We had a gas shortage.....

Over the last few days, for the first time in decades we had a bit of a gas shortage. It's still on. Nothing major so far but still, many gas stations are dry. This was a real shock to me. Because really I'd become lazy and complacent for the most part. It REALLY GOT ME THINKING.

At the same time I'm reading a fictional book about an e ehmmm pehee at ak in the good ole u.s. of a. So I was thinking...holy crap, what if in the very slight chance the s would htf. I'd be screwed. I'd be totally screwed!

So I bought some extra food and filled up on gas. I think I'm gonna become a bit of a prepper at least food wise. Like I think everyone should have at least 6 months of food, and at least a month of water. The month would at least give you time to find some other source in the event of something major happening, such as setting up to catch rain water.

But ya I think every time I go to the store I'm gonna invest in a bit of storeable food. Like I doubt anything would happen but you never really know. Especially living in a major city, like that alone is a major red flag. I'd likely be dead but still, I'd rather not starve to death.

the other thing that dawned on me as I was buying the food was that in reality when you actually think about it, the money we have is "all fake". We all know that. It's nothing. All it really is is the ability to grant us access to food and goods. that's all it is. The money itself is worthless. So really why have lot of money and little to no food or water for example. It's pointless.

Your thoughts? Are you prepared at all for a shtf scenario???

a reply to: lavatrance

I don't actually prep but I've been meaning to. Probably say that to my grave haha! It's never a bad idea to keep food/water around and a little extra than needed. I mean literally zero downside.

Money will be fake but there's plenty of things that will be valuable enough to barter with.
*Medicine
*Bullets
*Feminine products
*Tools
*Seeds
*Gas
etc etc.

originally posted by: JinMI
a reply to: lavatrance

I don't actually prep but I've been meaning to. Probably say that to my grave haha! It's never a bad idea to keep food/water around and a little extra than needed. I mean literally zero downside.

Money will be fake but there's plenty of things that will be valuable enough to barter with.
*Medicine
*Bullets
*Feminine products
*Tools
*Seeds
*Gas
etc etc.

I would add caffeine to that list. So many people have no idea what a nasty withdrawal they are in for due to the normalization of caffeine consumption preventing people from seeing their daily coffee/tea/energy drink consumption as an addiction.

a reply to: lavatrance

One thing about storing petrol (gas) is that it has to be stirred from time to time otherwise it will begin to desperate and go off so will be best to use and refill.

Also many local councils have bylaws prohibiting the storage of flammable liquids especially petrol, over xyz amounts.

a reply to: lavatrance

Nicotine: a couple packs of smokes (even if you don't smoke) are good bartering items.. (cans of chewing tobacco are handy too).

Caffiene: Coffee (sadly too many don't actually know what plain coffee tastes like, rude shock coming for them when they can't get it full of flavored syrups, but hey, caffeine is caffeine, and nothing beats an ice hot cup of joe, imo).

Canned food: self-explanatory.. A bit heavy when on the go, but a can of progresso beef stew will make any hungry perons day..

Alcohol, both the drinking kind and the isopropyl type, good tradeable items.

These are basic, handy tradeable items.

Yes, bullets work too, but there is a large assortment, as people have all sorts of different flavors of boomsticks.

Bandages, triple-antibiotic ointment packets (life-savers those things), are also handy trades, or good for an emergency.

The list goes on, and you could have a vitreous trading station if you have the right items.

Or, you can have yourself a nice setup for your own needs.

Water, check out the "life-straw", handy for on the go, small, and light-weight.

This.... is a reality few contemplate, but all should be prepared for. And it doesn't hurt, there isn't a scenario that having extra supplies will hurt you in.

Loss of work, or down sick and out of work for a week so your check is short, you have a cushion.

And in the event of SHTF, your set.

Just my $0.02...

a reply to: lavatrance

Gas shortage! That's amazing. I thought maybe I was just imagining it, but just last week I noted half the pumps at one of the local stations were bagged as if out of fuel. Noticed the same thing at some other gas stations and wondered what in the world was going on.

I'd doubt there's an actual shortage of fuel. I think what's going on is a shortage of drivers for the gas delivery trucks. The Feds have tightened the rules for 18 Wheeler truck drivers to the point that they've created a shortage of delivery drivers.

You're right, money is worthless. Its all about the stuff you can store.

On the recommendation of a few friends, we got a 6 month supply of dehydrated food stuffs. They're actually pretty good. Problem is.......no water, no eats AND you've got to be able to heat it.

So, I'd recommend dehydrated food stores; water; camp stove; a small fuel storage, say maybe 10 gallons and the best way to do that is to rotate the fuel stock every 30 days so I fill up the truck from the gas cans and then replenish the stock. Beyond that of course is to stock up on emergency meds if you can and the "necessities" like paper products.

Good luck!

originally posted by: lavatrance
Over the last few days, for the first time in decades we had a bit of a gas shortage. It's still on. Nothing major so far but still, many gas stations are dry. This was a real shock to me. Because really I'd become lazy and complacent for the most part. It REALLY GOT ME THINKING.

At the same time I'm reading a fictional book about an e ehmmm pehee at ak in the good ole u.s. of a. So I was thinking...holy crap, what if in the very slight chance the s would htf. I'd be screwed. I'd be totally screwed!

So I bought some extra food and filled up on gas. I think I'm gonna become a bit of a prepper at least food wise. Like I think everyone should have at least 6 months of food, and at least a month of water. The month would at least give you time to find some other source in the event of something major happening, such as setting up to catch rain water.

But ya I think every time I go to the store I'm gonna invest in a bit of storeable food. Like I doubt anything would happen but you never really know. Especially living in a major city, like that alone is a major red flag. I'd likely be dead but still, I'd rather not starve to death.

the other thing that dawned on me as I was buying the food was that in reality when you actually think about it, the money we have is "all fake". We all know that. It's nothing. All it really is is the ability to grant us access to food and goods. that's all it is. The money itself is worthless. So really why have lot of money and little to no food or water for example. It's pointless.

Your thoughts? Are you prepared at all for a shtf scenario???

everything that has been said is very good info to know and take advantage of. That being said going out of the " city" and on a backpacking trip is a very good way to teach yourself about survival skills. So living in a city you have a few options at you disposal. Fist being your water heaters and toilet tanks hold a lot of water. If you are lucky and have your own water then boom you have a decant water source for you and your family to survive whilst you locate more. Also if you see a green plant or whatever just dig into the roots and eventually you will find a little source of water. Now this is not a permant solution and may be very hard to come but In a survival situation still good knowledge.

originally posted by: JinMI
a reply to: lavatrance

I don't actually prep but I've been meaning to. Probably say that to my grave haha! It's never a bad idea to keep food/water around and a little extra than needed. I mean literally zero downside.

Money will be fake but there's plenty of things that will be valuable enough to barter with.
*Medicine
*Bullets
*Feminine products
*Tools
*Seeds
*Gas
etc etc.

Don't barter with bullets...............they can come back and shoot ya!!

originally posted by: Tarzan the apeman.

originally posted by: JinMI
a reply to: lavatrance

I don't actually prep but I've been meaning to. Probably say that to my grave haha! It's never a bad idea to keep food/water around and a little extra than needed. I mean literally zero downside.

Money will be fake but there's plenty of things that will be valuable enough to barter with.
*Medicine
*Bullets
*Feminine products
*Tools
*Seeds
*Gas
etc etc.

Don't barter with bullets...............they can come back and shoot ya!!

I have to agree with that. If you want to use bullets to barter you better be damn good with a bow. Also if your a home body that likes to cook. Keep the grease and stick with oitmeal. Combining them is a good way to stay on top of the game.

a reply to: lavatrance

So I bought some extra food and filled up on gas.

That reaction on peoples part is what caused the run on the gas pumps in the 70s. I worked at a gas station at the time. The news told us the Arabs were going to embargo gas so everyone gassed up and kept their tank topped off, 'jusincase'. These long lines formed at the pump, emptying the storage tanks before the next scheduled shipment.

Just like a run on the banks causes a collapse, so did people gassing up. It was kind of silly, 'we're out of gas' and "last car" signs freaked people out, but there never was really any shortage.

Theres a reserve of gas stored somewhere.

originally posted by: Tarzan the apeman.
Don't barter with bullets...............they can come back and shoot ya!!

Yup bullets area risky barter. Seeds and beer are better, that or toilet paper early on if things go really bad. I'm sure there would be a few people that would trade a far amount for a slice of the good old life even if it's just white paper.

I'm not really a prepper myself but I do stock up on items. But that's due to my dislike of going out shopping.

Use fuel stabilizer in stored gas and it will stay good for at least a year.
Coffee begins to go stale a couple weeks after roasting. Buy green beans (*sweet Marias) and roast them yourself. I have 20-25 lbs.
I set up solar and a battery bank/ inverters to run my chest freezer if the grid is lost. generators if the sun doesnt shine, I also have a fast electric bike I charge off solar

a reply to: lavatrance
In the last 6 years I have bought 400lbs of rice,200 CASES of canned food.....200lbs of pasta....300lbs of sugar...and more.

Never had I bought food like that .....and I gifted it all to family...... getting everyone used to bulk style foods especially kids....a food bias can kill kids in an emergency.

I learned that I needed minimum 1000lbs of each of the staples.....there will always be extra people you have to help so why not plan for it?

a reply to: lavatrance

I wish my brother-in-law had a gas shortage. He's got an ample supply. Our disaster preparedness plan includes him. All we need is gas masks, 1" diameter plastic tubing some, paper, logs and a match!

If you can't carry it on your back its worthless, I choose mobility over static even if that means I have to hump whatever I need on my back to go as long as I can, just because I can or can't. Shtf I'm going to be a very nasty person if I have to be.

a reply to: Brotherman

My disaster prep plan would be to bug out of the city. Problem is I've never tried it. Another problem is no where to go. Lots of woods though but I know after a few months it would get really harsh. Unless I could find a farm that would take me in I'd be screwed.

originally posted by: lavatrance
a reply to: Brotherman

My disaster prep plan would be to bug out of the city. Problem is I've never tried it. Another problem is no where to go. Lots of woods though but I know after a few months it would get really harsh. Unless I could find a farm that would take me in I'd be screwed.

So plan for short term survival... if you want to have an idea of how a collapse might go down look up Argentina, their economy imploded around 2000 several folks that survived the chaos have written books about it. short version; the Govt is still there and still working... police will still be there (in some form), cash will still be exchanged (inflation numbers though)..

stock your food, buy a good back pack, I would look at something like a life straw(and water purification tablets) because you can always find water... but purifying it can be tricky if you arent prepared.

Buy a map and plot the best way you think for walking out of the city.. then on a weekend try it... a plan is useless if you havent tried it.

In the initial chaos yes.. the city very well might get to dangerous to stay and at that point you need to bug out... drive if possible walk if nothing else.

As far as where to go; if you are really concerned start looking for prepper web sites in your areas, go out if they have a meet and greet and talk to the people... if you find a group you get on well with, then boom you have people you can call on.

a reply to: intrptr

When they mentioned it on the news the other night, all I could do was laugh. They said Petrocan stations were running out, so people started lining up for gas, causing price hikes, because it's running out faster. 🙄
Being in northern Alberta I knew the main part of the problem was the fire in Fort Mac, Suncor had to shut down completely. It takes a while to get that up and running again.

The smaller towns use their gas up slower, that's where to fill up. People shouldn't let their gas tanks get below a quarter tank either. It's harder on your vehicle.

a reply to: TonyS

I just pulled up an article about some of the new rules in the US, starting next month.

www.trucknews.com...

I thought they were trying to align the rules between Canada and the states. Canada cannot implement those new rules or they'd have to magically shorten the distances between our main cities, or put in a million more spots for drivers to pull over and just sit.

I read that article over and over, and those rules make no sense. They look like they were made by office workers who have never actually driven the distances between stops, and experienced the lack of places to pull off the road...

The easiest way to begin is simply acquiring everything you'd need for 72 hours with no outside contact. Once you have that, you work on two weeks self-sufficiency. After that, you work on long-term sustainability alone.

We have a large family, and stocking up saves more than money--it saves effort. Sure, diapers and/or feminine hygiene products are inexpensive. But when you realize there's a storm coming, and the whole town is busy cleaning out every super market and drugstore, that's not the time to say, "It's just now starting to snow; I want to get out on the streets and race around trying to find the last item..."

A good rule to follow is "Two is one, and one is none."

So if you go through, say a box of disposable diapers in a week, then have one box that is open and two unused boxes in storage. When you open one of the two boxes, just add it to your next grocery list. I have actually realized we are out of diapers just as the snow started to fall....

Of course, the permanent answer was cloth diapers, which was a one-time cost of around $350, verses $10-$20 a week for 3 years. Yes, we all spent time hanging them out on the line, and it took additional life energy. But they were also a heck of a lot softer, and it finally put an end to the ongoing diaper rashes caused by air-tight plastic. Enough said.

It's like the garden. My grasshopper relatives will say "cans of green beans are a buck at the grocery". (actually they are $1.86!) But that isn't the reason we grow and can our own. We do it so we have a whole pantry shelf of green beans. And if company comes by, we don't have to drive 10 minutes to the store, spend 20 minutes shopping and checking out, and then another 10 minutes driving back to home--our own green beans are cooked and served in that time!

Having your own 'warehouse' saves time. And time is extremely valuable for us.

So, even if there is never an "emergency," being prepared makes life in a big family run smoother.