[swimfann21]

I dont know where else to put this thread up at so I thought this would be a good place. Im new to prepping like I stated in the title and was just wondering what do I do to get started or what I should start collecting (like food and water and stuff like that). First off I would like to just start prepping for like a 3 day supplies. Right now we dont live in a big house and dont have much room we do have a garage so I guess I could store stuff in there. Also I have started an aquaponics system have to do a little more work on that seeing how its winter and its cold in there so Ill have to figure out something. What are the basic tools/ items will I need?

Any advise is appreciated.

Also this might be a stupid question seeing how water I doesnt go bad - I was thinking of reusing the plastic bottles that I use and filling them up with water from a filter that I have - how long can this water last or is it good until its all been used?

 

[LunaticFringeInc]

Getting started...

I would look at the most likely scenarios that you might most likely face. Look and see what kind of challenges these scenarios will create for you such as food, water, keeping warm ect... Then I would start looking at ways to get around these challenges. I think your on the right track in that I would start off with a goal to survive three days under such conditions, then I would shoot for a week and then so on and so forth till you get to the level of preparedness that you wanna be. The garage is a great place to store stuff you got as long as its not subjected to extreme cold or heat.

Aquaponics...

I have looked into this considerably but determined its not cost effcient at the moment for my needs so I cant really help you there. I would suggest a trip to You Tube as there is a ton of information on there for your veiwing pleasure. Seeing is believeing and a pictures worth a thousand words!!!

For water storage...

Im probably not the best of help here. I live next to a lake so I dont keep too much water stored on hand. Usually just a 7 gallon jug that gets empteid and rotated every week to ten days. Now if we have a cold front blow in and there is a possiblity of frozen water pipes then I usually tripple that as a just in case to get me by for a week or so if need be. Im sure others here are better versed in water storage than I am.

 

[rob]

Like Lunitic says, you have to assess your threats. What disasters could happen? How likely are each of these threats to occur? I use Likely Plausible, Possible, Remote and Idle Speculation (Zombie attacks). I use this for assessing Risk and Severity. To be honest, even everyday disasters, such as Sandy, have effects that last longer than three days, though, if 3 days worth is what you have, you start where you can. Using sealable 2 liter bottles for filling with water is great. I fill many bottles and place them in the stand up freezer around the frozen goods. It only uses power to initially freeze the bottle, and when the power goes out, the frozen bottles will help keep the frozen food frozen. Some will split, so if you do that check periodically, notice which ones, and make them the first ones you grab, for drinking when the power shuts off. Leaving an air pocket near the top helps limit the number of bottles that pop, yet, that is not what you are asking. The food can most certainly be stored in the garage. I keep canned goods, dry beans, rice etc. Stuff that will keep for almost indefinate amounts of time. Further down the road, you may want to look into longer term steps, such as livestock, garden etc, but if you maintain a supply of available food for those disasters that shut down stores for a couple weeks, you'll be on your way.

 

[WoadWarrior]

Or swimfann.... I might suggest spending a few hours perusing previous threads in this forum. They contain tons of info and will probably answer most of your basic questions.

 

[rob]

Swimfan, I should have mentioned this last night. The number one most important step you, or anyone needs to take to prep for a super disaster is to take care of your physical fitness. I am not merely refering to exercise, either. If disaster strikes and our inferstructure is gone, life for someone who allowed drinking to remove their ability to discharge waste naturally isn't going to be good. Imagine that you are a 2 and a half pack a day smoker, but starting right now there are no more ciragettes. You have some instant decisions to make, and how is your coming off nicitine going to affect them? How long will a supply of insuline last at your bug out location? The most important start to prepping for catasterophe is ensuring that you are personally up to the job. Best of luck with your preparations.