SHTF preparedness

[Federalist]

Tango 5: You are not alone. I sleep much better at night knowing that my family has a plan, and the necessary supplies, to get through the various SHTF situations that I can foresee. I have evacuated several times during So Cal wildfires, and we have far too many earthquakes here. Further, I'm not all that confident about what might happen in the event of another major terror attack on our soil.

As for water, we have 10-5 gallon cans ready (since they are small enough to carry), a water filter, and water purification tablets. We have enough food for 20 days for the family (including the two dogs). All in addition to the necessary survival supplies like cooking gear, shelter, sleeping bags, etc. My wife tolerates this level of preparation (but might not if I decided to start stockpiling six months of food and water). If we need more than this, we will be making our way to our secondary bug out place.

Now, as far as ammo and guns go, how much and what I have depends on who is asking. I recall I lost most of that in a tragic boating accident.

[joepamjohn]

Certainly not an ostrich, it's much easier to put one's head in the ground and pretend the grim realities of life don't exist.

Do you have car insurance? Wear a seatbelt? Have anti-lock brakes and airbags? Why, are you paranoid you're going to get in a wreck ever day you drive? Why bother to prepare for being in a collision when the odds of it are so low?

Our grandparents had full pantries and root cellars at all times, and ways of securing the essentials of life even when times turned hard (and they frequently did). A few decades of relative prosperity have made a lot of us just plain lazy with a manana philosophy... in other words, if it's not a problem right now, why worry about it, such as there's ahole in the roof but it's not raining so no biggie, why waste my time on roof work when there is fun in the sun to be had? Because eventually, it does rain, and that hole in the roof becomes a problem then. But it would be stupid and crazy to do something about it today while the sun's shining, eh amigo?

Some people seem to go a little over the top with the "preparedness" thing. There is a big difference between having insurance on your car (which is the law) or on your house (to protect your investment,and is also required if you have a mortgage) or do some routine maintenance on your roof,than to have 500 gallons of water sealed in drums, 30K rounds of ammo,7 different kinds of "Zombie Killer" carry weapons, under ground hideaways with tunnels to different rooms, chemical attack survival masks, etc.

Or better yet, as was mentioned in another thread where a member was outfitting his entire car with every possible thing you would need (if that is possible) for a real SHTF event. I would laugh if the car got stolen or even better, it just wouldn't start. That is also assuming roads are passable too. This is the "over the top" stuff I am referring too.

Is it really probable that all of that is going to be necessary? What if "the big one" involved your house and it collapsed and you were unable to get to your stash? Or,what if this? Or,what if that happened?

Being prepared for a power outage or having extra supplies if there is a disaster is understandable. Most people already are prepared with simple canned foods already in the house. Just take a look in your pantry you will see what I mean.The rest of this stuff is overboard (atleast to me). I would bet in a real SHTF senario, half of the crap people have stored up will be forgotten about or there will not be enough time to gather it all up. Anything more than a simple backpack is overkill if you need to take to the hills.

Anyone here ever had kids? Remember the "hospital bag" that you spent months getting ready for the big event that you left home, or the Lamaze training classes that you totally forgot how to apply when you needed to? That's my point here.

The Katrina analogy is not a good one either. The smart people left the area when the news told them that they were going to get their asses kicked. They left with family and kids,then came back to see the aftermath.The stubborn ones, non-believers, or people that were too old or poor to leave, sat in thier houses soon becoming victims of thier own decisions as well as the storm.

I mean really, think about it..Obama would never let any attacks happen on our soil so what is all the concern about here other than a simple earthquake?

[Spyguy]

I was fortunate enough to spend alot of time with my grandparents in my youth. They survived the great depression and taught me alot. I'm afraid as that generation passes on we're loosing alot of valuable info that hopefully we won't have to relearn the hard way.

Don't worry. With the way Obama is destroying our economy and dismantling our Republic, I'm sure everyone will soon have a nice long "teachable moment" in how to survive hard times.

[tango5]

If I told my significant other things like this, she would call the doctor to have my head checked. What you describe is such a minor threat that it doesn't even register. BUT, in the event that you do feel the need to prepare for some water, buy some bottled water like normal people instead of drums in long term storage.

But even that is pushing it.

I know you will cite rare cases like Katrina and other natural disasters, but by that token you have to live every single day in a state of paranoia of WHAT IF it happens today? What if there's a riot/water shortage/food shortage/famine/war/rebellion/coup/etc.

Who wants to live like that?

I dont live my life in paranoia. Its called being prepared, i dont think about disasters every day, but its good to have that peace of mind if it does happen, my family can survive for weeks without depending on others to help us. You wear your seat belt every time you drive right? Do you think about getting into car accidents every day?

[joepamjohn]

I was fortunate enough to spend alot of time with my grandparents in my youth. They survived the great depression and taught me alot. I'm afraid as that generation passes on we're loosing alot of valuable info that hopefully we won't have to relearn the hard way. You never know, so I try to do what I can living in an apartment. I could get by for about a month, won't be happy but we'll survive.

The hell with water or food,my kids would want to know if there really is life without XBox 360 or texting.

[joepamjohn]

You wear your seat belt every time you drive right? Do you think about getting into car accidents every day?

No, I think about avoiding another $250,00 ticket like the one I got for the last violation.

[tango5]

No, I think about avoiding another $250,00 ticket like the one I got for the last violation.

Wear your seat belt, and no more paranoia! Problem solved! lol.

[Cru Jones]

Treating your water for long-term storage (up to 5 years)...

http://www.disasterstuff.com/store/pc/Stabilized-Oxygen-Aerobic-7-20p155.htm

Stabilized oxygen is a liquid concentrate of non-toxic stabilized electrolytes of oxygen in molecular form. This concentrated formula has the ability to selectivly single out bad bacteria and kill it in it's tracks while preserving beneficial aerobic bacteria needed for clean water and good health.

This 2.36 oz. bottle of Dr Goodloe's aerobic stabilized oxygen can treat 2 x 55 gallon water storage barrels allowing storage for up to 5 years without rotating. Kills the bad stuff in the water and feeds the good stuff.

I've used this stuff for some time now and it works great.

[Sheepdog1968]

There's a good website I think is 72hours.org that lists all kinds of things to keep in stock should a big earthquake hit. Also, there are places that sell dehydrated food that is supposed to be good for 20+ years. Unfortunately, now that SIL knows about your supplies, you might wanna factor in supplies for her. U really can't say no if a disaster does strike.

One other though I've had is that when there were droughts you could buy adaptors so that you can collect rain runoff from your roof into 55 gal drums. You might set up some of those in your backyard and can use it to water from. Would be a back up to the good water u stored. Doesn't take much rain at all off a roof to fill several 55 gal drums. May even make people think u r eco friendly rather than paranoid. The sheeple will think u paranoid if for SHTF cause they don't plan.

Good thread and many of r like u and we're not crazy.

[joepamjohn]

Wear your seat belt, and no more paranoia! Problem solved! lol.

Ummm..It's not me that's paranoid.

[oddball]

Our "Earthquake Kit" has been expanded to a "Pandemic Plan". My wife works for one of the largest biotech companies in CA and their pandemic protocol is a 60-90 day quarantine at home. That means 200+ gallons of water, food (canned goods, #10 cans of Mountain House, dried rice, beans, etc), medical supplies, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, ammo, etc.

If the unthinkable happens, we are ready.

[cudakidd]

Two PU and jeep with supplies, hard sided tent trailer, portapotty, for the Bug out list. IF I had to "bug out". I don't plan to, but isn't that part of the issue, things happening we don't plan for?

But like Real estate, it's location, location, location for SHTF scenarios. I live in the most conservative county in California. I moved here for a reason. No masses of people all trying to jam the freeway getting out...no large urban areas to get stuck in.

15 minutes from the mountains and multiple ways to go...

I'm not the Walter Mitty type. I just don't want to be one of the endless lines of refugees who didn't plan and end up at the mercy of everyone around them...

[1859sharps]

I picked up a few 55 gallon water drums from another member yesterday, thanks Sammy! Anyways, my wife asks what we need them for, i said in case of a disaster where we have no drinking water, or if the water is tainted, we have fresh water to use for cooking, hygiene, and for drinking. She thought i was going over board. But i would rather be safe than sorry if the SHTF. Then my sister in-law comes over since my wife was watching her rug rat. Her sister asks if i have been smoking weed and being paranoid. I told her, well when a disaster hits and you have no water or anything for survival, she is not welcomed here, i thought it was a little harsh, but she deserved it, lol. I know other people here are prepared for a disaster or if the zombies attack, but are we a small group, please tell me im not alone. Who else here is prepared and to what level? So far i have 110 gallons of fresh water in sealed drums, a case of MRE's, and im slowly stock piling ammo, and plenty of canned foods.

was she here for the 89's earth quake?

being prepared for a unnamed disaster isn't being paranoid anymore than having a fire extinguisher in case of a fire makes one paranoid.

Now sure, some take it to an extreme and develop apocalyptic fantasies of battling a corrupt government by reenacting butch cassidy and the sun dance kid's last stand. But this is the extreme minority of everyday people.

Reasonable and sane people look at the 89 quake, the LA riots, hurricane Katrina and try and prepare as best they can. little extra food, water, simple medical supplies and yes...a gun in case there is a break down in local government like in the LA riots and or hurricane katrina.

[1859sharps]

Treating your water for long-term storage (up to 5 years)...

http://www.disasterstuff.com/store/pc/Stabilized-Oxygen-Aerobic-7-20p155.htm

I've used this stuff for some time now and it works great.

you should learn about distillation. distilled water lasts. in a clean, sealed container made to store water, it will last a lot longer then 5 years. And you will have the skills to make more clean water when your supply runs out. cuts down on the amount you need to store as well, since you can just make more clean water.

[1923mack]

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