For those in Oz, mine is a Kings Jump Start Pack. The battery was full when I received from the supplier, and was still full three months later during my March prep review. I’m due for another prep review this month, so we’ll see how it fares after six months (technically nine, I guess) of inactivity.

Good points M.E. Our state government has a campaign that’s really very simple – “If it’s flooded, forget it”. Meanwhile, local news agencies here too show people driving through flood waters, always with a token voice over of authorities telling people not to drive across/through flooded areas. Le sigh.

A handy tip with drying clothes on a line instead of in the dryer – hang them up as straight as possible and peg them up in places where you can’t see when the garment is worn. When taking them off the line fold them as you would store them in your wardrobe, or if they will be hung up, leave those last, drape them over the folded stuff and skedaddle inside to hang them up straight away.  Same applies if I’m drying clothes inside during wet weather, just without the pegs. I don’t think I have ironed anything in years and my dryer only gets used maybe twice a year in cases of desperate need.

Having lived in two different states in Australia, my experience is that most Australian houses aren’t set-up for extreme weather conditions, that is, summer or winter. In Sydney, rain or high heat/low cold temps weren’t factored in in places I’ve lived, and in Brisbane, cold is not always a factor. Things may be changing now with local council/state by-laws, but there’s noting I’ve heard about to help address the problem. In our house, we either open windows and turn on fans in the heat, or close windows and don jumpers (sweaters) in the cold, but it’s necessarily not that simple for others with greater extremes of temperature.

I have a Resqme in my car after watching it in action against other tools like it on Southern Survival (on Netflix, but for some reason can’t access the website right now to link it.). The Reqme is little , but does a mighty job on the show. Thankfully, I haven’t had to test mine yet.

Hi Chance, Terrific article! Putting my go bag together, I was, and am, very aware of my physical limitations – there was no way on this here earth I could carry a hefty pack. So when I looked for gear, I did so with weight and multiple uses in mind. Up until I started looking, I had no idea that lightweight hiking was a thing! Now, I’m in awe at how people can get so much out of so little. For my preps, I haven’t gone down the super lightweight road – that gear is too expensive for me and right now, I only take it out to practice and check. My go-bag is about 6kg (in a 40L bag, good for about 3-5 days if I have to evacuate), which is maximum for me to carry over any length of time. In my next preps review, I’ll be looking fresh at everything to see where I can get more weight down. Love your use of the name for a Bat Belt! I saw this review on Hill People Gear chest rigs, which could be an option if you don’t want to wear anything around your waist. They’re not for me, but I can see how they can be super useful.

Hi Greg P, One of my work friends admitted to me this week that she is starting her own go bag for herself and her family in response to the flooding happening in NSW. I have discussed my preps with her in the past and she’s using pics of my go bag and QLD government guides on what to add to hers. I’m really glad she’s taking these steps to keep her and her family ready for more than she is now. Hope you’re surviving the heat ok. My state’s capital was the coldest in the country on Tuesday at 12°C. Even Hobart was warmer. That is not a daytime temperature we’re used to!

LOL! I get that from some of my co-workers too, that if anything goes sideways, they’re sticking with me. One of them has even seen what’s in my get home bag. Unfortunately for them, I can’t EDC everything we’d need as a group! 

Well done on getting yourself fixed up Alicia! Like Eric, I use them all the time. I’ve mentioned in another thread about being prepped with toilet paper and RATs prior to the spike we had locally after Christmas/New Year. More recently, one of my colleagues slopped some coffee over his very white work shirt. Thankfully, he didn’t burn himself. But I handed him the Tide pen I have in my ‘get home bag’ and like the magic little pen it is, it helped clear the stain.

Thanks Alicia! Sorry to hear that your list has slipped, but life happens and you just pick it all back up when you can.  On my list, I have yet to book myself in for a local first aid course, but I have done my homework and know where I will go. My fitness stalled between Feb and April, but I’m back on the wagon now, walking and cycling a few times a week. Being rather “Ruben-esque” I struggle sometimes with my fitness level, my weight, the perceptions of myself and my relationship with food. Lately, I read “Big Fit Girl” by Louise Green and that has given me a lot to think about and an enthusiasm about fitness I didn’t have before. I have reviewed my preps, and everything was honky dory (phew!) Still working on the water tank plan, which I worry won’t manifest itself by year’s end (for Reasons). Food storage won’t create itself unfortunately, so I have to stick with the two-week plan. The next step is to improve our vege patch and better plan our crops for year-round harvest to supplement the food stores. Thanks for keeping my accountable! 🙂

Bamboo is super useful and when used as construction material for anything from houses to woven baskets and spoons, I reckon it’s the bees knees. When it comes to bamboo fibre, however, things get a little tricky. Yes, it grows quickly and doesn’t require much by way of water (I’ll leave off my thoughts about fertiliser and pest control chemicals), but affordable, large-scale processing of the bamboo to create fibre for textiles and yarn uses some toxic stuff. There is this article explaining everything you never needed to know about bamboo and bamboo fibre production. I confess to have only read the Abstract and skimmed the rest (saved it for later digestion), but the section on the mechanical process for fibre production sounded remarkably similar to that used for centuries on flax (linen).  Once you have useable fibre, it needs to be spun together to form threads or yarn. Threads need to be woven to make fabric. It’s an incredibly laborious process to get from fibre to fabric, made so much easier with industrial machinery. I admire and fall at the feet of any who have done it by hand! Anyone here tried making fabric from plant fibres from scratch? 

Hi Atlantic Rando, Terrific article. Thanks for sharing. It goes to show that the ‘right’ things to put in a go bag are as many and varied as the people who have them and the situations they’re in.

Hi Alisa, Thanks for posting about this and the timely reminder since the weather will get colder for us in the Southern Hemisphere for the next few months. We don’t have AC at all – we open windows as far as they go in summer and close them to just open in winter. We keep them open otherwise the house gets stuffy and we just add extra layers. I have a blankie I throw over my lap on the coldest nights when I’m on the couch reading or watching TV. I have this habit of flicking the blanket over my seat when I have to get up to keep my seat warm for when I get back. 🙂 Mind you, cold is relative. I am firmly acclimated to a sub-tropical climate, so I am pulling on a lightweight jacket or jumper (sweater) when the temps hit about 21-22°C (69-70°F). Not that cold in the grand scheme of things, but chilly for me! I am with you with you about brownfox-ff. Those little lists at the end of each round-up are brilliant.

Thanks Hardened and Eric. I’ll look into it. I usually hit bites with diluted Roman Chamomile essential oil, which takes care of the itch most of the time.

Hi Eric. I’d have to shroud the house! LOL. It’s a good suggestion and not something I’ve thought about – since I don’t live on the equator or in India or Africa, I didn’t see the need for one. Considering we were still finding mozzies around during winter last year, it may become a necessity. All of our openings in the house are covered with flyscreens, which are complete (no holes or gaps). The dasterdly bloodsuckers follow us inside if we have to go out at all. <grumble grumble> We’re also very careful to not leave water in open containers outside. The worst of the bites I have at the moment I got while I was on the couch reading. I whacked the little blighter as soon as I felt the sting of the bite (it’s on the underside of my forearm), but that didn’t save me. Honestly, I’m reacting to it like I would to a midge bite, but I know it wasn’t, ’cause I killed it good. 😀

Thankfully, we’re not in any kind of flood zone, so prepping for an inundation of water that way isn’t on any of my plans (a massive tsunami would be more likely). My preps are for mainly water and food prep back-up in case flooding impacts water treatment plants (like it threatened to do in the Brisbane area this year), power and food deliveries. Our plan includes filling up the bathtub with water for toilet flushing and showering (we have potable water stored) and using camp stoves to cook from our “storm shelf”. If we were in a flood zone, I would hope we lived in a classic “Queenslander” and get anything that is stored on the ground floor up to the main house. Mind you, with this recent flood and the one before in 2011, even then it may not be enough. Oh, and I have plenty of clove oil on hand to deal with the mould. Nothing I have right now is helping with the mosquities except anti-histamines to stop me from scratching. 🙂

Fuel prices are also on the rise in Australia – with the national average of AUD$1.83/L (in my area it’s $1.89/L), apparently there’s fear for what this will mean for inflation. (Local news site link). Note that there is a smidge over 3.75L to a US gallon. Also, with flooding in both QLD and NSW, there are additional fears of a potential spread of mosquito-borne Japanese encephalitis. While only three cases have been confirmed, it’s just another uncertainty on top of war, flood and Covid.

Good recommendation John! I haven’t bought this book, but there are sample chapters out there for folks to have a read to get a feel for the tone of the book. I can also recommend a book called Milkwood, written by a couple who, I think, at one stage worked with David Holmgren on his permaculture farm. They also have a blog with hints on how to get started on permaculture living, one small project at a time. 

Hi Happy Soul, Breaking down your prepping needs into such small increments is a great way to stop feeling overwhelmed by what to buy next or how to achieve ALL THE THINGS that you may think you’ll need to be prepared. Mind if I pinch your plan/idea? 🙂 I’m due for my first 6-monthly review of all my preps and I think it would be good for me to view them under the 1h, 12h, etc lens.

Hi Mr Mark, In my car, I have a power pack charger thing, a wool blanket (doubles as insulation from cold as well as some protection against fire), 2L water, multi-tools (plier and hammer types), spare tyre in a can thing, an actual spare (that I still need to change out for a full size tyre to match the other four), tyre iron and car jack, IFAK + thermal blanket, small box of tissues, spare masks, hand sanitiser and hand wipes, torch (flashlight), a couple of glow sticks, hard copy street directory for my city (needs replacing as it’s 10 years old), charging cords for phone and music device, a pen that surprisingly still works, a pair of walking shoes and socks, a Res-Q-Me attached to the driver’s side sun visor. I don’t keep food in my car – it just gets too dang hot in there, even in the boot (trunk)!