Active New Top (30 days) Compact Card Neutrality for the sake of survival and how to manage the full spectrum of ideologies Watchtower - October 16, 2024 First most, politics are not allowed. It’s very clear that society for Americans is rapidly transforming due to several factors and people are largely polarized in what they believe, how they choose to exist and what they expect others to be like in terms of their own beliefs. In terms of prepping and long term survival from a SHTF event that could play out for the medium to long term changing society as we know it today, What are people doing to prepare in terms of which side you may be on when things go bad? Do you find yourself welcoming to all type of beliefs and ideologies? Do you hold strong opinion and are more narrowly focused in an ideology? Do you find it dangerous to be around certain types of ideologies more than other types? Are you concerned about being subjected to aggressive type ideologies (cults, criminals, hordes) or even passive type ideologies (hippy, no-violence, share-the-wealth types) compromising your safety and survival during troubled times? Do you just plan to go it solo or work with a small group of folks knowing that strength in numbers can also backfire at a certain point? Please share your thoughts, you don’t have to answer any specific question from above. -Watchtower Read More 0 3 Scenarios Prep for fume event? Marshall Findlay - October 16, 2024 Hi all, This is my first post to the TP forum, though I’ve been diving into all the great resources since I discovered the site earlier this year. Stephanie Arnold brought up in her update for December 17 the notion of “fume events” in which faulty seals result in toxic fumes entering into the main cabin. The article to which she referenced described pilots passing out and passengers/crew complaining of long-lasting side effects. I had no idea 1) that air was drawn from engine exhaust into the cabin after being scrubbed for toxins or that 2) this air could turn toxic with equipment malfunction. According to the article she references, 2019 saw 362 “fume events” although there are likely more that go unreported. My question is as follows: would you all consider it a reasonable prep to invest in face masks with the potential to filter out carbon monoxide and other potential toxins? Would bringing such an item as a carry-on even be allowed? More practically, with 3 young children traveling in tow, has anyone looked into functioning masks (or hoods) for kids that would provide a sufficient seal to keep them from breathing all that nasty stuff in? Thanks all! Read More 9 3 Scenarios How to avoid losing your entire digital life in an instant Supersonic - September 5, 2024 TL;DR: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Download all your data and store offline regularly. A New York Times article this week, really got me thinking about how I organize my digital life. Sorry it is long but please take the time to read this, the lessons learned from this person’s experience can apply to 99% of us and there are things we can do now to prepare and be resilient against losing our entire digital life in an instant. Here’s a brief summary of the article. A dad noticed a rash occurring on his toddler son’s genitals and took pictures with his Android smartphone to document the problem and track its progression. The parents contacted their doctor who requested the photos so they could review them in advance to their doctors appointment. The husband texted the photos to his wife’s iPhone and she then uploaded them to the doctor’s patient portal. The doctor prescribed antibiotics and the rash cleared up for the toddler. Two days later, the dad’s phone received a message stating that his Google account was suspended because of “harmful content”. He then thought about it and realized that Google probably thinks he was sharing child porn. No big deal though, he could just contact Google and clear it up, he did nothing wrong. He filled out a form requesting a review of Google’s decision and explained his son’s infection and that the doctor requested those pictures. A few days after that, he received a response stating that they will not reinstate his account. It gets worse… Google then contacted the authorities and the San Francisco Police Department opened up a case against this dad. He received a letter in the mail stating that they were investigating him, and served warrants to Google and his internet service provider. This would include all of his internet searches, location history, messages, documents, pictures, and videos. The dad contacted the investigator and tried to clear his name, the investigator responded that they have already closed the case because they could tell that no crime had occurred (and clearly had common sense). The dad appealed his case to Google again sharing the police report that he is innocent, but Google was not going to budge. The New York Times also reached out to Google and asked if this dad could have his account back and they said no as well. He then got a notice that all of his information with Google was going to be permanently deleted. The sorta happy ending to all this though is that because the police had served that warrant with Google, they had a copy of all his data. They are in the process of getting this dad his information. What a headache right!? Let’s look at all the real damage that was done. This Google account was decades old and contained all of his emails for all that time. His contacts were stored with Google. All of his appointments were in his Google Calendar. All of his phone’s photos and videos were stored in the Google Cloud. His phone’s service plan was with the Google Fi provider so he lost that as well. He received is 2 factor authentication codes through text messages tied to that Google Fi phone number This dad really put all his eggs in one basket and got sucked into the convenient ecosystem that Google has set up. Look up at that list and think about what you would do if you could no longer receive, send, or view old emails, could no longer receive calls or texts, couldn’t get into your accounts that needed a text message verification code, lost all your calendar appointments, and years of pictures and videos of your family. I personally would be devastated! It could be even worse if you took important notes in Google Keep, bought lots of apps, music, movies, and books through your Google account, subscribed to various YouTube channels, and more. The lesson here is that you could be totally innocent and did nothing wrong and get your entire account banned, and even if you plead your case and any normal person with common sense would be on your side, they can still have your account banned. Below are my tips on what I do and want to do better to avoid situations like this from totally disrupting my life. Please share your thoughts and advice as well, I want to hear if there is some better or different approach I can take to make things better. Email – This actually happened to me last month. I was switching email accounts and for a weekend didn’t have access to my emails. It made me feel vulnerable that I could no longer contact certain people, receive notices from my bank, or get important medical test results that I was waiting on. Email is vital. Easy step – Download a copy of your emails through Google Takeout. This will give you an offline copy of your existing data. Medium step #1 – Have all of your emails automatically forward to a secondary Google or other email account. That way if you got banned from one account, a copy would exist in another account. Medium step #2 – Switch to another email provider that isn’t able to see the content of your emails. ProtonMail is a great solution. Advanced step #1 – POP/IMAP your emails to your computer for offline viewing. Advanced step #2 – Set up a custom domain. If your main email gets banned, you can then move it to another service and continue as normal. Calendar – Easy step – Export weekly/monthly your Google Calendar or any other calendar service you have. This offline file can then be imported into another Google account or pretty much any other calendar service and be rebuilt without losing all your appointments. Medium step – Move to a totally offline calendar solution and don’t sync it to the cloud. Still keep your regular backups though in case your device gets broken. I like the app Simple Calendar for Android. Photo and video storage – This all might have been avoided if he hadn’t set his phone to automatically upload his pictures and videos to the cloud. Easy step – Turn off cloud sync with Google or iCloud. Yes, Apple also scans and flags potential bad pictures on their service too. Easy step – Plug your phone into a computer monthly and download all your pictures and videos to it. Medium step – Move to more secure cloud storage like ProtonDrive or Sync.com where they cannot access or see what you store with them. Phone service – Easy step – Having a different phone provider like Tmobile or Verizon will make it not as life disrupting if you lost you Google account. Medium step – Create another Google account and use it solely for Google Voice, which gives you a free additional phone number that you can use to make and receive calls and text messages. 2 Factor Authentication – Easy step – Prioritize software based 2FA over text or email based 2FA. It is commonly an option everywhere except for banks in my experience. That way if you lost access to your phone number, you can still get into accounts. An easy solution is to use Authy. Easy step – Many sites will offer backup recovery codes if you don’t have access to your authenticator app, store these to get in again. Medium step – Move to a totally offline 2FA application like Aegis for Android or OTP Auth for iOS. Back these up manually on a regular basis in case your device is ever lost or destroyed. Advanced step – When setting up 2FA with each service, download your seed codes into your password manager. Then if your authenticator app breaks or whatever, you can manually rebuild. Contacts – Easy step – Download and backup your contacts offline monthly. Medium step – Request alternative phone numbers and emails for each of your contacts and set up alternatives for yourself and give those to all your contacts. Make sure everyone can reach everyone at any time by any means possible. Medium step – Print off your contact information and store in your emergency binder. Good tip for all the above and everything else – Download all your data regularly and store offline. If that’s through Google Takeout, or manually for each service, this is the best thing you can do to prevent total loss. Then back that up again somewhere else, preferably at a friend’s house. Gone are the days you can take pictures of your kid running naked in the sprinklers without having to worry about getting your account suspended. There are many other situations where you can fall victim to such things like driving past a house where someone is getting murdered and your location data is on and police think you are the murderer, or someone uses your unlocked device and looks up bad things that then gets tied back to you. Don’t fall into the thinking that “This will never happen to me” because that dad probably was thinking that and look at what he has had to go through now. Read More 13 8 NewsScenarios Lahaina Fire: Deadliest US Fire in a Century Eric - May 17, 2024 A wildfire destroyed the historical town of Lahaina, former royal capital of Hawaii, on August 9, 2023. Many people burned alive in their homes, unaware that a fire was approaching. Others burned in their cars, stuck in traffic while trying to evacuate, or drowned while trying to escape into the harbor. Bodies are still being counted (93 so far), but the death toll could be up to 1000. As fires become more common and more intense, we need to learn fire emergencies like Lahaina so that we can prevent them, or at least reduce the loss of life in the next fire emergency. Please join me in collecting information about what went wrong and what could have been done differently. What challenges did the people of Lahaina face as they tried to escape the flames. What could individuals have done differently to improve their odds of survival? What could the community have done differently to prevent the town from burning or to get people out in time? Read More 3 7 NewsScenarios You are stranded on a deserted island, you can choose four items… Captain Peanut - May 17, 2024 First post here. Wanted to share something I saw on Facebook that I thought would be fun. I took out that spot near the hunting rifle because it had weed in there. I don’t think that’s a very good survival item so lets place an ax there instead as an option. Don’t just list four items that you would take though, tell why you would choose those over something else and how you would use those items to keep yourself alive. Read More 14 21 Scenarios Some things to consider when building fallout shelters Jesse Smith - March 11, 2024 I’ve long had an interest in the construction of nuclear blast and fallout shelters. Most preppers will be familiar with Cresson Kearny’s guidebook, “Nuclear War Survival Skills” (NWSS), which is available as a free pdf here (save a copy!). Anyone interested in the construction of a fallout or blast-resistant shelter should start by reading this guide, which is excellent. I have some reservations about strict adoption of NWWS to mitigate contemporary nuclear threats. Kearny’s book was largely a response to underfunded civil defence. He operated on the premise that prior to a Russian first strike there would be a significant exodus of civilians from Russian cities. Having detected this migration via satellites, the US civilian population would have 3 days to migrate to rural areas and construct fallout shelters. There are many open questions regarding this strategy. Some thoughts on how contemporary shelters could be modified: Today, threats are more likely to be sustained at low probabilities for extremely long time periods. Consequently, shelters don’t have to be constructed hastily but should be highly durable. There are several historic examples of accidents nearly resulting in a nuclear disaster. Obviously these scenarios wouldn’t have provided sufficient time for people to construct a shelter. Independent of their durability, the materials and techniques used in NWSS were quite crude – i.e. tools and materials that could be taken from most suburban homes. In addition, we’ve had ~35 years of building science and product advancement since the last version of the book was published. Scientists seem to be converging on the idea that a 5-10 year nuclear winter will be likely after a full-scale exchange, and perhaps even after a smaller exchange such as the sort that would occur between Pakistan and India. This would result in the near total collapse of the industrial agricultural system. Launching a full-scale reboot of technological civilization is outside the scope of this post. However, it might be worth considering the integration of protected food storage, tools, and technology. Although Kearny did provide details for high capacity shelters, I’m of the opinion that in many areas the default shelter size should have at least moderately high capacity. If you’re going to the trouble of constructing a shelter, the marginal cost of adding some neighbors is low. And this isn’t strictly a bleeding heart perspective. Just think of how smug you’ll be in the middle of armageddon, surrounded by people who dismissed you as a survivalist crank! How many times can you pointedly glance at someone and say “good thing I built this, right?” in 3-14 days? We should divide shelters into 2 major types, those that are within an existing building – usually the basement of a home – and those that are separate. How should you decide between the two? Kearny believed that freestanding shelters were significantly more robust, mainly due to fire risk. On the other hand, basement shelters are considerably less expensive to construct. In addition, it’s somewhat of an open question whether basement shelters could add reasonable fire protection – or even shockwave protection – given contemporary materials, back-up power systems, filtration, ventilation, and airtightness levels. Overall, my sense is that people would ideally have some idea of the threat of fire risk, and gravitate towards basement shelters in the majority of cases where the fire risk isn’t extraordinary, due to the cost savings. I’ll try to cover both types, but will start with the basement. I’m going to start with a basement shelter that modularly moves through a descending order of priorities. The basement would ideally have a clearance to the bottom of the first floor joists of 7’6″ (or more), which should provide an interior headroom clearance of ~6’. I’ll add an asterix where where I have a lot of uncertainty. Overhead ceiling mass; Wall mass; Water (possibly integrated into ceiling/walls massing); Food (possibly integrated into ceiling/walls for massing); Fire protection; Ventilation; Air quality and radiation monitoring*; Sleeping; Hygiene; Entertainment and activities; Shockwave protection *. The driving principle to reduce gamma radiation exposure is to place a high mass between you and the source. We have to assume that gamma-laden fallout dust will be distributed everywhere outdoors, so this means placing mass between you and all lines of sight to outside (gamma doesn’t tend to bounce around corners). In fallout literature, people often refer to a material’s “halving thickness” which is the thickness required to reduce gamma radiation by 50%. Concrete’s halving thickness is 2.4”. In the case of a basement shelter, a realistic target is to place 12″ of concrete overhead, which is 5 halving thicknesses. In conjunction with other materials in the joists directly overhead, or other layers of the building, we could likely achieve 6 halving thicknesses, equivalent to roughly a 98.5% reduction in gamma penetration (2). Here are some instructions for building a shelter with an interior of roughly 7′ wide & whatever length you specify (although working in modules of 4′-8′ is sensible). The frame consists of a supported ledger and a parallel stud wall. These support joists that support ceiling joists that support a ceiling mass (ideally concrete). I have a spreadsheet cutsheet in the works but it’s not ready for primetime. Select an ideally windowless corner of a basement with minimal overhead obstacles. The selected corner should also be as far below ground as possible. Wiring is OK if stapled to the joists, but avoid significant plumbing (esp waste) or duct-work if possible. Ideally the width of the shelter (short axis) would run parallel to the overhead ceiling joists. Measure the height from the floor to the bottom of the existing basement ceiling joists. Deduct 20″ from this. This is the stud length for support wall. Cut one stud for every 16″ of length + one for the end. Cut 5 pc 2×4 at the specified length of your shelter. These are your ceiling ledger, 2 ceiling rim joists, wall bottom plate, and wall top plate. Mark a level line on the long side of the wall at a height above the floor of (stud length + 6.5″). This is the top of the ceiling ledger. Back the ledger with ice and water shield or sill gasket and attach it to the wall using construction adhesive and masonry anchors. Individually measure and cut studs for placing beneath the ledger 16″ on center. Attach ice and water shield or sill gasket to the flat side of the studs and attach them to the wall in their measured locations using masonry anchors. Frame the wall by connecting the wall plate to studs placed vertically every 16″. Set the wall well back from the work area. Attach ice and water shield or sill gasket to the bottom plate of the wall. Cut the ceiling joists to the specified width Deduct 4 1/2″ from the overall width of the shelter. This is your ceiling joist length. Cut the same number of ceiling joists as wall studs. Frame the ceiling by attaching the ceiling rim joists to the ceiling joists placed horizontally every 16″. Install 1/2″ sheathing over the ceiling using glue and construction adhesive. The sheathing should be flush on 3 sides, but project over one rim joist by 1 1/4″. This projection will be attached the ledger. Apply either asphalt impregnated 15# felt or ice and water shield over the sheathing. This will serve as a capillary break between the concrete and the plywood to prevent rot. Optional: Drill 1 1/8″” holes 12″ on center ~6 1/2″ above the ledger. Epoxy 1″ dia rebar exactly equal to the length and width of the shelter long into each hole, with 2″-4″ embedment in the wall (this will leave the rebar 2″-4″ short of the penetrating the outside edge of the concrete). Connect each point in the rebar grid using a tie wire loop. Run a bead of construction adhesive along the top of the ledger. Measure from the base of the ledger wall (overall width minus 10″) and mark a line the length of the shelter. This part will suck and will require several pairs of hands. Place the ceiling assembly over the top of the ledger and connect several screws through the plywood into the ledger. Quickly place the support wall under the ceiling assembly on the opposite side. Align the outside edge of the wall with the line you struck in 13. Fasten the wall to the floor slab using masonry anchors. Plumb the wall at the two outside studs and fasten the plate at these two locations to the ceiling joists above. Straighten the wall in between these points by sighting the wall along the top. Fasten the top plate 2x at every joist. The ideal overhead mass is 12″ of concrete, but you can use other heavy objects if you prefer. For concrete, prepare plywood edge forms roughly 16″ wide to be attached to the perimeter joists. Don’t install these yet. This part will also suck. Mix concrete and shovel it into the deck. As you approach the nearest edge of the form, install the plywood edge forms so the concrete doesn’t spill out. Once the concrete has set, you can apply more heavy things into the overhead joist cavity to provide even more protection. This should complete a reasonably well protected overhead mass. If folks are interested I’ll try to work on the wall section. Hope you enjoyed this! Read More 13 8 Scenarios Games that teach survival skills Eric - January 4, 2024 What games have you found that teach survival skills in a fun way? I’ll include some of my favorites as comments and encourage others to do the same. Read More 19 51 ScenariosSkills How to develop realistic scenarios to prep for? Nice_badger - December 18, 2023 The approach of this site ist generally to focus on broad categories of emergencies, not highly specific scenarios. This is generally sound, I beleive. However: One broad scenario is bugging out. What a good bug out bag looks like is highly dependent on the reason *why* you bug out. As Eric Bunny pointed out in the thread on wildfires, a vehicle bug out can turn into a bug out on foot quickly. In this specific situation a fairly light bob is crucial, a level 1 bob will be better than a level 3! This is just an example to show that there is value to think through the possible *whys* of bugging in and out and tweak ones preps accordingly: Develop a plan to work from, obtain specific gear and skills for that. How do you think through possible scenarios? The only approach that comes to my mind is listing possible scenarios (urgent trip to the hospital, house fire, in my specific location: unexploded WW2 ordnance, pandemic, brown out or other grid down event …), guesstimate the likelyhood and possible effect and then decide how to prep, or tweak ones preps. An other angel that is, IMO, harder to think through logically is broad tendencies that will affect our lives and make some disasters more likely or severe: Climate change => More extreme weather events & heat waves, worse quality of public services including health So what do you do to think through scenarios? How do you avoid traps like biases (you can probably deduce something about me, from that crime and terror don’t feature big on my list …)? Read More 2 10 Scenarios Prepping for self-managed abortion post-Roe v. Wade MariaC - November 13, 2023 In the event that Roe v. Wade is repealed in the U.S., access to abortion will fall to the state level to legislate. Many people with uteruses will very quickly have a much more difficult time accessing healthcare that allows them to end a pregnancy. Therefore, pro-choice preppers who want to understand self-managed abortion care may be interested in learning how to gather materials, build local community networks of support, and access information about how to perform different kinds of as-safe-as-possible self-managed abortions for people with uteruses in your community. I’ve been doing a little research about this and wanted to share what I found. This is obviously a topic that can get super politically charged. I’m not interested in having those conversations. If this prep isn’t something you’re okay with for any reason, you don’t have to do it. I’m sharing information in case somebody else can benefit from it. Books: Handbook on a Post-Roe America by Robin Marty Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom by Christiane Northrup M.D. A Cooperative Method of Natural Birth Control by Margaret Nofziger Websites & articles for information: An academic journal article (no paywall) detailing how to purchase safe, effective abortion pills online as a U.S. based consumer, including a chemical composition study of what was actually in those pills Women on Waves, providing information about the safety of abortion pills and on how to access self-managed abortion How Activists Can Prepare for a Post-Roe World video lecture on how to spread the word about self-managed abortion within your community Self-Managed Abortion with Pills how-to video lecture & information Investigative journalism article from 2018 on networks of people learning to provide at-home abortion services as a form of civil disobedience — full of great information and search terms to mine in Google Guide to performing a menstrual extraction with a homemade Del-Em device r/Childfree sourcing information about healthcare providers who will provide seterilization services in the U.S. and many parts of the world An overview of abortion laws by U.S. state, to help forecast which states might protect access to abortion if Roe v. Wade was repealed Affordable Plan B and pregnancy tests to add to your prep kits: My Way Emergency Contraceptive (3 Plan B pills for $15 USD on Amazon) Pregnancy test strips (50 count for $15, $0.30 each, on Amazon) Read More 29 21 Scenarios What are my fellow urban Canadians doing different about prepping? Here’s some of what I have done and worked. Frozen22 - October 11, 2023 I hope I’m not duplicating an existing thread, but I thought it would be useful to have some discussion specific to Canadian members, given differences in laws, available products, climate, infrastructure, etc. I’m a newish prepper and am interested in how others are setting themselves up. I live a in a city in Western Canada, in a condo, so I don’t have land, a garage, or tons of storage space. Given those limitations I’m still better set up than most people in my city. First, my perspective. I really only focus on a two-week scenario. I’m assuming my plan would involved (1) bugging in, (2) assisting three elderly family members, (3) contending with overloaded public services, and (4) no “societal breakdown,” partly because that is such a vague concept. I have no problems with guns but don’t own any and don’t plan to (though I might get armor). There are very different laws here regarding weapons, self-defense, etc., and it would be good for Canadians to be aware of those. My main scenarios are (1) loss of power during extreme cold or heat, (2) water system breakdown, (3) air contamination largely from fires. I’ve developed my plan by asking, what would I need to get by, and what shortfalls/losses would I find demoralizing. So I’ve planned on the high end for maintaining hygiene and related items. If the water system went down, the prospect of 00s of 000s or millions of people pooping in their yards or plastic bags (ineptly and in a panic) raises concerns about air and water contamination, and obvious panics about supplies. I have food and water preps, medical, and air filtration, so far. I’m investigating solar generators and am debating which one I should get (affordable but also useable over 14 days), as well as a panel. I’d prefer to get a large unit and two smaller ones for elderly family members. For the elderly family I’ll be assisting, the first question is whether they’re safe to remain at home, or join me. In general, I’ll want to stay away from hospitals and any emergency public service centers as they’ll be chaotic and unpredictable, so psychological and medical aid on site is preferable. Because I have limited space and am not planning for a very extreme scenario, I’m not going into my preps in detail because they’re pretty standard. But I’m curious what other Canadians, especially urban dwellers, are doing. Read More 9 3 AdviceScenarios Best home or neighborhood security system 2023 Eric - July 21, 2023 What are the best options to detect, deter, and prevent breakins in your home or neighborhood? My neighborhood had a nighttime burglary recently (involving a car, not the house) which has raised the issue of security in my neighborhood. I’m interested in recommendations for my own home’s security, especially detection/alerting, as well as neighborhood-wide options that I could present to the HOA. Here are some relevant previous security articles and discussions, but I suspect some of the technology has advanced in the years since these were written. https://theprepared.com/homestead/guides/home-hardening-basics/ https://theprepared.com/gear/reviews/alarm-systems/ Please share both ideas and experiences about how to setup home or neighborhood security systems. Read More 3 3 AdviceGearScenarios Learning from the past – The 1815 volcano that covered the world Jose Martinez - June 24, 2023 On April 5, 1815, the Indonesian island of Sumbawa (to the north of Australia) was alerted to the sounds of the Tambora mountiain coughing up ash and fire as the volcano awoke. People hundreds of miles away recalled that it sounded like cannon fire. These small eruptions continued for days until April 10th when the whole mountain exploded. Three plumes of fire and rock shot upwards, merging into one massive blast. Lava flowed out of the volcano and engulfed the village below. Midday felt like midnight for weeks as ash continued to fall, piling as high as two feet in some places. Throughout the world, people stared in awe at vibrant sunsets over the coming months but little did they know that disaster would follow. In the coming year, the weather would turn unpredictable and be devastating to many. Because of this eruption, in India, temperatures dropped and thousands were killed from cholera (infection in the small intestines which leads to watery diarrhea, vomiting, and muscle cramps). In China, the normally mild climate was disturbed with summer snowstorms and brought flooding rain that destroyed crops. In Europe, food supplies dwindled leading to starvation and panic. In North America, 1816 was called the year without a summer where there was snowfall and frosts that ruined entire crops. Thousands of people throughout the world had to flee and relocate during this period because of effects caused by the volcano. To the people all over the world at that time without news and social media explaining what was going on, these events must have felt apocalyptic. The Mount Tambora volcano was the most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded human history ejecting 38-51 cubic miles of material into the atmosphere. It is mind boggling to think that a small mountain on the other side of the world could affect the entire world killing 10,000 from the initial explosion and 90,000 from famine and disease in the coming years. Our world is so fragile where a drop in 0.7-1.3°F can cause so much devastation. Previous episode of Learning from the past: Otzi the Iceman Read More 14 3 Scenarios Boil water alert – Washing your hands Bigwig - May 15, 2023 Our city is currently under a boil water alert. I have plenty of water in 55 gallon drums, 1 gallon jugs, and bottled water. I pulled some gallon jugs and put them near each sink. However, it is very inconvenient to wash your hands. What solutions would you recommend to make it easier? I’ve thought about buying some pump dispensers but not sure how well they will work with water. https://www.berlinpackaging.com/xp3811-38-400-white-pp-plastic-high-output-dispenser-pumps/ Read More 13 21 GearScenarios I am new, advice? Corrina Leo - May 13, 2023 Hey everyone! I just turned 18 and I am learning about the prepper community. I have always been interested, but never really started “prepping” until recently. Does anyone have an advice for me? I am looking to have a good stock pile, but I am not sure where to buy from (that will be effective and relatively inexpensive). I am not really sure how to use this site either, but I am trying to learn as much as possible. Any advice, recommendations, warnings, etc. would be infinitely appreciated. Read More 5 10 ScenariosSkills Is using natural gas a realistic option in most grid-down scenarios? Colorado Jones - May 12, 2023 Given the number of electrical grid-down scenarios over the past year or so, I’ve been thinking about how to heat my home should that happen in the dead of winter. My question is this: Does natural gas ever get disrupted, specifically in locations like the Rocky Mountain West? Power outages exceeding more than a few hours in my area are rare, perhaps once a year at most. I don’t recall ever–in my lifetime–having a natural gas outage, period. Though, obviously, anything is possible given the right bad circumstances. It occurred to me that in a simple extended power outage (ranging from a few hours to a few days) due to, say, downed power lines in a snowstorm, I could simply plug the fan for my gas fireplace (or, possibly, the fan for the main house heater, which uses forced air) into a Jackery or DIY power station and keep heat circulating through the house. While I haven’t yet taken a look at the setup in the basement furnace room, my initial thought is that that electric fan on my fireplace would require significantly less electricity and would be sufficient to keep our small two-bedroom ranch style home “warm enough” in an emergency situation. Obviously, as well all things prepping, I wouldn’t want to put all my eggs in the same prepping basket. So being prepared to function without natural gas ultimately needs to be part of my plan. But, it seems, that many if not most grid-down situations would be no electric BUT natural gas still available, allowing me to battery power the fans to circulate the heat. And, obviously, for an extended outage, natural gas–if available–is in much greater supply than the amount of propane I can realistically (and safely) store onsite. Read More 4 10 AdviceScenarios Pooping in a pail and other prepper pastimes M. E.Contributor - May 10, 2023 I am in the middle of a plumbing problem and thought I’d share what I’m learning AS I’m learning it, since I learn a lot from the “what went well/what didn’t” threads elsewhere in this Forum. To the extent possible I’ll try not to repeat what is in the “Toilets when there’s no water” thread. It seems our outbound sewer line is blocked. We are lucky that we have an unfinished basement so the disgusting backup is mostly in our non-living areas. But though we have plenty of clean incoming water, if any of it goes down the drains it just makes the backup WORSE and more disgusting. My preps are coming in handy, but I’ve learned some things! Warning, this thread is – kinda gross. You need more trash bags than you think. I’m peeing in the toilet as usual but not flushing, and throwing the wet TP in the trash. Despite my husband’s objections, I am also Pooping in a pail, using my “luggable loo” for “#2”, with two trash bags inside and a big scoop of kitty litter. It still smells, though, so I take it out to the trash afterward and thus the need for lots of trash bags. I wasn’t thinking clearly when this first happened and at first I was trying to practice “hygiene” outside – hand washing, etc. using the outdoor faucets. This sucked since it is freezing here. I quickly realized that all I really have is a drainage problem, so I put big bowls under each house faucet to catch the hand washing water and then I throw it outside. From this I learned a few other things: Pails are REALLY handy. LOTS of pails. In addition to the “luggable loo” pail, which is serving its purpose, I have a pail in the bathroom to dump the hand wash water into, and a pail in the kitchen for dishwater. To the extent possible I’m using biodegradable soap and as the pail fills up I’m dumping it on the edge of the woods. I also had to use a pail for cleaning up the backup in the basement. It was disgusting. Thank goodness I had dish gloves and plenty of hand sanitizer. At first I was cleaning up with the ol’ wringing out a wet rag method, but this took forever. I finally figured out that using a squeegee to push the water into a large dustpan worked much faster. I probably made thirty trips to the woods with buckets of gross water. My next prepping purchase will be a water vacuum. Would love a review of those for a future guide. The stuff I bought for hurricanes – shampoo caps, GoodWipes, wet toilet paper, etc. (plus the hand sanitizer that has basically become a staple in pandemic times) have been absolute gifts when I need to use as little water as possible. Here are some other tiny things I’ve noticed: Habits are VERY hard to break. My husband kept running the faucets etc. without thinking, thus making our backup worse. I made signs with a big red magic marker and post-its saying “STOP! Minimize water use!” and posted at each sink and toilet, and that helped. My preps were not as – prepped – as I thought. It took me a while to find the Luggable Loo, the trash bags, and the solar shower (which I ended up not needing). I thought I was SO organized! I wasn’t. We always say we should practice but does anybody really? These “mini emergencies” – only a drainage problem, instead of a full on emergency – are the ideal scenarios in which to work out the tiny details (which is why I am writing about it). We should have a list of hotels with in-room laundry and kitchen facilities. This problem has been going on for three days now (a plumber came on day one and SAID the problem was fixed – it wasn’t!) and we are considering moving to a hotel. However, with Omicron raging I really, really don’t want to be around other people, so finding a place with in-room laundry and kitchen facilities would be ideal. Good to learn this now as in the future I might need to find one quickly, and WHEN you’re dealing with a literal “poopy situation” is not the time to figure stuff out like that. I found myself remarkably reluctant to use my preps. Example: The kitty litter with the Luggable Loo. I thought, Well maybe I should save this for a “real” emergency. I decided the situation definitely warranted the use of my supplies and that I can buy more kitty litter later! Very grateful for my “not quite BOB”. In addition to my full-on BOB, I keep a fully packed suitcase with three days’ worth of clothes, toiletries, and medications in case of a family emergency. I haven’t needed to use it yet but knowing that it is there is a stress reducer. Given that we can’t do laundry just now, having three days of clean clothes set aside is a blessing. Well, the plumber just called and is on his way. Stay tuned. My next post might be about my hotel room kitchen kit, that allows us to have hot healthy meals even in a hotel without a kitchen. I put it together last summer in case we had to travel in the pandemic but haven’t tested it out yet. Read More 21 35 AdviceScenarios What do you keep in your BOB for menstruation? Liz Klein - May 7, 2023 This came up in a different thread about prepping resources for single women, https://theprepared.com/forum/thread/single-female-prepper-resources/ Wanted to start a separate thread to dig deeper into period prepping! 🙂 Everyone was so generous with suggestions on the other thread, thought we could continue and consolidate here. These were the main ideas that came up so far Menstrual cups are a good idea because they’re washable and reusable, though the learning curve can be steep and there might be hygiene issues Diva Cup seems popular but not all brands work for all people https://divacup.com/ Period underwear such as Thinx may be better for bags since they can be worn regularly and won’t add more weight https://www.shethinx.com/ Disposable paper products are cheap and can be used as a fire starter too, but you are limited to what you already carry One person mentioned getting a UTI from her cup, so obviously everyone’s experience will be different. Whatever you choose, you should be sure to practice with it in real life. Don’t switch to a new method the same time you’re dealing with an emergency. So… what do you keep in your bag? How do you think about prepping for periods when you’re not at home in an emergency? Has anyone gone through this, like at a shelter? Read More 27 14 AdviceScenarios California megafloods! New research, articles, prepping challenges, etc. pnwsarahContributor - February 5, 2023 I don’t think we’ve had a forum thread on this before… LMK if I’m wrong and I’ll delete this and move my links and comments to the appropriate place, but the WaPo ran an article on megaflood risk in CA today. If you get paywalled, here is: The research article that prompted the press coverage (which is allegedly open access) A long Mother Jones feature from a couple of years on the same subject TL;DR — California can get enormous rainfall events that generate enormous floods. There was one in 1862 and it basically turned the Central Valley into an inland sea and drowned a whole bunch of cattle. It would have been a bigger deal if the area were settled and farmed the way it is now. It will happen again and cause all kinds of havoc, destruction, loss of life, etc. My husband called it, “California’s Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake.” The thing that makes this so hard to grok for me is that, unlike likely shaking intensity for earthquakes, tsunami run-up, ordinary FEMA flood risk, and event wildfire hazard, this scenario doesn’t seem to have been modeled at the local scale. There isn’t a GIS where I can plug in my address and see whether it will be underwater or not, or plan an evacuation route. My husband said, “We’d have five days notice, so, have sandbags ready to deploy, move everything valuable to the second floor, and evacuate.” Having sandbags and sandbag alternatives on hand seems like a no-brainer, and a list of things to move to the second floor or take (in addition to BOBs) is easy/consistent with work I’ve already done, but “we’d have five days notice… just evacuate” seems like a bad strategy given the tendency among Bay Area weather media people to totally overhype winter storms, especially those involving atmospheric rivers. If feel like all it would take is a good El Niño year and we’d be evacuating every week. Also, I have no idea where we’d go: “Head for the hills” doesn’t seem like a great rule of thumb given the propensity of the Coast Ranges to rearrange themselves under the duress of a wet winter. Anyone else thinking about this? (Edited to address formatting issues!) Read More 14 50 Scenarios Grid down – How to recognize it early? Lindsey - February 3, 2023 https://practical.engineering/blog/2022/11/22/how-long-would-society-last-during-a-total-grid-collapse This was posted in November to the internet but my husband and I just watched this video yesterday. One of the things I found most interesting and relevant was the mention of how the initial reaction to the scenario would probably be more of a vacation vibe until the gravity of the situation really began to sink in after 2-3 days of no electricity. How does a prepared person get ahead of the curve on something like this? Realizing that the power is not coming back up in 12 hours, rather than waiting 48 hours seems like it might give you additional time to stockpile last minute water or supplies before the herd starts to panic. But how do you recognize that it really is a grid down and not an extended power outage? Or do you not worry about getting it wrong after you hit a certain length of outage, for example 6 hours, and assume grid down so that you can start moving to bug in or out as necessary? Read More 3 15 Scenarios Livestock for prepping Barb LeeContributor - February 2, 2023 There seems to be a common belief that keeping certain classes of livestock will insure a source of food (or transportation) when SHTF. I’m an old lady, I’ve kept pretty much every class of livestock in my goal to be “self sufficient”, and I have a different perspective. Let’s look at bugging out with livestock, supply chain disruptions for feed and supplies, predation, types of livestock, and sort out whether maintaining livestock REALLY makes us independent, or does it become an anchor around our neck when we need extreme mobility and lack of distraction. 1. Chickens: EVERYBODY loves chickens and thinks they’re an ace in the hole when SHTF. First of all, let’s look at the avian flu epidemic that is affecting private flocks. 30+ chickens and ducks were just destroyed in our county. There are undoubtedly more that haven’t been reported. They were probably free range. It is unlikely that most chicken owners can grow their own healthy food for modern layers and meat birds (there’s an element of decades of breeding for high performance or exhibition that makes modern chickens different from those of the WWI era). So owners are highly dependent on supply chains. Feed is hard to stockpile because it can easily go bad or become rat infested. Bedding is also subject to supply chain disruptions and inflation. Bagged wood shavings can also be affected by the lumber market. Around here, shavings were hard to get during the pandemic because the mills were all shutting down. Predation can bring death and destruction to a flock overnight. Oh, and the deep orange of homegrown eggs, to which is ascribed health benefits, is the result of feed compounders adding marigold extract – a dye – to the feed. It isn’t green grass and worms and sunshine. 2. Livestock and Evacuation: The overarching concern for ALL livestock owners is evacuation. When our county was evacuated due to wildfires in 2020, there was a Facebook network called Cowgirl 911 which coordinated livestock owners with those willing to help transport. That was the most appalling experience of a lifetime, seeing people pleading desperately for help transporting their chickens, pigs, goats, horses (not trained to load onto trailers). And transporting to where? As a horse owner caught up in the evacuation, the amount of time and space it took to load up those horses and their “survival gear” was staggering. If you are a livestock person already, you’re probably aware of the devastating state of affairs of abandoned livestock after a big disaster. We’ll include cats and dogs here as well. 3. Other small livestock: Somebody mentioned raising “cuy” in a recent post here. Did anybody look that up? Cuy = cavie = Guinea pig=rodent. “They eat grass.” Grass is not the same foodstuff from one hour of the day to the next, not to mention seasons. There is a saying: “Just because you have grass doesn’t mean you have feed.” I have been shepherding a horse through a major metabolic meltdown for eight months that occurred because of the grass she ate late last spring. Rabbits are kept caged. They are susceptible to many ailments and are subject to the same issues with supply chains, evacuation concerns, etc. Pigeons: Why isn’t anybody raising pigeons anymore? They were survival food for millenia. If you look at a nicely grown out squab (young pigeon) expertly cleaned, you can only imagine how delicious it would be roasted. Getting into pigeons is very expensive and subject to all aforementioned difficulties, but if I could convince my husband, I’d be trying pigeons. Or, if wild pigeons are in your area you can catch them to start your loft. 4. And lastly, may I bring up the subject of horses, which have been described here as “the ultimate bug-out animal”. One prepping blogger went so far as to “instruct” the reader to go out and catch a mustang, train it according to Buck Brannaman (the “horse whisperer), and you’ll have transportation in case you need to bug out and all the roads are wrecked. This is such a work of fiction that I can’t even wrap my brain around it. The LAST thing you need to be “saddled” with (pun intended) is horses in a disaster. They contribute nothing to survival unless you’re actually using them for farming. They’re timid, they require more knowledge than raising children (neither comes with operating manuals) and while they’re not being used for bugging out, they require ENORMOUS assets, work and money to keep in a state of health. And what abandoned horses suffer in a natural disaster is the stuff of nightmares. Even worse what they suffer in the hands of the uninformed. If you are a city dweller who longs for the country life, that’s a realistic desire, but keeping livestock does not, in my book, equate to prepping or survival. It creates an additional concern, a living “asset” if you will, which adds to the scope of necessary prepping, it does not subtract from it. Read More 5 23 Scenarios Sump Pump Kit: Keeping your basement dry (and your neighbour’s too) brownfox-ffContributor - January 17, 2023 (image credit: Magnolia Field Flooding by Doc Searls. Licensed under Creative Commons CC-BY 2.0) It’s 2 am. Your neighbour bangs on the door. Their house is flooding, and their sump pump just broke. The hardware store is closed. Can you help? .. If you live somewhere with a basement and water, you may use a pump to keep your basement dry. This kit contains everything needed to get water out of your house. This kit may seem expensive, because you are buying a pump. But it’s cheaper than an emergency call to a plumber. And it’s cheaper than an insurance claim and a flooded basement. A sump pump is a perfect example of something worth preparing in advance. When you need it, you *really* need it. And chances are – everyone else may too. Better to have a kit ready than to be part of the crowd, rushing to the out-of-stock hardware store during a flood. How To Use It Usually you want to send the water one of two places: into the storm drain system (in a city) or out onto the lawn or road. The farther away from the house, the better – at least 20 feet. Note it is illegal in many areas to permanently connect your sump pump to the _sewer_ system (it should connect to the _storm drain_ system), including a floor drain. But in an emergency, if choosing between a floor drain and a flooded house – put the water wherever it needs to go. You can point the hose at the floor drain and remove water, if the hose is not long enough to reach outside of the house. How To Store It You have several ways to store this: One Bucket, stuff sticking out. If you use a standard hose kit, it is unlikely everything will fit into one bucket. If you’re not concerned about being neat and tidy, this is the cheapest, easiest way to do it. You could also measure the hose length to your floor drain and cut the hose to save space. Two Buckets, one for hose, one for pump. If you coil it nicely, 20 feet of 1-1/2″ hose will juuust fit inside a 5 gallon bucket. Put the pump and other items into a second bucket. This lets you put lids on top, to keep it all together. You must carry two buckets around. One Bucket, smaller hose. If you buy an adapter, you can use a marine hose (strong garden hose) instead of a regular hose. This lets you fit everything in one bucket. The marine hose may be longer, but have a smaller diameter, so it will move water more slowly. Can I Really Use A Garden Hose? You should *not* use a garden hose for a permanent setup. But in an emergency a hose will move water. It’s an option. I spent twenty hours of research and one hour of testing creating this kit. I found a dozen people online and one person in my real-world prepping circle who have used (real life) or claimed to have used (online) a pump with an adapter and garden hose. I called three pump manufacturers and two plumbers to ask about pumps, PSI, and setup. All of them recommended *NOT* using a garden hose as your permanent pump setup. A garden hose or marine hose has a smaller diameter, so it will move the water more slowly.Your first bet should be the main discharge hose that is sized for your pump.But if you want to buy a $15 adapter, you can. References https://www.bobvila.com/articles/best-sump-pump/ https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/waterquality/documents/check-you-sump-pumps-now https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/164984/sump-pump-ok-to-reduce-1-5-to-3-4 Related Threads https://theprepared.com/forum/thread/protecting-homes-from-water-infiltration/ https://theprepared.com/forum/thread/flood-barriers-alternatives-to-sandbags/ https://theprepared.com/forum/thread/prepper-home-safety-how-to-prevent-and-avoid-accidents-in-the-home-during-a-crisis/ Read More 13 16 GearScenarios (image credit: Magnolia Field Flooding by Doc Searls. Licensed under Creative Commons CC-BY 2.0) Twenty ways to prepare for civil unrest Sanctum - December 12, 2022 Here are 20 ways you can prepare for potential civil unrest: Stay informed about current events and potential threats in your area.Create an emergency plan for you and your family, including a designated meeting place and a way to communicate if you are separated.Build an emergency supply kit with enough food, water, and other essential supplies to last at least three days.Consider storing extra supplies, such as non-perishable food, water, and medical supplies, in case of a prolonged disruption.Consider securing your home by reinforcing doors and windows, and installing security cameras or alarms.Keep your car fueled up and make sure it is in good working order, in case you need to evacuate.Have cash on hand in case ATMs and credit card systems are not functioning.Consider storing important documents, such as identification, insurance policies, and bank account information, in a safe place.Take a first aid and CPR class, so that you can help yourself and others in case of injury.Learn self-defense techniques, so that you can protect yourself and your family if necessary.Consider purchasing a firearm and taking a firearms safety course, if you are legally allowed to do so and feel comfortable using one.Stay calm and avoid panicking, as this can make a difficult situation even worse.Avoid crowds and large gatherings, as they can quickly turn violent.Follow the instructions of law enforcement and emergency personnel, who are trained to handle these situations.Avoid confrontations and stay out of areas where violence is occurring.Be prepared to shelter in place, if necessary, and have a plan for how to do so safely.Have a plan for how to evacuate if necessary, and know the routes to take to avoid areas of unrest.If you see something suspicious, report it to law enforcement immediately.Stay in contact with your friends and family, and check on them regularly to make sure they are safe.Keep a positive attitude and stay strong, even in difficult times. http://www.thesanctumchiangmai.com Read More 0 3 Scenarios Illumination during a power outage Barb LeeContributor - November 28, 2022 We were enjoying the wood stove and the warm glow of the Aladdin lamps last night, rather absorbed in talking about the lamps, when I suddenly realized I had no idea of the state of our preps for dispelling the darkness in an extended power outage. I’m a kindergarten prepper compared to others on this list. My goal is to prepare for three months of independence. So I’ve been trying to take stock all day of emergency light sources and things can be improved. I learned that the Aladdin lamps are good for roughly 10 hours of lighting (probably on low) on a 1 quart fill of kerosene. (I love these fussy little prima donnas!) It seems that my approximately five gallons of kerosene (all designated lamp fuel) would net about 50 days of light, burning four hours a day. Seems we need another five gallons to slightly exceed three months. (My primary concern is earthquakes.) Battery powered lanterns: We have assorted Coleman battery powered lanterns. Each takes eight D-cells. D-cells are over $2 each now. I looked at the Amazon page for our newest LED lantern and was hurtfully misled by the main advertisement for run time. Scrolling through the specs revealed the actual run time to be about 1/3 what they were claiming in the ad. I think it actually worked out to about $1 for every hour the lantern is used, compared to the Aladdin’s roughly $0.28/hour. But, once you light an Aladdin, you don’t want to move it. The lantern is good for going out to the barn. D-cells are also necessary for flashlights. I carry a heavy Maglite to the barn every morning and night, partly for illumination, partly because I’m skeered of mountain lions! LOL! Just in case I need to clock a mountain lion in the head (as if I’d get a chance!) Candles: Pfft. Solar: I read and very much appreciate the recent review of several solar light sources. Here in the maritime Pacific Northwest, it is estimated we get about 26% of available sunlight during the winter. Hubby is extremely resistant to anything solar. We just don’t get any sun. Generator: As long as the gas and/or propane last, it is possible to run some 120V lights in the house. That would be kerosene-sparing, since a generator HAS to be run to access the deep well pump, and run the septic pump and freezers. The generator was actually the cheapest “lighting” source, but gasoline storage is a problem. Since I’m the chief cook and bottle washer, I tend to focus on food supplies and redundant cooking resources. Warmth is stored in piles of cordwood. “Power” is stored to the extent possible in gas cans and propane tanks. But plain old LIGHT. Seems I’ve taken it a little less seriously than I should. Read More 9 12 Scenarios An idea for another safety tool at the drive-up ATM? Bigwig - November 24, 2022 I was getting money from the drive-up ATM one Saturday morning. The bank was open but there wasn’t anyone else at either machine. It’s in a low-crime area but I always keep my head on a swivel and take as little time as possible. I overshot the machine, so I had to back up. After getting into a better position, I glanced at my rear camera. Just then it hit me that if I keep my vehicle in reverse (and foot on the brake), I have a really good rear view of what is going on behind me. Of course, if anyone is behind me it might freak them out, and if something were to go down I would likely back into the car behind me. No, I don’t have any aftermarket front or rear security cameras and realize that would work better. Just wanted some thoughts from the community. Read More 9 4 Scenarios Public safety power shutoffs – Dress rehearsal for the real thing hikermor - November 21, 2022 In SoCal, we now routinely experience PSPS when high winds prevail. While inconvenient, they are preferable to wildfires sparked by down power lines. They also offer a chance to test at least some of your preps and experiment with procedures. We just had a two hour PSPS, and last year we had one that lasted for three days. With internet down, keeping phones charged was a top priority. Camping gear came into use, especially for cooking. Our headlamps and portable lanterns proved useful. Batteries recharged by portable solar panels were great. We learned to minimize opening and closing the fridge. On balance, not exactly fun, but a good learning experience for more difficult episodes….. Read More 9 2 Scenarios 1 2 3 … 5 6 7 Next > Recently Active Neutrality for the sake of survival and how to manage the full spectrum of ideologies - October 16, 2024Prep for fume event? - October 16, 2024How to avoid losing your entire digital life in an instant - September 5, 2024Lahaina Fire: Deadliest US Fire in a Century - May 17, 2024You are stranded on a deserted island, you can choose four items… - May 17, 2024 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

Neutrality for the sake of survival and how to manage the full spectrum of ideologies

Watchtower - October 16, 2024

First most, politics are not allowed.

It’s very clear that society for Americans is rapidly transforming due to several factors and people are largely polarized in what they believe, how they choose to exist and what they expect others to be like in terms of their own beliefs.  

In terms of prepping and long term survival from a SHTF event that could play out for the medium to long term changing society as we know it today,

What are people doing to prepare in terms of which side you may be on when things go bad?

Do you find yourself welcoming to all type of beliefs and ideologies?

Do you hold strong opinion and are more narrowly focused in an ideology?

Do you find it dangerous to be around certain types of ideologies more than other types?

Are you concerned about being subjected to aggressive type ideologies (cults, criminals, hordes) or even passive type ideologies (hippy, no-violence, share-the-wealth types) compromising your safety and survival during troubled times?

Do you just plan to go it solo or work with a small group of folks knowing that strength in numbers can also backfire at a certain point?

Please share your thoughts, you don’t have to answer any specific question from above. 

-Watchtower

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Prep for fume event?

Marshall Findlay - October 16, 2024

Hi all,

This is my first post to the TP forum, though I’ve been diving into all the great resources since I discovered the site earlier this year. 

Stephanie Arnold brought up in her update for December 17 the notion of “fume events” in which faulty seals result in toxic fumes entering into the main cabin. The article to which she referenced described pilots passing out and passengers/crew complaining of long-lasting side effects. I had no idea 1) that air was drawn from engine exhaust into the cabin after being scrubbed for toxins or that 2) this air could turn toxic with equipment malfunction. According to the article she references, 2019 saw 362 “fume events” although there are likely more that go unreported.

My question is as follows: would you all consider it a reasonable prep to invest in face masks with the potential to filter out carbon monoxide and other potential toxins? Would bringing such an item as a carry-on even be allowed? More practically, with 3 young children traveling in tow, has anyone looked into functioning masks (or hoods) for kids that would provide a sufficient seal to keep them from breathing all that nasty stuff in?

Thanks all!

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How to avoid losing your entire digital life in an instant

Supersonic - September 5, 2024

TL;DR: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Download all your data and store offline regularly.

A New York Times article this week, really got me thinking about how I organize my digital life. Sorry it is long but please take the time to read this, the lessons learned from this person’s experience can apply to 99% of us and there are things we can do now to prepare and be resilient against losing our entire digital life in an instant.

Here’s a brief summary of the article. A dad noticed a rash occurring on his toddler son’s genitals and took pictures with his Android smartphone to document the problem and track its progression. The parents contacted their doctor who requested the photos so they could review them in advance to their doctors appointment. The husband texted the photos to his wife’s iPhone and she then uploaded them to the doctor’s patient portal. The doctor prescribed antibiotics and the rash cleared up for the toddler.

Two days later, the dad’s phone received a message stating that his Google account was suspended because of “harmful content”. He then thought about it and realized that Google probably thinks he was sharing child porn. No big deal though, he could just contact Google and clear it up, he did nothing wrong. He filled out a form requesting a review of Google’s decision and explained his son’s infection and that the doctor requested those pictures. A few days after that, he received a response stating that they will not reinstate his account.

It gets worse… Google then contacted the authorities and the San Francisco Police Department opened up a case against this dad. He received a letter in the mail stating that they were investigating him, and served warrants to Google and his internet service provider. This would include all of his internet searches, location history, messages, documents, pictures, and videos. The dad contacted the investigator and tried to clear his name, the investigator responded that they have already closed the case because they could tell that no crime had occurred (and clearly had common sense).

The dad appealed his case to Google again sharing the police report that he is innocent, but Google was not going to budge. The New York Times also reached out to Google and asked if this dad could have his account back and they said no as well. He then got a notice that all of his information with Google was going to be permanently deleted. The sorta happy ending to all this though is that because the police had served that warrant with Google, they had a copy of all his data. They are in the process of getting this dad his information.

What a headache right!? Let’s look at all the real damage that was done.

This Google account was decades old and contained all of his emails for all that time. His contacts were stored with Google. All of his appointments were in his Google Calendar. All of his phone’s photos and videos were stored in the Google Cloud. His phone’s service plan was with the Google Fi provider so he lost that as well. He received is 2 factor authentication codes through text messages tied to that Google Fi phone number

This dad really put all his eggs in one basket and got sucked into the convenient ecosystem that Google has set up. Look up at that list and think about what you would do if you could no longer receive, send, or view old emails, could no longer receive calls or texts, couldn’t get into your accounts that needed a text message verification code, lost all your calendar appointments, and years of pictures and videos of your family. I personally would be devastated! It could be even worse if you took important notes in Google Keep, bought lots of apps, music, movies, and books through your Google account, subscribed to various YouTube channels, and more.

The lesson here is that you could be totally innocent and did nothing wrong and get your entire account banned, and even if you plead your case and any normal person with common sense would be on your side, they can still have your account banned.

Below are my tips on what I do and want to do better to avoid situations like this from totally disrupting my life. Please share your thoughts and advice as well, I want to hear if there is some better or different approach I can take to make things better.

Email – This actually happened to me last month. I was switching email accounts and for a weekend didn’t have access to my emails. It made me feel vulnerable that I could no longer contact certain people, receive notices from my bank, or get important medical test results that I was waiting on. Email is vital.

Easy step – Download a copy of your emails through Google Takeout. This will give you an offline copy of your existing data.

Medium step #1 – Have all of your emails automatically forward to a secondary Google or other email account.  That way if you got banned from one account, a copy would exist in another account.

Medium step #2 – Switch to another email provider that isn’t able to see the content of your emails. ProtonMail is a great solution.

Advanced step #1 – POP/IMAP your emails to your computer for offline viewing.

Advanced step #2 – Set up a custom domain. If your main email gets banned, you can then move it to another service and continue as normal.

Calendar –

Easy step – Export weekly/monthly your Google Calendar or any other calendar service you have. This offline file can then be imported into another Google account or pretty much any other calendar service and be rebuilt without losing all your appointments.

Medium step – Move to a totally offline calendar solution and don’t sync it to the cloud. Still keep your regular backups though in case your device gets broken. I like the app Simple Calendar for Android.

Photo and video storage – This all might have been avoided if he hadn’t set his phone to automatically upload his pictures and videos to the cloud.

Easy step – Turn off cloud sync with Google or iCloud. Yes, Apple also scans and flags potential bad pictures on their service too.

Easy step – Plug your phone into a computer monthly and download all your pictures and videos to it.

Medium step – Move to more secure cloud storage like ProtonDrive or Sync.com where they cannot access or see what you store with them.

Phone service –

Easy step – Having a different phone provider like Tmobile or Verizon will make it not as life disrupting if you lost you Google account.

Medium step – Create another Google account and use it solely for Google Voice, which gives you a free additional phone number that you can use to make and receive calls and text messages.

2 Factor Authentication – 

Easy step – Prioritize software based 2FA over text or email based 2FA. It is commonly an option everywhere except for banks in my experience. That way if you lost access to your phone number, you can still get into accounts. An easy solution is to use Authy.

Easy step – Many sites will offer backup recovery codes if you don’t have access to your authenticator app, store these to get in again.

Medium step – Move to a totally offline 2FA application like Aegis for Android or OTP Auth for iOS. Back these up manually on a regular basis in case your device is ever lost or destroyed.

Advanced step – When setting up 2FA with each service, download your seed codes into your password manager. Then if your authenticator app breaks or whatever, you can manually rebuild.

Contacts – 

Easy step – Download and backup your contacts offline monthly.

Medium step – Request alternative phone numbers and emails for each of your contacts and set up alternatives for yourself and give those to all your contacts. Make sure everyone can reach everyone at any time by any means possible.

Medium step – Print off your contact information and store in your emergency binder.

Good tip for all the above and everything else – 

Download all your data regularly and store offline. If that’s through Google Takeout, or manually for each service, this is the best thing you can do to prevent total loss. Then back that up again somewhere else, preferably at a friend’s house.

Gone are the days you can take pictures of your kid running naked in the sprinklers without having to worry about getting your account suspended. There are many other situations where you can fall victim to such things like driving past a house where someone is getting murdered and your location data is on and police think you are the murderer, or someone uses your unlocked device and looks up bad things that then gets tied back to you. Don’t fall into the thinking that “This will never happen to me” because that dad probably was thinking that and look at what he has had to go through now.

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Lahaina Fire: Deadliest US Fire in a Century

Eric - May 17, 2024

A wildfire destroyed the historical town of Lahaina, former royal capital of Hawaii, on August 9, 2023. Many people burned alive in their homes, unaware that a fire was approaching. Others burned in their cars, stuck in traffic while trying to evacuate, or drowned while trying to escape into the harbor.  Bodies are still being counted (93 so far), but the death toll could be up to 1000.

As fires become more common and more intense, we need to learn fire emergencies like Lahaina so that we can prevent them, or at least reduce the loss of life in the next fire emergency. Please join me in collecting information about what went wrong and what could have been done differently. What challenges did the people of Lahaina face as they tried to escape the flames. What could individuals have done differently to improve their odds of survival? What could the community have done differently to prevent the town from burning or to get people out in time?

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You are stranded on a deserted island, you can choose four items…

Captain Peanut - May 17, 2024

First post here. Wanted to share something I saw on Facebook that I thought would be fun.

I took out that spot near the hunting rifle because it had weed in there. I don’t think that’s a very good survival item so lets place an ax there instead as an option.

Don’t just list four items that you would take though, tell why you would choose those over something else and how you would use those items to keep yourself alive.

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Some things to consider when building fallout shelters

Jesse Smith - March 11, 2024

I’ve long had an interest in the construction of nuclear blast and fallout shelters. Most preppers will be familiar with Cresson Kearny’s guidebook, “Nuclear War Survival Skills” (NWSS), which is available as a free pdf here (save a copy!). Anyone interested in the construction of a fallout or blast-resistant shelter should start by reading this guide, which is excellent.

I have some reservations about strict adoption of NWWS to mitigate contemporary nuclear threats. Kearny’s book was largely a response to underfunded civil defence. He operated on the premise that prior to a Russian first strike there would be a significant exodus of civilians from Russian cities. Having detected this migration via satellites, the US civilian population would have 3 days to migrate to rural areas and construct fallout shelters. There are many open questions regarding this strategy. Some thoughts on how contemporary shelters could be modified:

Today, threats are more likely to be sustained at low probabilities for extremely long time periods. Consequently, shelters don’t have to be constructed hastily but should be highly durable. There are several historic examples of accidents nearly resulting in a nuclear disaster. Obviously these scenarios wouldn’t have provided sufficient time for people to construct a shelter. Independent of their durability, the materials and techniques used in NWSS were quite crude – i.e. tools and materials that could be taken from most suburban homes. In addition, we’ve had ~35 years of building science and product advancement since the last version of the book was published. Scientists seem to be converging on the idea that a 5-10 year nuclear winter will be likely after a full-scale exchange, and perhaps even after a smaller exchange such as the sort that would occur between Pakistan and India. This would result in the near total collapse of the industrial agricultural system. Launching a full-scale reboot of technological civilization is outside the scope of this post. However, it might be worth considering the integration of protected food storage, tools, and technology. Although Kearny did provide details for high capacity shelters, I’m of the opinion that in many areas the default shelter size should have at least moderately high capacity. If you’re going to the trouble of constructing a shelter, the marginal cost of adding some neighbors is low. And this isn’t strictly a bleeding heart perspective. Just think of how smug you’ll be in the middle of armageddon, surrounded by people who dismissed you as a survivalist crank! How many times can you pointedly glance at someone and say “good thing I built this, right?” in 3-14 days?

We should divide shelters into 2 major types, those that are within an existing building – usually the basement of a home – and those that are separate. How should you decide between the two? Kearny believed that freestanding shelters were significantly more robust, mainly due to fire risk. On the other hand, basement shelters are considerably less expensive to construct. In addition, it’s somewhat of an open question whether basement shelters could add reasonable fire protection – or even shockwave protection – given contemporary materials, back-up power systems, filtration, ventilation, and airtightness levels. Overall, my sense is that people would ideally have some idea of the threat of fire risk, and gravitate towards basement shelters in the majority of cases where the fire risk isn’t extraordinary, due to the cost savings. I’ll try to cover both types, but will start with the basement.

I’m going to start with a basement shelter that modularly moves through a descending order of priorities. The basement would ideally have a clearance to the bottom of the first floor joists of 7’6″ (or more), which should provide an interior headroom clearance of ~6’. I’ll add an asterix where where I have a lot of uncertainty.

Overhead ceiling mass; Wall mass; Water (possibly integrated into ceiling/walls massing); Food (possibly integrated into ceiling/walls for massing); Fire protection; Ventilation; Air quality and radiation monitoring*; Sleeping; Hygiene; Entertainment and activities; Shockwave protection *.

The driving principle to reduce gamma radiation exposure is to place a high mass between you and the source. We have to assume that gamma-laden fallout dust will be distributed everywhere outdoors, so this means placing mass between you and all lines of sight to outside (gamma doesn’t tend to bounce around corners). In fallout literature, people often refer to a material’s “halving thickness” which is the thickness required to reduce gamma radiation by 50%. Concrete’s halving thickness is 2.4”. In the case of a basement shelter, a realistic target is to place 12″ of concrete overhead, which is 5 halving thicknesses. In conjunction with other materials in the joists directly overhead, or other layers of the building, we could likely achieve 6 halving thicknesses, equivalent to roughly a 98.5% reduction in gamma penetration (2).

Here are some instructions for building a shelter with an interior of roughly 7′ wide & whatever length you specify (although working in modules of 4′-8′ is sensible). The frame consists of a supported ledger and a parallel stud wall. These support joists that support ceiling joists that support a ceiling mass (ideally concrete). I have a spreadsheet cutsheet in the works but it’s not ready for primetime.

Select an ideally windowless corner of a basement with minimal overhead obstacles. The selected corner should also be as far below ground as possible. Wiring is OK if stapled to the joists, but avoid significant plumbing (esp waste) or duct-work if possible. Ideally the width of the shelter (short axis) would run parallel to the overhead ceiling joists. Measure the height from the floor to the bottom of the existing basement ceiling joists. Deduct 20″ from this. This is the stud length for support wall. Cut one stud for every 16″ of length + one for the end. Cut 5 pc 2×4 at the specified length of your shelter. These are your ceiling ledger, 2 ceiling rim joists, wall bottom plate, and wall top plate. Mark a level line on the long side of the wall at a height above the floor of (stud length + 6.5″). This is the top of the ceiling ledger. Back the ledger with ice and water shield or sill gasket and attach it to the wall using construction adhesive and masonry anchors. Individually measure and cut studs for placing beneath the ledger 16″ on center. Attach ice and water shield or sill gasket to the flat side of the studs and attach them to the wall in their measured locations using masonry anchors. Frame the wall by connecting the wall plate to studs placed vertically every 16″. Set the wall well back from the work area. Attach ice and water shield or sill gasket to the bottom plate of the wall. Cut the ceiling joists to the specified width Deduct 4 1/2″ from the overall width of the shelter. This is your ceiling joist length. Cut the same number of ceiling joists as wall studs. Frame the ceiling by attaching the ceiling rim joists to the ceiling joists placed horizontally every 16″. Install 1/2″ sheathing over the ceiling using glue and construction adhesive. The sheathing should be flush on 3 sides, but project over one rim joist by 1 1/4″. This projection will be attached the ledger. Apply either asphalt impregnated 15# felt or ice and water shield over the sheathing. This will serve as a capillary break between the concrete and the plywood to prevent rot. Optional: Drill 1 1/8″” holes 12″ on center ~6 1/2″ above the ledger. Epoxy 1″ dia rebar exactly equal to the length and width of the shelter long into each hole, with 2″-4″ embedment in the wall (this will leave the rebar 2″-4″ short of the penetrating the outside edge of the concrete). Connect each point in the rebar grid using a tie wire loop. Run a bead of construction adhesive along the top of the ledger. Measure from the base of the ledger wall (overall width minus 10″) and mark a line the length of the shelter. This part will suck and will require several pairs of hands. Place the ceiling assembly over the top of the ledger and connect several screws through the plywood into the ledger. Quickly place the support wall under the ceiling assembly on the opposite side. Align the outside edge of the wall with the line you struck in 13. Fasten the wall to the floor slab using masonry anchors. Plumb the wall at the two outside studs and fasten the plate at these two locations to the ceiling joists above. Straighten the wall in between these points by sighting the wall along the top. Fasten the top plate 2x at every joist. The ideal overhead mass is 12″ of concrete, but you can use other heavy objects if you prefer. For concrete, prepare plywood edge forms roughly 16″ wide to be attached to the perimeter joists. Don’t install these yet. This part will also suck. Mix concrete and shovel it into the deck. As you approach the nearest edge of the form, install the plywood edge forms so the concrete doesn’t spill out. Once the concrete has set, you can apply more heavy things into the overhead joist cavity to provide even more protection.

This should complete a reasonably well protected overhead mass. If folks are interested I’ll try to work on the wall section. Hope you enjoyed this!

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Games that teach survival skills

Eric - January 4, 2024

What games have you found that teach survival skills in a fun way? I’ll include some of my favorites as comments and encourage others to do the same.

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How to develop realistic scenarios to prep for?

Nice_badger - December 18, 2023

The approach of this site ist generally to focus on broad categories of emergencies, not highly specific scenarios. This is generally sound, I beleive. However: One broad scenario is bugging out. What a good bug out bag looks like is highly dependent on the reason *why* you bug out. As Eric Bunny pointed out in the thread on wildfires, a vehicle bug out can turn into a bug out on foot quickly. In this specific situation a fairly light bob is crucial, a level 1 bob will be better than a level 3!

This is just an example to show that there is value to think through the possible *whys* of bugging in and out and tweak ones preps accordingly: Develop a plan to work from, obtain specific gear and skills for that. How do you think through possible scenarios?

The only approach that comes to my mind is listing possible scenarios (urgent trip to the hospital, house fire, in my specific location: unexploded WW2 ordnance, pandemic, brown out or other grid down event …), guesstimate the likelyhood and possible effect and then decide how to prep, or tweak ones preps. 

An other angel that is, IMO, harder to think through logically is broad tendencies that will affect our lives and make some disasters more likely or severe: Climate change => More extreme weather events  & heat waves, worse quality of public services including health 

So what do you do to think through scenarios? How do you avoid traps like biases (you can probably deduce something about me, from that crime and terror don’t feature big on my list …)?

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Prepping for self-managed abortion post-Roe v. Wade

MariaC - November 13, 2023

In the event that Roe v. Wade is repealed in the U.S., access to abortion will fall to the state level to legislate. Many people with uteruses will very quickly have a much more difficult time accessing healthcare that allows them to end a pregnancy.

Therefore, pro-choice preppers who want to understand self-managed abortion care may be interested in learning how to gather materials, build local community networks of support, and access information about how to perform different kinds of as-safe-as-possible self-managed abortions for people with uteruses in your community.

I’ve been doing a little research about this and wanted to share what I found.

This is obviously a topic that can get super politically charged. I’m not interested in having those conversations. If this prep isn’t something you’re okay with for any reason, you don’t have to do it. I’m sharing information in case somebody else can benefit from it.

Books:

Handbook on a Post-Roe America by Robin Marty Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom by Christiane Northrup M.D. A Cooperative Method of Natural Birth Control by Margaret Nofziger

Websites & articles for information:

An academic journal article (no paywall) detailing how to purchase safe, effective abortion pills online as a U.S. based consumer, including a chemical composition study of what was actually in those pills Women on Waves, providing information about the safety of abortion pills and on how to access self-managed abortion How Activists Can Prepare for a Post-Roe World video lecture on how to spread the word about self-managed abortion within your community Self-Managed Abortion with Pills how-to video lecture & information Investigative journalism article from 2018 on networks of people learning to provide at-home abortion services as a form of civil disobedience — full of great information and search terms to mine in Google Guide to performing a menstrual extraction with a homemade Del-Em device r/Childfree sourcing information about healthcare providers who will provide seterilization services in the U.S. and many parts of the world An overview of abortion laws by U.S. state, to help forecast which states might protect access to abortion if Roe v. Wade was repealed

Affordable Plan B and pregnancy tests to add to your prep kits:

My Way Emergency Contraceptive (3 Plan B pills for $15 USD on Amazon) Pregnancy test strips (50 count for $15, $0.30 each, on Amazon) Read More

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What are my fellow urban Canadians doing different about prepping? Here’s some of what I have done and worked.

Frozen22 - October 11, 2023

I hope I’m not duplicating an existing thread, but I thought it would be useful to have some discussion specific to Canadian members, given differences in laws, available products, climate, infrastructure, etc. I’m a newish prepper and am interested in how others are setting themselves up. I live a in a city in Western Canada, in a condo, so I don’t have land, a garage, or tons of storage space. Given those limitations I’m still better set up than most people in my city.

First, my perspective. I really only focus on a two-week scenario. I’m assuming my plan would involved (1) bugging in, (2) assisting three elderly family members, (3) contending with overloaded public services, and (4) no “societal breakdown,” partly because that is such a vague concept. I have no problems with guns but don’t own any and don’t plan to (though I might get armor). There are very different laws here regarding weapons, self-defense, etc., and it would be good for Canadians to be aware of those.

My main scenarios are (1) loss of power during extreme cold or heat, (2) water system breakdown, (3) air contamination largely from fires.

I’ve developed my plan by asking, what would I need to get by, and what shortfalls/losses would I find demoralizing. So I’ve planned on the high end for maintaining hygiene and related items. If the water system went down, the prospect of 00s of 000s or millions of people pooping in their yards or plastic bags (ineptly and in a panic) raises concerns about air and water contamination, and obvious panics about supplies. 

I have food and water preps, medical, and air filtration, so far. I’m investigating solar generators and am debating which one I should get (affordable but also useable over 14 days), as well as a panel. I’d prefer to get a large unit and two smaller ones for elderly family members.

For the elderly family I’ll be assisting, the first question is whether they’re safe to remain at home, or join me. In general, I’ll want to stay away from hospitals and any emergency public service centers as they’ll be chaotic and unpredictable, so psychological and medical aid on site is preferable.

Because I have limited space and am not planning for a very extreme scenario, I’m not going into my preps in detail because they’re pretty standard. But I’m curious what other Canadians, especially urban dwellers, are doing.

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Best home or neighborhood security system 2023

Eric - July 21, 2023

What are the best options to detect, deter, and prevent breakins in your home or neighborhood? My neighborhood had a nighttime burglary recently (involving a car, not the house) which has raised the issue of security in my neighborhood. I’m interested in recommendations for my own home’s security, especially detection/alerting, as well as neighborhood-wide options that I could present to the HOA.

Here are some relevant previous security articles and discussions, but I suspect some of the technology has advanced in the years since these were written.

https://theprepared.com/homestead/guides/home-hardening-basics/

https://theprepared.com/gear/reviews/alarm-systems/

Please share both ideas and experiences about how to setup home or neighborhood security systems.

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Learning from the past – The 1815 volcano that covered the world

Jose Martinez - June 24, 2023

On April 5, 1815, the Indonesian island of Sumbawa (to the north of Australia) was alerted to the sounds of the Tambora mountiain coughing up ash and fire as the volcano awoke. People hundreds of miles away recalled that it sounded like cannon fire. These small eruptions continued for days until April 10th when the whole mountain exploded. Three plumes of fire and rock shot upwards, merging into one massive blast. Lava flowed out of the volcano and engulfed the village below. Midday felt like midnight for weeks as ash continued to fall, piling as high as two feet in some places.

Throughout the world, people stared in awe at vibrant sunsets over the coming months but little did they know that disaster would follow. In the coming year, the weather would turn unpredictable and be devastating to many.

Because of this eruption, in India, temperatures dropped and thousands were killed from cholera (infection in the small intestines which leads to watery diarrhea, vomiting, and muscle cramps). In China, the normally mild climate was disturbed with summer snowstorms and brought flooding rain that destroyed crops. In Europe, food supplies dwindled leading to starvation and panic. In North America, 1816 was called the year without a summer where there was snowfall and frosts that ruined entire crops. Thousands of people throughout the world had to flee and relocate during this period because of effects caused by the volcano.

To the people all over the world at that time without news and social media explaining what was going on, these events must have felt apocalyptic. The Mount Tambora volcano was the most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded human history ejecting 38-51 cubic miles of material into the atmosphere. It is mind boggling to think that a small mountain on the other side of the world could affect the entire world killing 10,000 from the initial explosion and 90,000 from famine and disease in the coming years. Our world is so fragile where a drop in 0.7-1.3°F can cause so much devastation.

Previous episode of Learning from the past: Otzi the Iceman 

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Boil water alert – Washing your hands

Bigwig - May 15, 2023

Our city is currently under a boil water alert.  I have plenty of water in 55 gallon drums, 1 gallon jugs, and bottled water.  I pulled some gallon jugs and put them near each sink.  However, it is very inconvenient to wash your hands.  What solutions would you recommend to make it easier?  I’ve thought about buying some pump dispensers but not sure how well they will work with water.

https://www.berlinpackaging.com/xp3811-38-400-white-pp-plastic-high-output-dispenser-pumps/

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I am new, advice?

Corrina Leo - May 13, 2023

Hey everyone! I just turned 18 and I am learning about the prepper community. I have always been interested, but never really started “prepping” until recently. Does anyone have an advice for me?

I am looking to have a good stock pile, but I am not sure where to buy from (that will be effective and relatively inexpensive). I am not really sure how to use this site either, but I am trying to learn as much as possible. Any advice, recommendations, warnings, etc. would be infinitely appreciated.

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Is using natural gas a realistic option in most grid-down scenarios?

Colorado Jones - May 12, 2023

Given the number of electrical grid-down scenarios over the past year or so, I’ve been thinking about how to heat my home should that happen in the dead of winter.

My question is this:  Does natural gas ever get disrupted, specifically in locations like the Rocky Mountain West?  Power outages exceeding more than a few hours in my area are rare, perhaps once a year at most.  I don’t recall ever–in my lifetime–having a natural gas outage, period.  Though, obviously, anything is possible given the right bad circumstances.

It occurred to me that in a simple extended power outage (ranging from a few hours to a few days) due to, say, downed power lines in a snowstorm, I could simply plug the fan for my gas fireplace (or, possibly, the fan for the main house heater, which uses forced air) into a Jackery or DIY power station and keep heat circulating through the house.  While I haven’t yet taken a look at the setup in the basement furnace room, my initial thought is that that electric fan on my fireplace would require significantly less electricity and would be sufficient to keep our small two-bedroom ranch style home “warm enough” in an emergency situation.

Obviously, as well all things prepping, I wouldn’t want to put all my eggs in the same prepping basket.  So being prepared to function without natural gas ultimately needs to be part of my plan.  But, it seems, that many if not most grid-down situations would be no electric BUT natural gas still available, allowing me to battery power the fans to circulate the heat.  And, obviously, for an extended outage, natural gas–if available–is in much greater supply than the amount of propane I can realistically (and safely) store onsite.

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Pooping in a pail and other prepper pastimes

M. E.Contributor - May 10, 2023

I am in the middle of a plumbing problem and thought I’d share what I’m learning AS I’m learning it, since I learn a lot from the “what went well/what didn’t” threads elsewhere in this Forum. To the extent possible I’ll try not to repeat what is in the “Toilets when there’s no water” thread. 

It seems our outbound sewer line is blocked. We are lucky that we have an unfinished basement so the disgusting backup is mostly in our non-living areas. But though we have plenty of clean incoming water, if any of it goes down the drains it just makes the backup WORSE and more disgusting. My preps are coming in handy, but I’ve learned some things!  Warning, this thread is – kinda gross. 

You need more trash bags than you think. I’m peeing in the toilet as usual but not flushing, and throwing the wet TP in the trash. Despite my husband’s objections, I am also Pooping in a pail, using my “luggable loo” for “#2”, with two trash bags inside and a big scoop of kitty litter. It still smells, though, so I take it out to the trash afterward and thus the need for lots of trash bags. 

I wasn’t thinking clearly when this first happened and at first I was trying to practice “hygiene” outside – hand washing, etc. using the outdoor faucets. This sucked since it is freezing here. I quickly realized that all I really have is a drainage problem, so I put big bowls under each house faucet to catch the hand washing water and then I throw it outside.  From this I learned a few other things:

Pails are REALLY handy.  LOTS of pails.  In addition to the “luggable loo” pail, which is serving its purpose, I have a pail in the bathroom to dump the hand wash water into, and a pail in the kitchen for dishwater. To the extent possible I’m using biodegradable soap and as the pail fills up I’m dumping it on the edge of the woods.  I also had to use a pail for cleaning up the backup in the basement. It was disgusting. Thank goodness I had dish gloves and plenty of hand sanitizer.  At first I was cleaning up with the ol’ wringing out a wet rag method, but this took forever. I finally figured out that using a squeegee to push the water into a large dustpan worked much faster. I probably made thirty trips to the woods with buckets of gross water. My next prepping purchase will be a water vacuum. Would love a review of those for a  future guide. 

The stuff I bought for hurricanes – shampoo caps, GoodWipes, wet toilet paper, etc. (plus the hand sanitizer that has basically become a staple in pandemic times) have been absolute gifts when I need to use as little water as possible. Here are some other tiny things I’ve noticed:

Habits are VERY hard to break. My husband kept running the faucets etc. without thinking, thus making our backup worse. I made signs with a big red magic marker and post-its saying “STOP! Minimize water use!” and posted at each sink and toilet, and that helped.  My preps were not as – prepped – as I thought. It took me a while to find the Luggable Loo, the trash bags, and the solar shower (which I ended up not needing).  I thought I was SO organized! I wasn’t.  We always say we should practice but does anybody really? These “mini emergencies” – only a drainage problem, instead of a full on emergency – are the ideal scenarios in which to work out the tiny details (which is why I am writing about it).   We should have a list of hotels with in-room laundry and kitchen facilities.  This problem has been going on for three days now (a plumber came on day one and SAID the problem was fixed – it wasn’t!) and we are considering moving to a hotel. However, with Omicron raging I really, really don’t want to be around other people, so finding a place with in-room laundry and kitchen facilities would be ideal.  Good to learn this now as in the future I might need to find one quickly, and WHEN you’re dealing with a literal “poopy situation” is not the time to figure stuff out like that. I found myself remarkably reluctant to use my preps. Example: The kitty litter with the Luggable Loo. I thought, Well maybe I should save this for a “real” emergency. I decided the situation definitely warranted the use of my supplies and that I can buy more kitty litter later! Very grateful for my “not quite BOB”. In addition to my full-on BOB, I keep a fully packed suitcase with three days’ worth of clothes, toiletries, and medications in case of a family emergency. I haven’t needed to use it yet but knowing that it is there is a stress reducer.  Given that we can’t do laundry just now, having three days of clean clothes set aside is a blessing.

Well, the plumber just called and is on his way.  Stay tuned. My next post might be about my hotel room kitchen kit, that allows us to have hot healthy meals even in a hotel without a kitchen. I put it together last summer in case we had to travel in the pandemic but haven’t tested it out yet. 

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What do you keep in your BOB for menstruation?

Liz Klein - May 7, 2023

This came up in a different thread about prepping resources for single women, https://theprepared.com/forum/thread/single-female-prepper-resources/

Wanted to start a separate thread to dig deeper into period prepping! 🙂 Everyone was so generous with suggestions on the other thread, thought we could continue and consolidate here.

These were the main ideas that came up so far

Menstrual cups are a good idea because they’re washable and reusable, though the learning curve can be steep and there might be hygiene issues Diva Cup seems popular but not all brands work for all people https://divacup.com/ Period underwear such as Thinx may be better for bags since they can be worn regularly and won’t add more weight https://www.shethinx.com/ Disposable paper products are cheap and can be used as a fire starter too, but you are limited to what you already carry

One person mentioned getting a UTI from her cup, so obviously everyone’s experience will be different. Whatever you choose, you should be sure to practice with it in real life. Don’t switch to a new method the same time you’re dealing with an emergency.

So… what do you keep in your bag? How do you think about prepping for periods when you’re not at home in an emergency? Has anyone gone through this, like at a shelter?

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California megafloods! New research, articles, prepping challenges, etc.

pnwsarahContributor - February 5, 2023

I don’t think we’ve had a forum thread on this before… LMK if I’m wrong and I’ll delete this and move my links and comments to the appropriate place, but the WaPo ran an article on megaflood risk in CA today.

If you get paywalled, here is:

The research article that prompted the press coverage (which is allegedly open access) A long Mother Jones feature from a couple of years on the same subject

TL;DR — California can get enormous rainfall events that generate enormous floods. There was one in 1862 and it basically turned the Central Valley into an inland sea and drowned a whole bunch of cattle. It would have been a bigger deal if the area were settled and farmed the way it is now. It will happen again and cause all kinds of havoc, destruction, loss of life, etc. My husband called it, “California’s Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake.”

The thing that makes this so hard to grok for me is that, unlike likely shaking intensity for earthquakes, tsunami run-up, ordinary FEMA flood risk, and event wildfire hazard, this scenario doesn’t seem to have been modeled at the local scale. There isn’t a GIS where I can plug in my address and see whether it will be underwater or not, or plan an evacuation route.

My husband said, “We’d have five days notice, so, have sandbags ready to deploy, move everything valuable to the second floor, and evacuate.” Having sandbags and sandbag alternatives on hand seems like a no-brainer, and a list of things to move to the second floor or take (in addition to BOBs) is easy/consistent with work I’ve already done, but “we’d have five days notice… just evacuate” seems like a bad strategy given the tendency among Bay Area weather media people to totally overhype winter storms, especially those involving atmospheric rivers. If feel like all it would take is a good El Niño year and we’d be evacuating every week. Also, I have no idea where we’d go: “Head for the hills” doesn’t seem like a great rule of thumb given the propensity of the Coast Ranges to rearrange themselves under the duress of a wet winter.

Anyone else thinking about this?

(Edited to address formatting issues!)

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Grid down – How to recognize it early?

Lindsey - February 3, 2023

https://practical.engineering/blog/2022/11/22/how-long-would-society-last-during-a-total-grid-collapse

This was posted in November to the internet but my husband and I just watched this video yesterday. One of the things I found most interesting and relevant was the mention of how the initial reaction to the scenario would probably be more of a vacation vibe until the gravity of the situation really began to sink in after 2-3 days of no electricity. How does a prepared person get ahead of the curve on something like this? Realizing that the power is not coming back up in 12 hours, rather than waiting 48 hours seems like it might give you additional time to stockpile last minute water or supplies before the herd starts to panic. But how do you recognize that it really is a grid down and not an extended power outage? Or do you not worry about getting it wrong after you hit a certain length of outage, for example 6 hours, and assume grid down so that you can start moving to bug in or out as necessary?

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Livestock for prepping

Barb LeeContributor - February 2, 2023

There seems to be a common belief that keeping certain classes of livestock will insure a source of food (or transportation) when SHTF.  I’m an old lady, I’ve kept pretty much every class of livestock in my goal to be “self sufficient”, and I have a different perspective.  Let’s look at bugging out with livestock, supply chain disruptions for feed and supplies, predation, types of livestock, and sort out whether maintaining livestock REALLY makes us independent, or does it become an anchor around our neck when we need extreme mobility and lack of distraction.

1.  Chickens:  EVERYBODY loves chickens and thinks they’re an ace in the hole when SHTF.  First of all, let’s look at the avian flu epidemic that is affecting private flocks.  30+ chickens and ducks were just destroyed in our county.  There are undoubtedly more that haven’t been reported. They were probably free range.  It is unlikely that most chicken owners can grow their own healthy food for modern layers and meat birds (there’s an element of decades of breeding for high performance or exhibition that makes modern chickens different from those of the WWI era). So owners are highly dependent on supply chains.  Feed is hard to stockpile because it can easily go bad or become rat infested. Bedding is also subject to supply chain disruptions and inflation.  Bagged wood shavings can also be affected by the lumber market.  Around here, shavings were hard to get during the pandemic because the mills were all shutting down. Predation can bring death and destruction to a flock overnight. Oh, and the deep orange of homegrown eggs, to which is ascribed health benefits, is the result of feed compounders adding marigold extract – a dye – to the feed. It isn’t green grass and worms and sunshine.

2. Livestock and Evacuation: The overarching concern for ALL livestock owners is evacuation.  When our county was evacuated due to wildfires in 2020, there was a Facebook network called Cowgirl 911 which coordinated livestock owners with those willing to help transport.  That was the most appalling experience of a lifetime, seeing people pleading desperately for help transporting their chickens, pigs, goats, horses (not trained to load onto trailers).  And transporting to where?  As a horse owner caught up in the evacuation, the amount of time and space it took to load up those horses and their “survival gear” was staggering.

If you are a livestock person already, you’re probably aware of the devastating state of affairs of abandoned livestock after a big disaster. We’ll include cats and dogs here as well.

3. Other small livestock:  Somebody mentioned raising “cuy” in a recent post here.  Did anybody look that up?  Cuy = cavie = Guinea pig=rodent.  “They eat grass.”  Grass is not the same foodstuff from one hour of the day to the next, not to mention seasons.  There is a saying: “Just because you have grass doesn’t mean you have feed.”  I have been shepherding a horse through a major metabolic meltdown for eight months that occurred because of the grass she ate late last spring. 

Rabbits are kept caged.  They are susceptible to many ailments and are subject to the same issues with supply chains, evacuation concerns, etc.

Pigeons:  Why isn’t anybody raising pigeons anymore?  They were survival food for millenia.  If you look at a nicely grown out squab (young pigeon) expertly cleaned, you can only imagine how delicious it would be roasted.  Getting into pigeons is very expensive and subject to all aforementioned difficulties, but if I could convince my husband, I’d be trying pigeons. Or, if wild pigeons are in your area you can catch them to start your loft.

4. And lastly, may I bring up the subject of horses, which have been described here as “the ultimate bug-out animal”.  One prepping blogger went so far as to “instruct” the reader to go out and catch a mustang, train it according to Buck Brannaman (the “horse whisperer), and you’ll have transportation in case you need to bug out and all the roads are wrecked.  This is such a work of fiction that I can’t even wrap my brain around it.  The LAST thing you need to be “saddled” with (pun intended) is horses in a disaster.  They contribute nothing to survival unless you’re actually using them for farming.  They’re timid, they require more knowledge than raising children (neither comes with operating manuals) and while they’re not being used for bugging out, they require ENORMOUS assets, work and money to keep in a state of health. And what abandoned horses suffer in a natural disaster is the stuff of nightmares.  Even worse what they suffer in the hands of the uninformed.

If you are a city dweller who longs for the country life, that’s a realistic desire, but keeping livestock does not, in my book, equate to prepping or survival.  It creates an additional concern, a living “asset” if you will, which adds to the scope of necessary prepping, it does not subtract from it.

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Sump Pump Kit: Keeping your basement dry (and your neighbour’s too)

brownfox-ffContributor - January 17, 2023

(image credit: Magnolia Field Flooding by Doc Searls. Licensed under Creative Commons CC-BY 2.0)

It’s 2 am. Your neighbour bangs on the door. Their house is flooding, and their sump pump just broke. The hardware store is closed. Can you help?

..

If you live somewhere with a basement and water, you may use a pump to keep your basement dry. This kit contains everything needed to get water out of your house.

This kit may seem expensive, because you are buying a pump. But it’s cheaper than an emergency call to a plumber. And it’s cheaper than an insurance claim and a flooded basement.

A sump pump is a perfect example of something worth preparing in advance. When you need it, you *really* need it. And chances are – everyone else may too. Better to have a kit ready than to be part of the crowd, rushing to the out-of-stock hardware store during a flood.

How To Use It

Usually you want to send the water one of two places: into the storm drain system (in a city) or out onto the lawn or road. The farther away from the house, the better – at least 20 feet.

Note it is illegal in many areas to permanently connect your sump pump to the _sewer_ system (it should connect to the _storm drain_ system), including a floor drain. But in an emergency, if choosing between a floor drain and a flooded house – put the water wherever it needs to go. You can point the hose at the floor drain and remove water, if the hose is not long enough to reach outside of the house.

How To Store It

You have several ways to store this:

One Bucket, stuff sticking out. If you use a standard hose kit, it is unlikely everything will fit into one bucket. If you’re not concerned about being neat and tidy, this is the cheapest, easiest way to do it. You could also measure the hose length to your floor drain and cut the hose to save space. Two Buckets, one for hose, one for pump. If you coil it nicely, 20 feet of 1-1/2″ hose will juuust fit inside a 5 gallon bucket. Put the pump and other items into a second bucket. This lets you put lids on top, to keep it all together. You must carry two buckets around. One Bucket, smaller hose. If you buy an adapter, you can use a marine hose (strong garden hose) instead of a regular hose. This lets you fit everything in one bucket. The marine hose may be longer, but have a smaller diameter, so it will move water more slowly.

Can I Really Use A Garden Hose?

You should *not* use a garden hose for a permanent setup. But in an emergency a hose will move water. It’s an option.

I spent twenty hours of research and one hour of testing creating this kit. I found a dozen people online and one person in my real-world prepping circle who have used (real life) or claimed to have used (online) a pump with an adapter and garden hose. I called three pump manufacturers and two plumbers to ask about pumps, PSI, and setup. All of them recommended *NOT* using a garden hose as your permanent pump setup.

A garden hose or marine hose has a smaller diameter, so it will move the water more slowly.
Your first bet should be the main discharge hose that is sized for your pump.
But if you want to buy a $15 adapter, you can.

References

https://www.bobvila.com/articles/best-sump-pump/ https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/waterquality/documents/check-you-sump-pumps-now https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/164984/sump-pump-ok-to-reduce-1-5-to-3-4

Related Threads

https://theprepared.com/forum/thread/protecting-homes-from-water-infiltration/ https://theprepared.com/forum/thread/flood-barriers-alternatives-to-sandbags/ https://theprepared.com/forum/thread/prepper-home-safety-how-to-prevent-and-avoid-accidents-in-the-home-during-a-crisis/ Read More

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(image credit: Magnolia Field Flooding by Doc Searls. Licensed under Creative Commons CC-BY 2.0)

Twenty ways to prepare for civil unrest

Sanctum - December 12, 2022

Here are 20 ways you can prepare for potential civil unrest:

Stay informed about current events and potential threats in your area.Create an emergency plan for you and your family, including a designated meeting place and a way to communicate if you are separated.Build an emergency supply kit with enough food, water, and other essential supplies to last at least three days.Consider storing extra supplies, such as non-perishable food, water, and medical supplies, in case of a prolonged disruption.Consider securing your home by reinforcing doors and windows, and installing security cameras or alarms.Keep your car fueled up and make sure it is in good working order, in case you need to evacuate.Have cash on hand in case ATMs and credit card systems are not functioning.Consider storing important documents, such as identification, insurance policies, and bank account information, in a safe place.Take a first aid and CPR class, so that you can help yourself and others in case of injury.Learn self-defense techniques, so that you can protect yourself and your family if necessary.Consider purchasing a firearm and taking a firearms safety course, if you are legally allowed to do so and feel comfortable using one.Stay calm and avoid panicking, as this can make a difficult situation even worse.Avoid crowds and large gatherings, as they can quickly turn violent.Follow the instructions of law enforcement and emergency personnel, who are trained to handle these situations.Avoid confrontations and stay out of areas where violence is occurring.Be prepared to shelter in place, if necessary, and have a plan for how to do so safely.Have a plan for how to evacuate if necessary, and know the routes to take to avoid areas of unrest.If you see something suspicious, report it to law enforcement immediately.Stay in contact with your friends and family, and check on them regularly to make sure they are safe.Keep a positive attitude and stay strong, even in difficult times.

http://www.thesanctumchiangmai.com

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Illumination during a power outage

Barb LeeContributor - November 28, 2022

We were enjoying the wood stove and the warm glow of the Aladdin lamps last night, rather absorbed in talking about the lamps, when I suddenly realized I had no idea of the state of our preps for dispelling the darkness in an extended power outage.  I’m a kindergarten prepper compared to others on this list.  My goal is to prepare for three months of independence. So I’ve been trying to take stock all day of emergency light sources and things can be improved.

I learned that the Aladdin lamps are good for roughly 10 hours of lighting (probably on low) on a 1 quart fill of kerosene.  (I love these fussy little prima donnas!) It seems that my approximately five gallons of kerosene (all designated lamp fuel) would net about 50 days of light, burning four hours a day. Seems we need another five gallons to slightly exceed three months. (My primary concern is earthquakes.)

Battery powered lanterns:  We have assorted Coleman battery powered lanterns.  Each takes eight D-cells.  D-cells are over $2 each now.  I looked at the Amazon page for our newest LED lantern and was hurtfully misled by the main advertisement for run time.  Scrolling through the specs revealed the actual run time to be about 1/3 what they were claiming in the ad. I think it actually worked out to about $1 for every hour the lantern is used, compared to the Aladdin’s roughly $0.28/hour.

But, once you light an Aladdin, you don’t want to move it.  The lantern is good for going out to the barn.  D-cells are also necessary for flashlights.  I carry a heavy Maglite to the barn every morning and night, partly for illumination, partly because I’m skeered of mountain lions!  LOL!  Just in case I need to clock a mountain lion in the head (as if I’d get a chance!)

Candles:  Pfft. 

Solar:  I read and very much appreciate the recent review of several solar light sources.  Here in the maritime Pacific Northwest, it is estimated we get about 26% of available sunlight during the winter.  Hubby is extremely resistant to anything solar.  We just don’t get any sun.

Generator:  As long as the gas and/or propane last, it is possible to run some 120V lights in the house.  That would be kerosene-sparing, since a generator HAS to be run to access the deep well pump, and run the septic pump and freezers. The generator was actually the cheapest “lighting” source, but gasoline storage is a problem.

Since I’m the chief cook and bottle washer, I tend to focus on food supplies and redundant cooking resources. Warmth is stored in piles of cordwood. “Power” is stored to the extent possible in gas cans and propane tanks.  But plain old LIGHT.  Seems I’ve taken it a little less seriously than I should.

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An idea for another safety tool at the drive-up ATM?

Bigwig - November 24, 2022

I was getting money from the drive-up ATM one Saturday morning.  The bank was open but there wasn’t anyone else at either machine.  It’s in a low-crime area but I always keep my head on a swivel and take as little time as possible.  I overshot the machine, so I had to back up.  After getting into a better position, I glanced at my rear camera.  Just then it hit me that if I keep my vehicle in reverse (and foot on the brake), I have a really good rear view of what is going on behind me.  Of course, if anyone is behind me it might freak them out, and if something were to go down I would likely back into the car behind me.  No, I don’t have any aftermarket front or rear security cameras and realize that would work better.

Just wanted some thoughts from the community.

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Public safety power shutoffs – Dress rehearsal for the real thing

hikermor - November 21, 2022

In SoCal, we now routinely experience PSPS when high winds prevail.  While inconvenient, they are preferable to wildfires sparked by down power lines.  They also offer a chance to test at least some of your preps and experiment with procedures. We just had a two hour PSPS, and last year we had one that lasted for three days.

With internet down, keeping phones charged was a top priority.  Camping gear came into use, especially for cooking.  Our headlamps and portable lanterns proved useful.  Batteries recharged by portable solar panels were great.  We learned to minimize opening and closing the fridge.

On balance, not exactly fun, but a good learning experience for more difficult episodes…..

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