Just how long are you planning on surviving on your preps? What if no electricity?

That ^^ is similar to the mentality that I have. If we really need long term prep, we are all in for some serious hard times. I have various plans for obtaining drinkable water, and most recently I am preparing a "bucket" made from PVC piping that will fit inside a well. While I am on city water, my neighbors, including a close family member who lives 3 blocks away, have wells drilled for lawn watering purposes. I can remove the top if electricity is not functioning for a long period, and insert my simple bucket to remove fresh water. I feel that is a better long-term option than collecting rain water off a roof, which would have to be further filtered before being drinkable.

Living in Florida I have access to plenty of fish, both fresh and 5 miles away saltwater. I am investing in a seine and some of those fishing yoyos so that I can consistently rely on seafood as options. I already have nets that are great for catching shrimp. I only fear whether my route to the saltwater would be safe to travel. if not, then freshwater is very close and can hunt small game in a pinch, but figure others will also be hunting if it really is TEOTWAWKI.

Also, there is plenty of citrus fields, but the huge fields are probably about 10 miles away, and that begs the question of safety to travel on main roads that distance.

I have seeds for a garden, but let's face it, that takes months, so I will use my stockpiles of pasta and beans and other foodstuffs to get by.

On the one hand, cooking my stash will keep me safe on my property, with no need to venture out, but if it is safe, I plan on venturing out to supplement my stocked foods with fresh fish when possible.

I do not have cords of wood stockpiled, but at the very beginning of any SHTF event, one of the the fist things I plan on doing is chopping down several trees. Once they are on the ground, I can cut them into smaller pieces for storage. I know you have to let most wood sit for months/year to be optimal for burning, so that would be my plan for long term fuel.

Personally, it is so unlikely in America that we would be without electrical power for an extended period, I have always planned on a 30 day period of time for stocking food and water. A generator can run for a very long time period if you have sufficient fuel and perform proper maintenance. If you have a commercial generator (such as the Cummins-Oman designed for RVs and large boats) these are designed and built to run 24 hours a day, and to do so for years.

If power was out and the grid was destroyed, and after using up all the propane for propane grills and stoves, as a backup I have a fire pit outdoors that can distill water and cook food. I live in the woods, so dry wood is readily available, and I keep firewood on hand from downed trees and storm cleanups. I live at the confluence of two large rivers that feed into a large freshwater lake, so fish and game are plentiful, even under increased predation. I am not worried about smoke from fires - if you are so inexperienced in the outdoors that you don't know how to build a fire without making a lot of smoke, you won't last very long anyway. I built a water distillation unit using a pressure cooker and copper tubing, which produces a lot of fresh clean water. Bathing is a matter of walking 50 feet and diving in. So we have an abundant supply of fresh water and fresh food, and there are farmers all around for produce, pork, poultry, and beef, etc., who are friends. I focus preps on barter items, as well.

The biggest consequence of loss of electricity for us would be no air conditioning, and no refrigeration. We can swim to cool off, and will just have to eat meat and fish while it is still fresh.

Hello all,

New to the forum but have been researching into my plan for some time.

The people who can afford to have massive bug out locations with years of freeze dried food stored and expensive back up power...more power to you. Personally I cannot afford any of those things.

I have been focusing my research on pioneer style living. Ways to build, grow, and catch or kill what I need to survive. I will probably never be able to afford all the nice things that others will in a situation like that so I will just continue looking into better ways of storing and growing food, bettering my hunting and fishing skills, learning fire craft, etc.

The people who have a year or two of stored food, what will you do after it runs out?

I am also concerned about a shtf type event that won't wipe out a large portion of the population, which would turn the entire world's population to hunting/fishing. This could decimate animal population in a shirt amount of time. This is one reason I would want a location away from as many people as possible. I am already out of the city but not far away enough from people. This is something I will need to plan better.

Through bartering on firearms I met a 24 year old neighbor who left the military 4 months ago and is getting his life in order. He is the one who traded me the M1A for the AR with ammo and accessories. He didn't feel his wife could use the M1A (too heavy) and that if he fell shed have a better chance with the AR. He has not found work yet, but is getting unemployment benefits and his wife works. They bought a home in 2010 and have an affordable mortgage, but little extra income. He expressed to me the same concerns you did. I wrote him a letter, sent it to him Sat., and he wrote me back with great enthusiasm. I gave him some directions to some BLM property that is not far from my private property. I suggested this spring he camp there, hike, and locate an ideal location to bug out. It's a location that will cost him. Nothing but the trip. If he does this he can either begin storing preps there or if he feels insecure about that I will offer to let him do so on a remote piece of my nearby land. He is just the king of man and family I'd love to have around - his wife is a dental assistant. He was a medic.

So you take two trips a year to a desired bug out area. Hike and scope out a location. Invest in a tent, shovel, PVC tubes and plastic. Leave behind on site a tube with rice that can last 20+ years, ammo you can't possibly carry, seeds, first aid materials, and what ever you can ford to bring each trip. Think water, food, defense, shelter, and power. I don't invest in communications but I'm rethinking it.

brandonnash said:

Hello all,

New to the forum but have been researching into my plan for some time.

The people who can afford to have massive bug out locations with years of freeze dried food stored and expensive back up power...more power to you. Personally I cannot afford any of those things.

I have been focusing my research on pioneer style living. Ways to build, grow, and catch or kill what I need to survive. I will probably never be able to afford all the nice things that others will in a situation like that so I will just continue looking into better ways of storing and growing food, bettering my hunting and fishing skills, learning fire craft, etc.

The people who have a year or two of stored food, what will you do after it runs out?

I am also concerned about a shtf type event that won't wipe out a large portion of the population, which would turn the entire world's population to hunting/fishing. This could decimate animal population in a shirt amount of time. This is one reason I would want a location away from as many people as possible. I am already out of the city but not far away enough from people. This is something I will need to plan better.

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Agree Fuzzee it is about skills, preps only increase your chances they don't make or break you. If I was just starting to prep or was on a tight budget I would suggest these things not in any particular order.
1. Figure out what you are going to do about water and Do NOT assume the local above ground sources will be useable.
2. Have as much beans bullets and bandaids as you can afford.
3. Learn the local plants that are edible, people that are planning on foraging usually only think about meat (protein) and you will be suffer from malnutrition very quickly without some carbs. For my area cattails and dandelions are the 2 best options.
4. For cooking learn about a Dakota fire pit or rocket stove.
5. Have a plan for your latrine system and garbage disposal. You will kill yourself very quickly from disease if you don't consider this, even a plan like " I have a good shovel" is better than no plan.
6.plan your security, the more you have the more likely it is someone will notice and try to take it. If you don't have much just getting out of other people's way is a good plan.
7. Know how to preserve meat and vegetables, cheap easy skill to learn and will increase your chances x 3.

I know I'll think of more as I push post, but its a good low cost start.

oswegoscott said:

In no way will 1/2 hour twice a day maintain a freezer or frig.

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^^ I agree. I would think that the best use for a generator would be to use it to operate a well. At the onset of a SHTF scenario, you can pump water out of your well, and fill your bathtubs, sinks, and storage containers. I found the following to be useful and a space-saver. Buy four of these:



It will cost about $100 for all 4. Stack all 4 inside of each other and fill the inside with dry (non-food) goods and you can store them in your garage. When SHTF, remove all 4 and you have 4X 35 gallon containers ready to hold water.

In case any of you are wondering about it being safe, I currently have several fish aquariums at home, including seahorses, which are very tempermental. I have not experienced any deaths of my sea-life and 100% of my sealife live in water that has been run through an RO system and then stored for weeks/months in these exact containers. All I did was give the insides a saltwater scrubbing. There is nothing leaching into my water that is dangerous enough to kill my fragile sealife, so I am certain it will be safe for me.

In the event you do not have a generator (or simply want to save it), you can take water from a nearby fire hydrant, but you probably need to do that within the first few hours of a loss of power to be safe. If you will filter it later, then you probably can use water from a fire hydrant for several days after city water stops working, as it will still have chlorine in it.