prepping

[quneur]

No mention of firearms?

To extend the idea of 3's:

(3) Assailants per incident. This seems to be typical.
(3) Rounds for every assailants for a highly trained person (military, LE, etc.). Less training the more rounds needed.
(3) incidents per month. This one is kinda fugly.

Common calibers applies so does 1000 rounds per caliber (to shoot for). Reloading is good for this but its still quite expensive to get started.

 

[cigars]

Also, having a catchment from your gutter and a water filter (or 5) is worth having if you don't have already.

I have Multiple filter types, (2 MSRs, a UV Steripen, couple of others) suggest getting a Sawyer to start, I don't want to pony up the big bucks for a Berkey although that would be the best.

You can make your own Berkey. All it requires is a couple of five gallon pails, spigot, PVC junction and some of the aftermarket Berkey replacement filters from ebay. Berkey also has scratch and dents available. Do a web search and save some money.

 

[Time flies]

Waterbob is on the list of next items. And living in a town home has restrictions on space. I'm currently working with what space I have. I do have a storage unit that will be used for some prep. I have no illusions of holding enough food and water to get by for a year or two but I feel better prepared than most people in this day in age who live day to day and don't think ahead. Best hope is to get through at least a month and have a location to get to when things don't look good where I'm currently at. In all honesty with current restrictions on location and money I'm just happy to be able to get what I can and look to the future. If I can keep the family together with high spirits during trying times it's a win in my book.

 

[Time flies]

No mention of firearms?

To extend the idea of 3's:

(3) Assailants per incident. This seems to be typical.
(3) Rounds for every assailants for a highly trained person (military, LE, etc.). Less training the more rounds needed.
(3) incidents per month. This one is kinda fugly.

Common calibers applies so does 1000 rounds per caliber (to shoot for). Reloading is good for this but its still quite expensive to get started.
COVERED! All members of the house have knowledge of all firearms in the house and can handle them selves if need be.

 

[Siglvr]

This prepping thing can lead to all kinds of craziness. I remember Mar 18th 1980 when I went from having @100 surgical masks to having zero in the blink of an eye. Learned to tuck them further out of sight. This go round I learned some more on masks so here that is:

1st) that if you have N95 masks with elastic that you got a good deal on 6 years back because they were expired, expect that the elastic will immediately snap in 2 when you try and put it on rendering the mask null and void.

2nd) A bunch of rubber bands enchained and stapled on each side will make an effective substitute when your elastic breaks.

3rd) Just cause your loved one works at a hospital doesn't mean they'll have masks at work.

4th) Don't comment to your loved one how stupid the administrators at her work are to be caught short, just hand over your masks, a stapler and some rubber bands.

 

[Siglvr]

About the craziness noted above: once you get the basics covered it can go all kinds of interesting directions.

Approx mid 1990's, less than a block from my home at the park there was a small group of bronzed skinned dark-haired middle-eastern
looking men, @10 or so, playing with a soccer ball, messing around. I did not know their country of origon, and the language was not familiar to me. I
crowded closer, interested. Paying closer attention, I would have guessed they were Turks, but I knew they were not. Perhaps Aremenians? I thought
not, but had never been to Armenia and was not positive.

I spotted a younger white American chick with the group so as is my personal custom, I went right up and asked. "Hi, I'm curious, where are these guys
from?".

"They are Kurds", she replies, "from Iraq".

Hmmm, we'd just been overthere in 1991 fighting a war. "Why are they here in the US", I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"They had worked for the US government", she said, "and if they stayed there their lives would be at risk. As it is, they are afraid that their families
over there may be suffering now for their choices."

"CIA?", I bluntly suggested.

"I can't say, I'm sort of a liaison to help them around over here", she replies.

I figure CIA for sure.

I'm standing there checking them out, being ignored by the dudes, when she says: " Yeah, some of them have had it pretty tough"............see that guy
over there", she nods her head in the direction of an older 40 year old fella somberly standing off to the side and not participating in the game.
"He was in his village when an Iraqi government plane flew over..........dumping poisonous gas down......, almost everybody in his village was
killed: .... including all of his family and friends,.......... he and a very few others in the village had gas masks ........... and they alone survived".

"Jesus Christ" I quietly whistled through my teeth, thinking I couldn't imagine what it would be like to see all of my loved ones gassed to death
right in front of me, and to survive with that memory.

So I quietly went and bought (used) full NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) gas masks for me, my family and every child on the block. Here's where it gets strange. I'm at a cocktail party in the neighborhood and this middle east conflict cropped up in a conversation. Wife brings up that I'd bought some masks to the group and I get some eyebrow raising by the woman who lived nearby. She clearly thought that was strange behavior. So to clarify for her I repeat the story above about the Kurks and looking at the questioning woman I tell her this: "If that bu**s**t come's over here, I have bought extra masks for all the children on the block, including your son. (pause)....if I'm able I'll do my best to get masks on them if possible. However, I don't have a mask for you or for your husband, I'll do my best for your son" (horrific look on her face when she wakes up to what that means.... longer pause).

LOL. Anyway, her kid grew up from a healthy 5 year old and went off to college, no one ever needed a gas mask thank the dear lord. They've moved twice at this point and we are still friends and see each other on occasion, in fact we had Thanksgiving dinner together. Draw of that what you will but the last point is this: you need to buy new replacement cartridges occasionally. Much like the elastic breaking, stuff won't last forever.

 

[Defense Minister]

If you're an urban dweller like me, which it sounds like you are, don't forget about a backup heat source. I converted my NG fireplace insert to propane and piped in 100lb. and 40lb. cylinders. I also bought a Mr. Heater Big Buddy as a backup. Make sure you know what you're doing if you attempt a conversion, or intend to use a bulk propane cylinder with a portable heater for an indoor space! Doing these things wrong won't contribute to your survival...

 

[The Heretic]

Water
Food
Shelter
Security

 

[3MTA3]

If you're an urban dweller like me, which it sounds like you are, don't forget about a backup heat source. I converted my NG fireplace insert to propane and piped in 100lb. and 40lb. cylinders. I also bought a Mr. Heater Big Buddy as a backup. Make sure you know what you're doing if you attempt a conversion, or intend to use a bulk propane cylinder with a portable heater for an indoor space! Doing these things wrong won't contribute to your survival...

What's a little carbon monoxide among friends? Though, seriously, people die doing that every year.

 

[The Heretic]

Good insulation makes a big difference.

I have a woodstove, and R30 something in the roof - when it gets below freezing here, the woodstove keeps the house toasty, once it gets up to speed. I let it go out overnight unless it is gets below freezing, and then I might get up once to keep it going - it once got below 20* here, which is about as cold as it has ever got here in the past decade, and only that once. Otherwise it sometimes gets blow freezing, but usually not.

That is one reason I want to stay on the "wetside" of the Cascades - the other reason is the precip - adequate, if you are careful, for most crops - otherwise you need a water source and water rights for irrigation.

One thing I wanted to do was have an earth bermed house and shop, not sure I can do that now, but either way they will be well insulated as I know from experience it makes a big difference in how much energy and effort is expended to keep warm. When you get older that can mean the difference between surviving and not - especially if you get sick or injured and can't cut/split/stack firewood.

 

[Defense Minister]

What's a little carbon monoxide among friends? Though, seriously, people die doing that every year.

Yep, which is why I use the Mr. Heater designed for indoor use with tip-over and low-oxygen shutoffs, and point out that one needs to know what they're doing before attempting this.

In addition to the potential for CO poisoning, one can also create an explosion using bulk propane cylinders indoors. In my situation the cylinders remain outdoors, the glass and vent on the fireplace insert remain in place, I used a factory valve and correct size gas orifices for the conversion, and, as mentioned above, an indoor-rated heater as backup. None of this was by accident!

 

[Time flies]

I have a heater that my generator can run if needed. A mister buddy heater would be the next step. And my fireplace already runs off natural gas so it will run for as long as I have gas.

 

[Camelfilter]

I have a heater that my generator can run if needed. A mister buddy heater would be the next step. And my fireplace already runs off natural gas so it will run for as long as I have gas.

Buddy heater should be first. Propane never goes bad, provided the tank valves/seals are good.

Save the genset for occasional use, just for the freezer(s) once or twice a day + charging other stuff while it's running. What say 3 days running the genset for heat, vs a month+ as I mention with same fuel use.

Whereas a buddy heater is far more fuel economical (& safe!, both literally and "noise"). Even more fuel economical if you use it just to heat a closed off living space intermittently (or just evenings etc).

Best is a wood stove, but not an option in your case.