8 inches and look for the crown to dig up and transplant.
Thanks for all you do here,KY Mom. we appreciate all your work and the news you get for us.
Calgagus,
Thank you for the tips and encouragement! I was ready to dig them up and just plant something else there next year. They are in a sunny spot, but maybe they would do better in a different place, that has better drainage. (They are currently in a low spot.)
I will start looking for wild asparagus. That would be a great addition to the garden.
Thank you! I appreciate all the helpful links and information that MANY post here.
Take care!
KY Mom
Warchild,
Thank you for posting this link!
This is an inexpensive and nutritious way to provide food storage for your family.
No problems Mom,tis what the forum is for,well,most times.I bookmarked that one and though perhaps bland/prices vary by region believe tis a good/inexpensive first start.
Your right on the money with don’t use milk jugs-plastic. They last for approx 6 months(maybe). I use thick juice jugs,been using them for approx 2 yrs and no issues. Started using 5 gallon water containers and they work the best.
As for electricity, we plan on not using any at all after the SHTF, no replacement issues. I Have been training the family on total non-reliance on electricity
I agree milk jugs not the strongest,but,on a tight leash budget wise,use em till you can do better.I am glad to see this article,hopefully will bring a lot of ideas and less expensive alternatives for folks with less money or lets get that 10000 buck budget to go further,these are articles that bring out the best here I believe.
I don’t think this article mentioned a few good Water filters you can carry in a bag Sawyer and a pocket ceramic filter. Bug out bag back packs, hammocks rain fly tarps and don’t forget A 1000 foot spool of camo 550 paracord. Duct tape, mukti toolfire starter tools candles, bicycles for transportation. Lots of items to put on your to buy list. And get your concealed weapons permit. No need to become a felon. I carry daily. Best item on your list for self protection.
Who for bugout bag ect. this is a great article on storing/organizing paracord: ht tp://www.hedgehogleatherworks.com/Parachute-Cord-550-Cord-Management-and-Storage-s/112.htm ,you know the space routine to avoid moderation,excellent way to have cord ready and not a tangled ratfuck
They’ll last longer if they’re kept in the dark, but I still prefer the plastic jugs that V8 juice comes in.
@ old nam vet : juice and gatoraide jugs. I have them over ten years now. Still good and fresh. I like the gatoraide better because the jug is rectangle. 6 jugs to a box instead of the round juice jugs, 4 to a box. Don’t forget the hot hand.
got kids.. get an old netbook. better still get a laptop with REMOVABLE wifi card.
Get a crapload of SD cards in bulk on ebay,, 2gb 4gb 8gb
TORRENT all your fav TV series movies etc..put on cards
fill a USB 1TB HDD with TV shows movies etc.
wrap in a static bag.. instant entertainment…
goes great with a small solar charger..
1TB isn’t nearly enough. You need at least one for backup. I’ve got many times that and still need more. 4TB drives are dropping in price. I hope to get some before Christmas. NewEgg (dot) com is a good dealer.
Back up your computer hard drive and important files and photos on a USB Thumb drive. Just bought a 16 gigs thumbdrive for $9 bucks. No excuse for not backing up your data. Throw that also in your bugout bag.
@sideshow…when the crap hits the fan, the kids in my family WILL NOT be watching television. They will be too tired from WORKING. (the best part of a collapse, in my opinion. no more idiot box)
The best source of my survival learning was to get to know the story of one of my co-worker who migrated from Bosnia to the US after the Balkan war. We all love to read the fantasies of surviving in the wild with a knife and fire steel and a .22 rifle and nothing is wrong with that but when it comes to the actual reality of survival it is a totally different story. Survival in a war zone and lawless society differs from a camping trip gone wrong. I highly recommend reaching to such individuals and families if you could since their stories and experiences opens your eyes and you can see the real SHTF is not an episode of the Survival Man. Believe me doing so will make you wiser and stronger to protect your loved ones. God bless all of you and your loved ones.
Get out there and practice camping. Also a rain water catchment systen and blue food grade barrels. Cheaper than digging a well. You could dig a well and the ground water could be polluted and contaminated. Always get it tested and still filter it regardless.
Rain water is also polluted if you are collecting it from a roof. Think about what happens to bird food when the birds are through with it.
Old Coach. Put a few large plastic owls on your roof to keep the birds away. lol
I would add cases and cases of hydrogen peroxide and 91%isoprople alcohol…
Don’t forget the white vinegar and baking soda!
Jerry,pool shock for home made bleach,much cheaper as not paying for weight delivery of a bunch of water and also lasts a lot longer when in solid form then mixed.
Oh yea, pool shock is also essential…
And I’m sure MD would acknowledge his “list’s” are only the beginning… of course!
Jerry,yah,just a start,but look,has us adding ideas/thinking in new ways/having suggestions for folks,the kind of article we can sink our teeth into.
THAT, is the pure beauty of this site…
The free exchange of ideas… doesn’t get any better that that!
THAT, is the pure beauty of this site…
The free exchange of ideas…doesn’t get any better that that!
ha ha ha…that that… AND a dbl post… ha ha ha…
I think i’ll just read now … 🙂
Colorless unscented. household Bleech 6% Sodium Hypoclorite to purify water.
An get your family caught up on Teneus shots. Tetnis shots however it is spelled.
And lots of over the counter meds like pain killers, stomach relief, fever reducers, triple antibiotic, gauze pads and roles, medical tapes, sponge bath squarepants band-aids, as much as prescription drugs as you can get your doctor to prescribe that you use on daily bases, food and drugs for your pets, robber gloves, bleach, condoms, ammo, ammo, ammo and ammo.
Sine I have advance medical training I also store surgical staplers and sutures (regular and dissolvable) as well as antibiotics.
Also get training and practice.
One more thing:
Practice !!!
Your wood stove will need wood.
Get hand saw and ax.
hand saw
axe
and at my age
a BIG bottle of Motrin !
Satori, I know thats right. I have a one man crosscut, been cutting fire wood with for my elk camp. All I can say is you better be a hell’ve a man or be Acid Etch if you going to lay in a winters supply of fire wood with one of these things. Trekker Out.
I chop wood with an axe to train for boxing, as the old masters did. Why? Cause it trains you to keep your wrists steady and in line with your hands upon impact as you will need when punching.
Acid your probably chopping Balsam. Trekker Out. Chop, Chop!
What is the H-peroxide for?
H-peroxide=Hydrogen peroxide.
Hydrogen peroxide is a strong oxidizer and is used as a bleaching agent and disinfectant.
To clean/disinfect open wounds and area around it.
I would recommend against hydrogen peroxide for cleaning wounds. Clean water is best.
A bottle or two of witch hazel should be on the shelf
Stock up on Auto maintenance supplies. Extra windshirld wipers oil filters gas filters fan belts serpentin belt, sparkpugs, motor oil for several changes, jumper cables tow strap, battery car wax tire plug kit jac. Air pump. And check the air in your spare tire. It can lose 5 lbs a year in pressure.
H2O2…good for huffing. Along with ionic silver it is a good preventative “medicine”.
I’ve had to slowly change up my preps due to change in diet for celiacs disease diagnosis. Simple, clean food is always best if possible. The good news is I have learned so much about food and using natural remedies to build the immune system over the course of my journey. Staying healthy is a huge priority.
But comfort food is always a nice treat. Made my first GF fried chicken over the weekend and my family devoured it. idk, maybe it was the cast iron pan.
I tried to buy stuff we already eat. Buying buckets of beans makes no sense to me. We’ll have one meal a week each of Dinty Moore Beef Stew, chicken casserole, chili with chicken, hamburger helper spaghetti with chicken, canned ham with rice and a veggie, two meals a week of rice and beans and a veggie. We have about 400 cans of soup and a lot of oatmeal. Plus a lot of canned fruit. Canned food lasts a long time. As long as the can doesn’t bulge you’re safe although the taste and color may not be as good as it once was. We also have about 200 rolls of toilet paper.
@BC
you know pembine?
I know it’s close to Iron Mountain but I’m not familiar with it.
isoprople….ha… isopropyl…so much for auto correct…
Maybe I should just learn how to spell… 🙂
Naaaa, we get the point
🙂
propane Coleman stove triple burner
with several 20lb tanks and the hoses and adapter needed
Coleman dual fuel stove (backups for your backups)
kelly kettle in addition to the rocket stove
headlamps,one for every family member
and buy the kind backpackers use
a little more pricey but MUCH better battery life
The led headlamps are nice. But, if an EMP occurred, the led lamp circuitry could be affected. Be sure to have the older (and much cheaper) regular flashlight headlamps. Harbor Freight usually has them on sale for a couple of $.
forgot to mention
over the counter meds
Tylenol,motrin,Pepto Bismol etc etc
I would also add a supply of potassium iodine (KI) for each family member. If the collapse (whatever it is) brings about the destruction of a nuclear power plant you will need some KI to protect your family from thyroid cancer. It’s only like $10 a package (one pack treats 14 days, or roughly I-131’s 7 half lives). I got mine on E-Bay, but beware. Make certain the seller has the sell by date pictured in the auction to avoid getting old product. Also remember that it doesn’t provide protection from other radionuclides (Plutonium, Uranium, Neptunium, Europium, etc.) so you will want to minimize contact with fallout for at minimum 2 weeks (rule of sevens).
Povidone-iodine and Silvadenn cream (you need a prescription for silvadeen but it is excellent for burns.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Povidone-iodine
All y’all in the southwest may you be safe the next few days. Just saw a picture of a lady on weather.com stacking sand bags around the edge of her yard. I think she’d best be serrved stacking them around the house. You can tell they’re not used to flooding. Keep your powder dry.
Don’t buy into the fear with the 10 G’s! Start getting things in order on a budget. I thought 8 years ago that “tomorrow will be the day”, never happened. As things are and will change-everyone has time. I have been prepped for 5 years so I’ll be ready for “tomorrow”. Now I am having fun with friends and family that are asleep, because after “tomorrow”. I won’t be able too.
Enjoy the ride!
off topic
Graham and McSame
selling us out
Saudis Lobbied John McCain & Lindsey Graham to sell War.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/0…am-to-sell-War
and ya gotta love wilkileaks
(wikileakes) U.S. Secretary of State Clinton: “Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide
Each day I am getting closer to reach a final conclusion that Lindsey Lohan ( I mean Graham) and John McSame are gay and actually lovers. They both like those rag heads in the Saudi Royal Family and who knows what goes on behind their palaces knowing both of our believed senators recently took a trip to their desert shit hole.
This is why we need strict term limits,
Fuckers dont get the principal of make sure your own house is in order…….
They also dont get the people who live in glass houses shouldnt throw stones, soon they will get their medicine, cant keep throwing stones at a hornets nest and expect you will never get stung, i want to see jihad john slice old dickhead mccains head off, fucker deserves it, can you imagine how fucked up stuff would be if he had gotten elected, we would already be smouldering ruins.
You mean senile penile McClaim? Tell us again how being a Captured POW somehow earns the title of War Hero? That’s where all the Fraud strarted in Macains resume. Now if he was captured then mastermined a great escape, killed a lot of enemy saved somebody that earns the title of a hero. Since his daddy was a general he layed in bed smoking cigarettes all day like a king.
I will add, Gramm, McC-insane, and Joe Liberman are the biggest paid off Jew shills in in the Senate. If they wast to go to war then require a mandatort military draft and require all congress members sons and daughters be drafted first. They throw around our Taxes like a drunk in a bar who just hit the lotto trying to be a bigshot. These war criminals just love perpetual war to keep the profits flowing to the MICM- Military Industrial Complex Mafia.
I think the hardest and most expensive proposition for most is drilling a well……..A small solar set up with 2 agm 104 ah batteries and a decent 140 watt panel, charge contoller and a 300 to 400 watt sine wave inverter will put you back about 1350 if you do the install yourself….the generator is a good idea for a few days in my opinin but after that it would be an attention getter…
around here you can sink a shallow well
you generally hit water at about 25-30 feet
and with the way it has been raining this year
you’ll hit water at 25-30 inches !
Here in Florida you dig down 10 feet in the sand and you hit water. Florida is just a sand bar. You can look at the ground and it is mostly broken up shells millions of years old.
If you live in area like eastern NC, you can put down a sand point well to 20-25 feet pretty cheaply and attach a pitcher pump. northerntool (dot) com has sand points and other supplies.
If you put down this type of well, you need to get the water tested to see what you have to do to purify it. You might have mud, sand, iron, chemicals, or germs to deal with. But, if you’re on a tight budget, this might be the way to go if it’s possible in your area.
This was a very thoughtful article, so thanks, for a starter it is a good start.
Water is often an afterthought to many of us, one thing I’ve done is built a frame and cover on my deck that holds a cleaned out water bed covered in a thermal blanket, 200 gallons I change out and treat every fall.
I also have routes to every stream within ten miles of my location, water is the most important prep next to guns and ammo.
I believe that more Canadians should be reading these USA prep blogs because as far as I know, only the province of Alberta is thriving with oil money, and that does not insure that Canada will cope with another economic recession.
Ontario is in deep debt, because the socialist government is running out of other people’s money, and finance bloggers such as Garth Turner know that the housing bubble in Canada is unsustainable for the long run. Yuppies, feminists and urban hipsters do not represent the economy of Canada.
Don’t be fooled by the governments PR that Canada is a growing economy. Only Alberta has oil money. The rest of provinces are either uninhabitable, stagnant, Marxist, feminist, in debt and in fiscal problems.
The good thing about the States is that you guys can stand up for what is right, unlike in Canada where posting anything critical of big government is a taboo subject.
A word of caution about manure. Often the hay or pasture fed to livestock will have been treated with broadleaf herbicide. This gets into the manure. Your garden germinates and dies or does very poorly. Either as the source or test the manure by sprouting some beans. You will find out if the beans die or thrive.
Another thing about horse and cow manure. They introduce some of the vilest weeds you can imagine. I use solely chicken manure after it has cooled down for a couple of months (mixed with straw from their bedding). Another great manure is sheep and rabbit.
My goat manure is as good as anything that I’ve used. It doesn’t need to be composted even though I put it in the compost pile.
I use goat & rabbit manure direct on my garden. I gather the donkeys manure and add it to the compost. I don’t give my animals injections or feed hay that has been commercial fertilized or sprayed. I compost the chicken & cattle manure also. I grow a type of red eared indian corn. I use goat manure in the row when planting. It grows ten feet tall and makes two large ears per stalk. planted a foot apart. with pole bean planted between the stalks. Im constantly on the hunt for organic material. I cut openings about a foot square near the bottom of the hollow den trees. the squirrel poop & leaf compost is black and very good for raised beds. I use the wood ashes from my heating stove. they contain lime & potash. I incorporate the ashes into the soil in the fall.
lonestarhomesteader,
Good point about manure that has been treated with chemicals.
Save your pumpkin seeds and make your own wormer for your livestock.
Off-Grid Worming Recipe
(Most of these items you can grow yourself.)
Use a mixture of 40% sunflower and/or pumpkin seeds
30% tobacco leaves (loose pipe tobacco from the store also works)
the rest parsley flakes and garlic.
Fill up a gallon ice cream bucket and you can worm over 20 horses with it.
According to research, intestinal worms release from the stomach and intestinal lining during the full moon to breed. If you use a mixture such as this or others, the rough texture of the mixture scrapes the worms away and right out of the horses.
It is much cheaper than conventional worming, which can run up to $8/tube every 60 days. And the horse manure (garden fertilizer) isn’t contaminated by the chemicals in the tube wormer. But what most people don’t think about is that horse manure tainted with worming medication is also tainted and will kill the good worms in the soil once the manure is on the ground.”
Ivermectin products in the manure will continue to kill beneficial stuff in your soil for 28 days post worming. Daily feed through wormer like strongid will eventually sterilize your whole place. Panacure or safeguard does the least damage to your soil.
Get a 50lb. bag of FOOD GRADE Diatomaceous earth at your local Feed Store or Tractor Supply store.
Diatomaceous earth (DE)has multiple uses. When stored in an airtight container and kept dry, DE has an indefinite storage life.
Diatomaceous earth is the fossilized remains of diatoms, an algae-like single-celled creature. It feels like powder to mammals, but to wax-shelled insects it might as well be razors. To insects it is like trying to digest razors and they die.
Note: Diatomaceous Earth will NOT harm warm-blooded animals or earthworms. Earthworm farmers use it to treat their worm beds for parasites, fungus gnat larva etc. Earth worms are structurally different from insects in that they can actually digest particles of DE.
I spread DE around the house and garden to kill/deter insects. It has been used for many years in the food storage of grains and other food. If you or a member of your household travels frequently, lives in an apartment or college dorm, add a couple of teaspoons of diatomaceous earth to some house plants. Insects, including bed bugs will be attracted to the scent and will eat the DE and die.
Diatomaceous earth is nontoxic to people and/or pets, so this is not hazardous if you have young children or pets who might eat some of it. Food grade diatomaceous earth can be used to safely deworm animals (cats, dogs, etc.) and people.
For more information on Diatomaceous earth, see:
http://www.ehow.com/way_6173876_diatomaceous-earth-treatment-instructions.html
http://www.earthworkshealth.com/
Solar powered generators are quiet, so consider getting yourself a solar pack at aspect solar dot com.
– the Lone Ranger
“Here Comes the Sun” – title of George Harrison’s famous song recorded by the Beatles
Also add tums or prilosec for all the acid reflux from the preserved foods, as well as tucks pads. You might not be used to all the walking/labor you’ll be doing after it hits.
Another good idea is curtains so you can black out your windows at night if you have power,candles, whatever.
Throw in a few 5-packs of bic lighters, very handy.
Aluminum foil will completely block out all light. I think having a few dark rooms will be the way to go at night. Just don’t forget and wander the rest of the property with flashlights!
Oh yeah almost forgot, surprised no one mentioned a rain barrel. There’s a local brewery by me practically giving them away for $20. Then just go to home depot or wherever and buy the gutter kit for $15. You don’t need a well, a couple rain barrels will suffice depending on where you live. Kiddie pools are very useful too.
Relying on rain catchment alone is pretty iffy in the long run. Previous years I’ve been able to go all summer on rain water, but this year I would have dried up and blown away by July. And I’m not in a “drought” area, either. I do have a well, so no crisis, just put up with water so hard you can stand a spoon in it.
BTW if you have hard water, stock up on washing soda!
If you are looking for containers of a sizes, try Lexington Container Company. Just search the name on the internet and you will find more information and their website.
www dot lexingtoncontainer dot com
They sell new and used containers, barrels, drums and other prepping supplies.
Please keep in mind when adding products to the list in the comments here, that the challenge was to keep it at ten thousand dollars or less, because that is what he said that he had and wanted to spend on preps. To be honest I may have even went a little over his stated budget with my suggestions…
M.D. , on your website you have a very useful article. I think the title is
“10 things you must do right now” . It’s been a while since I’ve read it
but I’ve recommended it several times to friends. Articles like this are great
to introduce new people to prepping.
Its real easy to go overboard,
Its also real easy to be unbalanced in your supplies,
Kula,are you implying I am a unbalanced individual?!
I would never incinerate something like that!
My wife and I have taken an entirely different approach to getting ourselves prepared. First, she thought long and hard, being OCD in planning is a good thing, and realized over a period of two weeks, our family, has a regular “menu” of meals that we like to eat. So, she carefully measured and detailed how MUCH of everything we used in our meals, I took care of everything else, and presto! We had a specific amount of items we needed for one year. Here’s the formula for food: 2 weeks religiously annotate all amounts used, snacks, dessert, extra, etc. then times by 26, 52 weeks in a calendar year, now, you know how MUCH you need.
We made the decision to store only what we normally eat, and save or add freeze dried and other commodities and foodstuffs as extra to have on hand an to vary the menu. It’s a whole lot less that way.
In addition, we got into “couponing”, NOT the Extreme crap we see on the faux-reality shows, but real couponing. We get five Sunday papers, that’s five times the normal coupons, and start clipping. Including sorting and placing into to Coupon Book, (which is a large ring three ring binderm and the coupons themselves are sorted by item TYPE and go into baseball card holder sheets. Yes, we(I) lug that damn book into the grocery store every time we go in one. Now, it does not take more than ONE HOUR per month to organize those coupons, into what we normally purchase. None of the stores around here “double”, but no problems, we still do rather well. The stores are paid the face value of the coupon PLUS .10-15 per coupon for “handling(profit margin) so they are not losing a dime, and neither are the manufacturers. It’s leaving money on the table to not use them, folks! My wife, routinely purchases $400.00 worth of groceries (or MORE) for less than $120.00 WHEN WE “COUPON SHOP”. When you actually SEE how much you cave each shopping expedition, you get hooked on putting that money BACK into your preps. Most of what we now have, several thousands of dollars worth of actual food we regularly eat, was purchased via a coupon expedition. We also “ad or price match” at retailers who offer it, zealously. I’m not “too proud” to get my family squared away as expeditously as possible and make our hard earned money work for US, for a change. There are more than 12 billion dollars worth of coupons printed every year, and over 97% of those coupons go wasted, because people do not want to make their money go farther for them. The retailers and manufacturers COUNT on you being that lazy, it goes straight to their bottom line. We get paid, (in savings) to buy our groceries as well as OTC meds, vitamins, hygiene products, toothpaste, etc. My wife’s drop dead price for toothpaste is.25 cents per tube, she refuses to pay more than that. Yes, it’s ALL name brands and good stuff. Just looked at this post and it sort of sounds like one of those internet phishing things, but, you can indeed do it yourselves, b y trying it in YOUR own areas. Go for it, you have nothing to lose but more money. Oh and the monthly subscription cost for the five Sunday papers is $25.00 per month, which we more than save four to seven times that amount each month minimum. Try it for yourself. Hope this helps. (sorry for the long-winded post.
@TPSnodgrass
good advice, here is some for you.
all those papers (coupons) your paying for, just type in the local store you shop at in your browser, then print out the coupons. some will not be printable, granted, but most will.
your already paying for internet access, use that to your advantage as well.
we all have to become wiser with our shit dollars.
In our area,most coupons at present are not printable, unfortunately, and, the web browsers only allow for ONE coupon per IP address to be printed. So, IF, you have multiple computers, which we do, with multiple IP addresses, which we do, we use those as well. The national coupons are the ones we use the most, we do very well with those.
My $0.02 worth on coupons, after being married for years to an obsessive coupon clipper, is that they only offer discounts on stuff that’s already so overpriced, (and/or “junk calories”), that’s it’s actually a negative payout to use them.
Store brands are usually a much better bargain. “Our Family” is common in my area. Even some WalMart store brands are good quality, and 10% to 40% cheaper than big name brands with a coupon. Sit down with a calculator or a spreadsheet program and work it out if you don’t believe it.
MD,why I put in the article for food frugally with no additions to a boring ration have well over 3000 to play with,we are not knocking article,trying to make more expensive,in fact,for most of us we would go much cheaper except where quality/expense worth it.A big thing is to get folks to improvise,think of different uses for things they already have,new uses for things that can be scavenged ect.I was glad to see your article in that it brings out those ideas with the posters here.I would also say the dollar store has a lot of things folks can use for,well,a dollar.
@Warchild Dammit
used to work with this guy who went into the dollar store with his new wife. he was a good guy, but not the sharpest marble, he ended up asking the guy that came along, why there wasn’t any prices under the items, and what the particular item he was looking at costed..
the funniest part of it all, is he told us about it.
Costed?Really,with what you just typed/posted?!
@wc
ok, ok, you got me on that one.
Welp, I have all of that and more since I been prepping for the last 15 year or so. What I don’t have in the article is a rocket stove. Never saw the need but hey, I’ll look into gettin one. As for the Auguson Farms thing never order directly from the vendor.
Instead, order it from Sam’s Club online and get it MUCH cheaper and usually with “free shipping”. Stuff has skyrocketed these last few weeks though so it’s getting pricey now. The blue water barrel kits made by Augason Farms use to be $68 delivered from Sam’s Club. Now they screamed up to $130. All the emergency foods have jumped in just the last few weeks as have generators. A geneator I bought last month for $599 delivered is not $869 from the same vendor! Buy now while you can because the rock is gaining speed as it rolls down the hill of sheeet!
One more thing, most of these emergency foods do not have real meat products. Instead they use T.V.P with meat flavorings. Check out Mountain House. As far as I can tell M.H. is the only one that uses real meat in their emergency foods. Mountain House is next on my list of food to buy.
Um Hello, 72 hour kits…. Anyone… Anyone? You can have everything on that list but 1 flood, 1 tornado, 1 hurricane can destroy it all. The very 1st thing to do is to get 72 hour kits for everyone in your family (including dogs/cats if you have them). Not the junk ones you see everywhere online, but ones that have solid gear in them. Then and only then start on your food storage. Start w/ 3 months worth. Most of Auguson Farms has too much sodium in them for me and after a week of eating them, you may feel terribly sick. Test out stuff before spending thousands of dollars. Preparing for a disaster can’t be done overnight, or in 1 month. It’s a slow steady process of stocking up, learning skills and finding out what your family really needs.
We have looked locally for water storage ideas. We bought a 305 gallon fiberglass water tank for our water needs at a very good price. Always check with local city or county ordinances when buying these items. We also buy food in bulk at our local SAMs club. Easier on the pocket book. Always remember medical needs. When SHTF this is the first thing to go south during an incident besides communication. Make sure that your family knows your plans ahead of time to eleviate. frustration and worry. Also, remember that if the cell phones are over run and you can’t get a call out that a text will go thru.
Very good article.
Good info for Preppers, and great add ons by you folks.
But I didn’t see any one talking about Chocolate.
Must have, Must have. Dark is better works for just about everything. Even helps with a Cold or the Flu.
I see he is looking at a couple of firearms. I think he is making a good choice.
I would add a 7.62x54r.Bolt action for long range. You can’t unless you are very lucky find anything as cheap and the Ammo is also cheap. This for the beginner who hasn’t got a lot of money to spend and they are just getting food and water supplies now. The cheaper the better.
Aim Small Miss Small
Sgt.
Hey Sgt.,
One thing I always recommend to new peepers is a decent .357 magnum
revolver. Nothing fancy, they’re everywhere and relatively cheap on the used
market. Ammo for them is ubiquitous and easy to reload. The Miami gunfight
of 1986 was finished by Ed Mirales using a shotgun and a .357. Big set of
balls helps too.
OW:
There is nothing wrong with a 357 Mag. I have 3 of them. You can shoot 38Spl., 357 mags, 38S&W. It will get the job done on 4 and 2 legged critters.
Sgt.
For a good gun on a budget, I would suggest a SKS 45. It’s still fairly cheap, but unlike the Mosin it is a semi-auto and has twice the magazine capacity. They are more accurate than the big brother Kalashnikov and far less expensive than the AK or AR. I have nothing against the Mosin (it makes my wish list), I just don’t think it’s as good a choice. Plus, do you really need a rifle with iron sights that can be set beyond the one mile mark?
Winston, I’m with you, when it comes to weapons I have had most of them. And other than making six hundred yard shots the good old SKS is as dependable as they come. Most defensible shooting is going to be under one hundred yards. The SKS and the Ammo to fill it, is probably the most reasonable way to go. Trekker Out. Not “MY” First Option!
The SKS sux.
+1 on the SKS. I picked up a ’93 sporter’ years ago as it takes standard AK mags. More accurate than my Bulgarian AK.
Yup. I’ve shot both and the SKS is so much nicer than the AK. The only real disadvantages compared to the AK are weight, magazine capacity and the lack of a sear block safety (it’s trigger block only). The recoil is very light due to the weight and it doesn’t foul quickly like an AR due to it’s piston style mechanism vs the AR’s blowback. Now, I’m not going to look a gift AK or AR in the barrel, but I also don’t want to spend $1-2k on one either unless the rest of my preps are in order. As far as it goes, my choice for an SKS would be one with a milled receiver and screw in barrel (1980 and earlier Norinco, all Soviet). I have heard the Yugos are nicely made too, but I tend to shy away because of the lack of a chromed bore. While I can easily clean my weapons today, if the S truly HTF I may find myself in a different situation. I want something good for guerrilla warfare, not just a range toy. For that reason, I prefer Soviet firearms designs over American. The only real negative to the Soviet arms is that the ammo is not in common use by US law enforcement and the US military. Thus, battlefield pickups would have to include an AR/ M16 pattern rifle as well as ammo.
I’ll also preface this by saying that I am not all that experienced with guns, so there are plenty of others on here with more qualified opinions than mine. However, I have done considerable research and these are the conclusions I came to.
Winston,do I need a rifle that reaches out site wise beyond a mile,no,do not have the skills,but,do I want one and may come across someone who does have the skills,perhaps!
WS:
Again there is nothing wrong with the good old SKS. Ammo is not too bad, the gun runs on any type of 7.63X39 rounds.
Now as far as price I remember when you could buy them all day long for under $100.00. Now they are going for around $300.00 plus.
Still not a bad choice when you compare it to anything else semi auto.
Sgt.
Sarge,we just covered what a dollar used to buy!Stop living in the past!
WD
ok
Sgt.
UH,you have one for sale under 100,well,am all ears!
When you get your chocolate, don’t get it with nuts. Does not store long. Talk to old vets, chocolate, gum, and cigs worth their weight in gold.
Hell in the Hot Zone
how did it all get started ?
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/2014/10/ebola-virus-epidemic-containment
“As the Ebola epidemic rages, two questions have emerged: How did the deadly virus escape detection for three months? And why has a massive international effort failed to contain it? Traveling to Meliandou, a remote Guinean village and the likely home of Patient Zero, Jeffrey E. Stern tracks the virus’s path—and the psychological contagion that is still feeding the worst Ebola outbreak in history.”
This is beyond scary….
http://jonrappoport.wordpress.com/2014/09/15/now-we-come-to-vaccines-and-depopulation-experiments/
PKLL
I own a Prepper store in N. Ca and carry (among other items) a number of food companies.
For what its worth, I no longer carry Auguson Farms.
They are very high in sodium and do not have sufficient amount of calories.
In an emergency situation, all your systems are under massive amount of stress. We will not only require more calories (2500-3000 for men, about 2000 for women), but also more complete nutrition,
Most buckets are filled with soups, rice and pasta based meals. They tend to woefully fall short of REAL meat, fruits and vegetables.
And where oh where do you POOP?
If I knew the answer to poop I’d be a lot more motivated. And I mean a 2-3 year supply of poop. So garbage bags are not gonna cut it unless you can bake the sh** into bricks (pun intended).
Maybe a composting toilet?
They are expensive, but there are a lot of articles about them and as gross as humanure is there may be a place for it in your system.
If you are on septic, no problem. Otherwise, where does a bear shit?
Why not a hi-point pistol while you’re at it?
God. They are… just… awful to look at. Horrendously ugly thing. No, really. That has to be the vile-est looking gun I’ve ever seen. My eyes feel dirty just looking at it.
But from what I see of Youtube vids, they work. And work and work and work. For $150.
The problem with Hi-Point is that quality is really hit or miss. I think the newer ones are a bit better but some of the old ones are scary. However, a gun is better than no gun and if that’s all you can afford…
download free copy Where There is no Doctor and Where There is no Dentist…
You should download that now, actually.
Because guess what?
There isn’t either anymore. Right NOW. This is not a future consideration, this is present day reality.
It’s apparently a comedy too. Excerpt from a chapter I was just browsing…Do not give laxatives to babies or young children. If a baby is severely constipated, put a little cooking oil up the rectum (asshole). Or, if necessary, gently break up and remove the hard shit with a greased finger.
Been preparing sent 98. About 4yrs ago got into Dehydration, for us that turned out to be what we needed. Get a good dehydrator several on the market, but make it one that has variable temperature settings this is a must IMHO. Example 6lbs. of frozen mixed veg’s. for $6.00 will dehydrate down to fit into a 30oz. container (lg. mix nuts container), or into zip lock bags. Storage idea zips locks under the mattress of your bed out of the way and will hold a bunch at one level, never know they’re there. The main item to do first is secure a reliable source of clean water without that 3 days and it’s over, no matter what else you have put back. Water, water and more water.
River Rat at the ready!!! NOMI///MOLON LABE!!!
TSORIITA/GPTDY!!
I would suggest that more emphasis needs placed on defense. Two 9mm pistols + 1000 rounds, 5 magazines each.
Hmmm…Does any one else think the target of 1300 calories a day is low?
I would think with all the manual labor you will be doing it will be at least double that and perhaps triple.
I would forget about the power production and most of the random things. We’re talking about SHTF here…go to bed at dark and get up at light like it used to be. You don’t really need toothpaste to brush and you don’t really need TP to shit.
Better to invest more in food preservation like jars, tattlers and curing salt and some type of root cellar to store crops and jars and cured meats.
Get started now with food storage by getting yourself a beef or hog and canning up most of the meat for a collapse. Do not trim the fat. Can it with the meat. Fat will be your best friend in a highly physical environment.
I would forget about most long term buckets. There is still time to bag some mountain beef and local veggies and can them both for long term preps.
You need to learn these skills NOW. Waiting for a collapse to learn is too late.
The coop and rabbit pens are excellent ideas if you can free range them. You will be hard pressed to get feed in a SHTF scenario and most scraps will be non existent, so they will need to fend for themselves. Two acres is plenty for them to find feed in summer, but you will probably need to cull all but a couple hens and the rooster before winter and find enough feed to over winter them. I plan on cutting down the grasses when they go to seed and using that for them in the winter. Not sure whether that will be enough or not.
You read my mind JRS. I wish there were a little more truth in advertising. 1300 calories is fine for my 6 year old, but I will need 3 times that if I am working hard.
Buy alum powder for converting lead acid batteries to crystal batteries…just buy the alum powder!!
what if its a nuke? everything gets radiated? then what?
The truth is that it all depends. A nuclear weapon will poison the environment, but not as badly as a nuclear power plant meltdown and hydrogen explosion. There simply is not enough material in a modern nuke to render an area completely useless for decades. Most of the radionuclides released in a nuclear weapon detonation are fairly short lived (90% dissipates in 7 hours and another 90% goes away every seven fold increase in time after that out to two weeks.). After 2 weeks, about 99.9% of the radiation will have dissipated. This doesn’t mean you can grow food at ground zero, but if you are a considerable distance away you could scrape off the top layer of soil and plant crops and probably be fine. You may still die of cancer a few decades from now, but that’s still better than starvation today.
JR,while I agree I also thing a solar shower/toilet paper ect. especially at the start of man made/natural disaster would have a positive psychological affect on folks,help em keep their spirits up ect.,allow the shock of what has happened and the change to be more for lack of better word pleasant.Of course,you have my attitude and just think when things go wrong you will not be able to turn your back on what is happening around you/stay low probably doesn’t matter,that said,I prep anyhow.
Warchild…I guess most people would need a shower, etc.
As a youngster I lived with no plumbing and an outhouse for a while. We took baths in a galvanized tub and certainly not every day. Sometimes we had TP, sometimes we used “other”. I think most people will have to adapt to this way of living…or die. But I suppose it all is based on where you think things are goin’.
Like the oldguy says “root hawg” or die.
More a mental state of peace,not saying necessity for survival,but,that mental peace can go a long way towards survival in general.I guess what I mean is have something from today beyond just being happy to be alive ect. to carry you into the brave new world,be it a radio/guitar/a few favorite books,what have you.
Get a solar shower. You don’t need it, but a nice hot shower at night will make you feel and sleep alot better.
I just wish I had 10k.
Doc,start digging for coffee cans,a poster here buries em full of 10 dollar bills.
Thrive is the best tasting freeze dried food, and I have tasted them all, been prepping for 30+ yrs, do NOT buy Auguson farms-in my opinion, they are the worst. Emergency essentials are OK, but they will not tell you where the food is grown…Mt House, too many chemicals. GMO, too much salt, but conveniently made up meals (if you can stomach the taste). If you have a LDS warehouse in your area, get basics there-by far the cheapest, but totally limited in what they carry.
Happy Birthday to myself and the US Constitution!
I hope you’re healthier than the Constitution.
We still have our guns and God to fight the good fight. Amen.
Buy some cheap shower curtains from the Dollar Tree ($1) and a couple solar shower bags. Make your own outside showers for yourself or extra visitors you may have in SHTF. Also, the curtains can be used to divide a room for at least the feeling of privacy if you are packing in extra people in bedrooms.
I was taught Water-Food-Weapon-Shelter as order of business, then expand on that depending on how long you look at holding out. There are literally TONS of great ideas here – it’s simplifying them to tasks you can do now.
If you do not already have a location to bolt to and preset cache, what and how are you going to evac and carry?? If you are in a metro area, then all around you there will be the crazies and opportunists. My rule-of-thumb is that when you start feeling that itchy wrongness when out among people, then it’s time to look at a vacation. Radio/TV news is polluted lies – internet a lot of the same, so trust your gut when you are out and about among people.
Watch the ebola headcount – if it continues as it is, the headcount will be near 100,000 by Decemberish, and that means only way to control is a lockdown on travel,. If it gets to Europe or Asia, then EVERYBODY will absolutely LIE, STEAL and CHEAT to get away and elsewhere via air transport. .gov is unlikely to stop air commerce with the economy as it is and everything coming from overseas for consumption here. THIS is the immediate worry, and compounding that is the volcano count – and an already cold winter coming per the almanac.
You can do your TA every few months, as I was taught, and adjust your preps. But this is the first real bio-threat with significant casualties in my lifetime – feels significant to me. And the only way to avoid is to get away and stay contained until it burns out. I would NOT take the .gov vaccination, which may be forced on folks in metro areas or in schools.
Do your TA and adjust your plans to match…
The problem is that not everyone can afford a BOL and so some of us are forced by circumstance to try and muddle through in the suburbs. I am TERRIFIED of Ebola. I work in food service and must interact with the public to make a living. However, I am planning to walk away from my job at the first sign that Ebola is spreading in the US.
Try to tie in with a prepper group. Someone will have property and be willing to take other preppers to help defend it, and operate it. I know a an older couple who is doing that. They have the property and the preps and need others to help rum farm and defend.
The Constitution is our most endearing document, but not everything you read online about the Constitution is accurate! Here are some of the top myths about the Constitution and the Founding Fathers still out there on blogs and websites.
To be clear, these myths are not about interpretations of the Constitution; they center on people and events related to the founding document.
Myth one: The Constitution was written on hemp paper
The Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were written on parchment. The point of debate is that some working drafts of the documents might have been composed on paper made from hemp, which was widely used in that time period.
Myth two: Thomas Jefferson signed the Constitution
Thomas Jefferson didn’t sign the Constitution. This is the most-popular myth at the National Constitution Center, especially when guests enter our hall of statutes of the Constitution’s signers – and ask where the Jefferson statue is. In 1787, Jefferson was in Paris as the United States’ envoy, and he missed the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.
Myth three: John Adams also signed the Constitution
Like Jefferson, Adams was in service for his country overseas when the Constitution was signed. He was in London as the United States minister to Great Britain.
Myth four: The same Founders who wrote the Declaration wrote the Constitution
Only six Founders signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution: George Clymer, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, George Read, James Wilson and Roger Sherman.
Myth five: The Constitution was signed by 39 people
It is true that 39 delegates signed the Constitution on September 17, 1787, but the convention’s secretary, William Jackson, also signed the document. Jackson was picked over Benjamin Franklin’s grandson as the convention secretary.
Myth six: The Constitution says “All Men Are Created Equal”
That is in the Declaration of Independence. The original Constitution avoided the issue of slavery, counting each slave as three-fifths of a person to determine representation in Congress. The 13th and 14th Amendments ratified after the Civil War made the “Three-Fifths Compromise” obsolete.
Myth seven: The Constitution established a democracy in the United States
The Constitution actually established a republic, as stated in Article IV, Section 4. After the 1787 convention, someone asked Benjamin Franklin what kind of government the new document endorsed: a monarchy or a republic. “A Republic, if you can keep it,” Franklin responded.
A democracy, in general terms, was seen as government by the majority of the people. A republic, also in general terms, added safeguards like checks and balances that ensure that a representative government guaranteed individual rights. Over the years, the use of the words became somewhat interchangeable, and their true meanings are still debated.
Myth eight: An enthusiastic country quickly embraced the Constitution
After the delegates signed the Constitution on September 17, 1787, five states quickly signed it. But then the ratification process slowed down as the anti-Federalists, who feared a strong central government and demanded a Bill of Rights, bitterly fought the Constitution’s ratification at state conventions. It took until June 21, 1788 for New Hampshire, as the ninth state approving ratification, to make the Constitution a reality.
Myth nine: The convention delegates were unanimous in approving the document
When the Constitutional Convention ended in 1787, 42 delegates gathered at the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) for the signing ceremony. Among that group, 38 delegates signed the document, with George Read also signing for John Dickinson, who was ill. Three Founders, Elbridge Gerry, George Mason and Edmund Randolph, refused to sign the Constitution, unhappy with the final document for various reasons.
Myth ten: All 13 states took part in writing the Constitution
There were 13 states in 1787, but Rhode Island didn’t send a delegation to Philadelphia. In fact, Rhode Island feared it would be dominated by the new federal government and thus rejected ratification of the Constitution in 1788. It finally approved the Constitution on May 29, 1790, by a margin of two votes.
As it turned out, the anti-Federalists were right.
The All American Sun Oven is on sale at Food Storage Made Easy for $294 with free shipping.
Sale good through September 22nd
Bonus – Get TWO easy-stack pots with interchangeable enamel and glass lids FOR FREE.
Note: I am NOT in any way connected with Sun Oven.
I have a Sun Oven myself and am very satisfied with it. They are easy to use and you can cook/bake a wide variety of different foods in them. I have cooked stews, pot roast, beans, soup, cake, spare ribs, brisket, etc.
In a SHTF situation, I believe they would be VERY useful. No campfire smoke to give away your location. You can’t smell the food cooking in them. I cook food in my sun oven on the deck. The neighbor dogs don’t even notice. (Unlike when I cook food on the grill.)
After cooking, clean up is easy. The food doesn’t seem to stick on the pans in the sun oven. (I don’t know why.) Pans clean up easily.
Direct link below.
All American Sun Oven – on sale
http://store.foodstoragemadeeasy.net/product_p/all-american-sun-oven.htm
I took a different route for the sun oven.
Coleman 5010D700T Camp Oven $29.97
http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-5010D700T-Camp-Oven/dp/B0009PURJA
And got 5 Fresnel Lenses – Magnifier, Reading Aid + Solar Oven + DIY Projection TV Projects $13.75 (2 fit with the stove on it’s back to become a sun oven.)
http://www.amazon.com/Fresnel-Lenses-Magnifier-Projection-Projects/dp/B00B0HW99M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=undefined&sr=8-1&keywords=fresnel+lens
For more reflectivity I have a roll of this that has many uses.
Reach Barrier DD24010 Air Double Reflective Polyethylene Insulation Roll, 2-Feet by 10-Feet $10.16
http://www.amazon.com/Reach-Barrier-DD24010-Reflective-Polyethylene/dp/B00DRBEDAW/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410969282&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=roll+of+thin+reflective+insulation
So the oven can work a a solar oven, on top of the kerosene stove as an oven, over hot coals, gas grill side burner, etc.
Another strategy I am going to try is to bury foam insulation all around one of my raised beds to get the ambient heat of the earth in the winter along with a hoop tunnel and covered again with a small plastic greenhouse – layers of insulation essentially.
PS, nice to see a thread where it’s focused on prepping and not sniping, save that for you know who.
Have a great day all.
Preparedness articles by Peggy Layton.
There are pages of links to her articles. Her earliest article is dated in 2009.
http://www.personalliberty.com/index.php?s=peggy+layton
Foods with a 25-year shelf life just sounds gross. I have a hard time eating out of can after two years. This article should be called “Prepping for Lazy People with a Lot of Money.” And 1300 calories a day? Seriously? That’s a slow starvation diet. One can of hearty chunky soup has 400 calories or more. C’mon.
Start becoming familiar with “best by” dates on foods. Learn how long various food items last on the shelf. Most canned foods will go 2-3 years. Crackers, not so long, maybe 6 months. Peanut butter is a “no brainer” survival food. Rice and beans in air tight containers are also “no brainer” foods. These are cheap and effective. Corn and beans together form a complete protein complex. The “Indians” and Mexicans have lived off of this stuff for centuries. Spam and Dak canned ham, while not the best meats on the planet, will keep for a very long time. Ditto for sardines and canned tuna. (But, tuna might be tainted with Fukushima these days.) Coffee and/or tea are essentials because you might need to stay awake for 36 hours at times.
The first problem to prepping is that nobody knows how long you need to prep for. One year, two years, six months? It will probably depend on where you live too. If you’re in a relatively unpopulated, game rich area, you obviously won’t need as much as somebody living in an apartment in Chicago.
As for the guns, I agree that a shotgun is a “must have” for several reasons: (1) You can kill almost any kind of game with it out to 50 yards, (2) It’s the ultimate short range defense weapon, (3) The government doesn’t seem as inclined to take away shotguns as it does semiauto rifles and pistols. I think a .38 revolver should be on the list also because, again, the government hasn’t gone after revolvers yet. Having a .38 in your coat pocket is good insurance.
Old-fashioned oil lamps and lanterns are cheap, and they work without batteries. Be sure to have two or three.
Prepping is about buying time. If you can hold out for six months and your neighbor’s eating pine needles after two weeks, you’ll outlast most people.
Mark I agree. living off hoarded preps isn’t actually surviving its enduring. however if you can endure longer than the un prepared and add to your stores by growing hunting foraging ect. and become sustainable that is surviving. If you hunker down in a bunker living off preps even if its ten years you just enduring. life is for living not enduring.
I try to prep to thrive, not survive. In the old days people thrived without electricity. They even had a few good times. I don’t think surviving is an option. All in or get out.
Augason Farms products are not good. If you doubt what I say start opening some of their cans and prepare a meal. Honeyville Farms is far superior and much more palatable. If you buy cheap you will be not only hungry but emotionally shaken when it hits. I’ve done some recent tests with my own supplies and was shocked at the lack of quality in Augason Farms products.
Train them to shoot and fight, then turn them loose.
Anybody notice how much the International Bankers panic when a country demands self determination and freedom from the leaches? Scotland is the current target of their ire. The big boys in London are threatening to cut off pensions for the elderly, remove their banks from Scotland to London, and all sorts of blatant threats, all the while the bankers and British Pols are telling Scotland how much they love them. Sheesh. Pay attention. This is what they’re going to say to us when the time comes. Plus much worse.
I hope Scotland votes to leave the UK. I also hope the BRICS puts the IMF out of power. It just might the the beginning of the end for the UN NWO and Agenda 21.
Anyone reading this site interested in partnering on
some acreage between Northern NY and Maine? Im looking
for a project with a like-minded family with kids
between 8 and 13 for recreation etc
one down
a million to go !
VIDEO: Ukrainian Mob Throws Politician Into A Dumpster
http://www.blacklistednews.com/VIDEO%3A_Ukrainian_Mob_Throws_Politician_Into_A_Dumpster/38008/0/38/38/Y/M.html
Some one posted earlier about growing your own food. At present we grow about 80% of what we eat. and its constant work. We have been at it for decades. The most importiant thing is to have a good fence around your garden. Without a fence. the deer raccoon and other wildlife will destroy it. and you own critters like chickens goats ect also. It takes time & experimentation to learn what and how to grow your food. The best thing I found is a white sweet potato. its not orange like a yam and grows well in heavy soil. Im working toward getting all our soil to the point that everything can be grown without the use of anything but hand tillage tools. The raised beds are great for lettuce tomatoes carrots ect. the corn & sweet potatoes are still raised on the natural ground. the beans and pumpkins are planted with the corn. the pole beans climb the corn stalks. Im still of the opinion that the best prep is Know How & Self Reliance. The self reliant person who possesses Know How never has to depend or wait upon the time & pleasure of others to get thing,s done. Heres a question So you have bought & hoarded $10,000 worth of stuff. If you are forced to leave your location and cannot use your vehicle or roads? what are you gonna do?
It’s no different than if you’re forced to leave your home. I have food stored. You grow it. We’re both bugging in, obviously.
Actually Ive got pack animals. my little burro can carry 250 pounds all day long. how much can a human carry and for how long? Ill only leave as a last resort. and if forced to leave ill burn everything when I go. Ive cashed useful items in different places only accessable by foot. I asked the question because I thought it was something that should be addressed.
Nothing is perfect. I prep three ways. One is to stay. two is to leave by 4×4 vehicle. Three is to leave on foot. How much can you carry? I am rethinking that one. I am going to build a small drag cart that straps to you, leaving you hands free. I am getting to old to carry what I need and my wifes needs to. Just trying to be prcatical. I will not be running through the woods like an idiot. We will move slowly and methodically. That will also allow me to take things that would normally be left behind.
Dug up the rest of my potatoes this morning and spread them out in the garage to harden off. I am going to have to build out a bigger patch for next year if I want to grow enough to last over winter. How many row feet do you need for a couple hundred pounds?
Drug down enough logs off the pile to cut and split for extra stockpile for winter. The basement is full, but I hate cutting wood in the snow anymore. I’m getting soft in my old age.
I bought a wood and coal cookstove a little while back, but I probably won’t get it hooked up this year. I have to cut through the wall and chimney and pull my stainless liner and cut it. Good job for next year. lol. If SHTF before then, I’ll do it.
asking how many feet of row for a hundred pounds is impossible to answer. too many variables. the answer will be different in Idaho and Arkansas. the thing to do is measure how much grows in your garden. and the climate & soil varie,s from place to place and the same field will not grow the same yield every season. sweet potatoes need to be cured at 80 degrees. I don’t have much success with irish potatoes.
Tell the truth oldguy, I don’t even know what type they are other than they’re not sweet and not red potatoes or russet…maybe Kennebec.
I cut the eyes from leftovers this spring and I don’t recall what they were. I’ll just triple my patch and go from there I guess.
sounds like a viable plan. ive never had any problem with growing to much of any crop.
My father would plant either 3 or 4 rows 50 feet long. We would have potatoes until the spring. We had a 10×10 wooden outbuilding with wooden shelves down two sides for the potatoes. There were boards along the fronts of the shelves to keep the potatoes from rolling off. If there was going to be a hard freeze, my father would run an extension cord with a shop light out to the building. One 100 watt bulb would keep the building above freezing.
According to lsuagcenter dot com, the expected yield from a row of potato plants 100 feet long is 200 lbs.
A 50 foot row will average 80 lbs.
Ok im going to put this out there . It sounds kind of kooky. I read about a explanation of why the pyramids where built. and why the equiptment used to build them is missing. It seems that back when the pyramids where in their hay day. the magnetic polarity was reversed from what we have at present. the planet was in a second density reality. the builders used anti gravity devices that works like the opposite poles of magnets pushing against each other. The builders knew a complete reversal of the magnetic poles was immenient. they built the prymaids to try and preserve things. (Mt Weather ?) any way when the reversal happened everything shifted into a 3rd density plane. at that time every man made so called synthetic item broke down and returned to its natural beginning. the magnetic polarity that held then together reversed and they seemingly disappeared. only natural thing,s remained. The Government kinds did the same thing with the Philadelphia experiment. Any road if the magnetic poles reverse we will go into a 4th density plane. every synthetic item will come apart and cease to exist in any form other than its natural state. carvings in rocks will remain(Georgia guidestones?) everything steel will suddenly become iron ore & dust. Your car will desigentergrate around you! plastic will break down to dust! Far Fetched? plausible? I wish Telsa was here so I could ask him?
You can never be sure what them shifty Poles are up to. Best to keep your eye on them.
Owl Goar hates the Poles.
Ok I don’t muck care for Owl Goar and his glowbull werming.
As the last complete magnetic pole reversal was about 780,000 years ago according to the geologic record, I don’t think the pyramids were around yet. Also, a reversal takes thousands of years to complete, so we’ll never see one. I think one is in the beginning stages, as the earth’s magnetic field has reduced in strength slightly in the past 100 years. The fossil record shows no abrupt changes or disasters during past reversals. The biggest effect will be in a few thousand years (if we’re still around) when magnetic compass manufacturers will have to change the north and south labels on their compasses.
Don’t believe everything some folks tell you, the magnetic poles shifted about a million years ago, not five thousand years ago when the pyramids were being built.
For newer preppers…
Your Road Map to Self Sufficiency
By Gaye Levy
An excellent article, with many links for additional information.
19 Steps Toward a Self Sufficient Lifestyle
1. Build up an emergency food supply
2. Learn to cook without electricity or gas
3. Know how to build and start a fire
4. Install an alternate fuel source
5. Grow a vegetable garden
6. Start a compost pile
7. Grow fruit trees and berries
8. Learn to preserve your bounty
9. Take a first aid course and create a well-stocked first aid kit
10. Take charge of your health
11. Acquire warm clothing and blankets to keep you warm without heat
12. Learn how to use weapons to hunt and for personal projection
13. Start an emergency fund
14. Learn to barter
15. Make your own cleaning supplies
16. Cook from scratch and bake your own bread
17. Be a MacGyver and fix your stuff
18. Become self-entertaining (Learn card games, board games, puzzles, play an instrument, etc.)
19. Get to know your neighbors
Survival Life
Direct link…
http://www.survivallife.com/2013/12/02/your-road-map-to-self-sufficiency/
Wouldn’t hurt to get a few tubes of Preparation H.
Could hurt more if you don’t.
First of all canned food is good well beyond the expiration dates , I have already tried 2 year old canned products and they were perfectly fine ….I hear you can easily get 10 years storage from non damaged canned food !!!!!
Secondly , economic collapse , hahahahahahahaha……when o’ WHEN will you people listen to me when I tell you we are years away from anything like that
For water storage you can NOT beat a hand operated well other than that I would buy the food grade plastic totes, wash them out and store water in them (300 to 450 gallons) in a garage/basement etc. and IF they are not black paint them black also you might want to treat the water with enough bleach to bring the bleach level up to 1 PPM (or a little better) and then filter this water before you drink it with your Berkey filters.
Also no one is talking about buying a walmart swimming pool and storing treated water in an above (or in ground) pool for that matter. Just be sure to filter this water before you drink it too. You can buy a pool cover to keep out trash and bugs until it’s needed. Again this water should be at 1 PPM of Chlorine or a little better will not hurt. Just be sure to filter it before you drink it with your Berkey filters.
IF you have no way to filter the water let it set out uncovered for 24 hours for the extra chlorine to dissipate before drinking it. You can use a Chlorine Pool test kit for this. Do Not Drink water that is at .5 PPM or higher with out filtering or letting it set until it is below .5 PPM.
This info from: http://www.iplantosurvive.info
Got that stuff
But I’m not a prepper, I’m a rational REALIST
the best way to prep is to move to texas. if we patriots stick together we can survive. if we all hole up somewhere by ourselves separated and cowardly, we are easy pickings one by one.
This article is really a great piece of advice, in general, but it contains an intrinsecal fatal flaw. When some disrupting social event should happen, the storm would wipe off any personal defense and individual or familiar preparedness strategy. This is because the conditions in a larger system would affect the smaller structures contained therein. This fact is historically determined, and scientifically grounded in marxist science; for example, the French revolutionaries were crushed by the reaction, and the bourgeoisie was successful and seized the power only when the economic and geopolitical context in the larger European scene were ready for the change. This explains why the isolationist ideology, shifted on the psychology of the individual in the typically American self-made man and specifically in the prepper figure, has no chance of success, unfortunately. There is no other solution that the social organization of the working class in revolutionary popular structures of collective defense and strictly hierarchical parties.
This article is really a great piece of advice, in general, but it contains an intrinsecal fatal flaw. When some disrupting social event should happen, the storm would wipe off any personal defense and individual or familiar preparedness strategy. This is because the conditions in a larger system would affect the smaller structures contained therein. This fact is historically determined, and scientifically grounded in marxist science; for example, the French revolutionaries were crushed by the reaction, and the bourgeoisie was successful and seized the power only when the economic and geopolitical context in the larger European scene were ready for the change. This explains why the isolationist ideology, shifted on the psychology of the individual in the typically American self-made man and specifically in the prepper figure, has no chance of success, unfortunately. There is no other solution that the social organization of the working class in revolutionary popular structures of collective defense and strictly hierarchical parties.
orsbubu its not necessarily so. In fact the whole USA experiement in freedom is in all probability a one time successful anomaly in the entire history of the planet. Never before have the government and citizens been in this exact position of rights & wrongs. The fact is good will always have a certain advantage over bad. And never discount the presence of divine intervention. During the war for independence Washingtons army was almost defeated the war for independence was almost lost. Then a British officer went into the backwoods at a place called Kings Mountain. The British has the advantage of high ground and better fed trained soldiers. However the untrained uneducated Rag Tag local backwoods men soundly defeated the British. How & why? The every where spirit works in mysterious ways. It seems powder lead ect where in short supply in the back woods. So every hunter really by necessity became a crack shot. And god gave the local blacksmiths exceptional talent. They produced the Kentuckey rifle. those two things small in themselves combined with the fighting mentality turned the tide of the American revolution. The Backwoods man with his Kentucky rifle and superior talent had greater range & accuracy than the British armed with the smooth bore muskets. They like SGT York during WWII made every shot count. Some unknown person armed with just a 22 rifle with the help of the every where spirit could very easily possibly be a deciding factor. No one can predict how this will play out. Im am a decendant of one of those who fought at Kings Mountain. So you can cram it. Don’t try to tell me as a prepper I have no chance of success.
Anonymous (what is your nickname???), what you wrote is extremely interesting, you realy have to be proud with similar ancestors; I cannot in this moment say if those individual factors were pivotal by themselves or were supported by broader hystorical and organizational issues, but let me assure you I absolutely love and admire the industriousness and fantastic determination of american people, and I think that the next big steps in social progress will come after the struggles that will be fighted in your country. I lean myself toward anarchist positions. I only fear that these necessary civil struggles will be uselessly prolonged and slowed by a lack in social coordination among individuals. The economic and social contradictions are global today, and the answer must to be united and global, at the working class level. If you are alone, you will have success in defend your family, at best, but your task must to be set higher, if you want to go at the root of the problem, because the problem lies in the capitalistic production system and in the imperialistic geopolitical order, and these systems are a matter of social relationships. OK, prepare for yourself, but in a scenery of social coordination. Look at the list provided above by KYmom:
19 Steps Toward a Self Sufficient Lifestyle:
1. Build up an emergency food supply
2. Learn to cook without electricity or gas
3. Know how to build and start a fire
4. Install an alternate fuel source
5. Grow a vegetable garden
6. Start a compost pile
7. Grow fruit trees and berries
8. Learn to preserve your bounty
9. Take a first aid course and create a well-stocked first aid kit
10. Take charge of your health
11. Acquire warm clothing and blankets to keep you warm without heat
12. Learn how to use weapons to hunt and for personal projection
13. Start an emergency fund
14. Learn to barter
15. Make your own cleaning supplies
16. Cook from scratch and bake your own bread
17. Be a MacGyver and fix your stuff
18. Become self-entertaining (Learn card games, board games, puzzles, play an instrument, etc.)
19. Get to know your neighbors
Well, IMHO the real must is the 19th point she put as the last. I think that in its history, the immensely powerful US working class was swindled by the ruling class, because only if people was divided there could be a possibility in subjugate its revolutionary potential.
This piece rings of an advertorial. Please, no more. It is a bit insulting to experienced preppers. Aside from the Berkey water filter, I use none of the products mentioned. The STA-BIL product, for example, only keeps gas good for a few months. It is not nearly as strong as PRI. I have 12 year old PRI treated gasoline that is still in great condition. As to farm tools, sure, I have hand tools, but try cultivating an entire two acres with them. Always a good idea to power equipment with spare parts. Miracle Gro? That eventually will exhaust the soil. C’mon now.
265 rolls of TP? Yikes, that’s a lot of storage space. In the public latrines of ancient Rome, they had a communal sponge on a stick, which once used, was rinsed with running water and passed on to the next guy. Hey, a wet sponge will work. Just has to be squeezed out.
In my view it is wholly impractical to try to maintain a 21st century lifestyle when the world has fallen apart.Just not going to happen.
nothing new here, just an ad for Augason Farms
Why do we prepare? That is the question I am asking myself at the moment. Forget the joy of adding items to the stockroom, the pride of seeing the fruits of your labor happily shelved away and the satisfaction of the vast knowledge that cannot be seen nor measured, only printed out and stored in binders in case you aren’t gifted with a photogenic memory.
OK, so that’s the upside of things. The downside is the extra cost of business. We skip some activities here and there. I don’t golf as much as I used too. On the other hand, if I were to resume golfing tomorrow, I could forego grocery shopping for a few months.
Here’s the thing, the new deal as I see it. Everything is getting expensive. I’d much rather pay today’s inflated prices than tomorrows over inflated super runaway prices. Preparing is largely a hedge against inflation for me. It’s kind of like paying off your car or your home. Suddenly you have more money to spend elsewhere. I’ll go a few months on crazy prepper mode, and after a while of doing that, I’ll realize that I haven’t been to the store in weeks. It’s usually just milk, eggs and cheese that I need in the end, driving me back to town. If the world collapses, I’ll barter to get some chickens again and perhaps a few dairy cows and I’ll barely notice that things have changed.
I’m not saying that the worst won’t happen but we certainly cannot know how bad and if it ever will happen. Ebola could fizzle out. The economy should just plug along at a snails pace, the attrition being just how things are from now on. Since all of us on this page are on board, especially if you made it to the bottom of this page then you certainly know the answer of ‘why’ already. Because it just makes sense.
I think we are all a bit crazy and a bit too smart. If that offends you, then maybe you just wondered in here by accident, and if so, consider yourself one of the lucky ones.
I also recommend that people pick up a book on herbal medicine and wild edibles (just don’t try carrying a library in a BOB, way too heavy!). Stock up on dried herbs/teas useful for common complaints. I personally don’t touch pharma pills (they are all hard on filtering organs). I use herbs. Keep some seeds of your favorite remedies to grow when spring comes-grow you own medicine! One of my favorites is Tulsi or holy basil: http://www.exhibithealth.com/general-health/health-benefits-of-holy-basil-tulsi-691/
For packing a versatile list of uses, it also tastes wonderful. I eat a few leaves daily, and use it in tomato sauce. It will escape cultivation easily in most areas, and grows like a weed. Even better if you cut leaves individually as needed it responds by bushing out and being even more productive!
Wild edibles are all around us! Saved me when I was traveling and ran out of pack food up in the rockies! I suggest reading up on that info and practicing before disaster strikes.
I’d suggest mushrooms too, but they are a little tricky for the novice and more likely harmful if you eat the wrong one. Better to have a guide (and a book) teach you hands on if you aren’t familiar. Alternatively, you can order bags of mycellium to grow good fungi to eat and bury them in your yard. Some species are really HUGE! I found a floret that weighed 45 lbs once. Took me 3 months to eat when sharing with brave neighbors!
Too much 3rd world protein. Going from a meat based diet to one filled with rice, wheat berries, and beans, 265 rolls of toilet paper per person would not be enough. I don’t eat vegan now, why would I try during a crisis? The little bit of spam, canned hams and P-butter is woefully inadequate as is the daily calorie count. Concentrating on being able to can all freezer meat, as well as buying FD and commercial canned.
A handtool bag, bicycles–with heavy-duty solid tires, (or horses–though they can be vulnerable), armor and non-firearm, re-usable and readily-made but effective weapons. Those are your SUSTAINABLE necessities that will be more helpful if already in your possession than having to make them from scratch (except for any horses, of course!). Exiting big cities (by fast but non-motorized means) within 10-minutes of any warning of an attack and, the ability to battle ANY who intend to capture you are essentials.