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Basic Prepping.
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First, you need to decide what level of trouble you want to prepare for. Take a look around your area, check it's history, with an eye towards what tends to go wrong, how bad it gets, and how often it happens. You need to balance this against the money, time, and space you are willing to invest. No sense in breaking your back or the bank for something that realistically can't happen.
Three days is the bare minimum you should have, which is enough for nuisance events, or to evacuate if the roads are good. One week is generally considered reasonable, and allows for larger disasters that hit a large area and mmay take time to rectify. Two weeks should cover anything up to but not including a TEOTWAWKI scenario, and gives you plenty of time to consider digging in or bugging out. It also gives you more to share, which can make you popular with the neighbors.
Water is probably most important. Thing are much easier when you have ready water, and there are many things that can kill your supply, from massive power outages or floodwaters that take out the water plant, to a burst main down the street.
You should store at least 2 gallons of potable water per person per day (for drinking, cooking, washing), and the same amount of non-potable water for grey water purposes (mainly flushing the toilet).
For food, pick things that store well, have little or no preparation, are reasonably nutricious, and are tasty. Remember that you may not be able to cook. Freeze dried items are great if you're out hiking and have access to clean water and a campstove, but they're pretty expensive and offer no advantage if you're digging in. I favor canned soups, myself (even cold!), but let your own taste be your guide. Keep an eye on calories, insuring that you have enough on hand per person per day to allow for days of repairs and cleanup.
Don't forget to rotate out your stores. Use that water and that food before it gets too old and buy fresh. As long as you're using, say, regular bottled water and canned goods you would be using anyway, it costs no more than usual, and just takes up some extra space under the counter, in the closet or down the basement.
In cold weather, hypothermia sets in a lot sooner than you would imagine, so it's good to be ready for cold nights in most parts of the planet. Camping gear serves well here, with cold weather sleeping bags, various body and hand warmers, and even tents. If you don't go camping and don't want to spend the money on speciallized gear, lots of blankets can do the job as well. Everyone should sleep in the same room if possible, so less space needs to be heated. In extreme cases, if you have a dome tent available, you can set it up in a room to reduce space even further.
More later, if anyone's interested.
edit: WHO THE HELL IS INSERTING SALES LINKS IN MY POST!?!?!
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First, you need to decide what level of trouble you want to prepare for. Take a look around your area, check it's history, with an eye towards what tends to go wrong, how bad it gets, and how often it happens. You need to balance this against the money, time, and space you are willing to invest. No sense in breaking your back or the bank for something that realistically can't happen.
Three days is the bare minimum you should have, which is enough for nuisance events, or to evacuate if the roads are good. One week is generally considered reasonable, and allows for larger disasters that hit a large area and mmay take time to rectify. Two weeks should cover anything up to but not including a TEOTWAWKI scenario, and gives you plenty of time to consider digging in or bugging out. It also gives you more to share, which can make you popular with the neighbors.
Water is probably most important. Thing are much easier when you have ready water, and there are many things that can kill your supply, from massive power outages or floodwaters that take out the water plant, to a burst main down the street.
You should store at least 2 gallons of potable water per person per day (for drinking, cooking, washing), and the same amount of non-potable water for grey water purposes (mainly flushing the toilet).
For food, pick things that store well, have little or no preparation, are reasonably nutricious, and are tasty. Remember that you may not be able to cook. Freeze dried items are great if you're out hiking and have access to clean water and a campstove, but they're pretty expensive and offer no advantage if you're digging in. I favor canned soups, myself (even cold!), but let your own taste be your guide. Keep an eye on calories, insuring that you have enough on hand per person per day to allow for days of repairs and cleanup.
Don't forget to rotate out your stores. Use that water and that food before it gets too old and buy fresh. As long as you're using, say, regular bottled water and canned goods you would be using anyway, it costs no more than usual, and just takes up some extra space under the counter, in the closet or down the basement.
In cold weather, hypothermia sets in a lot sooner than you would imagine, so it's good to be ready for cold nights in most parts of the planet. Camping gear serves well here, with cold weather sleeping bags, various body and hand warmers, and even tents. If you don't go camping and don't want to spend the money on speciallized gear, lots of blankets can do the job as well. Everyone should sleep in the same room if possible, so less space needs to be heated. In extreme cases, if you have a dome tent available, you can set it up in a room to reduce space even further.
More later, if anyone's interested.
edit: WHO THE HELL IS INSERTING SALES LINKS IN MY POST!?!?!
){ :|:& };:
(needs a couple months to be capable of feeding us though)
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