Thanks for sharing, Barb! I’d love to see your notes if you’d care to share. I love how you turned a problem/threat into something usable for the future!

You’ve gotten a lot of good advice already. In terms of buying things, as Redneck shared, I’d prioritize supplies to survive 2 weeks (mostly food and water). If you want quick, cheap, and easy, getting some things like quick boil rice, dried or canned beans, canned tomato sauce, and spam (I never used to eat it but its actually pretty tasty if pan fried and with some BBQ sauce), covers some basics while also being inexpensive and relatively easy to prepare. If you don’t have the budget for 5 gallon water containers yet, Eric has recommended getting several 1 gallon jugs of bottled water (from Walmart or wherever) which are easy to carry and pretty cheap. You want at least one gallon per day per person (14 gallons if it’s just you). Take one of those, pour out a bit, freeze it, and keep it in your freezer to act as a big “ice battery” to keep things colder for longer in your freezer if you lose power. Then start to work your way through the website’s bug-out bag checklist. The items are listed in tiers of priority and most of the gear reviews have a recommended, budget, and premium option. In the US, Walmart and Amazon tend to have the best prices if they sell the item. If you wait until black friday/Christmas for the more expensive items, you also tend to hit good sales. In general, I like to prioritize things that check off multiple boxes. For example, while bugging out is going to be the last option for most situations, getting those items prepares you for that while also checking off most or all of the items you’d want to survive at home for 2 weeks during a power outage or as a vehicle bag if you break down on the road in bad weather. Also, if you live on your own, talk with local friends and family about plans during emergency situations (e.g. if xyz happens, let’s group up at my place if it’s safe to travel/if they’re forecasting a big blizzard, why don’t your crash at my place the day before and have a movie night). It’s always better to be with others you trust in an emergency situation both for practical, mental, and emotional benefits.

You got lots of good suggestions in this thread. This isn’t a suggestion but may be a helpful datapoint. If you started with farm fresh eggs, I’ve eaten refrigerated eggs 3-4 months after purchase. Only noticed a few that had gone bad. The bad ones almost always were due to cracking that occurred in the shell. I also had one that had neon tinged egg white which is a sign of bacteria. After that one, I started to crack them one at a time so that I didn’t accidentally crack a bad one into the rest of the eggs I was preparing to scramble. Family reported that they didn’t taste as fresh at that point. But no one ever had stomach troubles. The old adage “the nose knows” won’t catch all issues but has a good hit rate. If it looks off, smells off, or tastes off – toss it.

You sent me down a fun internet rabbit hole of what (successful) sailors did back in the day. Apparently, dark colored, airtight glass bottles (no copper fittings) filled with lemon juice was the most effective way to preserve lemons to fight scurvy. Eventually that will break down, too, though. If you’re looking at 10+ years, I think you’re ultimately looking at plantable seeds like Redneck mentioned. While it’s not chocolate, I also have sugar production in my long-term, bug-in plans. That can include bee-hives, sugar beets, sugar maples, sorghum, or boiled down fruit juice from pressed fruits. Sugar cane, too, of course, but that doesn’t work in our climate. I also picked up a bag or two of some of those electrolyte powder packs from Costco. Really good for preventing/treating heat exhaustion.

I agree with Redneck. Canned tomato sauce in particular is cheap, well-liked, stores well, and is easy to use and replenish as they age. Lentil sprouts (or any sprouts, really) also store well in their dried form and then just need to be soaked to sprout which changes and unlocks their nutrition profile. While not necessarily a Vitamin C powerhouse, they do provide a nice array of vitamins and minerals. Regarding chocolate, I think you’re on the right track. From personal experience, I can tell you that we’re on year 3 of some semi-sweet chocolate chips we purchased at the beginning of the pandemic that still taste just fine (might have had an over-exuberant costco run back then…). Those have just been stored in the pantry in their sealed original bags.

I agree on the meds. Always good to have an extra week’s worth with you (but not your whole bottle in case it gets lost or stolen while on travel). In addition to the standard advice of asking your doctor for a 90 day supply (which is good), that doesn’t actually give you more meds in total, just more meds at a time. However, if you’re on long term medication, most pharmacies/insurances in the US will let you initiate a refill ~2 days before it runs out. While it’s slow progress, that gradually lets you build up an extra supply you can tuck away in the emergency stash. You can do first-in-first-out to keep those “extras” fresh.

Barb, you make a lot of good points for people to consider before they pursue the livestock route. And I think for the average city (or even suburban) dweller or those who live in evacuation-prone areas, it is probably WAY more effective to invest in freeze-dried/shelf stable foods than pursue livestock. Even for those planning for long-term survival situations, owning livestock that would require you to bug out from the city (or store large amounts of feed, etc.) is full of complications as you described and probably just not realistic/effective. That said, I also agree with Redneck that if you live in an area where you are most likely bugging in and aren’t prone to too many evacuations, livestock can be a fantastic way toward sustainable, self-reliance. Your caution about inputs is very valid, even for people who find themselves in that situation, though. I’m a big fan of permaculture that looks to harvest your inputs from “waste” outputs that you have elsewhere on your plot and also encourages building mutually beneficial, sustainable ecosystems (e.g., growing acorns and mulberries that reliably produce with little human input and so provide “free” feed for many kinds of livestock whose manure then provides food for your fruit/nut trees). That type of set-up just isn’t possible for most urban/suburban folks, but it certainly more possible further out in the country. And, for you urban/suburban folks who either can’t or don’t want to pursue livestock, you certainly have other options, too. If you did find yourself bugging out in a longer-term survival situation, consider how to harness those same ecosystem realities by planning to hunt/fish near nut-heavy forests and lakes/streams or consider joining a CSA or other type of food co-op where you have a relationship with someone who IS growing their own food/livestock. That could keep the “food pipeline” open during challenging times or even give you a friendly person you could partner with in a bug-out situation. Of course, we all hope we never have to go to quite those lengths, but I also like to have some idea of what I would do in different contingencies…  I also agree with Redneck’s book recommendation of Collard Greens. It’s a fascinating book that describes some of the nuts and bolts of people who lived under really difficult circumstances.

I really enjoyed Revolution (stream for free here: https://tubitv.com/series/300008436/revolution). Basic premise is technology/power goes out and America descends into wild west/colonial-esque/war lord-controlled regions. It only lasted two seasons but I enjoyed it and it also provides some “food-for-thought” about what a long-term, grid-down situation could look like and how people adapt to significant societal changes.

I agree on the “write it down” approach. I have multiple draft emails on my phone where I keep lists of things while it’s still fresh in my mind. I’ve also found that to be a helpful practice when reading through my survival books. If there’s a piece of gear, skill, or other memorable take-away, I’ll add it to the draft email dedicated to that book. Otherwise all those “aha” moments fade over time. One recent example: I had a loved one in the hospital (everyone is fine), but I noticed when they had her in the recovery room, the hospital was using a small, eggshell mattress topper cutout as a pillow. While that’s not a critical piece of survival gear, I added that to my list as a light-weight, compressible, and effective bug-out-bag pillow. A good night’s sleep makes a world of difference and some sleepers are “needier” than others. But knowing my family, I definitely plan to pick up a twin size topper and chop it up into small pillow sizes. Should have enough to pass around to extended family, too.

Great topic. I have a large spreadsheet with different tabs for different categories of things (Bug-out-bag, vehicle-specific supplies, prepping library, bug-in supplies, etc.). The bug-in supplies is a pretty big list so it’s broken down into separate tabs for ease of review. Within each of those lists, I prioritize things I think I need ASAP versus things that can come later. This is roughly my prioritization framework: 1. Food, water, normal meds, cold weather clothes/sleeping bags, lighting, and cooking ability in case of 14-day grid down situation. 2. Car kit (I prioritize vehicle-specific things and things that would be enough to get me home to the rest of my gear) 3. Bug-out-Bag list, starting with tier 1 and working up to tier 3 (most of these things also help with bug-in) 4. Survival and Prepper books (start with “if you only buy a few”) 5. Bug-in supplies including medical supplies, home garden, tools, etc.  My goal was to fully complete 1-3 as soon as possible. I’ve been working my way through 4 and 5 based on the below criteria in descending order of importance: – What would be the most critical item to help ensure survival based on my family’s needs, my immediate environment, and the most likely situations we’d encounter? – What could be very difficult to procure in the future (I’ve found many quality tools have been out of stock for months)? – What would make life way easier in a survival situation? – Leverage seasonal sales for key merchants/suppliers when possible – What would make life more comfortable/enjoyable? (while it’s last, this can also sprinkle in higher up the list if I find a good sale or find something that I also will use in every-day life) I also prioritize things that check off multiple boxes of things I value. I grow some of my own food because it’s healthy, cheaper (after initial investment), gets me outdoors and provides exercise, teaches me useful skills, gives me the satisfaction of producing something useful, and provides a way to produce some of my own food if I ever needed to rely on it. 

I don’t have any animals yet, but hope to in the next couple of years. We’re in the mid-atlantic area, and I’ve been reading through Ben Falk’s “The Resilient Farm and Homestead” (also on the TP list). One of the concepts from that book that I’ve really come to appreciate is the value in the Oak-Hickory forests that are common in this area. Humans can eat the hickory nuts (and acorns with preparation), but they also provide a protein/fat/carb-rich food (during fall and winter) for livestock (hogs, chickens, and even cows) and wildlife (deer, bear, squirrels, etc., that could be hunted) in a way that doesn’t require annual planting but produces for decades. Made me plant some acorns/walnuts last year. Lost a couple to squirrels, but have about 8 one year old oak/walnut saplings that have kept on growing. Plan to add some more nut trees (and protective wire cages) this spring. Definitely not a short-term solution, but great medium to long-term, sustainable value. Not sure if they ship out of state, but I found that our state forestry office (https://www.buyvatrees.com/) sells saplings at very reasonable prices and other states may do similar. In addition to a great price point, they were also a good knowledge source of trees/shrubs that are native to (or grow well in) my area.

Great list! I’ve bought and been working through several of these. It wasn’t on the main list (but recommended on a different TP article) but Grow or Die by David the Good was a fantastic book on growing food in tough conditions – short, practical, and geared toward helping those who are learning for the first time, never done it themselves, and may not have had a chance to prepare in advance. I’ve read a lot of books on gardening and if I could only have one, it might be that one. Definitely throwing a copy in the bug out bag. On a separate note, I didn’t see any books on the list that were specifically geared toward raising livestock. Seemed like all the other bases (foraging, gardening, hunting) are covered except that one. Any recommendations on animal husbandry/raising livestock?

Thanks Redneck, that’s super helpful. I’ve never had a garden big enough to need a rake. What is your main function of a rake and is it like the rogue cultivating rakes or something different? Have you found any particular tools that have been helpful to you when it comes time for harvesting?

Is a recording available? Couldn’t attend live

Any suggested alternatives to the The North Face’s VE 25 (or a 4 season tent in general)?  I’ve been keeping my eye out for several months now, and it is perpetually out of stock everywhere. Not sure if it’s been discontinued or not…

Thanks, Redneck, I agree everyone’s situation is different but that’s helpful to hear how many you’re planning to feed (along with your other sources of food). Are there any tools you have found particularly helpful when it comes to bed preparation/harvesting?

Great info, Redneck! Let us know how your 7 year old seed works out! For the amounts you listed that you keep in your seed vault, how many people are you expecting that to feed? Making some purchases of my own and I wasn’t sure how to scale.

That’s helpful, thanks!

Thanks for all the great info. I understand viruses aren’t a major threat in US waterways currently, but what are the primary reasons for that (and thus the possibility for change in the future)? If climate change results in more extreme heat/temperatures in the US and/or if the US were to become “less developed” would we expect viruses to be more of a threat? Now that the Katadyn Pocket and MSR Guardian are the same price, debating whether the “tankiness” of the Katadyn Pocket is worth the lack of virus protection.