Active New Top (30 days) Compact Card Digital preparedness Rich DCContributor - April 21, 2022 Full disclosure: some of the staff here know more about this than I do (I’ll likely link shamelessly to their past affiliated sites…) I realize this is a niche topic but wanted to contribute where I could. If you think of Preparation along the lines of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, digital preparedness might be a bit closer to the top in terms or rarity rather than urgency/importance (The base of the pyramid is *more* important than the top, remember) but in situations that fall short of a full grid-down disaster, information can be critical (you are [probably] reading this on a website, after-all!). You can also think of Digital preparedness as a meta-prep, along the lines of financial-preparedness (of the mutual fund/savings/retirement account variety, rather than the gold/silver investing kind) – something that might help you along the way in anything short of a full-blown apocalypse. Nothing will ever take the place of learned skills or reference material on printed paper (some digital media you can print out!), but in situations where you’ve prepared for power outages and have your food/water, shelter, and safety taken care of – information certainly can’t hurt. Even if digital preparedness isn’t essential to your survival scenarios, it can also be helpful for simple organization and maintenance until you have more important things to worry about (similar to financial preparation, where ideally you’ve got savings and retirement accounts in order – and use them as a base to build on your other preps in the event that your savings and retirement accounts don’t exist anymore for exigent reasons). Password managers If you buy things online, do online banking/investing, pay bills online – You should really seriously consider a password manager. They can be a small pain to set up at first but it also forces you to organize and take stock of things. The better ones will be able to export to standard formats for backup and portability. Good ones integrate with your phone and computer. See more here: https://www.wired.com/story/best-password-managers/ Two Factor Authentication By now it’s common enough that you probably have the option for two factor authetication (gmail, your bank, etc). Enable it. If you enable it you need to also consider redundancy. Some sites that offer two factor also provide one time use reset codes – you have to save these and get a limited number. You can sometimes designate alternate cell phones for two-factor like a trusted family member or friend (or a second backup phone if that’s your thing). There are different types of two-factor such as cell phone, email, software, or hard token. Personally I’m OK with cell phone based but your risk-convenience trade offs may differ (and i use a combination of them). Facebook and Google both have options as well (how much do you trust them though – not saying you shouldn’t just that you should think about it first). For more information: https://www.wired.com/story/two-factor-authentication-apps-authy-google-authenticator/ Identity Protection Credit Freezes I’ve had my personal information breached at least 4 times that I know of (no true identity theft, but it’s out there for the taking). Most identity monitoring services tell you when it’s already happened, to [help] prevent it from happening in the first place consider a credit freeze (in the US). A credit freeze is different from a credit fraud alert – credit fraud alerts are temporary but a credit freeze you control and can turn off/on at your discretion. Want a new credit card? Ask the provider which bureau they use and then unfreeze the relevant one – you can even set them to be temporarily unlocked and re-enabled after a set period of time. It’s not perfect but it may be a deterrent. You will need to record some private pins/codes – make copies and put them someplace safe you will remember, you might only use them a couple times a decade so plan accordingly. For more info (I always look for the ftc.gov in the link): https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0279-extended-fraud-alerts-and-credit-freezes Credit monitoring You can pay for credit monitoring if you want (be warned, Equifax had a breach, this is about deterrence, nothing is 100%) but many banks and credit cards offer less-formal credit monitoring options. I have two separate options and I check them each 1-2 times a month, they’re easy to get to and the next best thing to formal paid services. Consider multiple credit cards For the longest time I had one credit card. I also paid for everything by credit card (paid it off in full each month). Once every year or three someone would steal my credit card info and I’d be without a credit card for the 5-10 days it took to replace. I was not prepared. Now I have two, one stays in my wallet and one at home locked up. Also a check card but i avoid using that for my own reasons. Be aware of the impact on your credit score – opening new accounts/cards can cause a hit at first. You want to balance your credit usage and consider not having a completely inactive card – less of a guide more of an FYI/proceed with awareness (FYI – my at-home card is used for car insurance so it gets some mild usage). For your second+ credit card, consider a different bank (you might get different free services, like that free credit reporting). Also if one bank gets breached, all your eggs aren’t in one basket (good for money management too I’m told, but thats another topic) You need to consider not just yourself but also anyone you have a joint account with (you may want to reassess your joint accounts – which may have credit score implications if you close older joint cards). If you are married or have kids, you might want to consider having those chats with anyone you are financially entangled with. Know your public information – If you own property, your name is probably in (multiple) databases linked to your address(es), unless you have an LLC/trust/shell company obscuring your identity. If you sign up for a grocery store “bonus” card they’re probably selling/sharing your data with someone who is aggregating it. Not trying to stoke your paranoia or encourage you to change your legal name – just be aware of what you “give out” for free. Google yourself and see how exposed you really are (sometimes, having a common name comes in real handy, hard to distinguish from all the others!) Data backup/archival Do you have files, photos, reference materials, or personal memoirs on your computer that you want to keep forever? Do you have a backup plan? There is a lot to consider but sometimes a simple external hard drive and a monthly backup is enough. Off-site and cloud storage are other options. Dry acid-free archival quality paper is one of the longest lasting information storage media invented (short of stone tablets?) – but it’s not as portable or convenient. For smaller scale storage, or prep-related storage, you might consider a USB key (think home owners insurance, backup codes for finances, medical records, etc). There are different types with different features, some claim to be quite impressive. I *HAVE NOT* vetted this myself, but if you want an upgrade from a basic USB stick for a go bag – something with encryption and security features might appeal to you (seriously do your homework, I’m interested in this but haven’t researched it yet): https://www.ironkey.com/en-US/ If you care – many social media and communications platforms allow you to export your data en mass for local use and backup (I *think* you can thank EU data laws for that?) – so there are ways to backup all your facebook photos or emails if that kind of thing is important to you (i’d argue a high quality usb stick with a digital family album stored on it weighs less than the real thing if your house burns down). Webpage archival Have you found an article or web page you’ve found helpful and might want to reference in the future? Maybe you’ve saved it in your bookmarks – what happens when the internet goes down or the website is taken down? Saving web content offline can be both easy and frustrating. Dynamic content can be generated on the fly so even if you “save as” to your PC, you might get a blank template when you open it. Luckily there are solutions: A simple but slower solution is to “print to a PDF.” It might take 2-3 steps and can be annoying to organize but it will work offline and you can save to your USB/backup storage of choice if you choose to. Sometimes it messes up formatting but is usually readable. A solution I like (which I *think* can be configured for both offline and cloud based storage) is Apple/Safari Reading lists. Once set up this (in theory) offers me one-click offline storage that (can potentially?) be synchronized across devices. It’s very much an apple ecosystem tool though. Bonus – from what I’ve read safari is better for battery life on Macs! There are a number of built in and third party options for this, some with cloud synchronization options. Too many to research right now, but you have options depending on what works for you. Prep logistics Google “My Maps” (https://www.google.com/maps/about/mymaps/) is basically user-friendly digital cartography for the masses – now if you’re a high profile public figure with a secret underground bunker (a general category not a specific reference) you might want to not share that info with Google. But if you want a list of your friends, family, and locations to consider on the way to a secondary location that are all public knowledge anyway this can be useful. I mostly use this for planning/brainstorming and personal organization (i would not suggest for an emergency but i would suggest to help you make a hard copy map for emergencies). I’m unsure if their printed maps are any good but you might be able to make it work. I believe you can also save these “off line” on your mobile device, even when the internet goes out. Google Docs and Sheets – OK, I’m lazy, there are alternatives for the security conscious but for everyone else, it’s useful to organize. Contact lists with phone numbers for emergencies (to print out!) and put in your bags – and update as needed. Scenario planning if you like to write to help you think, even renovations for your primary or secondary residence (if you have a location to “bug out” to). Supply lists for future purchases. It’s just an organizational tool Accounting – part of the financial meta-prep again. Since most of my purchases are off amazon it’s easy to see what I’ve spent and what it got me. I literally have a spreadsheet tallying my prep expenses over time (useful for reassuring the spouse you aren’t “going overboard”) Surveillance Wireless cameras – I need to do more research here. Arlo cameras look appealing to me but I think they require an internet connection to be useful. Ideally I’d like a wireless-radio camera system, battery powered if possible (even if it uses wifi as the radio mechanism but *does not* require an active internet for monitoring – for scenarios where safety is a concern but you still have power but maybe not internet) Car dash-cams – This was a suggestion off a random prepper site before I settled on The Prepared. There are versions of these that are set up to record while you’re parked using a battery backup if disturbed or simply record while actively driving your car under power. After one too many close calls with bad traffic I invested in this more for proof in case anyone tries to sue me but it might have other applications – I like my BlackVue 1 channel with wifi, but I’ve yet to be in an accident with it, so a little hard to test. Radio/Communications ThePrepared has an article on ham radios that you should read (https://theprepared.com/survival-skills/guides/beginners-guide-amateur-ham-radio-preppers/) – because my particular breed of “preparation scenarios” gears towards government censorship and net neutrality I’m prone to imagining how ad-hoc mesh networks work or trying to figure out what you can do with a HackRF One software defined radio… but hey, we all need our hobbies. Cell Phones Backups – both backup your data and consider having a second phone as a backup. Backing up your phone is fairly easy, you might do it already but you can go to 7-11 and buy a pay-as-you-go cell phone with a prepaid plan in case your cell phone breaks (is stolen, lost) when you *really* need it. Be sure to set it up with relevant numbers. You’ll need to consider battery charge and storage if you don’t use it frequently. While you’re at it, consider memorizing a couple of important numbers – in case you’re ever arrested (or your battery dies) and don’t have your cell phone to look up the number you need for you one phone call you really need to make. Privacy Consider what kind of encryption your cell phone supports. For example, Apple has something of a reputation for privacy of mobile devices (i think?) but other vendors may also. Consider what privacy laws apply to forcing you to unlock your phone. Consider if you trust police or a third party aggressor to honor your rights with regards to fingerprint or face based phone unlock features. Sometimes an old school strong pass-code is better. Warning: politically adjacent link, but it has valid politically agnostic (and up to date) advice regarding technology usage. Please don’t ding me for linking to this! https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-protest-safely-surveillance-digital-privacy/ Devices If you have the means and interest: laptops, tablets, and smartphones are various form factors that are portable. If it is important to you – you might consider having an old one in a tiered go-bag system (again, consider battery charge issues), or at least having one you can grab on your way out the door. ThePrepared has reviewed solar chargers that are appropriate for cell phones (and tablets?) https://theprepared.com/gear/reviews/portable-solar-chargers/ There are other semi-portable (certainly in a car) solar panel and battery options that might recharge a laptop. Again, take care of the base of maslow’s needs first (food, water, shelter, protection) but *if you want* there are options available to you. Read More 28 24 Advice What would a non-nuclear world war look like? Kira - April 21, 2022 Hi all, I’ve seen a lot of us talking about nuclear war and MAD (which has been on my mind as well), but I’m also curious what you think would happen if we had a non-nuclear world war. WWII could serve as some template, but we now have stronger international communities and weaker local communities. It looks like higher food and gas prices are already happening. People are pulling together more, but hate crimes are also spiking. Globally, alliances are strengthening and being made for the first time. Several countries are also talking about localizing their supply chains more. Do you have any predictions for what it could look like both in terms of everyday life and in terms of global relations? (Edit: does anyone know if you capitalize “in” in a title? It looked wrong both ways…) Read More 15 21 Scenarios What can we learn from the war in Ukraine? Conrad B - April 21, 2022 One of the main lessons I’ve seen so far is the need to reassess my bug out plan. There was a 6 mile (10km) long traffic jam of refugees fleeing to Poland. At what point do you abandon your vehicle and trek it on foot? Is going on foot any better? Another thought I had was having enough water, food, and fuel on hand. You don’t want to run out of food during the middle of an invasion and try to go through a war zone to buy groceries. My heart goes out to all those affected. Even to the Russian soldiers who may not like what they are doing but have to. Let’s learn from what is going on and prepare for the future. Read More 15 32 Meta Community portable water filtration systems Robert Clements - April 21, 2022 Hello, I am a member of my local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and we are looking to replace our portable emergency water filters. Does anyone have any recommendations for a company that produces portable, self-contained emergency water filter systems? Our CERT currently has an Emergency Potable Water Program where, if our local water supplier was unable to provide potable water to the community, we would step in and supply potable water through several distribution sites. The manufacturer of our current units (Global Pure Water) has gone out of business. Thank you for any thoughts. Bob Clements Milwaukie, Oregon Read More 9 6 Gear How to communicate with out of town family during a grid down situation? TheFuries - April 20, 2022 I need to resolve how my family will communicate with my parents and teenage sister who live three hours away should the grid go down. I’m not technical, so it’s not something I know where to start researching. But, my husband is technical enough to set systems up since it’s not my strength. If cell towers and land lines go down during hurricane season (common where we live in North FL), a possible Russian cyber attack (increasing likelihood given the current global situation), or EMP, how do you communicate with others from a distance? Having done humanitarian work with refugees in Italy and Ukraine, I know how to use blue tooth technology to communicate when cell towers aren’t available. We don’t have HAM radios and I imagine walkie talkies have a short range. But, if the electric is out entirely? For months? Are satellite phones dependable during an EMP situation (if stored in a faraday)? What are other options? I’d like to invest in this for all family households, totaling three families (my husband’s parents as well in Kentucky), so I’d like to not break the bank, but if I have to… This is one of those things that keeps me up at night as we have a toddler and are very close to our families. I’ve only found vague or shallow information on this issue. Nothing that breaks things down with clear directions. Many thanks in advance for your time! Read More 18 21 Advice A list of places where you can find TP other than the forum Gideon ParkerStaff - April 20, 2022 Hey folks, here are other places where you can follow or interact with us: /theprepared: Interesting, educational, and entertaining prepping related Reddit posts. Facebook and Twitter: Top articles and forum posts are shared throughout the week. If you want to have more real time conversations you can join our Slack group (leave a comment down below if you would like a private invitation to join), or Discord server. Thank you for being part of this community! Read More 8 2 Meta Creating a prepping team Unobtrusive - April 20, 2022 No man is an island and no one can succeed in a disaster alone. Mad Max, The Omega Man, I Am Legend, even The Road had guys going it alone against the post-apocalyptic hordes. But that’s not realistic. A truly prepared individual will surround themselves with like-minded others who have diverse skill sets. The question I have is how? How do we find these people? I’ve been looking. I’ve joined groups, I’ve been on other forums. I want to enlist the people in my community, but do so without coming on like a desperate weirdo or paranoid gun nut. Where do y’all go to find others? Read More 28 40 AdviceScenariosSkills Nuclear power plant failure…options? GracedChip - April 19, 2022 So I was perusing the beginner prepper guide and was thinking about things I should start with to better prepare me and my family for emergency situations. I live in Kentucky and happened to see the map for nuclear power plants and wondered about the fallout should the ‘world go dark’ scenario – government collapse etc. So what I was wondering was…how far could you live in a place near a nuclear powerplant and not have to worry about things like fallout or radiation poisoning in the water and air? At least not enough to have to move… I’ve included an image that shows the current location of nuclear power plants and the link (Global Map of Wind, Weather, and Ocean Conditions) to a website that shows the real-time wind/weather patterns (quite beautiful actually). I obviously don’t know much about nuclear power or what their procedure is should they need to power down but I imagine it wouldn’t be pretty if they had to be shut-off permanently? I do know that in the event of a power failure they recommend everything outside of a 100mile radius to evacuate. Any references would be greatly appreciated as I really enjoy a good research rabbit hole but a starting point does help. I guess I’m just not sure how much energy and resources should be spent in a place that would prove unlivable when nuclear power fails and starts affecting the environment. Read More 7 15 AdviceScenarios How would those who live in a city survive without trucks? Alisa Felix - April 18, 2022 While taking a business trip to Southern California I looked out the window and saw nothing but buildings, roads, and urban yuck as far as the eye could see. At any time, I was probably looking at a million or two people. The thought that crossed my mind is how are all these people supported? I didn’t see any farmland, no large bodies of water, and where was the power plants? It seems like the food, water, and even power was transported in. What if all that stopped? By looking at the pictures you can see a few small bodies of water or a few football fields or parks that could be turned into farmland. I still don’t see how the vast number of people I was looking at could have enough resources and survive though. It would require a mass exodus out of the city or a large portion of the population to die off. If you live in a city, it is even more important to store water, food, and fuel. And have a way to protect those resources because the hundreds of people around you who are not prepared will get pretty desperate. Read More 10 7 Scenarios “Reasonable” preparations for a nuclear conflict—picking a place to live… jgrif - April 17, 2022 Hey everyone. Brand new to the forum; really cool to find a site with such comprehensive resources for common sense preparedness. I’ve been working on some minor preparedness here and there since COVID started a couple of years ago. Events in Ukraine are now causing me to accelerate and take things to the next level. Specifically, and sadly, I am concerned that we have crossed a threshold where the prospect of a global nuclear conflict will be a real possibility for the foreseeable future. I have two young kids and am determined not to take a passive stance, leaving my family’s fate completely in the hands of the government. I’m also as yet unwilling to go the other extreme (living completely off-grid in a bunker). So I’m asking myself, is there a middle ground? I’ve started reading Nuclear War Survival Skills by Kearny. I’m finding that there are indeed actionable strategies that any sufficiently determined citizen can take. But the big question I’m grappling with right now is—do I want to relocate my family? Currently, we live in the southwest corner of the Denver metro. As I understand it, Colorado is a pretty target-rich environment for nuclear strikes. But that brings me to question number one: Does anyone know of any up-to-date resources available to the public that assess the risk of nuclear strikes by geography? I know that missile silos, air force bases, large civilian runways, etc would all likely be the first targets. Possibly major cities after that. But I’m wondering if any agency or individual has aggregated all these risk factors into one map. Based on my limited reading so far, it does seem that if one is located outside the primary blast radius, steps can be taken to sufficiently protect against fallout such that one could at least survive the initial strike and the following ~2-4 weeks of heavy fallout. So I’m trying to determine if there are places I’d actually be willing to live that might be far enough from the most likely targets. Has anyone researched this before? Curious what you’ve found? Read More 18 80 Advice Food storage/self reliance Azure639 - April 17, 2022 I applaud that you are advising (like the Red Cross) to have 2 weeks of shelf-stable food stored, however, it’s rare that disasters occur singly. There are always cascading effects. FEMA, quite quietly, advised a few years ago not to expect them to show up for a week (previously it was 3 days and that’s after state governor declares disaster). So a scenario might be that a disaster happens, then you have to self quarantine for 2 weeks. Or you lose a job and it takes a month or more to find a replacement. Professional searches have been known to go for months. So building your storage can and probably should be gradual, buying what you eat and eating what you buy. At the other end of the continuum are the Mormons (LDS church) who take it as part of their faith to prepare to survive for a year (or more) on stored items and have tools to plant during that year for the longer haul. I’d say 1 weeks worth of self reliance is a good start, but then extend the goal to a minimum of 3 weeks if you have the storage capacity. Shelter in place is often the best strategy for many disaster scenarios. Read More 9 8 Advice Mass shooting NYC Subway. Bombs found Bill Masen - April 14, 2022 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10711479/NYPD-searching-man-gas-mask-rush-hour-explosion-shooting.html No matter if its a criminal or a terrorist or a nut job, theres no way on earth I’m letting my wife fly to NYC for a shopping trip in July. Be it US, UK or EU cities are fast becoming no go areas. gunman wearing a gas mask and orange construction vest is on the run in Brooklyn after shooting at least 13 people on a packed subway station platform in Sunset Park during rush hour on Tuesday. At least five people are believed to be injured, with four said to be either shot or hit by shrapnel and another shot on the R train at the 36th Street station in Sunset Park. At around the same time, there were reports of an explosion nearby. It’s unclear where the gunman is now but NYPD units are hunting for him. An NYPD spokesman could only confirm that a shooting had taken place and that no one was in custody. Multiple undetonated devices have been found at the scene that the FDNY is now working to remove safely. ‘Originally, the call came in as smoke in the subway station. Upon arrival, officers found multiple people shot and undetonated devices. Read More 3 5 Free DIY: How to make small waterproof containers using plastic trash Gideon ParkerStaff - April 13, 2022 It’s great to store smaller bug out bag items in waterproof containers, like medication, tinder, or water purification tablets. In this post, I show how to DIY a free and quick method that recycles/upcycles the plastic bottles you’ll be throwing out anyway. When deciding what containers to upcycle, favor sturdier plastic with quality caps, like the too-expensive disposable water bottles. –A 16oz water bottle or old apple sauce container provides a large capacity inside the lid and a definable lip that can be cut across.– Next take a hacksaw or sharp kitchen knife and cut below the lid. If you need a slightly larger container, leaving a portion of the neck of the bottle will give some extra capacity. After that, sand down the rough plastic to create an even and smooth surface. You can even just rub it against some concrete. The nice thing about this project is that it does not need to be exact or perfect and further steps will make up for any imperfections. –Before and after sanding– Taking another piece of thin plastic that would have ended up in a landfill for the next 500 years, trace around the lid and cut out the little circle, this will form the base of the container. –-I cut out clear plastic circles (which is why they are hard to see in the picture) so I could see inside of the container, but you can go with colored plastic if you want.– Run a thick bead of hot glue or super glue around the rim of the lid and press on the plastic circle. Hot glue is nice because the thickness of the glue fills any imperfections between the sanded portion of the container and the plastic circle base. Any excess that comes out of the side can be wiped or scraped off. Possible uses: The container made out of the large apple sauce bottle can store three large cotton balls that can be coated in vaseline for an excellent tinder source. Learn more about how to make these by reading this post by forum member Jay Valencia. Using one of those slim and more eco-friendly water bottle lids, I created a small container that can hold red pepper flakes for spicing up food. On the right is a container made from a full sized lid that is able to hold four ibuprofen liquid gel capsules, perfect for throwing in a pocket or purse. By combining two wide mouth Gatorade bottle lids, a larger container can be made. Or you can place one of those plastic circles in between the two halves and make a container on either end. Perhaps one side is your medicine in the morning and the other end is for the evening. By screwing a waterproof container on the end of a Sawyer Mini or Hydroblu Versa, top rated in the Best portable survival water filters article, you will protect the protruding tubes on either end that can be damaged if dropped and also stop any leaking of the filter inside your bag after use. Read More 11 2 Gear Inflation preparedness Calvin - April 12, 2022 Alternatives to the US dollar (eg gold, bitcoin) are frequently discussed as insurance against inflation. But are there other steps one should be taking to prepare? Should a renter try to become a homeowner? What storable goods are likely to become expensive? What storable (yet necessary) goods are likely to become scarce? Read More 17 16 Scenarios Do I need more than a whole house generator? jaybee - April 12, 2022 I have a natural gas line into my home and a 22kw whole house generator that automatically kicks on when the electricity goes out. It can easily power everything in my home, including my gas furnace (necessity) and my whole house a/c (a nice luxury during a summer outage). The primary worries in my area are winter storms and high-wind storms (including tornados, although I don’t live in “tornado alley.”) My question: “redundancy” seems to be a key concept in prepping, and I’m beginning to wonder if over-reliance on my generator for heat and electricity is wise. Thoughts? Read More 9 16 AdviceScenarios Sunflower oil: UK bottler has a few weeks’ supply left Bill Masen - April 12, 2022 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60941091 The biggest cooking oil bottler for UK shops has said it only has a few weeks’ supply of sunflower oil left.Ukraine and Russia produce most of the world’s sunflower oil and the war is disrupting exports, said Edible Oils.The company, which packages oil for 75% of the UK retail market, is ramping up supplies of other oils for shoppers.Meanwhile, manufacturers of foods that contain sunflower oil, like crisps, oven chips and cereal bars, are reworking their recipes.The Food Standards Agency has advised people with allergies to look out for extra information from shops and food makers.Kim Matthews, commercial director at Edible Oils said 80% of the global supply of sunflower oil comes out of Russia and Ukraine.”So obviously, with everything going on out there, we physically can’t get sunflower to be coming out of the country,” he said. If you buy any cooking oil on the supermarket shelves, chances are it has come from the Edible Oils plant in Erith, on the outskirts of south-east London. It bottles oil for brands and retailers own label products.”From a UK consumer perspective, sunflower oil is the biggest oil. It’s used more than anything else,” said Mr Matthews.”It’s a fast moving situation. We’re still trying to see if we can get some more but it’s looking very tight.”Edible Oils Ltd has upped production to 24/7 to try to make sure it has plenty of rapeseed and other oils to put on the shelves when the sunflower oil goes.”Sunflower is great because you can cook at high temperatures. Rapeseed is very similar. You can do exactly the same with it,” he said.But it was far from clear when sunflower oil supplies will be back to normal, he said.”At the moment, Ukrainian farmers should be sowing the seeds now for the harvest in October and November.”Clearly that’s not going to happen… we’re probably going to miss the season so we could be impacted for 12-18 months.” Read More 7 12 News You can never stock too much _________ rebecca - April 12, 2022 What are some things you can never have too much of? Read More 9 11 Scenarios The Guardian profiles international go-bags atlanticrando - April 6, 2022 “Your life is under threat. You might have to run any second. What do you take?” – The Guardian I thought folks here might find this to be of interest. The piece highlights the diverse and rational needs for personal preparedness that are not at all the apocalyptic or paranoid variety. While only a few of these kits would be The Prepared-approved for their thoroughness, most of the bags reflect some preparedness staples: important documents, communications, medicine, hygiene, and family care. I think it shows some interesting perspectives and that a go-bag is not a one-size-all solution: people do have distinctly different needs, priorities, and scenarios depending on their circumstances and personal values. A complete 30-50lb kit is not going to be achievable or useful in a lot of circumstances, especially for those living in high density urban environments for whom mobility is most important. Read More 8 8 News Using a vintage hot water bottle to stay warm and lower your energy bill Alisa Felix - April 6, 2022 I’ve seen many news articles and posts on the forum here about rising energy costs and rightfully so, it is discouraging. Following the example of brownfox-ff from the weekly news roundups, I would like to share an idea to help. Take action rather then be reacted upon. I don’t thank brownfox-ff enough but I do read their weekly uplifting support and try and work on one or two that week. The past few months have been cold, especially at night. Instead of turning to the thermostat and clicking it up a few degrees to solve the issue I have been thinking of ways I can overcome my trial in a different way. Tip #1 One of the big solutions that has helped is to move my couch and computer desk in front of windows so that when I am just sitting there, the warmth of the sun heats me up. Tip #2 I’ve been wearing more clothing lately. It involves putting on another shirt or a jacket when just around the house during the day. At night I put on a hoodie, a beanie, and an extra blanket on top of my pajamas to keep the warmth in more. Tip #3 When I just can’t seem to get warm from the above steps, I go to my secret top tip of using a hot water bottle to snuggle up to. These have been around for years and years but I’ve seen them fall out of fashion. Here’s a classic red one on Amazon for $6. The one I have is blue and has a comfortable outer sleeve to reduce the heat against bare skin. If you don’t have one with a sleeve you can sew one up yourself or just wrap a dish towel around it. All this costs me is the energy that it takes to boil two electric kettles of water and then I have hot water for the entire 9 hours I sleep. I wake up and the bottle is still warm! I bought this as a way to stay warm without having to rely on a fireplace or furnace and couldn’t be happier. It’s a nice little preparedness item that you should consider. Even if all the stuff hits the fan, we can probably boil some water over a fire. Thank you all for reading. Read More 15 6 Gear Battery best practices Jon StokesStaff - April 6, 2022 One of the main recommendations we make in our guide to rechargeable batteries, is that people should quit using alkalines and transition entirely to rechargeables. We have a couple good reasons for this that I wont’ get into, here (read the guide!) But here’s the thing: I’m not actually doing this, and I’m the one who wrote the recommendations. The reason I find myself unable to do this, is that the rechargeables are expensive, so I don’t want them to go into random kid toys and the like where they’re liable to get lost or thrown away. I hoard those things like the costly little gadgets they are. This means I end up buying alkaline batteries for kid toys and throwaway stuff, and since I have those on-hand I just use them for everything else, too. So my stash of NiMH batteries sits mostly in special box with my chargers and other battery-related equipment. I suspect I’m not alone in this approach, and that very few preppers are actually moving to NiMH in all daily-life use — despite the theoretical reasons why it’s a good idea. On this basis, then, I’m thinking of changing the battery guide language to reflect reality. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Have others made the jump to all-rechargeables? Or should I go ahead and concede that people will stick with alkaline, and then focus on storing the NiMH for emergencies? Read More 21 19 Book Review: Emotional First Aid brownfox-ffContributor - April 6, 2022 (image credit: Nick Fewings on Unsplash) “Emotional First Aid” by Guy Winch is a handbook of practical exercises for healing and recovering from mental and emotional injuries, and building better emotional resilience. Winch is a clinical psychologist who has spent decades distilling the latest research into practical steps and exercises for his patients. He found himself repeating the same advice over and over. So he compiled it into a book. The book covers seven of the most common emotional injuries that people experience in everyday life: rejection, loneliness, loss, guilt, rumination, failure, and low self esteem. Winch describes the issues, how they can affect us, and also provides a plan with steps to tackle each type of injury. Each chapter is split into two parts: first describing the psychological wounds that each type of injury inflicts, especially symptoms or behaviour that may be hard to recognize. Then the second part outlines treatments and steps you can use to work at healing. Winch provides multiple different options and “dosage” guidelines – of various types and intensity – so it’s easy to use the techniques that work for you. He also provides advice on when to seek professional help. Part of Winch’s motivation for writing this book was to raise awareness of emotional health, and give people a better “first line of defense” for handling and healing emotional injuries. His analogy is right in the title – just as we have a medicine cabinet and first aid kit for first-line dealing with physical injuries, we can also benefit from creating a basic toolkit for dealing with psychological or emotional injuries. “Many of the diagnosable psychological conditions where we would seek professional help could be prevented or healed if we applied ‘emotional first aid’ to our wounds when we first sustained them”. Winch notes that it is often easier to recognize when a physical wound needs more treatment – e.g. recognizing a minor cut vs a wound that needs stitches. It is more difficult to recognize emotional wounds, so we are more likely to neglect them until they get more serious. “We would never leave a cut on our knee unattended until it compromised our ability to walk. But we leave psychological wounds unattended all the time, even until they literally prevent us from moving forward in life”. To help with framing and recognizing the different types of emotional wound, Winch compares each of them to a corresponding physical injury. For example: rejection is compared to “the emotional cuts and scrapes of everyday life”; while loss and trauma are like “walking on broken bones” and guilt is “poison in our system”. This helps to frame the treatments by keeping the physical analogy in mind. The steps in each chapter are practical and approachable. For example, to fight back against self criticism and build self-esteem, he advises exercises like: List or write out negative or self critical thoughts that you have Then build counterarguments to each of the criticisms Refer back to the counter arguments whenever you feel overwhelmed The book is littered with examples from (anonymized) patients and their steps to improvement, to show that it really can work. And it is all backed with references to more than 250 peer-reviewed scientific studies. “Emotional First Aid” feels useful to have as a reference, especially in a remote or austere environment. Winch directly notes that his book should not be a replacement for professional help for serious emotional or psychological injuries. However, he also notes that seeking professional help may not always be practical or possible. “Emotional First Aid” is quite accessible and clearly written; it should be usable by anyone. Read More 13 7 1 gal water containers for storage RaspberryJ - April 5, 2022 I’m new to prepping, and I’m working on water storage. My sister and I live alone together, and we aren’t particularly strong, so we want to store a portion of the water in 1 gal containers. Those will be easier for us to carry and use, especially for short-term emergencies when we might not even need to break into our 5 gal containers. From reading The Prepared, I understand that we shouldn’t use cheap plastic containers like milk cartons or soda bottles. Would a beverage cooler like this one be appropriate? https://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-1-Gallon-Beverage-Cooler-Jug-Blue/23787717? My concern is that it might not seal securely enough for long term storage. If this won’t work, can anyone suggest an alternative 1 gal container? Thanks in advance! Read More 9 8 AdviceGear Including Naloxone in EDC or IFAK Colorado Jones - April 5, 2022 Naloxone is new to me but has been featured in several TV news clips in my area over the past month. Basically, its a drug that by-standers can administer to somebody overdosing on opioids which will potentially save the person’s life. https://www.cdc.gov/stopoverdose/naloxone/index.html Wondering if others living and working in busy urban areas keep this on hand as part of their EDC preps. Read More 8 15 Gear Some very interesting assorted YT vids closely associated with Prepping Bill Masen - April 3, 2022 https://www.youtube.com/c/PracticalpreppersLLC Read More 6 4 < Prev 1 2 3 … 22 23 24 … 57 58 59 Next > Recently Active What is the best camp stove for an emergency power outage or camping? - 6 hours agoChickens for preppers: Important considerations - 23 hours agoNews for the Week 2024-04-15 - 4 days agoAlexapure - 1 week agoPlants with Saponins - 2 weeks ago RULES This forum is heavily moderated to keep things valuable to as many people as possible. Full community policies are here. The basics: 1. Be nice to each other. 2. Stay focused on prepping. 3. Avoid politics, religion, and other arguments. 4. No unfounded conspiracies, fake news, etc. 5. Debate ideas, not people. FILTER Show all Advice Gear Meta News Scenarios Skills

Digital preparedness

Rich DCContributor - April 21, 2022

Full disclosure: some of the staff here know more about this than I do (I’ll likely link shamelessly to their past affiliated sites…) I realize this is a niche topic but wanted to contribute where I could.

If you think of Preparation along the lines of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, digital preparedness might be a bit closer to the top in terms or rarity rather than urgency/importance (The base of the pyramid is *more* important than the top, remember) but in situations that fall short of a full grid-down disaster, information can be critical (you are [probably] reading this on a website, after-all!).

You can also think of Digital preparedness as a meta-prep, along the lines of financial-preparedness (of the mutual fund/savings/retirement account variety, rather than the gold/silver investing kind) – something that might help you along the way in anything short of a full-blown apocalypse.

Nothing will ever take the place of learned skills or reference material on printed paper (some digital media you can print out!), but in situations where you’ve prepared for power outages and have your food/water, shelter, and safety taken care of – information certainly can’t hurt.  Even if digital preparedness isn’t essential to your survival scenarios, it can also be helpful for simple organization and maintenance until you have more important things to worry about (similar to financial preparation, where ideally you’ve got savings and retirement accounts in order – and use them as a base to build on your other preps in the event that your savings and retirement accounts don’t exist anymore for exigent reasons).

Password managers If you buy things online, do online banking/investing, pay bills online – You should really seriously consider a password manager.  They can be a small pain to set up at first but it also forces you to organize and take stock of things.  The better ones will be able to export to standard formats for backup and portability. Good ones integrate with your phone and computer.  See more here: https://www.wired.com/story/best-password-managers/ Two Factor Authentication By now it’s common enough that you probably have the option for two factor authetication (gmail, your bank, etc).  Enable it.  If you enable it you need to also consider redundancy.  Some sites that offer two factor also provide one time use reset codes – you have to save these and get a limited number.  You can sometimes designate alternate cell phones for two-factor like a trusted family member or friend (or a second backup phone if that’s your thing).  There are different types of two-factor such as cell phone, email, software, or hard token.  Personally I’m OK with cell phone based but your risk-convenience trade offs may differ (and i use a combination of them).  Facebook and Google both have options as well (how much do you trust them though – not saying you shouldn’t just that you should think about it first).  For more information: https://www.wired.com/story/two-factor-authentication-apps-authy-google-authenticator/ Identity Protection Credit Freezes
I’ve had my personal information breached at least 4 times that I know of (no true identity theft, but it’s out there for the taking).  Most identity monitoring services tell you when it’s already happened, to [help] prevent it from happening in the first place consider a credit freeze (in the US).  A credit freeze is different from a credit fraud alert – credit fraud alerts are temporary but a credit freeze you control and can turn off/on at your discretion.  Want a new credit card?  Ask the provider which bureau they use and then unfreeze the relevant one – you can even set them to be temporarily unlocked and re-enabled after a set period of time.  It’s not perfect but it may be a deterrent.  You will need to record some private pins/codes – make copies and put them someplace safe you will remember, you might only use them a couple times a decade so plan accordingly.  For more info (I always look for the ftc.gov in the link):

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0279-extended-fraud-alerts-and-credit-freezes Credit monitoring
You can pay for credit monitoring if you want (be warned, Equifax had a breach, this is about deterrence, nothing is 100%) but many banks and credit cards offer less-formal credit monitoring options.  I have two separate options and I check them each 1-2 times a month, they’re easy to get to and the next best thing to formal paid services. Consider multiple credit cards For the longest time I had one credit card.  I also paid for everything by credit card (paid it off in full each month).  Once every year or three someone would steal my credit card info and I’d be without a credit card for the 5-10 days it took to replace.  I was not prepared.  Now I have two, one stays in my wallet and one at home locked up.  Also a check card but i avoid using that for my own reasons. Be aware of the impact on your credit score – opening new accounts/cards can cause a hit at first.  You want to balance your credit usage and consider not having a completely inactive card – less of a guide more of an FYI/proceed with awareness (FYI – my at-home card is used for car insurance so it gets some mild usage). For your second+ credit card, consider a different bank (you might get different free services, like that free credit reporting).  Also if one bank gets breached, all your eggs aren’t in one basket (good for money management too I’m told, but thats another topic) You need to consider not just yourself but also anyone you have a joint account with (you may want to reassess your joint accounts – which may have credit score implications if you close older joint cards).  If you are married or have kids, you might want to consider having those chats with anyone you are financially entangled with. Know your public information – If you own property, your name is probably in (multiple) databases linked to your address(es), unless you have an LLC/trust/shell company obscuring your identity.  If you sign up for a grocery store “bonus” card they’re probably selling/sharing your data with someone who is aggregating it.  Not trying to stoke your paranoia or encourage you to change your legal name – just be aware of what you “give out” for free.  Google yourself and see how exposed you really are (sometimes, having a common name comes in real handy, hard to distinguish from all the others!) Data backup/archival Do you have files, photos, reference materials, or personal memoirs on your computer that you want to keep forever?  Do you have a backup plan?  There is a lot to consider but sometimes a simple external hard drive and a monthly backup is enough.  Off-site and cloud storage are other options.  Dry acid-free archival quality paper is one of the longest lasting information storage media invented (short of stone tablets?) – but it’s not as portable or convenient. For smaller scale storage, or prep-related storage, you might consider a USB key (think home owners insurance, backup codes for finances, medical records, etc).  There are different types with different features, some claim to be quite impressive.  I *HAVE NOT* vetted this myself, but if you want an upgrade from a basic USB stick for a go bag – something with encryption and security features might appeal to you (seriously do your homework, I’m interested in this but haven’t researched it yet): https://www.ironkey.com/en-US/ If you care – many social media and communications platforms allow you to export your data en mass for local use and backup (I *think* you can thank EU data laws for that?) – so there are ways to backup all your facebook photos or emails if that kind of thing is important to you (i’d argue a high quality usb stick with a digital family album stored on it weighs less than the real thing if your house burns down). Webpage archival Have you found an article or web page you’ve found helpful and might want to reference in the future?  Maybe you’ve saved it in your bookmarks – what happens when the internet goes down or the website is taken down?  Saving web content offline can be both easy and frustrating.  Dynamic content can be generated on the fly so even if you “save as” to your PC, you might get a blank template when you open it.  Luckily there are solutions: A simple but slower solution is to “print to a PDF.”  It might take 2-3 steps and can be annoying to organize but it will work offline and you can save to your USB/backup storage of choice if you choose to.  Sometimes it messes up formatting but is usually readable. A solution I like (which I *think* can be configured for both offline and cloud based storage) is Apple/Safari Reading lists. Once set up this (in theory) offers me one-click offline storage that (can potentially?) be synchronized across devices.  It’s very much an apple ecosystem tool though.  Bonus – from what I’ve read safari is better for battery life on Macs! There are a number of built in and third party options for this, some with cloud synchronization options.  Too many to research right now, but you have options depending on what works for you. Prep logistics Google “My Maps” (https://www.google.com/maps/about/mymaps/) is basically user-friendly digital cartography for the masses – now if you’re a high profile public figure with a secret underground bunker (a general category not a specific reference) you might want to not share that info with Google.  But if you want a list of your friends, family, and locations to consider on the way to a secondary location that are all public knowledge anyway this can be useful.  I mostly use this for planning/brainstorming and personal organization (i would not suggest for an emergency but i would suggest to help you make a hard copy map for emergencies).  I’m unsure if their printed maps are any good but you might be able to make it work.  I believe you can also save these “off line” on your mobile device, even when the internet goes out. Google Docs and Sheets – OK, I’m lazy, there are alternatives for the security conscious but for everyone else, it’s useful to organize.  Contact lists with phone numbers for emergencies (to print out!) and put in your bags – and update as needed.  Scenario planning if you like to write to help you think, even renovations for your primary or secondary residence (if you have a location to “bug out” to). Supply lists for future purchases.  It’s just an organizational tool Accounting – part of the financial meta-prep again.  Since most of my purchases are off amazon it’s easy to see what I’ve spent and what it got me.  I literally have a spreadsheet tallying my prep expenses over time (useful for reassuring the spouse you aren’t “going overboard”) Surveillance Wireless cameras – I need to do more research here.  Arlo cameras look appealing to me but I think they require an internet connection to be useful.  Ideally I’d like a wireless-radio camera system, battery powered if possible (even if it uses wifi as the radio mechanism but *does not* require an active internet for monitoring – for scenarios where safety is a concern but you still have power but maybe not internet) Car dash-cams – This was a suggestion off a random prepper site before I settled on The Prepared.  There are versions of these that are set up to record while you’re parked using a battery backup if disturbed or simply record while actively driving your car under power.  After one too many close calls with bad traffic I invested in this more for proof in case anyone tries to sue me but it might have other applications – I like my BlackVue 1 channel with wifi, but I’ve yet to be in an accident with it, so a little hard to test. Radio/Communications ThePrepared has an article on ham radios that you should read (https://theprepared.com/survival-skills/guides/beginners-guide-amateur-ham-radio-preppers/) – because my particular breed of “preparation scenarios” gears towards government censorship and net neutrality I’m prone to imagining how ad-hoc mesh networks work or trying to figure out what you can do with a HackRF One software defined radio… but hey, we all need our hobbies. Cell Phones Backups – both backup your data and consider having a second phone as a backup.  Backing up your phone is fairly easy, you might do it already but you can go to 7-11 and buy a pay-as-you-go cell phone with a prepaid plan in case your cell phone breaks (is stolen, lost) when you *really* need it.  Be sure to set it up with relevant numbers.  You’ll need to consider battery charge and storage if you don’t use it frequently.  While you’re at it, consider memorizing a couple of important numbers – in case you’re ever arrested (or your battery dies) and don’t have your cell phone to look up the number you need for you one phone call you really need to make. Privacy Consider what kind of encryption your cell phone supports.  For example, Apple has something of a reputation for privacy of mobile devices (i think?) but other vendors may also. Consider what privacy laws apply to forcing you to unlock your phone.  Consider if you trust police or a third party aggressor to honor your rights with regards to fingerprint or face based phone unlock features.  Sometimes an old school strong pass-code is better. Warning: politically adjacent link, but it has valid politically agnostic (and up to date) advice regarding technology usage.  Please don’t ding me for linking to this! https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-protest-safely-surveillance-digital-privacy/ Devices If you have the means and interest: laptops, tablets, and smartphones are various form factors that are portable.  If it is important to you – you might consider having an old one in a tiered go-bag system (again, consider battery charge issues), or at least having one you can grab on your way out the door.  ThePrepared has reviewed solar chargers that are appropriate for cell phones (and tablets?) https://theprepared.com/gear/reviews/portable-solar-chargers/ There are other semi-portable (certainly in a car) solar panel and battery options that might recharge a laptop.  Again, take care of the base of maslow’s needs first (food, water, shelter, protection) but *if you want* there are options available to you. Read More

28

24

Advice

What would a non-nuclear world war look like?

Kira - April 21, 2022

Hi all, 

I’ve seen a lot of us talking about nuclear war and MAD (which has been on my mind as well), but I’m also curious what you think would happen if we had a non-nuclear world war. WWII could serve as some template, but we now have stronger international communities and weaker local communities. 

It looks like higher food and gas prices are already happening. People are pulling together more, but hate crimes are also spiking. Globally, alliances are strengthening and being made for the first time. Several countries are also talking about localizing their supply chains more. 

Do you have any predictions for what it could look like both in terms of everyday life and in terms of global relations?

(Edit: does anyone know if you capitalize “in” in a title? It looked wrong both ways…)

Read More

15

21

Scenarios

What can we learn from the war in Ukraine?

Conrad B - April 21, 2022

One of the main lessons I’ve seen so far is the need to reassess my bug out plan. There was a 6 mile (10km) long traffic jam of refugees fleeing to Poland.

At what point do you abandon your vehicle and trek it on foot? Is going on foot any better?

Another thought I had was having enough water, food, and fuel on hand. You don’t want to run out of food during the middle of an invasion and try to go through a war zone to buy groceries. 

My heart goes out to all those affected. Even to the Russian soldiers who may not like what they are doing but have to.

Let’s learn from what is going on and prepare for the future.

Read More

15

32

Meta

Community portable water filtration systems

Robert Clements - April 21, 2022

Hello,

I am a member of my local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and we are looking to replace our portable emergency water filters.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a company that produces portable, self-contained emergency water filter systems?

Our CERT currently has an Emergency Potable Water Program where, if our local water supplier was unable to provide potable water to the community, we would step in and supply potable water through several distribution sites.

The manufacturer of our current units (Global Pure Water) has gone out of business.

Thank you for any thoughts.

Bob Clements

Milwaukie, Oregon

Read More

9

6

Gear

How to communicate with out of town family during a grid down situation?

TheFuries - April 20, 2022

I need to resolve how my family will communicate with my parents and teenage sister who live three hours away should the grid go down. I’m not technical, so it’s not something I know where to start researching. But, my husband is technical enough to set systems up since it’s not my strength.

If cell towers and land lines go down during hurricane season (common where we live in North FL), a possible Russian cyber attack (increasing likelihood given the current global situation), or EMP, how do you communicate with others from a distance?

Having done humanitarian work with refugees in Italy and Ukraine, I know how to use blue tooth technology to communicate when cell towers aren’t available. We don’t have HAM radios and I imagine walkie talkies have a short range. But, if the electric is out entirely? For months?

Are satellite phones dependable during an EMP situation (if stored in a faraday)? What are other options? I’d like to invest in this for all family households, totaling three families (my husband’s parents as well in Kentucky), so I’d like to not break the bank, but if I have to…

This is one of those things that keeps me up at night as we have a toddler and are very close to our families. I’ve only found vague or shallow information on this issue. Nothing that breaks things down with clear directions.

Many thanks in advance for your time!

Read More

18

21

Advice

A list of places where you can find TP other than the forum

Gideon ParkerStaff - April 20, 2022

Hey folks, here are other places where you can follow or interact with us:

/theprepared: Interesting, educational, and entertaining prepping related Reddit posts. Facebook and Twitter: Top articles and forum posts are shared throughout the week. If you want to have more real time conversations you can join our Slack group (leave a comment down below if you would like a private invitation to join), or Discord server.

Thank you for being part of this community!

Read More

8

2

Meta

Creating a prepping team

Unobtrusive - April 20, 2022

No man is an island and no one can succeed in a disaster alone. Mad Max, The Omega Man, I Am Legend, even The Road had guys going it alone against the post-apocalyptic hordes. But that’s not realistic. A truly prepared individual will surround themselves with like-minded others who have diverse skill sets.

The question I have is how? How do we find these people? I’ve been looking. I’ve joined groups, I’ve been on other forums. I want to enlist the people in my community,  but do so without coming on like a desperate weirdo or paranoid gun nut.

Where do y’all go to find others?

Read More

28

40

AdviceScenariosSkills

Nuclear power plant failure…options?

GracedChip - April 19, 2022

   So I was perusing the beginner prepper guide and was thinking about things I should start with to better prepare me and my family for emergency situations. I live in Kentucky and happened to see the map for nuclear power plants and wondered about the fallout should the ‘world go dark’ scenario – government collapse etc. So what I was wondering was…how far could you live in a place near a nuclear powerplant and not have to worry about things like fallout or radiation poisoning in the water and air? At least not enough to have to move…    I’ve included an image that shows the current location of nuclear power plants and the link (Global Map of Wind, Weather, and Ocean Conditions) to a website that shows the real-time wind/weather patterns (quite beautiful actually).   I obviously don’t know much about nuclear power or what their procedure is should they need to power down but I imagine it wouldn’t be pretty if they had to be shut-off permanently? I do know that in the event of a power failure they recommend everything outside of a 100mile radius to evacuate. Any references would be greatly appreciated as I really enjoy a good research rabbit hole but a starting point does help.   I guess I’m just not sure how much energy and resources should be spent in a place that would prove unlivable when nuclear power fails and starts affecting the environment.

Read More

7

15

AdviceScenarios

How would those who live in a city survive without trucks?

Alisa Felix - April 18, 2022

While taking a business trip to Southern California I looked out the window and saw nothing but buildings, roads, and urban yuck as far as the eye could see.

At any time, I was probably looking at a million or two people. The thought that crossed my mind is how are all these people supported? I didn’t see any farmland, no large bodies of water, and where was the power plants? It seems like the food, water, and even power was transported in. What if all that stopped? By looking at the pictures you can see a few small bodies of water or a few football fields or parks that could be turned into farmland. I still don’t see how the vast number of people I was looking at could have enough resources and survive though. It would require a mass exodus out of the city or a large portion of the population to die off.

If you live in a city, it is even more important to store water, food, and fuel. And have a way to protect those resources because the hundreds of people around you who are not prepared will get pretty desperate.

Read More

10

7

Scenarios

“Reasonable” preparations for a nuclear conflict—picking a place to live…

jgrif - April 17, 2022

Hey everyone. Brand new to the forum; really cool to find a site with such comprehensive resources for common sense preparedness.

I’ve been working on some minor preparedness here and there since COVID started a couple of years ago. Events in Ukraine are now causing me to accelerate and take things to the next level. Specifically, and sadly, I am concerned that we have crossed a threshold where the prospect of a global nuclear conflict will be a real possibility for the foreseeable future.

I have two young kids and am determined not to take a passive stance, leaving my family’s fate completely in the hands of the government. I’m also as yet unwilling to go the other extreme (living completely off-grid in a bunker). So I’m asking myself, is there a middle ground?

I’ve started reading Nuclear War Survival Skills by Kearny. I’m finding that there are indeed actionable strategies that any sufficiently determined citizen can take. But the big question I’m grappling with right now is—do I want to relocate my family?

Currently, we live in the southwest corner of the Denver metro. As I understand it, Colorado is a pretty target-rich environment for nuclear strikes. But that brings me to question number one:

Does anyone know of any up-to-date resources available to the public that assess the risk of nuclear strikes by geography? I know that missile silos, air force bases, large civilian runways, etc would all likely be the first targets. Possibly major cities after that. But I’m wondering if any agency or individual has aggregated all these risk factors into one map.

Based on my limited reading so far, it does seem that if one is located outside the primary blast radius, steps can be taken to sufficiently protect against fallout such that one could at least survive the initial strike and the following ~2-4 weeks of heavy fallout. So I’m trying to determine if there are places I’d actually be willing to live that might be far enough from the most likely targets.

Has anyone researched this before? Curious what you’ve found?

Read More

18

80

Advice

Food storage/self reliance

Azure639 - April 17, 2022

I applaud that you are advising (like the Red Cross) to have 2 weeks of shelf-stable food stored, however, it’s rare that disasters occur singly. There are always cascading effects. FEMA, quite quietly, advised a few years ago not to expect them to show up for a week (previously it was 3 days and that’s after state governor declares disaster). So a scenario might be that a disaster happens, then you have to self quarantine for 2 weeks. Or you lose a job and it takes a month or more to find a replacement. Professional searches have been known to go for months.

So building your storage can and probably should be gradual, buying what you eat and eating what you buy.

At the other end of the continuum are the Mormons (LDS church) who take it as part of their faith to prepare to survive for a year (or more) on stored items and have tools to plant during that year for the longer haul.

I’d say 1 weeks worth of self reliance is a good start, but then extend the goal to a minimum of 3 weeks if you have the storage capacity. Shelter in place is often the best strategy for many disaster scenarios.

Read More

9

8

Advice

Mass shooting NYC Subway. Bombs found

Bill Masen - April 14, 2022

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10711479/NYPD-searching-man-gas-mask-rush-hour-explosion-shooting.html

No matter if its a criminal or a terrorist or a nut job, theres no way on earth I’m letting my wife fly to NYC for a shopping trip in July.   Be it US, UK or EU cities are fast becoming no go areas.

gunman wearing a gas mask and orange construction vest is on the run in Brooklyn after shooting at least 13  people on a packed subway station platform in Sunset Park during rush hour on Tuesday.  

At least five people are believed to be injured, with four said to be either shot or hit by shrapnel and another shot on the R train at the 36th Street station in Sunset Park. 

At around the same time, there were reports of an explosion nearby. It’s unclear where the gunman is now but NYPD units are hunting for him. 

An NYPD spokesman could only confirm that a shooting had taken place and that no one was in custody. 

Multiple undetonated devices have been found at the scene that the FDNY is now working to remove safely. 

‘Originally, the call came in as smoke in the subway station. Upon arrival, officers found multiple people shot and undetonated devices.  

Read More

3

5

Free DIY: How to make small waterproof containers using plastic trash

Gideon ParkerStaff - April 13, 2022

It’s great to store smaller bug out bag items in waterproof containers, like medication, tinder, or water purification tablets. In this post, I show how to DIY a free and quick method that recycles/upcycles the plastic bottles you’ll be throwing out anyway. 

When deciding what containers to upcycle, favor sturdier plastic with quality caps, like the too-expensive disposable water bottles.

–A 16oz water bottle or old apple sauce container provides a large capacity inside the lid and a definable lip that can be cut across.–

Next take a hacksaw or sharp kitchen knife and cut below the lid. If you need a slightly larger container, leaving a portion of the neck of the bottle will give some extra capacity. After that, sand down the rough plastic to create an even and smooth surface. You can even just rub it against some concrete. The nice thing about this project is that it does not need to be exact or perfect and further steps will make up for any imperfections.

–Before and after sanding–

Taking another piece of thin plastic that would have ended up in a landfill for the next 500 years, trace around the lid and cut out the little circle, this will form the base of the container.

–-I cut out clear plastic circles (which is why they are hard to see in the picture) so I could see inside of the container, but you can go with colored plastic if you want.–

Run a thick bead of hot glue or super glue around the rim of the lid and press on the plastic circle. Hot glue is nice because the thickness of the glue fills any imperfections between the sanded portion of the container and the plastic circle base. Any excess that comes out of the side can be wiped or scraped off.

Possible uses:

The container made out of the large apple sauce bottle can store three large cotton balls that can be coated in vaseline for an excellent tinder source.

Learn more about how to make these by reading this post by forum member Jay Valencia.

Using one of those slim and more eco-friendly water bottle lids, I created a small container that can hold red pepper flakes for spicing up food. On the right is a container made from a full sized lid that is able to hold four ibuprofen liquid gel capsules, perfect for throwing in a pocket or purse.

By combining two wide mouth Gatorade bottle lids, a larger container can be made. Or you can place one of those plastic circles in between the two halves and make a container on either end. Perhaps one side is your medicine in the morning and the other end is for the evening.

By screwing a waterproof container on the end of a Sawyer Mini or Hydroblu Versa, top rated in the Best portable survival water filters article, you will protect the protruding tubes on either end that can be damaged if dropped and also stop any leaking of the filter inside your bag after use.

Read More

11

2

Gear

Inflation preparedness

Calvin - April 12, 2022

Alternatives to the US dollar (eg gold, bitcoin) are frequently discussed as insurance against inflation. But are there other steps one should be taking to prepare? Should a renter try to become a homeowner? What storable goods are likely to become expensive? What storable (yet necessary) goods are likely to become scarce?

Read More

17

16

Scenarios

Do I need more than a whole house generator?

jaybee - April 12, 2022

I have a natural gas line into my home and a 22kw whole house generator that automatically kicks on when the electricity goes out. It can easily power everything in my home, including my gas furnace (necessity) and my whole house a/c (a nice luxury during a summer outage).  The primary worries in my area are winter storms and high-wind storms (including tornados, although I don’t live in “tornado alley.”) My question: “redundancy” seems to be a key concept in prepping, and I’m beginning to wonder if over-reliance on my generator for heat and electricity is wise. Thoughts?

Read More

9

16

AdviceScenarios

Sunflower oil: UK bottler has a few weeks’ supply left

Bill Masen - April 12, 2022

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60941091

The biggest cooking oil bottler for UK shops has said it only has a few weeks’ supply of sunflower oil left.Ukraine and Russia produce most of the world’s sunflower oil and the war is disrupting exports, said Edible Oils.The company, which packages oil for 75% of the UK retail market, is ramping up supplies of other oils for shoppers.Meanwhile, manufacturers of foods that contain sunflower oil, like crisps, oven chips and cereal bars, are reworking their recipes.The Food Standards Agency has advised people with allergies to look out for extra information from shops and food makers.Kim Matthews, commercial director at Edible Oils said 80% of the global supply of sunflower oil comes out of Russia and Ukraine.”So obviously, with everything going on out there, we physically can’t get sunflower to be coming out of the country,” he said.

If you buy any cooking oil on the supermarket shelves, chances are it has come from the Edible Oils plant in Erith, on the outskirts of south-east London. It bottles oil for brands and retailers own label products.”From a UK consumer perspective, sunflower oil is the biggest oil. It’s used more than anything else,” said Mr Matthews.”It’s a fast moving situation. We’re still trying to see if we can get some more but it’s looking very tight.”Edible Oils Ltd has upped production to 24/7 to try to make sure it has plenty of rapeseed and other oils to put on the shelves when the sunflower oil goes.”Sunflower is great because you can cook at high temperatures. Rapeseed is very similar. You can do exactly the same with it,” he said.But it was far from clear when sunflower oil supplies will be back to normal, he said.”At the moment, Ukrainian farmers should be sowing the seeds now for the harvest in October and November.”Clearly that’s not going to happen… we’re probably going to miss the season so we could be impacted for 12-18 months.”

Read More

7

12

News

You can never stock too much _________

rebecca - April 12, 2022

What are some things you can never have too much of?

Read More

9

11

Scenarios

The Guardian profiles international go-bags

atlanticrando - April 6, 2022

“Your life is under threat. You might have to run any second. What do you take?” – The Guardian

I thought folks here might find this to be of interest. The piece highlights the diverse and rational needs for personal preparedness that are not at all the apocalyptic or paranoid variety.

While only a few of these kits would be The Prepared-approved for their thoroughness, most of the bags reflect some preparedness staples: important documents, communications, medicine, hygiene, and family care. I think it shows some interesting perspectives and that a go-bag is not a one-size-all solution: people do have distinctly different needs, priorities, and scenarios depending on their circumstances and personal values. A complete 30-50lb kit is not going to be achievable or useful in a lot of circumstances, especially for those living in high density urban environments for whom mobility is most important.

Read More

8

8

News

Using a vintage hot water bottle to stay warm and lower your energy bill

Alisa Felix - April 6, 2022

I’ve seen many news articles and posts on the forum here about rising energy costs and rightfully so, it is discouraging.

Following the example of brownfox-ff from the weekly news roundups, I would like to share an idea to help. Take action rather then be reacted upon. I don’t thank brownfox-ff enough but I do read their weekly uplifting support and try and work on one or two that week.

The past few months have been cold, especially at night. Instead of turning to the thermostat and clicking it up a few degrees to solve the issue I have been thinking of ways I can overcome my trial in a different way.

Tip #1 One of the big solutions that has helped is to move my couch and computer desk in front of windows so that when I am just sitting there, the warmth of the sun heats me up.

Tip #2 I’ve been wearing more clothing lately. It involves putting on another shirt or a jacket when just around the house during the day. At night I put on a hoodie, a beanie, and an extra blanket on top of my pajamas to keep the warmth in more.

Tip #3 When I just can’t seem to get warm from the above steps, I go to my secret top tip of using a hot water bottle to snuggle up to. These have been around for years and years but I’ve seen them fall out of fashion. Here’s a classic red one on Amazon for $6. The one I have is blue and has a comfortable outer sleeve to reduce the heat against bare skin.

If you don’t have one with a sleeve you can sew one up yourself or just wrap a dish towel around it. All this costs me is the energy that it takes to boil two electric kettles of water and then I have hot water for the entire 9 hours I sleep. I wake up and the bottle is still warm!

I bought this as a way to stay warm without having to rely on a fireplace or furnace and couldn’t be happier. It’s a nice little preparedness item that you should consider. Even if all the stuff hits the fan, we can probably boil some water over a fire.

Thank you all for reading.

Read More

15

6

Gear

Battery best practices

Jon StokesStaff - April 6, 2022

One of the main recommendations we make in our guide to rechargeable batteries, is that people should quit using alkalines and transition entirely to rechargeables. We have a couple good reasons for this that I wont’ get into, here (read the guide!) 

But here’s the thing: I’m not actually doing this, and I’m the one who wrote the recommendations. 

The reason I find myself unable to do this, is that the rechargeables are expensive, so I don’t want them to go into random kid toys and the like where they’re liable to get lost or thrown away. I hoard those things like the costly little gadgets they are. This means I end up buying alkaline batteries for kid toys and throwaway stuff, and since I have those on-hand I just use them for everything else, too.

So my stash of NiMH batteries sits mostly in special box with my chargers and other battery-related equipment.

I suspect I’m not alone in this approach, and that very few preppers are actually moving to NiMH in all daily-life use — despite the theoretical reasons why it’s a good idea. On this basis, then, I’m thinking of changing the battery guide language to reflect reality.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Have others made the jump to all-rechargeables? Or should I go ahead and concede that people will stick with alkaline, and then focus on storing the NiMH for emergencies?

Read More

21

19

Book Review: Emotional First Aid

brownfox-ffContributor - April 6, 2022

(image credit: Nick Fewings on Unsplash)

“Emotional First Aid” by Guy Winch is a handbook of practical exercises for healing and recovering from mental and emotional injuries, and building better emotional resilience.

Winch is a clinical psychologist who has spent decades distilling the latest research into practical steps and exercises for his patients. He found himself repeating the same advice over and over. So he compiled it into a book.

The book covers seven of the most common emotional injuries that people experience in everyday life: rejection, loneliness, loss, guilt, rumination, failure, and low self esteem. Winch describes the issues, how they can affect us, and also provides a plan with steps to tackle each type of injury.

Each chapter is split into two parts: first describing the psychological wounds that each type of injury inflicts, especially symptoms or behaviour that may be hard to recognize. Then the second part outlines treatments and steps you can use to work at healing. Winch provides multiple different options and “dosage” guidelines – of various types and intensity – so it’s easy to use the techniques that work for you. He also provides advice on when to seek professional help.

Part of Winch’s motivation for writing this book was to raise awareness of emotional health, and give people a better “first line of defense” for handling and healing emotional injuries. His analogy is right in the title – just as we have a medicine cabinet and first aid kit for first-line dealing with physical injuries, we can also benefit from creating a basic toolkit for dealing with psychological or emotional injuries. “Many of the diagnosable psychological conditions where we would seek professional help could be prevented or healed if we applied ‘emotional first aid’ to our wounds when we first sustained them”.

Winch notes that it is often easier to recognize when a physical wound needs more treatment – e.g. recognizing a minor cut vs a wound that needs stitches. It is more difficult to recognize emotional wounds, so we are more likely to neglect them until they get more serious. “We would never leave a cut on our knee unattended until it compromised our ability to walk. But we leave psychological wounds unattended all the time, even until they literally prevent us from moving forward in life”.

To help with framing and recognizing the different types of emotional wound, Winch compares each of them to a corresponding physical injury. For example:  rejection is compared to “the emotional cuts and scrapes of everyday life”; while loss and trauma are like “walking on broken bones” and guilt is “poison in our system”. This helps to frame the treatments by keeping the physical analogy in mind.

The steps in each chapter are practical and approachable. For example, to fight back against self criticism and build self-esteem, he advises exercises like:

List or write out negative or self critical thoughts that you have Then build counterarguments to each of the criticisms Refer back to the counter arguments whenever you feel overwhelmed

The book is littered with examples from (anonymized) patients and their steps to improvement, to show that it really can work. And it is all backed with references to more than 250 peer-reviewed scientific studies.

“Emotional First Aid” feels useful to have as a reference, especially in a remote or austere environment. Winch directly notes that his book should not be a replacement for professional help for serious emotional or psychological injuries. However, he also notes that seeking professional help may not always be practical or possible. “Emotional First Aid” is quite accessible and clearly written; it should be usable by anyone.

Read More

13

7

1 gal water containers for storage

RaspberryJ - April 5, 2022

I’m new to prepping, and I’m working on water storage. My sister and I live alone together, and we aren’t particularly strong, so we want to store a portion of the water in 1 gal containers. Those will be easier for us to carry and use, especially for short-term emergencies when we might not even need to break into our 5 gal containers.

From reading The Prepared, I understand that we shouldn’t use cheap plastic containers like milk cartons or soda bottles. Would a beverage cooler like this one be appropriate? https://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-1-Gallon-Beverage-Cooler-Jug-Blue/23787717? My concern is that it might not seal securely enough for long term storage.

If this won’t work, can anyone suggest an alternative 1 gal container? Thanks in advance!

Read More

9

8

AdviceGear

Including Naloxone in EDC or IFAK

Colorado Jones - April 5, 2022

Naloxone is new to me but has been featured in several TV news clips in my area over the past month.  Basically, its a drug that by-standers can administer to somebody overdosing on opioids which will potentially save the person’s life.

https://www.cdc.gov/stopoverdose/naloxone/index.html

Wondering if others living and working in busy urban areas keep this on hand as part of their EDC preps.

Read More

8

15

Gear

Some very interesting assorted YT vids closely associated with Prepping

Bill Masen - April 3, 2022

https://www.youtube.com/c/PracticalpreppersLLC

Read More

6

4