Some basic prep questions

[JohnnyReb]

I have a few basic prep questions for you guys. Currently prep wise, I am good on the gun front. I have several .22lrs for food gathering, several pistols for self defense, and enough to loan to family members if need be, shotguns for both hunting and defense, bolt action rifles for long range hunting and defense, and one ruger mini 14 which will be my primary defensive long gun.

I could use some more ammo, but currently I feel ok with the amount I have, I'm just waiting for when I see pretty good deals on what I need for my inventory, and picking up a little bit at a time.

Food wise, I have 2 cases of MREs, what i would estimate to be about a month of frozen food (for two people) and an additional month of canned foods. I have about 6 cases of bottled water I pick up when I see it on sale, but I drink a lot of it (about a case a week).

I have not yet created a BOB, and I'm curious about what you guys see as must haves.


One thing I think I need is a good water filteration system. I'm blessed with many small streams in walking distance, so water gathering should never become an issue.

I have several family members close by, so if shtf we could easily band together.

As far as financial preps, I'm somewhat lacking in that regard. I've got $6,000 in the bank, and no precious metals. I currently have $500 a month go into an online savings account that I don't touch.

I just remembered, I do have a 5000 watt generator, and a very small 800 watt I got for dirt cheap at harbor freight.

Any suggestions? I feel like I'm more prepared then the average joe, but I look at some of you guys and it puts my preps to shame!
:crying:

[Aceman]

Here is the thing to remember: Some of us are crazy. I won't name names - but I think you can tell pretty easy.

It's a lifestyle choice. do you want to live life in the moment, and enjoy it to the fullest knowing it will all end if anything goes wrong? Or do you want to waste your entire life living in a possible future that may never happen, while the moment passes you by? YOU have to decide where that balance point is for you.

That said - a couple of comments:

A few cases of water will go really fast. The ability to gather/create pure water is critical wether it is boiling it, pumping it out of the ground, removing the salt, or whatever.

Next: frozen food is only good while it stays frozen. The real question is how much electricity do you have? And what's a better approach?

Guns? Lot's of fun. They are a hobby. My goal in SHTF is not to shoot one shot. and I expect if I need more than 10-20, I'm not gonna make it anyway. a few hundred .22 and a hundred 9mm/.223/12g will probably take you farther than you can imagine.

Having enough water and food and fuel to ride out the SHTF to not NEED to go out is worth far more than all the ammo you could possibly have.

As for the BOB - your call. But it's part of a STRATEGY. When do I stay, and when do I go? If I go, where do I go? Will I be coming back? If not, what then?

And skills are infinitely more important than all but the most basic gear.

[Aceman]

Oh yeah: Planning -

Make a list of the possible SHTF scenarios for you; Then prioritize them in terms of likeliness.

Then for each, consider what will happen to key elements of society - electric, water, food supply, EMS, Medical, and police/lawlessness.

Then figure out what you need for each. You'll never be ready for everything. But don't ignore the obvious for the obscure, focus on greater length over the rare/obscure, and make sure you have the basics. They will likely apply to all.

Example: For me - Hurricane is very very real/likely SHTF. I have a plan based on category about what to do, when, etc...and what to do if I can't. for you, perhaps not a big deal. Better to be ready for brutal blizzard.

[Dexters]

I have a few basic prep questions for you guys.

What is your and your family's physical condition status?

[Bilbo Bagins]

I sound like you have a good head start.

You may want to look into storing shelf stable food in a pantry. Canned foods, pasta, oatmeal, etc. Anything that your family already eats, and that does not require refrigeration, and has a decent shelf life. Just buy extra and rotate it into meals when it gets close to expiring.

Water. Look into how to treat water with bleach and chlorine. If you want a filter here is a few options

http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/CAMOmnifindQueryCmd?storeId=226&catalogId=40000000226&langId=-1&searchCategory=&ip_state=&ip_constrain=&ip_navtype=search&pageSize=24&currentPage=&ip_sortBy=&searchKeywords=water+purification

http://www.rei.com/search?query=water+filter

a BOB? Where are you going? You have a home, with food, and a water source. If you need to go somewhere I assume you have a truck or car. If you do need to hike out, just get a good backpack that can 3,000 cubic inches or more. Remember food will be about 1 pound per day, water about 8 pounds per day, and that does not include shelter, firemaking, gun/ ammo and other gear. Most people think that the can carry 40 pounds or more long distance, and I laugh when they fail miserably after the first 5 miles. Just shoot for basic eat and go food for 3 days, 1 days or 64 oz of water and a way to process water sources, basic shelter, basic firemaking, some sort of knife and that is it.

[JohnnyReb]

What is your and your family's physical condition status?
I'm single with no kids. I'm im ok shape, and not overweight.

[fourdeuce2]

"what i would estimate to be about a month of frozen food"

Do you have the generator capacity to keep the freezer cold for a month? If not, then that food won't be a month's worth. :cool:

[UneasyRider]

Water - (filter and calcium hypochlorite, maybe a well)

Food - (take $1,000 of your savings and buy long term stored rice, beans, fruit, wheat etc.) Then double up at the grocery store with the things that you like in cans and boxes. Think years not months. Solar oven works really well with no fuel.

Shelter - (Good sleep system for the cold up there, as well as the kind of clothing that keeps you warm.)

Defense - (Now that you have something that people want you buy the guns and ammunition that you need to protect it. You can never have enough ammunition)

Everything else.

[cowboy1964]

Isn't a case of MREs 12 packages?

You need a lot more food and water. And some type of water filtration. Bottled water won't last long. You say you will band together with local family... do they prep? If not, that will diminish your own preps even more.

Some gold/silver probably would be good idea considering that economic SHTF is quickly becoming the most likely SHTF scenario for everyone.

[JohnnyReb]

Water - (filter and calcium hypochlorite, maybe a well)

Food - (take $1,000 of your savings and buy long term stored rice, beans, fruit, wheat etc.) Then double up at the grocery store with the things that you like in cans and boxes. Think years not months. Solar oven works really well with no fuel.

Shelter - (Good sleep system for the cold up there, as well as the kind of clothing that keeps you warm.)

Defense - (Now that you have something that people want you buy the guns and ammunition that you need to protect it. You can never have enough ammunition)

Everything else.

What solar oven? I've never seen one.

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[JohnnyReb]

Isn't a case of MREs 12 packages?

You need a lot more food and water. And some type of water filtration. Bottled water won't last long. You say you will band together with local family... do they prep? If not, that will diminish your own preps even more.

Some gold/silver probably would be good idea considering that economic SHTF is quickly becoming the most likely SHTF scenario for everyone.

Yep 12 packages in a case. They are really convinent for on the go meals. Some of my family does prep, some don't. None have more the a couple months supplies.

The reason I have not bought any gold or silver is because the cost is so high now. The time to of bought gold was two years ago.

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[UneasyRider]

What solar oven? I've never seen one.

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http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51eT1CxuukL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

[cowboy1964]

The reason I have not bought any gold or silver is because the cost is so high now. The time to of bought gold was two years ago.


People have been using that excuse regardless of the price.

The cost right now isn't high if economic collapse happens. And isn't that the reason to have gold/silver in the first place?

What's going to happen to the value of your cash? It will only go down. Way WAY down. This is actually a good time to get some silver since it's been down.

[racerford]

Precious metals should be well down your list. You are far more likely to lose you job or have to retire than for there to be a complete societal collapse in your lifetime.

Preparing for natural disasters common in your area or a home fire should high on the prep list.

Do you have adequate CO and Smoke detectors? Do you have fire extinguishers? A solid first aid that includes trauma care and significant burn treatment?

Advice about water treament, and food is a good idea.

Of all the preps I have made in my life, the ones I needed most and most often were emergency money, fire extinguishers and first aid. I have been unable to travel from my house for a few days, so having food around that did not need cooking was very handy. And yes that does include Frosted Cinnamon Brown Sugar Pop Tarts. Do not get the Sam's ones that are wrapped in plastic. Get the ones from normal stores that are sealed in mylar.

[kirgi08]

Water/Medical and long term food.Canned food exp dates a very conservative.'08.

[ratf51]

Since you have some (hopefully) reliable water sources nearby you should look into some good water filtration/purification systems. My recommendations would be to check out the British Berkfield or Black Berkey systems, Katadyn also has a large pump unit that looks interesting, but if I recall correctly it is quite pricey.

[Dexters]

I'm single with no kids. I'm im ok shape, and not overweight.

That's good. If you are going to have a BOB or GHB put it on and walk the distance/course you might have to travel.

[bdcochran]

1. give equal weight to physical/mental conditioning, skills and equipment;
2. give equal thought to what equipment you have at home, in the car, at work, and with relatives (read hides/support system);
3. think in terms of what to have to survive 30-60-90 days.
4. think in terms of what other people will do (die, dehydrate, go crazy) in the first month;
5. devise plans to that neither you nor your family has to run home if shtf when they are not at home.

Start thinking in terms of what will be working for you that is not working for other people after shtf. Figure out how you can have light, heat, medicine. Figure out how you can be gathering food 24/7 without taking a .22lr rifle or shotgun around Maryland and competing with other people.

[M1A Shooter]

as a single person, id make sure you are trying to network as well. you mentioned family but are they on board with prepping themselves? or will you just hope they come together and all eat from your case of mres?

water and food would be my priorities as well as skills that may turn into a hobby as well. i actually like food prep when it comes to canning and dehydrating and storage in general. my weakness is actually growing food.

start with a list of perceived threats from power outage due to storms, both summer and the upcoming winter, all the way to economic crash or pandemic zombies etc. and then list your strengths and weaknesses for eash one and work from there. lists are what will keep you organized and on track.

[JohnnyReb]

as a single person, id make sure you are trying to network as well. you mentioned family but are they on board with prepping themselves? or will you just hope they come together and all eat from your case of mres?

water and food would be my priorities as well as skills that may turn into a hobby as well. i actually like food prep when it comes to canning and dehydrating and storage in general. my weakness is actually growing food.

start with a list of perceived threats from power outage due to storms, both summer and the upcoming winter, all the way to economic crash or pandemic zombies etc. and then list your strengths and weaknesses for eash one and work from there. lists are what will keep you organized and on track.

I seriously doubt I'll get the family on board with prepping to any serious degree. Some prep mostly firearms, ammo and tools, others its mostly food. I don't think I'll have to solely support them, but I do know I'd need their help for any serious shtf events.

I'm not much of a gardener either, but my biggest problem is my garden is right off my neighbood road, easily visable. This would invite scavangers. I do have an alternate garden location close by however.

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[Lone Kimono]

There have been a lot of good suggestions already. I also think you are on the right track.

Honestly, the best way to prep is to do so in a way it doesn't alter your lifestyle too much. What I mean is no one knows when it will all fall apart. It's best to put your money into things you already use/do.

Few examples:

Buy guns you will enjoy shooting on a regular basis instead of guns you think you need to take on armies of bad guys, but sit in your safe collecting dust. Stock up on as much ammo for those guns as you reasonably can.

Regardless of if it hits the fan soon or not food prices are going up. Buy foods that have longer expiration dates in bulk. Maybe convert a junk closet into an extra pantry. Also, buy extra on all the necessities like toothpaste, soap, razors, shaving cream, etc. Personally, I buy soap when it's on sale...and I buy a lot of it. That way I never have to buy it at full price, I can wait until the next sale comes along.

If you have long term food storage like wheat learn how to cook with it. Do it slowly so your body can adjust. It will teach you how to use it and provide your family with nutrition which is lacking in most of the processed foods out there.

[TreverSlyFox]

Here is a very easy question you need to answer.

If everything goes to crap in the fall say about this time of the year, do you have enough food to last until the garden you plant next spring gets harvested and canned?

If your answer is YES .... your in good shape. If your answer is NO ... you have things to do yet.

[UneasyRider]

Here is a very easy question you need to answer.

If everything goes to crap in the fall say about this time of the year, do you have enough food to last until the garden you plant next spring gets harvested and canned?

If your answer is YES .... your in good shape. If your answer is NO ... you have things to do yet.

How would he can his produce from the garden?

[kirgi08]

Depends on the veggies,some are canned differently.'08.

[TangoFoxtrot]

Johnny start out with the basics and build from the info you gather. Build your supplies from what your funds allow! Do the research and formulate a plan. "A" plan is better than "no" plan.

[SFCSMITH(RET)]

Here is the thing to remember: Some of us are crazy. I won't name names - but I think you can tell pretty easy.

It's a lifestyle choice.

Having enough water and food and fuel to ride out the SHTF to not NEED to go out is worth far more than all the ammo you could possibly have.

And skills are infinitely more important than all but the most basic gear.

Crazy??

Hmm.. well... maybe SOME are. :whistling:


OP...

Water.

You are thinking DRINKING water, which is good, but you also need water for cooking and hygiene. You need a way to capture/procure water, and a way to treat said water. As far as I am concerned, that is priority number 1. You need at a minimum 2 gallons a day. And I mean minimum. 3+ is better.

Food.

2 cases of MRE's and some frozen stuff and some canned stuff.. hmm... power went out last night... forever.

Now you have what??

Wheat, rice, beans, dried corn, oats, honey, etc etc.. and the equipment to make edible food from the raw ingredients.

You say you have .22's to hunt with.. GREAT!! Know HOW TO hunt? know how to process game so it doesn't spoil? Know how to cook and fix it? Have at least 2 cooking plans?



Skills.. not just knowledge, but SKILLS. It's all well and good to READ in a survival manual how to build a solar still.. but if you have not tried it, you don't KNOW how, and most importantly you don't KNOW just how bad the situation would be if that was your drinking water answer.. Go ahead look up how to build one.. get the stuff together this week.. BUILD one in the backyard next weekend.. you have time now to learn what does, and doesn't work. The solar oven looks good, but have you TRIED one? I have.. makes crock pot cooking look like gourmet microwave action. BUT.. it's a good thing to KNOW how to build one and use one, as another LAYER of prep..

Last night.. had a venison meatloaf, cooked in a wood fired oven, with potatoes and carrots, all grown/ harvested from this property. Biscuits made from wheat ground about 20 minutes before use. The "beverages" were local and home made, though I didn't make them. And yes, we ate by lantern light. We call it Sunday dinner, some would call it "practice"..

[JohnnyReb]

Crazy??

Hmm.. well... maybe SOME are. :whistling:


OP...

Water.

You are thinking DRINKING water, which is good, but you also need water for cooking and hygiene. You need a way to capture/procure water, and a way to treat said water. As far as I am concerned, that is priority number 1. You need at a minimum 2 gallons a day. And I mean minimum. 3+ is better.

Food.

2 cases of MRE's and some frozen stuff and some canned stuff.. hmm... power went out last night... forever.

Now you have what??

Wheat, rice, beans, dried corn, oats, honey, etc etc.. and the equipment to make edible food from the raw ingredients.

You say you have .22's to hunt with.. GREAT!! Know HOW TO hunt? know how to process game so it doesn't spoil? Know how to cook and fix it? Have at least 2 cooking plans?



Skills.. not just knowledge, but SKILLS. It's all well and good to READ in a survival manual how to build a solar still.. but if you have not tried it, you don't KNOW how, and most importantly you don't KNOW just how bad the situation would be if that was your drinking water answer.. Go ahead look up how to build one.. get the stuff together this week.. BUILD one in the backyard next weekend.. you have time now to learn what does, and doesn't work. The solar oven looks good, but have you TRIED one? I have.. makes crock pot cooking look like gourmet microwave action. BUT.. it's a good thing to KNOW how to build one and use one, as another LAYER of prep..

Last night.. had a venison meatloaf, cooked in a wood fired oven, with potatoes and carrots, all grown/ harvested from this property. Biscuits made from wheat ground about 20 minutes before use. The "beverages" were local and home made, though I didn't make them. And yes, we ate by lantern light. We call it Sunday dinner, some would call it "practice"..

Some very good points here. I'm definately no expert hunter, but I have hunted every winter to different degrees for ten years. I don't know how to preserve the meat though. The only options I can think of off my head are salting the meat, and smoking the meat. I've done neither, and I've never seen it done.


That sounds like a great meal you had!

[M1A Shooter]

a pressure canner and a dehydrater will allow quite a bit of food storage. i recommend a pressure canner because you can use it as a water bath canner too witht the lid off. a water bath cant be pressurized.

just some quick tips, frozen vegetables can be dehydrated right out of the bag still frozen. seal them in a jar with an oxygen absorber or vacuum seal them with a seal-a-mmeal or food saver etc. they last along time and are great to throw in a soup. they will rehydrate as you cook.

your meats can be dehydrated or pressure canned as well. meats do very well pressure canned. if you do ground meats, they can be used as usual straight from the can. pressure canning bigger pieces will come out like stew meat or a pot roast. very tender.

[JohnnyReb]

How long of a shelf life would a pressure canned meat have? Dehydrated foods should have a near infinate life so as long as its stored away from moisture right?

[bdcochran]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Fist of all, this is intended to be a thread about canning MEATS.
No matter what you obtain in the way of info, recipes, or instructions, rely first on the local Extension service at the university of your state, secondly compare and utilize the instructions that come with Ball or Kerr jars.
Here is a set of instructiOns from the university extension at North Dakota. CHECK WITH THE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION OF YOUR STATE.
Expected shelf life of home canned product: approx 2 years MAX.
Requires a large pressure cooker, and lots of heat.
Be VERY careful, methodical, and compulsive about this procedure."

This is from LDS. That is why I buy commercial canned meats. They last longer.:faint:

[FireForged]

There have been a couple or recent bug out bag threads which include examples of setups, med kits and the like. Just search in the past 90 days.

Here is my 2 cents for bug-out-bag food:

[SFCSMITH(RET)]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Fist of all, this is intended to be a thread about canning MEATS.
No matter what you obtain in the way of info, recipes, or instructions, rely first on the local Extension service at the university of your state, secondly compare and utilize the instructions that come with Ball or Kerr jars.
Here is a set of instructiOns from the university extension at North Dakota. CHECK WITH THE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION OF YOUR STATE.
Expected shelf life of home canned product: approx 2 years MAX.
Requires a large pressure cooker, and lots of heat.
Be VERY careful, methodical, and compulsive about this procedure."

This is from LDS. That is why I buy commercial canned meats. They last longer.:faint:

Well... My family is LDS, and while this info maybe from a LDS website link, I doubt it was an LDS study..

But I digress. I know PERSONALLY of home canned venison eaten within the last few weeks that was canned by my grandmother. She passed away in '97. Best guess is it was from my grandfathers last hunting trip, in '94. My brother is still alive and was able to call me on the phone today..

I only can a small bit of my venison each year, and only started in '06, but it is just fine. I did have a couple jars the first year that didn't seal good, my fault near as I can tell, but those that sealed properly are still OK.

Properly canned and preserved food will last a VERY long time, in fact indefinitely, as long as the container is not breached. There is no "magic" in commercial canning.

[bdcochran]

I googled "lds recommendations on shelf life of pressure canned meats".. So what quoted MAY be wrong.



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[M1A Shooter]

ive seen people eat it at 2 years old and say it still tasted freshly canned. i'd also go as far as guessing it would last as long or longer than anything in a tin can because glass doesnt deteriorate the same as tin.

i'd say as long as it smells ok and doesnt have any funky colors that werent in there to start with, its better than going without for sure.

[SFCSMITH(RET)]

I googled "lds recommendations on shelf life of pressure canned meats".. So what quoted MAY be wrong.



Man that google search didn't like being formatted over here..lol.

Sorry, I didn't mean to offend, I just meant to point out that having "LDS" in the title or body of a website does not make it an actual LDS site, it may be owned and run by Mormons, or it might just be targeted at them, or it may be about them, etc. But is not necessarily run by or owned or operated by the CHURCH itself. There used to be some real good stuff on the BYU website, studies and reports on food storage, but I don't know if it is still available..

At least two of those links are to businesses run by either Mormons, or directly targeting them. No problem with that in and of itself. But one of the things that can happen, and does, is the sites kind of cannibalize each other, and regurgitate stuff that isn't necessarily true, but is "good for business"

For instance.. if I ran a web site selling canned meats, I would point out some esoteric reason mine was better.. But the fact is, properly canned meats are... properly canned meats. If Armour products is willing to put right on their website that their canned meat products are good FOREVER as long as the packaging is not breached or damaged. The same is true for any properly canned meats. It isn't magic, but it is science.. If the bugs is all dead.. they ain't coming back.

Storage conditions can and do make a difference in how a canned product holds up, but they, if properly processed, they don't somehow know it's the 23rd of November 2014 and go "poof", I'm bad.

Google "Steamship Arabia" Very interesting story. Food was opened and eaten from that ship after it's recovery. All reports were that it was indistinguishable from freshly canned.

Now, as with all things in life, YOU are your master.. if you pick up a can of peaches and it's bulged or swollen, or spews stuff under pressure when opened or the peaches are furry.. or have eyes.. don't eat them. Canning failures DO happen, even in the commercial world. But don't fear canned goods.

[SFCSMITH(RET)]

There have been a couple or recent bug out bag threads which include examples of setups, med kits and the like. Just search in the past 90 days.

Here is my 2 cents for bug-out-bag food:

Yep good for a bug out bag. We keep 6 in the truck at all times. BUT.. they have to be rotated pretty often, we live where it gets hot in the truck for half the year, so we rotate them every two years (or so) and then use them when hiking and camping.. but they are a lot like them Australian lizards.. "you can eat them.. but they taste like.. "

I will admit they taste better than and are a bit more palatable then PowerBars which we used for about 15 years.

Also you need a fair amount of water to get through them, and get them through you..

[SFCSMITH(RET)]

Back on topic..

So you have water nearby, that you FEEL will be available post some SHTF event.. how much water is it? How many others will want to use it? how many of them are crackheads who will pee in it, or worse? Best to have a backup plan..

Rain barrels are nice, neat little urban "do gooder" ideas.. and most homes have at least 4 downspouts.. you could "store" 200 gallons right there.. We do.. well a bit more, we have 6 down spouts.. we also store water in barrels in the basement. The rain barrels are for replenishment in case the spring dries up.. has happened a few summers. We use a Berkey to filter it. So we have.. municipal water supply.. treated stored water in basement, spring on property, and rain barrels.. see what is going on there...?

Cooking.. Same sort of deal.. we have an electric oven of course.. we have a wood stove, 2 RV kitchens.. (don't ask), gas grill with 4 extra tanks, coleman single burner and two burner white gas stoves (10 gallons of fuel in shed)..

Heat.. our house is passive solar, geo thermal heat pump, and a genny/fuel big enough to run it for 2 weeks, wood stove, 3 winters worth of wood stacked and drying, Kero heater with 55 gallons of fuel set back...

Food itself.. I have a spread sheet somewhere.. but we have a couple weeks freeze dried mountain house and backpackers pantry's, a couple weeks MREs, and probably at this point 2+ years of LTS goods, wheat, rice, beans, etc etc etc. (BD's posted link to "provident living today" (the name a ripoff/reuse of an actual LDS site) has a pretty good little chart down near the bottom of the BASICS, and then a couple paragraphs about how to flesh it out so you don't suffer from menu boredom in the first two weeks..lol.

And as I am just about to head out to plow and till the garden.. a quick thought about the most important prep of all for good mental health.. toilet paper.

Buy a couple 36 roll packs this weekend, put them in the attic or something.. be happy. BTW, if you have a woman in the house, double up..lol.

[SFCSMITH(RET)]

CRAP.. one other thing.. a joke.. perhaps.. as the second poster pointed out some on here might be "crazy"..

After the tornado that hit Joplin MO, this summer, I was surveying the damage, and I noticed how many large heavy objects where not in the place their owners left them.. including water heater and such.. I moved the aforementioned MRE's and Mountain Houses, and added two cases of bottled water, into our large safe. I figure if any storm or event carries that beotch off, we are dead. (1200lbs empty, bolted to the foundation in 8 places..)

Paranoid? Crazy? or just Prepared??

Your guess is as good as any..lol

[kirgi08]

Our cooking is done with gas,our heat is via a wood stove we have right at 14cords stored rt now.A typical winter is 3-4 cords +/-,we have kero back-up 250gal tank.Water is covered in multiple layers.Our garden did well this year and we've already started the preps for next years crop.'08.

[JohnnyReb]

Back on topic..

So you have water nearby, that you FEEL will be available post some SHTF event.. how much water is it? How many others will want to use it? how many of them are crackheads who will pee in it, or worse? Best to have a backup plan..

Rain barrels are nice, neat little urban "do gooder" ideas.. and most homes have at least 4 downspouts.. you could "store" 200 gallons right there.. We do.. well a bit more, we have 6 down spouts.. we also store water in barrels in the basement. The rain barrels are for replenishment in case the spring dries up.. has happened a few summers. We use a Berkey to filter it. So we have.. municipal water supply.. treated stored water in basement, spring on property, and rain barrels.. see what is going on there...?

Cooking.. Same sort of deal.. we have an electric oven of course.. we have a wood stove, 2 RV kitchens.. (don't ask), gas grill with 4 extra tanks, coleman single burner and two burner white gas stoves (10 gallons of fuel in shed)..

Heat.. our house is passive solar, geo thermal heat pump, and a genny/fuel big enough to run it for 2 weeks, wood stove, 3 winters worth of wood stacked and drying, Kero heater with 55 gallons of fuel set back...

Food itself.. I have a spread sheet somewhere.. but we have a couple weeks freeze dried mountain house and backpackers pantry's, a couple weeks MREs, and probably at this point 2+ years of LTS goods, wheat, rice, beans, etc etc etc. (BD's posted link to "provident living today" (the name a ripoff/reuse of an actual LDS site) has a pretty good little chart down near the bottom of the BASICS, and then a couple paragraphs about how to flesh it out so you don't suffer from menu boredom in the first two weeks..lol.

And as I am just about to head out to plow and till the garden.. a quick thought about the most important prep of all for good mental health.. toilet paper.

Buy a couple 36 roll packs this weekend, put them in the attic or something.. be happy. BTW, if you have a woman in the house, double up..lol.

Good points. The water sources I have available to me, are very reliable however, like yours, there have been times where it has dried up but usually only in severe drought. They are in the woods, and fortunately, not many people go for a walk in the woods here much anymore, so I doubt many people know about it. There is a good reliable pond, and a series of small creeks in walking distance.

Also, we have well water, so I could run my generator, enough to power the pump to get water out of that.

How efficient are the propane stoves like the ones in RVs? Do they go through a lot of gas, or can they be used conservatively?

[M1A Shooter]

if you are already on a well, how hard would it be to add a manual pump?

[JohnnyReb]

if you are already on a well, how hard would it be to add a manual pump?

I'm not sure. Definitely not my area of expertise.

[Kadetklapp]

I'm not a shining beacon of prepper resource, but you need some sort of comms, even if it's just for monitoring. Short-wave radio FTW.

[SFCSMITH(RET)]

How efficient are the propane stoves like the ones in RVs? Do they go through a lot of gas, or can they be used conservatively?

For lack of any other way to put it..Ours have 2 5,000 btu burners and 1 9,000. The oven is about 12,000. They all have adjustable dials (or thermostat, in the case of the oven) and you set them according to what you need.. just like any other gas stove. The only difference is size. You cannot use two large pots/pans at the same time, unlike a home range. Other than that.. it's cooking with gas.:cool:

a 20 pound gas bottle has about 4.7 gallons of LP in it, which has a btu value of 91,300 btus per gallon, so 4.7 x 91,300 = 429110btus.. so if using say, the 5,000 btu burner flat out, you have about 85 hours of cooking time. On one burner, use both or throw in the big burner.. we have 2 30lbers and 2 40lbers for the campers..

[barbedwiresmile]

I'm not much of a gardener either, but my biggest problem is my garden is right off my neighbood road, easily visable. This would invite scavangers. I do have an alternate garden location close by however.


Then I would recommend what I call 'survivalscaping': plant fruit trees, berry bushes, hardwoods. Have no useless tree or bush. Make them earn their keep.

[kirgi08]

Agreed,we put in 4 pear trees in,2 here and 2 at the bol.After 4yrs of growth they are producing well enough for jams/jellies and canning,not "straight" of the tree yet.'08.