Here's what I'm stocking up on, How about you?

Originally posted by MagicaRose
reply to post by Jesus H Christ

 

I'm going to make a bug out bag but what do I use to put all the stuff in? A pillow case?

Initially it could be just as simple as that but you will probably find it easier to buy a decent back-pack. It doesn't have to be fancy but it does need several compartments which will make it easier to find what you need in a hurry. I keep mine right next to my bed along with my gun.

It is always nice to know that you could dash out of the house on a moments notice and stay gone for several days without even thinking twice about it. It's great for women to have one as well. If the hubby comes home from a drinking binge with glitter all over him and lipstick on his collar smelling like a Fench whore you can grab and go.

Storage: A lot of people are forgetting the basics:

Toilet- Make a port-a-potty- go to Home dept buy a 5 gal plastic bucket, A 4 inch dia. foam hot water pipe insulation just long enough to go all the way around the top of the plastic bucket, buy a box or two of 8 gal heavy duty plastic bags, a gallon of bleach. Now put one plastic bag inside the buck and pin the rim of the bag to the bucket with the split hot water foam insulation.(this is your seat) put a few cups of water in the buck and 1/2 cup of bleach. You can use this anywhere. just change the bag every few days. Make sure you buy lots of toilet paper.
Bury the bag in your yard or drive off road in your car if travelling.
Most people also forget to buy things like . A tooth repair kit found in the dental tooth brush dept of most drug stores. A good first aid kit is a necessity,
Water pills if you are mobile to put in stream water to kill off bacteria,
Potassium Iodine pills just in case of Nuke attack.

If you do not have a generator to run you bread making machine then you need to buy a 1500-2000 watt Inverter that will run off of your car battery to power your home appliances. (Harbor Freight) Buy a GPS hand held device for best navigation. A Ham radios or CB will be the only source of communication when it really gets bad. Buy some silver dollars. the last silver dollar printed is 999 pure silver and cost spot ( today 17.00) plus a dollar or two for the seller. Paper money is about to be come useless. Oh yes another good thing about buying an Inverter to convert you cars 12 volts to 110 volts is that you can drive up to a vending machine that still has food in it and plug it into your invert to make it work. So this means you should also have a few rolls of quarters. I sounds like alot of you have the basics but you better expand on it to stay safe and be able to care for those around you if that becomes necessary. Society will break down so be careful who you take up friends with they just may be after what you have and I don't mean your friendship. KMG

reply to post by MagicaRose


Any grocery store or wal-mart should carry mason jars for canning. As for a bag, right now mine is just in a regular backpack. I know exactly what I want in a bag but have yet to find one so I will probably have to just modify the one I have.

Originally posted by MagicaRose
reply to post by mamabeth

 

Do you know where I can buy the canning jars with lids that pop when they are sealed correctly?

I don't even know what they look like.

You can buy jars,lids,rings,pectin,waterbath canners and pressure
canners at Wally world.I have found supplies at Kroger,Marsh,Big/Lots.
There are websites that sell canning supplies as well.

reply to post by mamabeth


Cool, I had no idea. I will check into it.

Let me ask you this though, Is there any reason to can your own food? Can't you just buy everything in a can that you would want canned?
Please, take me to school.

reply to post by Jesus H Christ


I have my doubts on how much longer food will be available.I keep
hearing stories about food riots in the near future.Also,the quality of
food is questionable.I would learn to grow your own and can it!

Originally posted by Jesus H Christ
Is there any reason to can your own food? Can't you just buy everything in a can that you would want canned?
Please, take me to school.

I know this wasn't intended for me, but I wanted to give my opinion on this too. First; have you ever eaten home-canned food?

Home-canned is FAR better, more nutritious and healthier. Also, because of the usual glass containers that they're stored in, in the long run would probably taste better than some vegetables sitting in metal..

But of course there are always pros and cons with everything.

Canning also takes A LOT of work! (And time, and vegetables, etc) It would actually end up costing MORE to can your own food.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of canned goods, but I'm stocking up on canned foods instead of doing my own. I grew up with my grandparents canning every summer and I just can't put myself through that right now..

Canned goods + Multi-vitamins would probably suffice for most anyone.

- Mea

reply to post by Veritas Lux Mea


A lot of people don't know how to garden and can foods.These are skills
that shouldn't be allowed to die off.Besides,how long will the canned
food last?You will eventually eat it all and have to replace it and replace
it with what?

reply to post by Jesus H Christ


good answers to your question so far, but I look at canning in a different way. Of course you want to practice and do it now so you learn how to do it correctly, but canning skills will be most beneficial after the initial event, when summers are short and food is scarce during winters, you'll want to and have to be able to preserve whatever harvest or food you collected.
Say you score a bag of veggies for doing some service for someone else but can't eat it all at once and know you'll need it in the future, with perhaps power issues, canning will be best and probably only option.

For those who haven't tried canning yet, start with simple perserves, jams, jellies, pickles and sauces, then move on to veggies and prepared meals.

reply to post by worldwatcher


That is what I'm doing.I started out by making jelly out of juice.I have
found a website that shows you how to can butter and cheese.Someone
else on this thread has the website on their post.When I've learned to
can these items,I'll learn to can something else.

reply to post by mamabeth


Pickling stuff is super easy... well I think so
You can pickle so many different fruits and veggies, pickled sweet banana peppers are my favorite.

I haven't read ALL the pages of this page yet, missed some in the middle so I'm not sure of the link, but I have had this one bookmarked for a while now, it's the method and recipe I tried out first.
www.pickyourown.org...

Originally posted by mamabeth
Besides,how long will the canned
food last?You will eventually eat it all and have to replace it and replace
it with what?

Oh I completely agree! Canning is another invaluable skill to have! I grew up on a farm, so I'm pretty familiar with canning and most other aspects of keeping a farm up and running smoothly. We really worked hard to grow the garden, harvest, can, etc. (And I'm now very thankful for growing up in this environment.. for the experience!)

All I'm saying is that if I can help it, I don't want to have to go through such intense work right now. I adore canned food (it tastes so much better than store-bought!) and I even enjoy natural living; but there is so much work involved, especially for just one person here.. its too much for me to do alone now..

But it is *absolutely* another wonderful thing to know!

- Mea

reply to post by Jesus H Christ


Sounds like you're pretty prepared, if you're able to successfully hoard it all without anyone around you expecting handouts... I'm assuming with all that food you're going to "batten down the hatches," and ride out whatever comes your way. I would also suggest practicing regularly with the shotgun to insure that if/when you ever need to send a group of unprepared scavengers packing, (and they happen to be "packing", different sense of the word) your skills with the firearm will save you and your loved ones. Bandoliers or slings are nice too, in case your shotty only holds a few shells and you dont have pockets full of extras, or you have to patrol your property for extended periods of time. This site has some good stuff Cheaper Than Dirt

reply to post by WhiteDevil013


Well that becomes the real problem now doesn't it.
You can warn your mom and dad, Ex wife and friends 'till the cows come home. They will look at you like you're nut, and then ask you if you got a chance to watch 'Dancing With The Stars' last night.

Now what??? You did warn them. You did beg them to start preparing. So are you obligated to feed the neighborhood because you listened and they didn't??? Where does your obligation end? Will you have the Ba**s to say to them, " I'm sorry, I can't help you out, you should've listened". Where do you make the cut off? With mom and dad. The neighbor who has three kids and one on the way? Your bowling buddies? Your sewing circle?

Tough choices with no right answer. For every ounce of food you give away you are quite literally taking it out of the mouths of the ones who HAD no choice. The innocent ones. The ones who couldn't have prepared if they wanted to....YOUR CHILDREN!!!!!

reply to post by WhiteDevil013


I'm with you!My husband and I are signed up to take a gun safety
course.He knows how to fire a gun,I don't, but I will!

A few thoughts on some of the responses.

Canned butter - is nice, but if you're a buyer and not a canner, you can buy ghee.
en.wikipedia.org...
If you're a fan of Indian food, then you should know what ghee is already. It's basically jarred clarified butter.

Bug-out-bag - Don't use a pillow case or anything similar. Use a purpose driven item like a real backpack. You can go cheap. Cheap pack This one is better if you actually have to lug it around. Nicer.
You can get a nylon stuff sack if you're really going on the cheap, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Here's some places you can get washboards:

www.columbuswashboard.com...

www.muji.us...

sczyz.com...

Hi! I read page one and someone mentioned chickens and how would their dog take to them. My husband brought baby chickens home 14 years ago, from a elementary school project. At that time we lived on 10 acres of woods. Well... if you get chickens you must build a chicken coop with a wire fence floor to it to keep the animals that dig out of there. We had 18 chicks, their cheeping brought in every big snake in the county. We killed
20 snakes, and evey owl and hawk. We got treated to watching an owl rip a squirel out of its nest at 7:00am one Saturday morning. The dog, our dog, liked the birds for company. He would alllow them to nap with him.
A neighbor's dog drug off our meanest rooster, who broke loose later and found his way home. The roosters get very mean and flog people. My husband and dog stood by and watched a rooster attempt to flog me, I had my purse and knocked him back 3 times before he quit. All 18 chickens were eaten by a fox or weasel, we only got 3 eggs for our time.

reply to post by mamabeth


Thats good to hear! My girlfriend hated guns, never wanted anything to do with them. Until someone tried to break into our house when i wasnt home. That made her want to learn real quick! I took her to the range and gave her a crash course. Within an hour she had a group of cops crowded around her, cheering on, amazed that a petite girl was quickly loading and accurately blasting away targets with a shotgun, and several handguns. Needless to say now we both dont worry so much when one of us hears a "bump" in the night

a few of these would be perfect!! my hats off to this guy!

www.ted.com...