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The idea of prepping can be very overwhelming and for the life of me doing a search does not help much.....too much information! Does anyone have a general prep list starting with the most important things first? For those of us that have been, for whatever reason, playing it part-time in the preps. We want to get back to it.....where do I start? Also what skills do you think are essential to learn or at least get some hard-copy info about? Help please!
Always best to start with the basics--food, water, shelter, heat and protection.
Can you supply these basics for your family for a week? month? year?
I like Grandpappys Survival site for bare bones, simple survival information. He has lots of list and stays pretty much on target without getting side tracked.
This list has been bantered around awhile, but will give you a good starting point:
http://www.shtfplan.com/emergency-pr...first_06032010
Generalities to start with:
Water - a way to retrieve it, store it, and purify it. (i.e. handpumps, distilling)
Food - a way to grow it, store it, and cook it. (i.e. seeds, garden, canning supplies, meat sources and how to feed them)
Heat - fuel, heat source, and way to restock the fuel (wood, woodstove, axe)
Light - oil lamps, lanterns, etc (candles, paraffin, spare chimneys, etc)
Personal Protection - self explanatory. Don't rule out a homemade alarm system (trip wires, traps, think Swiss Family Robinson. . . . )
Communication - widely varied (HAM radio, 2 way, signaling mirrors, etc)
Clothing - Spares of everything you rely on (boots, socks, undies, coats, jeans)
Make life tolerable - TP, feminine hygiene, baby needs, soaps, detergents, razors, wind up clocks, medical supplies.
ETA: Welcome back to a fellow Wisconsinite!!
There are literally hundreds of lists out there. And for sure, they help in terms of getting you thinking, and giving reminders of things you may have forgotten.
But, the problem is, everyone's situations are so different, it's difficult to generalize.
I'd strongly suggest buying at least one book- Making the Best of Basics, by James Talmage Stevens. It has multiple lists, recipes, and you can fill in your own charts based on the ages/sex of the people you're prepping for (teenage boys need literally DOUBLE the calories as adult women, for just one example)
Here is the now (in)famous "100 things to disappear first in an emergency" list:
http://74.39.184.126/vb/showthread.php?p=1669142
As far as essential skills... if you have kids, I'd say everything you can possibly learn about first aid, home nursing and medical care is probably on the top of the list. I'd want to save pictures of different rashes (knowing whether you're dealing with scarlet fever or "fifth disease" could be crucial)
Being able to produce your own food is always vital... it simply is impossible to store enough food to outlast most long term scenarios. Of course, having a few months worth on hand sure beats having nothing, and may let you survive long enough to make other plans.
Sewing!! I sewed all my kids clothes when they were growing up... everything from the newborn layettes to prom gowns (and then I ended up making the bridesmaids dresses for two weddings, as well) If you start when the kids are small, you gain skill when they really don't care what it looks like! And my DD keeps saying how she can't believe how much better the clothes I make for my grandsons hold up wash after wash, compared to even expensive brand name stuff.
But... back to the "everyone has different situations". Personally, while we have a generator and the tractors to run it, I don't have any illusions of keeping things going on a 21st century level for long. I still need to get a solar set up for our outdoor woodburning furnace... as long as we can use that to heat the house in our cold winters, I don't really care THAT much whether we have electric lights, etc. I don't want to lose my nice propane stove and electric ovens, but I do have a wood burning cookstove I can switch to if it becomes necessary.
Others will do almost anything to keep their lifestyle they have now, either because they simply can't envision any other way, or due to medical necessity (needing supplemental oxygen, for example). I personally don't believe that will be possible for an extended period, but then- who knows whether or not we'll ever see a scenario where we're talking about the grid being down and the JIT system dying for months or years?
One thing I can say- if you currently buy most or all of your food, especially if you do so frequently- daily or biweekly visits to the store- you likely have NO idea how much your family consumes in a month or 6 months! Too many people think they're "prepped", but actually have about half as much as they think they do. That's where the book I suggested above is worth it's weight in gold.
Above all... START NOW!! If I hadn't prepped when I did, I'd never be able to afford it now. Prices on food, especially fruits, veggies and meat, are going to continue to skyrocket.
Summerthyme
These are great responses and I'm happy to say that many of the things you suggest we have done already....but we still have lots to do and your help is appreciated. Thanks for pointing me in the right direstions:-D
Thank you ST! I'm right with your line of thinking....so thanks for helping me weed thru all the info! A solar set-up for our outdoor woodstove is a concern of mine as well....do you have any ideas or resources to share for how you are thinking to get that done....the cold winters of Wisconsin makes this a real priority for us.Quote:
Originally Posted by Summerthyme
It shouldn't be difficult... our outdoor woodburner is actually 12 volt (hence, can be run off batteries/solar)... it has some sort of adapter for running on 120 volt household power. I'm no electrician (beyond being able to install basic switches/do basic household repairs), so I don't even know the terminology like I should.
My only real problem is $$$... I've got a couple of mad scientist/engineer sons who can easily set it up for me.
Essentially, you need to add up the amps that the various components will draw- the fan, the water pump (in our case... it's hooked into our house' hot water baseboard heat system) and then the circulating pump in the house. I did do the math at one point, and it actually is a fairly small draw. However, in the cold north (we're in southwestern NY state), you need to plan for up to several days of heavy cloud cover and hence, no sun to speak of. That means batteries... several deep cell and expensive batteries.
And, obviously, the solar panel needs to be large enough to recharge your batteries in a fairly short time, given that this is a need for the generally dark winter. That's where the other large amount of $$$ comes in!
It should be able to be wired into the system like a UPS on a computer, so it just kicks on when the grid drops. The solar panel should be set up to keep the batteries charged, but not overcharged.
If I ever get a system planned out, I'll post them here.
Summerthyme
A little FYI that's been a huge help to me --
Stock some "lightning fast" meals (Examples: Ramen noodles, canned chicken (etc), Chunky soup, peanut butter, crackers, meal bars, instant coffee, etc . . .) whatever is appropriate for your family and situation. Have a safe, alternative way to warm them, if warming is required. Keep them rotated to insure they are fresh.
I find there are times during emergencies when I need to be working on tasks other than food preparation. At the same time, it's better not to be running power tools on an empty stomach.
Taking five minutes out to eat a quick meal can make the difference between bloody accidents and accomplishing tasks without injury! And giving the kids some meal bars and then a nonelectric board game can distract them so they aren't underfoot fussing, hindering progress.
And as I have said many times before, if it's 20 degrees below zero and you have the flu, you aren't going to feel like cooking a pot of beans in your sun oven.
HSMama24, here's a short book to get you started:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007R67M7E
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...SH20_OU01_.jpg
It's a $2.99 download for Kindle, and if you don't have a Kindle, you can download a Kindle app for your PC for free at Amazon.
Thank you, I just purchased this ebook....looking forward to reading it.Quote:
Originally Posted by grower
Thank you grower for the very informative book....I really enjoyed it and learned a lot!Quote:
Originally Posted by grower