Editor’s Note: This post is another entry in the Prepper Writing Contest from Angela Cassidy who brings up a subject that many preppers are considering. Once the supplies have been purchased or set aside, once you have assembled a mutual security group and gained as much training as possible, prepping isn’t over. You are prepping for the crisis that might come but the days and weeks or year after the crisis are when you will be more dependent on your preps. Once you survive the apocalypse, what do you do then?
In any type of grid-down event, there will be the struggle to survive initially. Suppose you do make it through the stages of a PA event and you are building your community, maybe extending your family by taking in orphans or entire families, and violence has subsided enough that you can barter with your neighbors. Have you thought of the finer details of living years without electricity, transportation, grocery stores, and factories? For the Prepper Journal’s Writing Contest, I thought I would share some of my thoughts on thriving during those years.
25 Tips for Post Apocalyptic Needs
1. I know I won’t ever get used to the smell of perspiration odor. There is no use in stockpiling anti-antiperspirants and deodorants—they lose their effectiveness in as little as three months in storage. Go to this wonderful web site and discover effective ways to prevent perspiration odor.
2. Kleenex ran out a long time ago. Unless you like snotty sleeves, you should stockpile a lot of bandannas and handkerchiefs.
3. Dislike flies on your food? Buy some good fly swatters, the kind with the leather flap that won’t tear up like the plastic things in the grocery stores now.
4. If you will be putting in a large garden and will have a number of people assigned to work in it, be sure you have enough hoes and other tools for several people to work at the same time. Most people only have one axe, one hoe, one rake, one pitch fork, etc. Need to plan on multiples. Also prepare to care for those people who will be working in the garden. Have lots of leather gloves in all sizes, gardening hats for men and women, thermal water bottles to keep water cool, and those chilly towels you wet and throw across the neck or head to stay as cool as possible. Provide sunscreen (make your own, commercial sunscreen loses its effectiveness after 1-2 years) and sunglasses for everyone. Also, do you have twine for tying up beans and twisty ties for tying tomatoes to stakes? Do you even have stakes or cages?
5. Just make life easy on yourself and stockpile fertilizer for the garden so you don’t have to rely solely on compost and manure. You may not have enough livestock to provide the manure you need and you will probably feed your food scraps to the pigs and chickens, so you won’t have much compost. Store fertilizer in an enclosed shed, away from sunlight so the plastic bags don’t crack open. The soil at our bug out location is overly sandy, so I am having multiple dump truck loads of loamy top soil brought in from another county to be tilled in. I’m doing everything to prepare now.
6. In the south, we will be growing corn as our staple food for people and animals. After the fresh corn is canned for people, the remainder will dry on the stalk for livestock usage. Do you have a corn sheller or two to take the kernels off? A great job for kids. Do you have burlap bags to put the kernels in and large needles with twine to sew the bags closed? In any place grain is stored, there will be mice. Do you have a large supply of D-con and mouse/rat traps?
7. So your tractor is not a 1960 Massey Ferguson. Your new John Deere tractor won’t work in an EMP scenario. How will the garden get prepared? Do you have a plow? Any animals and the harness to pull it? Plenty of people have horses but not the full accompaniment of harness for horses to plow or hitch up to a wagon. If you don’t have a large farm wagon to bring your crops in from the field (I’m thinking BIG field of corn), or from your fruit orchard, then you better buy a lot of those nice garden wagons from Tractor Supply that can be pulled by hand.
8. If your jeans get holes in the knees or tears anyplace else, do you have iron-on patches for them? Available at Walmart and JoAnn Fabrics. I use JoAnn Fabrics coupons to get 50% off any one item and every month I drop in and buy more patches, buttons, needles, elastic, Velcro, thread, and fleece material to make pajamas for those who may show up without any.
9. Wash day is not pleasant for anyone, but especially for someone with arthritis in the hands. Wringing clothes could be almost unbearable. Invest in large wash and rinse tubs, plunger type agitators and especially a good wringer (Lehmans.com). I also purchased long cuffed plastic gloves to protect hands from hot water (cracked hands may lead to infection).
10. I save empty wine bottles to put syrup and honey in. I also bought several bags of new corks from Amazon for them. Our group has friends who produce both syrup and honey but they wouldn’t have anywhere to buy bottles from. I can barter for honey and cane syrup with my bottles or maybe a piglet or another chicken.
11. Grinders will be important to have. From chunks of meat to apples for applesauce, you need some good kitchen turn-crank food grinders.
12. In even two years’ time, someone’s eyesight can deteriorate. Have a dozen or more pairs of magnifying reading glasses on hand in all strengths. Get some eyeglass repair kits, too, for those who already wear glasses. If you can afford it, get an extra pair of your current prescription glasses.
13. New shoes and clothes for children will be needed for every year of their lives. They are the only ones who cannot wear their same clothes for 2 or 3 years. Buy your children and grandchildren tennis shoes, boots, and clothes in each size for 5 years from now and each year add to that. I buy clothes and shoes in all sizes at outlet stores and plan to use the extras to barter or share with other families.
14. If you take in people who arrived with nothing but the clothes on their backs, you have to provide clothes, shoes, and bedding for them. The clothing and shoes I have. I have also bought foam mattresses with regular mattress ticking covers from Overstock.com. They come compressed and rolled into a short box. When it is time to use one, you just take it out of the box and it plumps up in a few hours with no plastic smell. I buy the 7-inch twin bed mattresses that cost about $100 each for a platform bed. (Put two side by side for a double.) We can make our beds from our lumber and plywood supplies. Shop for sheets, pillows and comforters during white sales that occur twice a year.
15. Even in a post-apocalyptic world, unless she is in starvation mode, a woman is still likely to get pregnant. For men and women who know that they don’t want any more children, go ahead and have a permanent sterilization procedure. Don’t let the end of the world as we know it come and not have taken care of this issue. Same goes for the tooth that has been bothering you, that thing you think might be skin cancer, and cataracts. Get all the surgeries you need now, while you can.
16. If the wife isn’t into prepping, tell her she needs to tend to this one thing: feminine hygiene items. If she doesn’t, she is liable to be using rags during her period. Feminine napkins can be opened and put into space-saving vacuum bags, compressing them for storage. (By the way, that is also how I store toilet tissue–compression.)
17. Men and women will probably relax their standards on shaving just because bathing will be more of an ordeal. Buy some quite affordable straight razors (Smokey Mountain Knife Works), strops, shaving brushes (Lehmans) and shaving soap for times you want to spruce up a bit. I can’t afford to buy five years’ worth of those razors that cost $6.99 a package. One straight razor lasts forever.
18. Don’t think your current pots, pans, and silverware are going to work out well in the after period. A solar oven will replace your crock pot. Large soup and stock pots will be needed because you will probably be cooking for a crowd and possibly on fewer burners. Restaurant sized, long-handled ladles and spoons will also be needed, as well as larger casserole dishes. Get a large Dutch oven, too. You will need more pot holders than you have now if you cook on a wood stove or open fire. Buy some heavy loaf pans for bread. You might make six or eight loaves a day so bread can be a filler for lunch and dinner meals. Bread boxes won’t hold that many loaves, so I save my plastic bread bags, fold them neatly, and store them away, along with the plastic closure tabs.
19. Canning food is going to be the standard for preservation. I am constantly amazed at the PA fiction books that say they use canning jars they already had or those Grandma had in the basement. Trust me, Grandma didn’t have enough jars or lids to prepare for feeding a large family through the PA years. Sit down and think how many will be in the group, figure how many days out of the year, primarily winter and spring, that you will need to eat your canned food. I figured 4 quart jars twice a day for 5 months (in the south). That makes 1,224 quart jars, not counting the smaller pints for jams, jellies, relishes, and preserves. Everyone in the group needs to be buying canning jars (wide mouth are a lot easier to use) each time they go to Walmart. For my group, I planned on canning jar lids for six years, which would be 660 dozen lids. Go ahead and purchase new shuttle cocks and rubbers for your pressure cookers, so you will have a backup if one breaks. You need those really large pressure cookers that will hold 8-12 jars at a time. They cost just over $100. You can’t get the food processed quickly enough before it spoils if you use anything smaller….we have two large ones for our group. Buy the Ball Blue Book and memorize it.
20. How will you mow your yard with no mower or cut hay with no tractor? Buy a scythe and a sling. The sling will take out the weeds and grasses (and the stinging nettles and sand spurs that will grow without regular mowing), but you will want the scythe to cut hay for your livestock. If you want your children to be safe from snakes, you need to keep your yard from becoming overgrown, or do like the pioneers and get rid of grass all around the house for a good distance to keep snakes and fire from coming too close.
21. When the ketchup runs out, the children are likely to go into a blue funk. Go online now, while you have time and download HOW TO articles such as how to make ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard. Don’t stop there…look up how to make mosquito repellent, sun screen, an antibiotic cream, cough syrup, head lice remedy, and a million other things. I have two bug out 3 ring notebooks with recipes using the foods I have in storage in one and the HOW TO things in the other, all in plastic sleeves. Check out Homestead-and-Survival.com for these items.
22. Look in antique shops for one of those solid irons people used as late as the 1940s. You set it near the fire to heat up and iron until it cools down. You will need one of these for ironing on jeans patches, but it may also be used to cauterize a wound.
23. Of course, buy a million matches, but also buy a lighter for everyone in the group, children included. At a tobacco shop, you can purchase flints and extra wicks, and there is usually Zippo or Ronsonol lighter fluid in the check-out lane at Walmart. I don’t recommend butane lighters because I have already experienced how the butane evaporates and the lighter is empty when you need it. The same will happen with a Zippo, but it takes a lot longer and you can refill it.
24. We don’t have much livestock at our location now, but we plan to barter with trusted neighbors for pigs, goats, and a few cows. I have purchased collars/halters for all of the larger animals so we can handle them and bring them into the barn at night to reduce the chance of someone stealing them. I also bought tie-down stakes so we can put the goats on a line and move them around to graze different spots without having to fence them in.
25. Did you know that My Patriot Supply now has coffee with a long shelf life? I can hardly face the day without coffee, so it will be one of my next large purchases. I have my non-electric, sit-on-the burner percolator and 500 pounds of sugar. What a way to wake up to a new world every day.
Very good article, but I do have a question: regarding EMP effect, I was of the understanding that anything not actively electrified at the time of the occurrence will be unaffected. Most modern diesel tractors still have relatively simple, mechanically driven engines, so assuming that you weren’t running it at the time of the explosion, would they really be destroyed?
According to the “Report of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack,” (www.empcommission.org) damage to vehicles that are NOT running is unlikely to occur from an EMP event. The Commission tested 37 automobiles (vintage 1986 to 2002) and 18 gas and diesel powered trucks with a vintage from 1991 to 2003, but apparently did not test farm tractors. A valid question would be to determine whether your tractor has a lot of computer chips that would be susceptible to the E1 phase of EMP. Cars and trucks that are newer than 2003… Read more »
Thanks.
It is my understanding that the EMP creates the electrical current even if the system being effected is not under power. It’s like putting anything conductive in the microwave. I know of these experiments but do them at your own judgment. A simple experiment is to cut a grape in half leaving a piece of the skin attaching to two halves and put it in the microwave and watch the show. Another way which clearly shows the production of electrical current in a conductive object is to put an old CD disk in the microwave, but not too long because… Read more »
To this comprehensive and thoroughly depressing list I would add the purchase of a reloading bench, appropriate dies for your calibers, and an ample supply of gun powder. While you’re at it, stock up on a few thousand brass cartridges and bullets, unless you intend to make your own with lead.
Easier done than paid for…
Yea but once you finally get it together you have it, i was thinking the same thing a few years ago, but little by little got a good stash together.
For most of us that is the only way. It is good you are prepared. Over the years we have put up enough for our family and then a little more for barter. However our weather has been so wet (engineered) that it is destroying our crops 5 years in a row now. So we have been drying everything that makes it. At the same time storing vitamins and supplements. Spices too! Now I want to get a hand mill to grind beans and rice into flours for baking and flavoring. The next project is a solar oven for distilling… Read more »
I lost a crop this year too, first time since i started in 06, never seen this disease before, lots of other growers having trouble too, theres a little boice saying its engineered but then i try to dismiss that, for me its just a prompt to push on plan B.
Use Dove dish washing liquid in a spray.
Learn how to manufacture your own black powder for your trusty muzzleloader.
That’s a very good suggestion, but I was thinking of it as an ingredient for ‘other’ defensive purposes. I sincerely hope that the recovery of civilization will not depend on muzzle loaders; although they would be preferable to clubs and spears.
What to do if you survive? You do anything you can to continue surviving. Work on your recipes for two legged pork, long pig. Study your reference materials and plant everything you can. Practice your edible plant identification. Read up on natural cover and alarm tactics. Learn ways to preserve foods without all the fancy gear.
All birds are edible, So far I have not ate a reptile I did not like. Possum is an acquired taste.
Cannibalism, really? Sick.
What ? Do you think you will do when you are starving. Never starved before have you? Did you know the Quran and the Hadith actually have rules about cannibalism and how it is acceptable. . . The wealthy world elite do it as well…. Yes it is sick so make it as a last resort. I look at it this way, I prepared others did not. They will come and they will do ALL THEY CAN to take what I have. They will bring weapons, they will rape and they will kill. Cook it long and hot. God also… Read more »
Morality is always a wonderful thing when it benefits the immoral.
AHHHHH… the “duality” of man.
Why should I care about a fake book written by some Talmudic Jews and a child molester like Mohammad? Some people would rather die then eat their own kind. You are one sick individual.
We aren’t animals. You talk about “long pig” and then mention morality, that’s really rich.
Why should YOU care? Fair Question. BECA– USE THEY BELIEVE IN IT. They care. Which places you on the dinner table. Sick? Perhaps. Realistic? Definitely.
Is is all so easy to talk hypothetically about it, until the situation presents itself. I am guessing you do not know much about mine disasters and plane crashes in the Alps? It happens, it is real, (Donner party) and it cannot be denied by your morality. You do realize those who have not prepared will starve and you will become the object of their attention… History is replete with it.
I think you’re taking what I meant out of context. I didn’t say Islam wasn’t a serious threat, I said I didn’t care what the book says, big difference. And again, cannibalism is sick and some people would choose to starve rather then eat their own kind.
Again, I didn’t deny that people have eaten one another so it’s all a mute point.
We can only hope. However I know what happens in war torn countries.
I dunno Mikey,
Think if we have fallen that far i would rather just end it….
I can respect that choice. I have educated my family on the concept should I die do not let me go to waste. I do not care. This body is just a vessel and their lives are more important to me than my own. Nature teaches one thing religion teaches another and religion is driven by the wealthy Elite.
It is a fact that the wealth Elite still practice cannibalism. But they do it for religious purposes and because it is considered a “delicacy”.
You’re not making the distinction between organized religion and people who follow natural spiritual precepts, like the golden rule. Also, the elite have either created religions from thin air or have taken over what we call religion (like Rome co-opting what we call Christianity). The differences between what the Catholic church teaches and what the scriptures actually say are very, very different.
Well said! I am glad you made that distinction. I am very spiritual but not at all “religious”. Let no man come between you and the Creator. The concept of praying to any thing other than the Creator is unacceptable. Yes the organized church co-opted religion(s) for their benefit. Religion itself is a control system that primarily benefits the Elite and raises individuals above others. The Vatican has taken that farther than any other religion.
Thank you. I hate to say it but Lenin was right up to a point, religion is the opiate of the masses. Men and women will murder in the name of so-called religion, thinking they are somehow pleasing our Creator. How twisted is that? Yahushua (the man we call Jesus) taught His followers that they were all equal and that no one should lord over another. Then so-called “apostle” Paul comes on the scene after Yahushua had been put to death and ascended to the Father and taught the opposite. Strange how man decided to adopt Paul’s religion instead of… Read more »
I am impressed! Yes the Vatican chose Pauline teachings because it served them. Just as in the time of Yeshua wood was scarce and crosses were not used until 300 years later. The cross itself is a much older symbol that serves the Illuminati/Elite. So Jesus was crucified on a post. Just as YHWH was an IN PERSON god until 300 BC and then just disappeared. No where in the bible do angels have wings until prophecy starts. Yet every “angel” was a human messenger. Many of the words have been co-opted even the term spirit back then meant a… Read more »
How do you feel about Paul? I have major problems when it comes to Paulos [Paulus]. First, he was a Pharisee and a Herod (related to the Herod Family, who were Edomites) and seemed to have a really big mouth. Secondly, he was always at odds with the true apostles of Messiah and accused their brethren of “spying” on him. And let’s not forget that Paul was forsaken by the rest of the assembly before he was executed. Messengers were both human and sometimes Bene Elohiym, and could appear in human form. Context is how you tell the difference. Never… Read more »
You are well on your way to the truth. All our lives we were raised in church, at home, sometimes by the community and in school. Rarely if ever were we told the whole truth. They are learning today that the Northern hemisphere was about totally destroyed 11,800 years or more ago. North America got the worst of it. Yet all the history we were provided with tells us nothing. Homo-capensis is the Long Skull humans whose remains are found all over the world. In 2009 the Vatican broke ground and found a cemetery with over 140 homocapensis skeletons. Close… Read more »
Ahh, thank you (homo-capensis). There was an interview with an ex-BIS banker (or the equivalent) who mentioned that they were being directed by these human-like beings (homo-capensis). I can’t say if it is true or not but is definitely interesting information. I’m still an agnostic when it comes to accurately dating the age of the earth and the age of human settlements/archaeological digs and such. Some believe the earth is 4.5 billion years old and others believe in formed very rapidly and is roughly 10,000 years old. More still believe it is 6,000 years old. Personally I don’t know who… Read more »
It is simple, we have been manipulated by the religious, royal, and political Elite all our lives. None of that was for our benefit. As for flat or round earth I have flown high enough to see the entire circle of the earth. The Earth’s surface curves 8 inches for every mile on average and as a Naval Navigator I have cruised the entire surface of the globe I have been up on the masts at 175 feet in the middle of the ocean and witnessed as mountainous islands rose out of the sea the closer we got to them.… Read more »
Sorry Mike but the alleged curvature of the earth becomes exponential as the distance increases, that means the curvature becomes more pronounced between two points. What your eyes are seeing (the rising and falling of distant objects) is based on perspective and light. The human eye has limitations, ship masts only appear to rise and fall, it is a trick of perspective and light. For instance, using only your eye look upon a large container ship and notice that the bottom of the ship appears to be sinking due to the distance and limits of your vision. Keep watching and… Read more »
Meat is meat. In dire circumstances, my pets would go first, then outsiders, then other members of my group. One less mouth to feed everyone else. (It may be a very TWD terminus or wolves mindset, but…I will do whatever it would take to keep me and mine alive)
Yeah, remember what happened to those sickos at Terminus. Meat is not meat.
Have to disagree with you on that point Kristen. I don’t think I could ever do that. Maybe if we were in a extreme survival situation would I contemplate it, but I wouldn’t lure people into town for the express purpose of eating them.
If you would do whatever it would take, I assume that also means stocking up food now, growing gardens, foraging, hunting, fishing….
Pat
Absolutely. Preserving, canning, drying, salting, growing a garden, etc. however, let’s say it’s not an emp or zombie horde that “ends humanity as we know it”. Let’s say all of the bees in the world die. Now there is no pollination (beyond wind driven, which is VERY minute compared to bee driven pollination). After a few years, there are no more fruits, no more veggies, no more grains, about a year (or less) after that happens, there is no more livestock, about a year after that, there is no more seafood. What do you eat when there is no more… Read more »
During a nuclear winter if you don’t bleed and store ALL freshly dead meat you would be very sorry. For those holding their noses at this during real starvation about 50% will eat human flesh. The rest starve to death and become snacks. Of interest it is those they are closest to emotionally that are the easiest to eat. Small scale studies and not double blinded lol. We have lots of food for our dogs but if it is a big, big bad that hits they get a great meal and then we eat them and the stored kibble. We… Read more »
That’s fine, would you prefer to be roasted, bbq’d or sautéed?
I prefer to kill the sick SOB who tries. Not just for self defense but as a moral obligation to the human race and the preservation of those dignity especially which can still be safe guarded even in times such as we discuss.
Meat is not necessarily just meat. If cows eat each other they get a disease called “mad cow”. If humans eat other humans we suffer from the same disease. Somehow our DNA is coded in such a way as to deter the eating of one another’s flesh. Check it out for yourself if you don’t believe me. Tribes in the southern hemisphere (southeast Asia I believe) who in the past century ate one another, came down with serious neurological disorders from eating human flesh.
Actually that’s not true. If cows and humans eat the BRAINS of their respective “meats”, neurological damage will occur. If only the muscle tissue is consumed, you’re ok.
I have to say Mike, as someone who is imminently practical and straight forward that people preplanning on, or accept ahead of time, the acceptability of cannabalism are on my short list of people I would go out of my way to kill.
From the image you have selected I will take it that you are a Vet. As a Marine, I assure you that your espousal of the idea of planning on cannabalism is repugnant and morally reprehensible. I don’t use this phrase lightly, but shame on you.
Aside from that, you have good points.
I understand, respect and feel exactly as you do. At the same time the narrative has to be made. People have to realize RIGHT NOW, Cannibalism is a fact and it is also religiously observed in the Quran by Islam. https://quranexplained.wordpress.com/2010/01/11/cannibalism-in-the-quran/ http://shoebat.com/2013/01/28/islam-and-cannibalism/ In a recent video interview, one Egyptian scholar exposed the high school curriculum coming from Al-Azhar university, the most reputable of all Islamic schools, showing that it condoned cannibalizing non-Muslims: We allowed the eating of the flesh of dead humans… under necessary conditions. It [dead human flesh] must not be cooked or grilled to avoid Haram (wrongdoing) …and… Read more »
Okay, first let me say one thing. I am sorry. I entirely misunderstood what you were saying and espousing. I was under the impression that you condoning the preplanning on cannibalism rather than attempting to educate people that such things would happen. My actions were such as to report to that position. As such, my actions were inappropriate, and you have my apologies. That being said, I still disagree that people should plan on doing so (though I agree that people should prepare for others becoming desperate enough) as proper planning (prevents piss poor performance) will allow not only for… Read more »
Further, I would add I dont care what the Quran allows, except in to know my enemy. And yes, anyone who would knowingly practice cannibalism, ecwpt in the last extreme of their life, would be my enemy. As, they would have written themselves out of the human race.
Glad to hear that, I already have prepared as well. The thought of having to stand watch over my gardens does piss me off. Apologies not necessary you were coming from the heart.
I think of the golden horde and what to do with the bodies. Perhaps the city will have a way of disposal when time comes because I am too old and busted up to be digging graves…..
We all have to be prepared, in at least enough to protect our neighborhoods. I need solar…
Honestly, my plan is the burn the bodies, and possibly use the ash for fertilizer. I am not sold on the second half of that, but it would be something to consider. The thought of having to guard my garden doesn’t piss me off. I am fully aware of the NEED to do so, but I understand the other side too much to be pissed off. (Or at least, pissed off right now.) It’s part of why I won’t be a lone survivor, but part of a group. No one family (unless you are a family of about 13 functional… Read more »
We have enough in our neighborhood to have the man power and perhaps enough for an armory. I also have stored enough seeds to turn every yard into a garden. Of course teaching people to garden will not be easy but then nothing is. I teach weapons safety and how to fight so I expect I will be busy.
Best not be tying up those tomato plants with twist ties unless you want to cut them in two. Also, the average family could not afford to prepare to that extent. Multiple garden tools, gloves & hats for every size, entire wardrobes for families of all ages & sizes? Unrealistic.
I’m still trying to figure out where I can store 1224 quart jars. I think I have room for the lids, however.
the normal agee twist top lids n bottles can easily be reused to preserve in waterbath as normal top loosely fitted and tighten down as you take them out
they pop n suck down in n hr or two
those that dont? eat soon ie days.
the rubber n clip ones dont last that long.
the comment re deoderant etc not being viable after months?
huh
im using years old stash and it fine.
My exact thoughts. Hundreds of dollars in mattress pads? Sheets,pillows and blankets for them? Hmm what about just some sleeping bags and ground cloths? 5 years worth of clothing? I can buy 10 packs of razors at Walmart for 3.00 that’s 330 razors or 6.5 years worth using 1 a week for the price of 1 mattress pad. Also where is all this supposed to be stored? Not a very realistic article IMHO
Poorman, I fully concur with your closing statements. It is probably very uncomfortable for people to discuss the likelihood of such a high death rate, but there will be an abundance of ownerless garden rakes, blankets, and other survival commodities.
The shoes were mentioned later under the “2 sets of shoes of every size for everyone” section.
I agree with the wardrobe part of this, but multiple hats and gloves and multiple garden tools of the kinds you will need isn’t so unrealistic.
You forgot that you will need tonnes of benzos because of the tremendous and crippling PTSD that everyone would be suffering from after your paranoid fantasies come true. Have fun coming up with new ways to convince your loved ones (and yourself) from killing themselves!
There are definitely some things just not worth surviving,,,,
This list requires the accumulation of too much stuff. Knowledge is better, e.g., why buy and store multiple sets of farm tools when they could be made by a blacksmith when needed? If you’re going to be tending sheep, learn how to spin wool and weave. After all, your clothes are going to eventually wear out. Also, storing large quantities of matches is not only unsafe, but unnecessary as long as a decent ferro rod and striker are available.
Or scavenged, if 90% die off there has to be some stuff left behind.
Good points, though I do believe in redundancy. Especially if a group does not have someone who knows blacksmithing. Having, for example, multiple plows allows for the work to get done while someone has time to learn the blacksmithing.
I agree with the comment about not accumulating a lot of stuff because knowledge is better. But some things would be tremendously useful to have acquired before there is need.
Despite the negative, unhelpful comments below, I found the article thought provoking. No two preppers are alike and any suggestions could be helpful to others. Thanks for the article, and you gave me a few new ideas.
While there are items in the article that are thought provoking as you say that is because you are most likely a prepper already. I agree with much that was stated but to a novice prepper there is way to much buy and store of items. Food is important to store first,water is important to store first,meds are important to store first. This article assumes as far as I can tell that you have a alot of land,storage area and money and most new preppers don’t have any of these things and so will become discouraged reading something like this.
I hope no one becomes discouraged….including those who write articles. I catch your drift, Poorman, not everyone is on the same playing field. We are all just prepping, so doing what you can is better than none at all. Some of us have been at this for years, some are just beginning. Some are urban, some suburban, some rural. There are articles for all.
Thought provoking. Self sufficiency = make it yourself – Homesteading Manuals, 19th Century, on line. Willows grow quickly from cuttings, in damp places, good for many garden & household items, like ‘hurry-ups’ for slackers in the field. Other fast growers for dry areas. Empty guts make desperate people dangerous. A simple sling can deliver a silent removal order to any varmint in the radish patch. America Army Vietnam Cross-Bow; accurate/quiet/deadly/ DIY. Check on line. Silver for purifying water, [or a silver spoon to suck on]. needs electricity, bicycle? And whilst you’re waiting for the apple to fall off** the tree,… Read more »
Only Allah can help people who need to be told this sort of thing, I am sorry.
Folks that prepared for y2k and wasted money and got rid of supplies later on after the scare, ones I talked to (older retirees) will not start over and spend money they don’t have. Medical, insurance and other expenses take all they have. This article makes sense, and many incl me will have preps for weather issues, but will not get most items mentioned (been there done that) we all live in cites except one couple I know with fifteen acres and some chickens. Many would rather be dead than go thru survival after the collapse, because of radical lifestyle… Read more »
To be 100% honest and straightforward, those that refuse to prep because they gave it all up are in for a world of hurt. Those that would rather be dead than adapt…well they are asking for it. I won’t quite say they deserve it because I’m not trying to pick a fihjt, but that about sums it up. Now if I am in a position to help the local community, I will do so. But the only people who get to put pressure on me for it without being shut down hard are my survival group. But I will decide… Read more »
poor man’s shower:
55 GL drum cut in half and set upon stand with flashing around it forming a cylinder, fire underneath, some sort of regulation device to flow water down spout, sit and shower… or build a taller column/cylinder and stand. easy as pie, IF YOU CAN BAKE THAT IS!
WHAT if you live in the city or suburbs,rasing livestock is not practical let alone problably illegal.So much of you list focuses on rural living like about 90% of prepping.I believe because it’s so much easier to focus on listing on issues especially since most if it is totally irrelevant to most of the people United States.Your article is informing mostly irrelevant to me.
It isn’t irrelevant to those of us who (fortunately) do not live in cities or dense suburban areas. Perhaps articles like these will provide the motivation to abandon the metropolitan death zone where you apparently reside Your odds of survival will be greatly improved.
Some of us cannot, too many business ties, some have relatives they must see to, etc. Some cannot afford to relocate on fixed income, etc.
Which is unfortunate to be sure. However, that doesn’t mean the realities of getting out of the city is better for your survival chances. As I said to another poster just a short time ago, there are ways to do the things this article talks about in the city or out of it.
Yup,,,
If your not there now might as well assume the position,,,,
I hear what you’re saying and agree with some of what you’re saying. On the other hand, I don’t think it’s illegal to have a garden anywhere, and I know a lot of cities are encouraging home gardens. Growing some foods may not be as “easy” as in the countryside, but it isn’t impossible. Also, you may consider canning produce you buy rather than grow. When done properly, canned food stores last for more than a year, so you would be able to put some things aside, and you can do canning with a stove and a pair of large… Read more »
I’m not sure why I did this with this article, but strangely enough I didn’t read it until now, I just somehow scrolled thru it to the cannibalism replies. I have to say, while fairly well written, grammatically, I have to disagree with many of the points. First, how many people are you planning for in your PA commune and how much space do you have? At best, most of the prepper groups that I know of aren’t usually more than 10 people max. In ours, it is my family of 3 (including 1 toddler) and another family of 5-6… Read more »
There are some good points in this, but there are some errors as well. For instance, a small amount of a garden won’t cover many or every health consideration. Some medicines require LARGE amounts of the medicinal to help cure. What happens if you don’t have enough? Or what about if your group is attacked and you have a couple of people that are wounded as a result? A small part of a small garden just won’t cut it. This isn’t to say don’t have the medicinal plants, but my group is preparing to have its own garden specifically FOR… Read more »
You have brought up many good points. However, many of the points I brought up are because I DO have the “stuff” I mentioned (like 25 years worth of various cloths and yarn). I also have almost 25 acres that can be planted with whatever is needed, and I plan on having a large medicinal plant garden (probably close to an acre in size). Redundancy is of course good, and others in our particular group are purchasing adjoining 27 and 18 acre plots of land. All land is mostly forest, so plenty of wood, and all of the land is… Read more »
Well, let me first say I never said you didn’t have the things you said you had. In fact a rather casual read will illuminate that I said I applaud your forethoughtfullness. So… that first have of your first paragraph is out of left field. Second, it almost doesn’t matter how much land you have. You said a small garden if you’re planting 2 or more acres that isn’t small. So that part is changing your story. So is the part where you say you’re doing your own medical garden. First you said it was a small part of the… Read more »
Ok let’s see. I never stated how large my garden would be. I stated that to feed a family of 4 you need approximately 2 acres of crops. And that is if EVERYTHING grows perfectly, is canned/prepared properly, etc. and from someone who has lived on a few multi-hundred acre farms in the past, 2 acres IS a small garden. Unless you are some sort of fashionista who changes their whole wardrobe every season, the amount of fabric I have would be plenty to make and/or patch pre existing clothing. As everyone (with the exception of the 2 smallest children)… Read more »
Okay, so I’m going to respond in bulleted points, as it’s easier for me to reference things. Please try not to take this personally and be defensive. It’s a bit irritating, personally, and I can demonstrate you are incorrect. It’s not about me, or you, either, it’s to get a better understanding for people choosing to read comments and thus help them. Not to attack you. Please bear that in mind. So, here we go: 1.you say 2 acres, then you say you never said you said how much. One of these statements has to be wrong, as they are… Read more »
Ok bullet points to your bullet points: 1. My original post says (and I quote) “Regardless, from all of our research, to feed a family of 4 and a small herd of livestock it only takes about 2-3 acres.” this is my quote. Please reread it if necessary. Next quote of mine ” I also have almost 25 acres that can be planted with whatever is needed, and I plan on having a large medicinal plant garden (probably close to an acre in size).” so thats stating I have approximately 10x the planting space required (FROM OUR RESEARCH) for a… Read more »
First, let me thank you for your bulleta. It makes it easier to respond coherently. 1. You have not refuted my number 1 from earlier. You DID say it was small and then said you never said a size. As all you have done is repeat yourself, I must, logically, take it that you accept you don’t know what you mean here. 2. 2 acres isn’t small. You’re still being subjective, whoch is out of place. (I won’t say inappropriate, as it just this side of that line.) And while 2 acres IS doable with hand tools, that would, if… Read more »
Well apparently, repetition is required, as you are repeating the same erroneous info. 1 & 2. I said a family of 4 can live on about 2 acres of food. I NEVER mentioned how large my own personal family garden would be, only that the medicinal area would be about an acre which would be a ‘small part’ of our garden. 3. 5 yards for a shirt and pants? At 5’9″ and just at 200 pounds, it takes me 2 yds for the same items, so you are either wearing a ball gown, or you weigh approximately 600 pounds (and… Read more »
1. You have once again contradicted yourself. That isn’t erroneous, it’s a fact. Yeah, my repetition is necessary as you keep doing it. 2. You skipped this number. Oopsy 😉 3. Nope. It takes about 2.5 – 3 yards for the shirt and about 2 for the pants. That makes 5. Not ball gowns, not 600 lbs. You just don’t know what you’re talking about is all. 4. Okay fair enough. But then why are you (attempting) to bust someone’s balls about something that person said in reference to the author’s post? I have talked about the author for so… Read more »
so basically one has to recreate an entire civilization. this means the geography needs to be carefully picked,farming town recreated and electronic surveillance in place. military is already EMP hardened and if in the service of NWO will want to destroy and non-enslaved survivors. how to protect against THEM? they have infrared tracking, satellites, drones, etc
First, thank you for the post, and letting the community at large enjoy it. I did find some of this to be a bit unrealistic. Granted, some people may find this as the best options, but some things I did have issues with seeing as possible. For example the shoes. Space is going to be extremely limited for a lot of people, even in the country with few to no neighbors. How are they going to find the space for that number of shoes, when they are also having to prioritize food and such? Now, don’t get me wrong, shoes… Read more »