I consider my propane automatic whole house generator much more important than a new car, etc. It keeps you with heat or AC, lets you cook, have hot showers, and so important keeps food from spoiling in the refrigerator and freezer. Living in the country it also keeps my water supply available from my private well. And having Directv instead of cable I keep up with the world. Life goes on normally in my home just because I opted for a generator rather than a new car although the generator didn’t cost nearly as much.

I love reading these blogs. People have so many ideas, and this kind of exchange and brainstorming is fantastic. I get a lot of advice, insight and ideas so that I can be prepared and be able to survive. Sharing with others is also a way for society to help others and contributes to everyone’s survival. Keep the ideas flowing (without animosity) as that is what this great country was founded on, and what will enable us to survive anything. Thank you all for your contributions.

Most of this is really great advice… even if it is (or should be) common sense stuff. Thank God for those of you who have either lived thru something or are just the kind of people who look ahead and try to plan… who have taken the time to share your advice. The problem with many of us is that we are so busy living day to day that we don’t stop to think about this kind of thing until something happens. Of course not all of this advice is practical for every situation or location. So what! I’d rather have more than enough than less. Take it all in, digest it, and put into practice what will work best for you and your situation. The internet is a great source of information that we have become dependant on. My fear is that in a disaster we will not have access to it and the vital information that could save our lives. Me and my son were both boy scouts and we practiced survial skills that came from the Boy Scout handbook. I still have the Boy Scout hand book and the field book that both have valuable information in them. It’s nice to have a hard copy of something if the internet isn’t there.

One more suggestion about using water/milk jugs for storing water: They don’t make them like they used to! Check periodically for dents, as tiny cracks can form at any crease, and unscrew caps to check if water level drops, for there is a leak likely, except for tiny amounts due to possible bubbles when filled. Shrinking jugs definitely indicate a leak, but can sit in a row & not be noticed. Even jugs that pass the above tests, can deteriorate over lengthy time in sun, and may seem OK even as used, but are ready to shatter, as if made of glass & hit. Don’t ignore emergency supplies until needed! Water leaks, sun, freezes, & rodents, or supplies dumped on plastic jugs, for example, can jeopardize your supplies. Keep a check on them, and if possible, replace things like plastic water jugs annually if they are exposed to the elements. Even indoors, modern jugs need handled with care, a foot nudged as one walks past them can, but not always of course, do harm. If you plan to reuse, never toss jugs to the ground after emptying! Before filling, a long wooden cooking spoon handle can straighten out minor dents down in the jug safely, and a rubber handle on pliers can reach dents nearer the top. These must be clean before inserting, or wash jugs afterwards before filling.

Lots of good advice here. I see some additional things that i never thought about. One thing though is that living on a city lot doesn’t leave a lot of room for raising animals and little room for any kind of a garden that would support more than one crop (small i might add) of anything.
I buy small cans of goods becaue what would or how would you keep half a dozen of the large cans from going bad after opening? You can only put so much food in the refrigerator so if you can’t empty a large can at one time, why bother with it? Small cans fit under the beds when placed in the top of a bankers box and hold things together. I buy bottled water (cases) when the prices go down to $3 or less per case and are on sale. Buying bottled water i like the heavier duty taller water bottles for $1 ea. They last a lot longer and are more durable than the lightweight ones. Refilling them is .20 per gallon around here if you look around at the various grocery stores who have the machines. SO i keep 30 gal or more along with 15-20 cases of bottled water. The city water just doesn’t taste good. I only use it for cooking so the taste is disguised.
One thing a lot of people don’t think about and that is a radio. Not only for regular stations on the AM band but also for FM and if you can find a nice Shortwave receiver, have that on hand as well. Tube type preferred becaue if there were to be a large nuculear blast at a defined altitude, the EMP would destroy all your solid state devices and you would then be left in the dark in more ways than one. Probably no TV, FM radio, AM radio, and depending on how well protectec the internet/telephone facilities are, you might well be living in a 1700′s world. A good small CB set that would run off of your truck battery, draws very little current,or being an Amateur radio Op could be your only contact with the outside world. Nothing says you have to have it on or connected to an antenna all the time, just ahving something to use in a disaster is the importat thing.

I’ve been living off the grid for 2 years in a small barn with a wood stove–the result of the economic downturn and low paying job. I have no refrigeration, heat with a wood stove and am building my own solar panels to eventually take over for a small gasoline generator. Let me tell you what it really looks like. It is not romantic. It is cold in the winter, sweaty in the summer, dirty and hard work. It draws the scorn of the haves and government regulators (who threatened to condem my “home” and toss me off my land). Here’s some real advice from someone who is living each day as though it were an emergency: Whatever money you have put it into (potable) water, water, water. Nuts, powdered milk and eggs and a vitamin C source. Layers of warm clothing and thick blankets. Everything else is a luxury.
Dennis Patterson–Deer Park,WA

Dont forget an overcoat…one which will deflect radiation and 10,000 degree heat flash…

Event durations like fire, weather, flooding, earthquakes will likely be resolved in the gap between 2-3 months and 2-3 years, so add 6 months and 1 year to resolve those scenarios. Remember, this is just an outline to ensure you think about and take care of the most likely event/durations before you start planning for and installing 2500 gal. water tanks and whole house solar installations. Jed

It is about time Americans invest more in Geo-thermo Energy !!! it being our natural resource of energy that we need to survive, we must make use of it; we know about global warming and the effects it has. Solar Paneling a whole city in Germany is in place and was proved..It is time American Califorians step it up for our Future…

Cash. And hard copies of anything you might need that you would typically ‘store’ online….such as boarding passes, airline reservations, etc. The most likely ‘terriorist’ scenario seems to be a hit on the power grid. ATMs, gas stations and grocery stores would be hit immediately. A gas station may or may not have an emergency generator to pump fuel — even if they do, it would be a cash-only transaction. I’ve boarded a plane in the dark (at LaGuardia in 2003) only because I had a hard-copy of my reservation even though the airlines’ computer systems were down.

Hi fellow prepper. I would like to see more of your
Prep ideas. I’ve been teaching and supplying for 30 years.

There is already a huge mass of floating plastic junk in the ocean because so many lunkheads think bottled water is better. NONSENSE. Too often you are paying for water that came from a faucet in some other city. How is that better? Filtered? Sure, I bought filters and filter my own water at home. If you really think you need water in reserve get some big five gallon buckets and fill those up. Keep some unfiltered for flushing toilets and washing clothes, and some for drinking. Label them. AND STOP BUYING THOSE DAMNED BOTTLES THAT POLLUTE. You are paying a lot of money for that stuff. With a filter I can have clean safe water for a fraction of the cost and NO WASTED PLASTIC.

ill do whatever i want

you are correct Mike. However, it’s only if you use credit or debit cards to purchase items in mass quantity. If you use cash, the government can’t trace the purchases. Just use cash. They’ll never know.

I have an emergency bag in my coat closet by the door, which is ready for use at any sign of “trouble”. Keep in mind that water is kept seperately because of the weight.
tool box, first aid kit, tuna, rice cakes, peanut butter, a can opener, soup and other food cans, medicine, pet food, bank records, $200 cash in small bills, insurance papers, a camera with digital photos of my belongings in the house, batteries, flashlights, wind up radio with light source, duct tape, maps, evacuation plan which is also to be copied and left on the magnate on the fridge with phone numbers if I have to leave in a hurry, allergy medication, can opener, utensils, big knike, small container of bleach, sanitary napkins, 1 beach towel (back up as blanket, rope, sunscreen, bug spray, sunglasses, bandana, deck of cards, bible, pet shot records, pet food, candles, matches, ziplock bags, small container of blue Dawn/shampoo/soap, roll of toilet paper and ear plugs.

Please remember that gas turn into a useless jelly a few months after it is refined. (despite everything the movies show you.) And it will destroy any motor you put it into after that. So if your long term survival plan involves hoarding fuel you my want to reevaluate. You need to start thinking about how to live without gasoline.

I have not seen any talk about using power inverters for emergencies. They can save fuel and work silently. They save fuel by allowing you to run the generator just to charge the batteries. They are silent and will not attract unwanted attention like loud generators. They are economical to buy. Deep cycle batteries are what I recommend to use with inverters. They can handle all of your electrical needs. It is best to choose the several of the smaller ones to run only the necessities rather than choosing the larger capacity one to handle all your electrical needs. Choose tools that will serve you double duty for example a knife. A knife can serve you as a weapon, meat processing, can opener, barter item, fishing and hunting spear, and surgical tool when properly disinfected.

I use my outside Solar Lights inside the house at night during an outage. I put them back outside to recharge during the day. They put off no heat & are not dangerous like oil lamps. & candles.:)

“crap” comment not nice and unnecessary. glass bottles can break and cause injury. we bought a 55 gallon drum for water from emergency essentials. since most hoses have lead, we have a small siphon hose and a 50 ft hose without lead. we use the water every year and then refill it.

some of your comments are wise, but you may not be able to get to a spring if you’re hiding in your house. also local ordinances where i live do not allow wind turbines and large solar panels. many people live in cities. i would rather open a can of food or MRE, or add water to a can of dehydrated food than forage outside for bark during a snowstorm.

finally a 72 hour kit, complete with change of clothes, water and food for each familly member is important. use the kids’ old backpacks or a big plastic tote that you can place in car in case of quick departure. add a deck of cards for bored or scared loved ones to be distracted. and matches.

and prayer is always the nicest thing we can do for each other. have a great night!

I live in Indiana. I collect rain water in 33 gallon garbage containers and then strain and purify the water before putting away in 5 gallons containers. I always have 40 gallons of good clean, pure, drinkable, and usuable water at all times. Emergency or no emergency.

I don’t know if “Jed” is continuing to follow comments here but I have a question for him (or someone else can chime in if they have an answer): I like your idea of creating a “matrix” but I’m having difficulty actually figuring out what exactly you mean or what it physically looks like. All the charts I’m coming up with don’t seem to be what I imagine you mean. Can you or someone else, link to an example?
thanks!

Coffee, Whiskey and Cigarettes for barter.

Big brother isn’t going to arrest anyone for being prepared. Stop scaring yourselves and just breathe for a minute. Everything is going to be OK

We had a 7,000 watt natural gas generator installed for our house 5 years ago. Some things to know about whole house generators, 1) The battery is not only charging while the generator is running but also they have a trickle charge during non running times. Because of this my battery needs replacing about every 3 years, so don’t get caught without starting power when in an emergency. 2) Someone said the wholehouse generator can run air conditioning along with household appliances such as refer and stand alone freezer. Even though a freezer or refer only takes 400 watts running power the start-up demand is 2200 watts. If you have a freezer and refer start-up at the same time while you are running your air conditioner along with normal power useage at the time your generator will shut down from overload. I run my 3 freezers in the garage only while we are sleeping when our demand for power is the lowest level. In the morning we take out anything we would need for the day and close/turn off the 3 dedicated circuits to the freezers. We start them up again when we go to bed each night. Most power outages occur in the fall/winter here and the temp in the garage keeps the freezers well below 15 degrees each day. Because we have a back-up heat source of natural gas furnace we do not use our heat pump during a power outage. 3) Test your generator by running it 1/2 hour monthly with a load on it. 4) Keep clean oil and filter by changing regularly. 4) Finally know that a natural gas or propane whole house generator costs 2-3 times the normal electricity/natural gas to run your house. It is not a cheap source of power for the long term. Use it sparingly and only when needed in an emergency.

I didn’t read all of the comments so I don’t know if this was mentioned. Having some cash on hand may be helpful. No ATM’s will be available and it will be a cash or barter economy.

Two very different attitude possibilities for how we see and deal with the people around us (outside our house) — in an emergency scenario — neither one is “THE” reality — our “reality” is a choice we make.

1. We are neighbors and community members — we make a point of getting to know our neighbors and we have a neighborhood plan for emergencies. If anyone for whatever reason is less prepared (maybe their water storage container leaked, or they had a recent medical / financial emergency and had to use up their emergency food, etc — as a community we help them with food / water/ bedding, we all chip in & share a little, so no one’s stores are depleted a lot. And that neighbor-in-need gives back or “pays” with their labor, unless they are old or sick.

If, as none of us is perfect, we have forgotten to stock an item or run out of it (or it got damaged), we can go to our neighbors; it’s reciiprocal, we help them, they help us. Whereas, if you have chosen Path #2, you just have to do without it (or steal it from others).

Also we share skills. One person knows how to fix your generator when it acts up. Another is strong and good at chopping firewood. Others are seamstresses, carpenters. We take turns babysitting/ keeping an eye on the many children who are out of school due to the weather emergency. Others are great cooks — we all bring some food and the good cooks make something terrific and we have great food and fellowship (beats the internet any day!) another is a very patient person and a good companion for the wandering Alzheimer’s gentleman, or the Down’s syndrome gal.

Also, we all are keeping an eye out for potential “marauding” people — so far, it has been rare and they have been “disarmed” with our good-neighbor attitude — we send them on their way with a few cans of soup and suggest that they offer to work for some food, instead of trying to steal it.

2. Outside people are potential enemies, thieves, looters — the “other” — they may take our stuff, we must hide from “them” and fend them off, therefore we need guns and we spend lots of mental energy worrying, hiding, if we go outside it is with fear and with a weapon…

Also, since we are so isolated, we quickly go stir-crazy if we don’t have the internet or our video games etc to entertain us

This post is tied to several that I have read through here.
I recommend to many people while giving “survival seminars” to purchase a “multi-purpose jump-box” These units are powered by a sealed gel-type battery that allow you to simply plug in its charger and “leave it be” in your garage as it will self maintain its battery. It can be EXTREMELY handy in an emergency for:
-Jump starting a car, snowmobile, ATV, Generator, etc.
-Inflating a tire on a bicycle, car, wagon, cart….
-portable lighting
-12v power for weather radio or other devices
-short term low draw 120V power
Many of them are also equipped with an inflation pump for air mattresses.
In my book one of these units ranks in the top 10 tools you should have.

RE–SteriPen–I was told by a “travel nurse” who specialized in knowing about such things, that the SteriPen is worthless. She said that their tests on it found that it didn’t provide safe water to drink. There are many water filters and additives available now that work well. I have MSR water filters from REI in my “Bug Out Bag”–which is a good thing to organize and have available for an ememgency.

There are many sites which list important things to have in a “BOB”–check them out. You can get an inexpensive backpack, duffle or suitcase with wheels at a thrift store. Load it up and keep it handy in case you need to “Bug Out”!!

A small hatchtet/axe and a hundred feet of nylon clothesline cord is very valuable for fashioning some shelter and essential for building a raft…
Remember that drowning is the number one cause of death in natural disasters–and far more of us will experience them that will experience war time emergencies.
I don’t consider myself at risk for flooding–but I surely was dismayed by the total lack of raft-building during the post Katrina aftermath

Carol Strange, make sure you are using a pure silver coin, other wise the copper can and will leech out into the water. Then you have some real health issues on your hands.