How prepared are YOU?

Originally posted by Nephlim
reply to post by chiefsmom

 

just because it was in a movie doesn't mean its ganna be like that. most shtf's are pretty temporary such as a 1 to 5 year civil war. Movies potray things alot worse than they usually end up. don't base your preps off movies like the Road, or Book of Eli.

Precisely.

Looking back at REAL SHTF episodes of the human soap-opera, most people survived. Look at the carnage of world war II. Not if you were a dissadent or an enemy of the totalist states of Germany/Italy/Japan/Soviet Union, but otherwise a LOT of peoples, even in those states, survived. The ones who had hidden or shared caches did much better than others. Heck, the partisans were often organized around who could feed a squad of men for a couple of weeks. Many civilians survived world war II.

98% of the USA survived the Great Depression

98% survived the Civil War

80% of the former Empire probably survived the fall of Rome.

Even the Black Death, THE 'close call' of western civilization, killed off 75% of the population, but it took half a century.....

So, yeah; it is hard to kill of so many us in one fell swoop. We've been on the brink of extinction for 10,000 years now.

Originally posted by redoubt
reply to post by onecraftydude

 

How prepared are YOU?

Here's the thing...

... if and/or when TSHF in true, your survival efforts will get you, where? How long will that fresh water last? How long will your food stocks last? The world around you is in smolders and there is very few, if any places to restock anything. People are tribal once again, killing over a gnaw bone or a cup of nasty water that your dog wouldn't drink. There are no medicines, no places to buy cloths or other items of daily need.

If you fall and break a leg, chance are you will die a slow and agonizing death right there... or perhaps, somewhat faster as feral dogs and cats come looking for a meal.

So, you survived the great whatever but... now you have the unenviable task of continuing that survival through degrading and eroding conditions.

My point is that... if and when such an end rolls this way, do you really want to see what's on the other side?

Would you like to reserve one of my bullets so you don't have to deal with living in a harsh environment?

Originally posted by chiefsmom
reply to post by redoubt

 

After watching the movie "The Divide", I'm with you, don't think I want to survive anything major.
I have lots of food, but that's just because I trust canning more than a freezer.

Canning and other food preparation is something we used to do every year after harvest. It was taken for granted that each family knew how to store food for the winter. Now it is apparently a bad thing to put away food for the winter because you are a hoarder and most likely off your rocker thinking food might not be at a store near you.

I just feel sorry for the poor saps that think day to day. History shows that we live in a time of plenty. If you study history at all you know that this is rare. I am only being honest with myself in thinking that this prosperity can not last because throughout history it never has. With billions of people on the planet and resources being wasted by the rich and stupid it just seems like a no brainer that the shtf scenario is way past due kind of like the pole shift that should have happened twice by now.

Originally posted by Nephlim
reply to post by chiefsmom

 

just because it was in a movie doesn't mean its ganna be like that. most shtf's are pretty temporary such as a 1 to 5 year civil war. Movies potray things alot worse than they usually end up. don't base your preps off movies like the Road, or Book of Eli.

Shoot, people have been surviving cave man style for years, where i live there were still natives living 100% native until 1970 when their community got wiped out by natural disaster.

thats why the poster said he has seeds.

The only world i wouldn't want to live in is a post nuclear world where plants won't grow in... Now that would literally be no food/no hope.

I have prepared for that scenario and there is definitely hope if you know what to do. Food will grow underground and supply the oxygen you need. Fish make the fertilizer and solar panels supply the power for your lights. Air must be recirculated so you must have plants growing to survive as well as eat.

I didn't say it would be a good life, but I can't sit idly and watch my grandchildren starve because their parents are unaware that plants grow from seeds much less how to grow one. I think some things are too important to leave up to Wal Mart.

reply to post by onecraftydude


I personally believe that a "nuclear winter" caused by a full-tilt nuclear exchange between major powers is a very remote possibility. And it would take a truly massive and sustained exchange of bombs to impact the earth that way.

I got hooked on the idea of prepping after getting addicted to the show "Doomsday Preppers" but I really don't know where to begin. I guess that it'd be a good idea to have a bug-out bag or route planned, since I live in suburban NJ, but as a father of 3 small kids, I'm not quite sure where to even start. Are there any things that a first-time prepper does that is usually foolish or wrong? I'd like to glean as much wisdom from those already preparing, especially in a suburban landscape similar to NJ. I'm all ears and completely a noob in this entire realm

Thanks,

XJ

reply to post by xenujenkins


There are lots of things you can do to prepare for any eventuality. The first question you should ask yourself is "What do I think could happen to my family in my location". Then try to find information on strategies to lessen the impact on your family.

My first step allowed me to plan for eventualities already known for my area including a massive tidal wave that can swamp Florida. The next was a plan for having to leave my home and survive on the land (or sea) until a new location can be prepared with adequate food and shelter.

My advice to anyone who feels threatened by world events or local events is to plan for things that keep you awake at night. I used to stay awake toiling over what I would do if certain situations were to happen. I became an insomniac and felt helpless. That was when I began doing something about it. I researched possible scenarios and started doing what I could to lessen their impact on me. I put together a bug out bag for everyone in my family and included more than we can carry for a long distance because I already had some extra stuff and that can be used as barter to get food, etc. if those bags are ever needed.

I sleep very good at night no and hope others see what I have done and are encouraged by my planning and begin to make their own preparations so they feel confident, like I do, in their ability to survive any disaster or other event that keeps them awake at night.

We are surrounded by negativity so I disregard that and depend on my own feelings to guide me.

reply to post by xenujenkins


The easiest way to begin is to imagine preparing for "short-term" needs, and gradually expand your capabilities. Come up with a list of survival scenarios (ATS boards are a good start), and ask yourself how to survive for a given length of time. 3 hours, 3 days, then three weeks, three months, etc.

For instance. If you were in a 9.0 earthquake right now, what would you do? What part of your current environment offers the safest shelter.....

Next, what will you need after the quake? (The vast majority of humans survive even monster quakes).

- a fire extinguisher
- a first aid kit
- a flashlight
- a whistle, so you don't get hoarse screaming for help if you are pinned under debris.
- some water (drinking from a ruptured water main often exposes users to sewage in their drink).

Historically, most quake survivors are killed by fires, 'settling' rubble, infected wounds, or diarrhea caused by polluted water.

The above list for a "3 hour scenario" could be expanded to 2 weeks by adding some food, blankets, changes fo clothes, hygiene items, a multi-band radio, and a pry-bar (for navigating the rubble).

See?

Now take a different scenario....suppose an X-level solar storm or a massive electromagnetic pulse that wipes out communications and power grid. All of the above preparations (other than perhaps the radio) will be coveted treasures after electromagnetic chaos sets in.

The more time you spend on these lists, the more "cross-prepared" you will be.

You can add scenarios where you have to flee due to nuclear fallout or a toxic waste-cloud over your region of the US.

The final phase is physical practice.

You do this through outdoor pastimes, like cross-country biking (practice fleeing without motor transport) and camping in wilderness areas. Fishing and hunting are also great skills, and great experience at preparing your own food without refridgeration. Gardening is also an excellent hobby, which saves you money in the mean-time, and can help you stock supplies if you can or pickle your own produce.

This is a long-term project, because it is actually a re-alignment of your life values. You are changing what matters to you, and how you measure safety, security, and success. It will take a while for your new value-system to permeate things like the way you eat, or our relationship to money.

While that may seem off-putting, the decade I've spent getting into prepping has been a great experience. I've gotten physically fit, and introduced my family to great (cheap) vacations like camping and fishing trips. We spend more time together, waste less money, and eat better food. We are also relaxed about crisis like one of the adults being laid off from work, or a spike in gasoline prices.

I take $40 from each paycheck to work on stockpiles and equipment, plus extra money and a Saturday a month to work on activities like making our own backpacks and camping gear.

If disaster never comes, we have found a great hobby. If it DOES come our way, we are poised to do our best in the midst of adversity. What more can one ask?

reply to post by onecraftydude


Seems to me the wisdom of the elders goes ignored.
Till they are needed.
I am slowly becoming one,an elder that is.
I remember canning with my mom,snapping beans and such.
I have the things I need to do that with,but haven't used it in years due to working so much and no need for it at the moment.

But,it's like riding a bicycle,once you get it you don't forget.

Hope that is true when survival is truly needed.