ATS Preppers : The Time is Critical .. How big is your Reserve ? Share your Tricks !!

We are approaching a point where all of you would have wished to have made reserves.
Did your insinct passed the message to you ?

The survival instinct in humans is a little bit different then animals
the animals can sense something seconds/minutes before TSHTF
for humans .. we can sense that there is a critical time right ahead and we need to start preparing
it will not cost you much and will not be much if TSHTF
but it will be a start to survive longer and help anyone in need especially your familly

The First service to be cut will be the electricity
(stock up batteries and fuel)
The Second service to be cut will be the food transport to your local market
(stock up food reserve: sealed cans, dry food, pasta etc...)
The Third service to be cut will be the water
(stock up water bottles and carbon filters)

Time to be selfsufficiant

My reserve are not that big
but i would be able to last for 2-3 months at least

500-700 little water bottles
Few bags of pasta (need more)
Metal cans with Tuna, Sauce and different soups (need more)
5 carbon filter (need more)
Matches, Lighters, lighter fuel (need more)

Obviously if a meteor crash on your home.. the reserves would become worthless

In many worst outcomes scenarios is flooding
If your home is not elevated
Prepare empty bags ready to be filled with dirt or sand
Prepare to dig some trenchs around your home

I live in a condominium the third floor
little flood precaution that i took before buying the 4 1/2
i feel safer and my reserve will not be spoiled by the dirty water

Wooden plate to barricade your self for wind protection and dangerous armed thiefs

There is many kind of preparation
but the most important one is in your mind

Preparing Psychologicaly means ready to control your emotions
means to avoid panicking at all cost and keep the focus
the best thing to do is to make many scenarios in your head
What would you do if there is someone hurt in front of you
What would you do if you loose your home
What are the risks are you willing to take to survive and help anyone who need assistance

Preparing Physically doesnt mean you need to train in a gym to be stronger
but to prepare yourself by making different kind of reserves
because shopping will not be an option anymore
better having reserve now then not having any when TSHTF
Dont you think ?

The time is now .. Start some reserves especially food and water



Wish i could have a store like this near my home
i would go check things off each days and buy a couple of things :
need a medical kit
need a fishing kit
need a fire kit
need a cooking kit
and other very usefull kit

Any of you know a reliable site where i could buy other all kinds of usefull survival kit ?

the problem with serious prepping is that if you have to move due to lets say a mountain exploding or a giant tsunami on its way is how do you transport everything you have stored?

reply to post by Maxatoria


i would say that if your truely prepping then you would have various secret caches at various points where you might be able to access them properly....but the problem will be .....you will be the rich one...and the other will come after you will they not.....as an individual prepper you will be left out to hang.....I think that prepping in groups and creating an underground network amongst people you would trust(family) might be an option....

but if and after an situation occurs...you will have to be pretty cunning to look like you have nothing so others will not want what you have....another thing is the area where one might prep...what makes your prepped spot better than say another's prepped spot....it will come down to thievery in the end....he who steals will win.....i would say the ones with the best chance of survival are going to be the ones whom have been living their everday lives like this....the dumpster divers....the poor who do this everyday already have the best odds....their stomachs are already eating the rot....while a newbie will be getting ill from the crap they will have to eat to survive.

Originally posted by Maxatoria
the problem with serious prepping is that if you have to move due to lets say a mountain exploding or a giant tsunami on its way is how do you transport everything you have stored?

If you are still alive
Its in your best interest to take important things with you
if you dont have the time because there is a tsunami heading for you
then its in your best interest to flee

I have a 6x4 trailer sitting in the garage ready to go with food, shelter, fuel and water, first aid kit and enough hand tools to build a small township.... Just hope we dont get an EMP because the 4wd has a computer where as my other car isn't exactly made for towing...
But either way we should be good for at least 6-12 months, possibly more depending on what I can kill and eat..

Ya, I'm not gonna do something like tell everyone about all my goodies. But I will say that food, water, ammo, and training are your most important things. + be in shape.

Originally posted by Maxatoria
the problem with serious prepping is that if you have to move due to lets say a mountain exploding or a giant tsunami on its way is how do you transport everything you have stored?

One way is to have most of it stored in a enclosed trailer that can be hooked up and go.

reply to post by plube


There is a book called( Lucifers Hammer) which gives a senario of a comet hitting Arizona, the following events take place, #1 people start looting carrying away tvs etc but no electricity. #2 then organized gangs ( the local law enforcement) start storage of food. # 3 freeway system blocked by panic fleeing cities.#4 the story continues around 2 switched on people trying to get to their secluded cabin in northern california where they have prepared for such an event, when they finally pull ito their cabin there are a bunch of pickup trucks and some motor cycles parked on the property, when they are confronted by about 14 armed males who politely tell them to GIT they are so happy that these indivudals were kind enough to give them 5 gallons of gas,the only sensible thing to do is to be accepted into a armed and heavilly protected secure area where everyone allowed in has a role to play, eg Dr, carpenter,gardener, plumber, or security,etc book makes a good read if you can find it as it came out in the 70s

reply to post by dreamstalker


cheers for the tip on the book....as i for one think if something does go down ...the pure chaos will take the preppers by surprise.....it will yet again be the haves and have nots....but the difference will be....the hungry....people will behave differently when their own survival is tested....now also the situation if it as some are predicting....2/3 world population toasted in a go .....what will happen to all the bodies.....the decease .....i see it being rough out there...and It will make all the preppers targets.....many people i know sem to think guns are the ticket.....but ammunitions run out...and they weigh a ton......so much for that huh.

I mean it is always good to be prepared for such things....but there is going through it all for nothing also......survival will be about the unseen......being stealthy would be most desirable.....now one cannot be stealthy with an abundance of stuff.....the key i think is to be able to survive with nothing....so i have to agree with another in the thread....TRAINING ......learning....and gaining knowledge on survival techniques.

My preparation is divided into 3 levels:

A- Enough stored food and medicines and barter items to last about 3-6 months... depending on how rationed out.

B- Seeds and root sets to plant so as to have seasonable crops coming in after the stored food runs low. For instance, if it is fall/winter...turnip and kale and mustard. If it is spring/summer... tomato and pepper and bean seed, corn etc. ...lettuces, onions anytime

C- If it gets bad enough that we have to evacuate/ migrate...then we carry the seeds with us, and as much light weight dried foods as possible.

Now here is the Ace in the Hold...we always have "meat on the hoof"... pigs, hogs, chickens, goats... so if we can stay put, we will have more than enough food.... meat, goat's milk, eggs

If we have to move out... we have 2 horses for pack animals, and the herd of goats will easily follow... a few chickens can be caged and strapped onto the horses...

The dried foods are homegrown peaches and apples dehydrated here on the farm and stored... either frozen or hung in old pillow cases up in the attic..warm, dry, good air flow

The canned veggies and fruits we put up every summer in mason jars...quart and pint jars by the dozens... tomatoes, beans, succotash, preserves and jams, canned peaches, apples, corn....

We always have something growing here...even now I can dig up some turnip roots or cut a mess of fresh greens or "sallet" as we say here in NC

And we always, always grow enough potatoes to get through the winter... bushels and bushels...I spread them out in the root cellar one layer high on news paper or clean,dry hay and lightly cover them with hay and maybe lay a second layer down...this keeps good airflow and low moisture and no light...light and moisture is a potato's worst enemy...we can eat potatoes now that we dug up last July.. now they are a little soft and have sprouts or "eyes" but they are ready to eat as mashed potatoes, fried potatoes with onions..etc

No electricity... no problem... we would eat what is in the freezer first...foods will stay frozen a couple more days if the door is kept shut...and then will keep a few day beyond that...it will be a hell of a BBQ

We hae a wood stove... a good old fashioned cast iron free standing with 4 legs box wood stove with 2 eyes on top. This is our most valuable tool of many... it gives us heat, cooks our food, and heats our water. If you learn your woods...you can do any thing on here you can on an electric/gas stove.... include can food into jars. In winter, you can string apple slices and hang near or above the stove for a natural dehydrator and dr foods.

For wood, we always have logs ready to cut. Once you master a chain saw...you can easily fell a few trees an hour. In a good morning, you can clean them up, cut/saw the limbs and already have a massive pile of fire wood...the trunks we saw and leave sitting and bust as we can get to them... got a free hour or two... go bust some wood and stack.

Oak burns long and hot. Maple burns well too. Poplar burns really hot and pops... I use poplar when I want to turn the stove up a notch... bust into small sticks, a fire will burn fast and hot. Pine is OK to start a fire, but I don't like to burn too much as the resin/ creosote coats your chimney/ stove pipe and can cause a fire in them.

If you don't have a place in the country and are considering where and how far out...We live about an hour from the really big cities of Raleigh and Durham, NC. Obviously, we are still near some big towns about 30 minutes out. The small crossroads communities are about 15 minutes out... then you get to us in the "sho nuff country" side roads.

We bought a farm on a hill.... hills are good defensive positions, stay relatively dry, and naturally avoid being flooded. Across the road is a lake for water, fish, washing, getting water for the livestock, etc. And a great means of travel and escape... remember, 150 years ago before the advent of mass Rail Roads, water ways were the primary means of long distance travel...aka Tom Sawyer.

At the base of the hill in the bottoms are creeks and small rivers, swamp, woodland... lots of wild game, fishing, deer and duck hunting...even bear. Also natural obstacles and defenses from roaming hungry hordes.

I am in the process of using google and the map archives at UNC to find and discover and actually hike the old road and rail beds that cut through the area. Often times, they run parallel to the modern roads but are hidden, provide means of quick, stable transit through the woods under the cover of new growth pines and forest. For instance, I could travel by road to a penninsula on the lake and it would be several miles to get there...but using an old abandoned rail bed, I can hike there in about 30 minutes. Good to know when setting up escapes and ambushes.

Anyway, hope this helps any of you getting serious about moving out. It is a wonderful and enriching and HARD life...but worth it.

reply to post by plube


After reading the book and giving the situation some serious thought, i decided i would be one of the guys in the cabin telling you to GIT, lets face it only the strong will survive, find out where the supplies are at and take it over, the only problem the organized gangs, i am not talking about minority groups who will all be busy looting the jewellery, liquor and electronic stores, the serious contenders are law enforcement, the brotherhood with arms and comunication and still the law, once the situation evolves to no electricity no gas no protection and the smart ones realize that big screen tv's have no value and all the supermarkets are looted, hunger is a great motivator, the roaming bands of bikers and the like will sack all the affluent neighborhoods, the rush to escape the cities will create major accidents and highway blockages, auto running out of fuel abandoned on the freeway systems will shut down escape routes, then when people realize that the food is in the farming areas they will become the next target, the idea is to get out very quickly and head to the rural areas and form and alliance with some rednecks that have their areas all ready secured, good luck hahahaha

reply to post by AlreadyGone


Give me your address will you sounds like you are all set, about 20 of my friends and myself will pop over and help you eat that frozen food after a couple of days with no power, and the barbie sounds great, the pack horses are also starting to look good.

Honestly the more I think about it, the more I come to the concept that these caches will only be graves.
Think about it, Any place is not impregnable due to shear will power and human ingenuity.

I honestly think the best method to learn to use will be improvising, thinking on one's feet will be the bread winner, who's going to know that info, you and whomever you choose to tell, then it's not a matter of finding caches then its a matter of figuring out one's move, which randomness in tangent will prove to be useful.

Not saying roaming will be best, but wide areas of knowing will prove to be useful for such a improvised type survival.

reply to post by dreamstalker


I've already told all of my friends and family to come on up. We have about 50 acres here and there is plenty of room. A few more mouths won't hurt. BUT you have to earn your keep... rule of the farm....If you want to eat, You have to work for it.

Seriously, another aspect of this scenario is if you move to the country... get to know your neighbors. A community built around the local churches and country stores pretty much adheres to that group. They are a very giving and forgiving bunch of people...BUT very clanish or close knit and suspect of outsiders. Plus, I would be willing to bet that there are some third world countries not as well armed as my end of the county I live in.

I live in the country and have bought a pool and a katadyn water filter. Thats 7000 gallons of water! I wont divulge my reserve but feel comfortable that if a crisis were to arise, we would be well off for a good while. While many folks stock up on freeze dried foods, you have to remember how many gallons of water it takes to rehydrate! After a hurricane passed through here last august, I collected as much oak wood as possible. My plan this summer is to build a pompeii outdoor oven

reply to post by Ben81


Ben,

Quebec = winter = freeze our butt..

Butane heater (camping type but for indoors) + many extra butane cans

Butane stove (camping type but for indoors) + many extra butane cans

Mylar covers.

That is if you have any room left beside your 700 bottles of water...

To what you already have...a must...

Earth & Seeds. Food reserves will run out.

Couple first aid kits

Vinegar. Good to clean and disenfect.

reply to post by AlreadyGone


Between you and me you have the perfect situation providing you can secure your area, in the book Lucifers Hammer, the best place to be is exactly where you are, and having lived in NC around Greensboro I am familar with your area, so relax and whatever will be.

reply to post by SonoftheSun


I think im gonna go do some shopping at Canadian Tire
and buy some butane heater
it can be very usefull indeed

need to buy seeds to grow tomatoes and make a little garden

Next time i go in a CT i will buy a lot of stuff for when TSHTF
because when it HTF .. everyone will be caught by surprise
and everyone will go shopping at the same time
people will be panicking to buy the last butane bottle

We need to take all the precaution NOW
dont be caught at the last minute

reply to post by dreamstalker




I must point out... although it was a great book. A fantastic book, one of my favorites, dont forget about the part where the van full of stuff is blown up.

I think you have implied it in your posts, but either way, prepping does no good if you lose your stuff to a gang with bigger guns.

Originally posted by SonoftheSun
reply to post by Ben81

 

Ben,

Quebec = winter = freeze our butt..

Butane heater (camping type but for indoors) + many extra butane cans

Butane stove (camping type but for indoors) + many extra butane cans

Mylar covers.
:

Just wanted to point out the obvious to anyone who isnt aware. Be careful with using certain stoves inside. Nobody wants to die of corban monoxide poisoning.

Still, these handy camping stoves will be a must have in a situation like this.

To anyone in the northern climates such as quebec, invest in a low temperature rated sleeping bag. Best purchase you can make, and hey, everybody can use another blanket.