IF you HAD to prep

[Merlot]

I know there was a thread several years ago about food hoarding/ prepping. I'm semi a lot newer here and if this is inappropriate the mods can remove. I am curious because I just got done reading The Bronze Horseman and it was about WWII. I was so interested in the sections of rationing and what the involved were going through, I just wonder, if you knew you had to prep. What would you do?

 

[dragnlaw]

whoa!! not too sure what you mean. Not familiar with the book but am assuming with the reference to WWII that you mean an Armageddon situation? or close to?

Are you asking what we would do to prepare for a disaster? a personal disaster? global disaster? a war? flooding? power being knocked out for 6 months? the moon crashing into us?

 

[caseydog]

It probably is in the wrong forum, but prepping is not that controversial, or just something for "hoarders and end-timers."

I used to live on the Gulf Coast, and my family still does. They "prep" for hurricane season. Dad has a generator he maintains for being without power for days. He had to use it for Hurricane Ike to run the refrigerators, keep phones charged, and such basics. You also keep well stoked with bottled water during hurricane season, because once the warnings start being issued, the store shelves empty out of water.

I lived in a town that got hit by an F5 tornado, and for several days, we had no electricity, and could not go anywhere, because the roads were not passable due to downed trees and debris.

So, there are lots of reasons to be a little bit of a "prepper."

CD

 

[Merlot]

I'm just asking, what would you personally prep for a war?

 

[blissful]

I'm a prepper of sorts, I have my own pantry with lots to eat, just in case. If I lose my job, I have food. There were a number of years I went without a job, but I didn't run out of food. It's like a savings account, just in case. We have flash floods, tornadoes, breaking down cars, and there is no end to the 'what if's'.

What would I do? Start with putting up food, add water supplies without having electricity, add generators, learn skills, skills will be in short supply in an emergency or long term emergency. Learn first aid, cpr, have medical supplies on hand. Can you sew, can you kill and gut and cut up a deer, do you know how to dehydrate food. Do you have seeds, do you know how to garden. Can you put in fencing for animals, can you take care of goats or chickens. All that would be a start.

 

[caseydog]

I'm just asking, what would you personally prep for a war?

I've never thought about preparing for war. If war ever comes to our soil, it won't be a very long one -- maybe a matter of hours -- one way or another.

I focus more on local disasters.

CD

 

[caseydog]

BTW, I go on-an-on about how much I love my Weber Kettle grill. I also love the twice-a-year Kingsford sales Home Depot and Lowe's have.

Soooo, I could eat well with no electricity to cook with, although I'd like to have a generator to keep the fridge/freezer running.

Did you know you can get 440 pounds of Kingsford Charcoal in a MINI Cooper? Psycho-Poodle was impressed. He didn't think I could do it.

CD

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[CakePoet]

I live in a country that is seen a necessary loss to stop the Russians. A buffer zone, not worth saving. Thanks for that, so during the cold war I was taught to hide, survive in the forest, it was done as fun games in school, but as old I realize what we were doing.

So I am going to hide in the nearest forest and hope for the best.

 

[Margot Howe]

Interesting comments here. I don't think you are on the wrong forum. It is, after all, about food. Just in storage, not baking.
I live on the east coast. We have had hurricanes go through and take out the power for up to five days. We have had blizzards do the same. One situation we had was in one home we had a well. Electricity brought the water into the house. That power outage meant no water to wash, drink or flush toilets. Not having a pond around, and every store quickly emptied of bottled water, the town came to our rescue and brought in ten 50-gallon drums of water. We saved the bottled water for drinking and used the drums of water for the rest.
In New England, a weather forecast of impending snow sends the whole population to the markets which quickly empty of bread and milk. We can usually get by with what is in the pantry if we just have bread and milk.
And today, with the way things are in China, I'm seeing an upsurge in food hoarding of a different kind. My go-to place in case of civil unrest is to my son's home. He has stored in buckets of food that can be prepared easily. Mostly freeze-dried, dried beans and rice, and meals that need to be rehydrated come in those buckets. I add to the collection on occasion. And as he is a hunter, living in the wilds, there will be meat on the table. A wood stove for heat or cooking, a gas grill for some foods.... it's not perfect, but it is a plan.

 

[cjmmytunes]

We always keep bottled water, canned foods (with a manual can opener if they don't have the flip top), peanut butter crackers, peanut butter & jelly, candies, and juice boxes on hand year-round. Hurricanes during the summers, snowstorms during the winters. I also have extra copies of prescriptions, and extra supplies for blood sugar meters and such.

 

[Katie H]

I've always been one to be fairly well prepared for severe emergencies. I learned just how well I had done when the historic ice storm of January 2009 hit our region.

I was alone because Buck had died a few months earlier so I was solely at my own wits.

I was without power for 21 days and had no issue with food or water because I've always kept a fully-stocked pantry and maintained a full freezer. The full freezer was a bonus in a good way because it held everything frozen the entire time. I only opened it occasionally to ensure it didn't thaw out.

Fortunately I had a gas cooktop and a gas water heater so I could cook and had hot water. Had to be careful with the water because the well ran on electricity. Had to ration that.

Currently I still follow my same plan, along with plenty of home-canned goods. We have 11 acres that are fenced so we could raise animals if necessary. We already grow a variety of vegetables in the summertime, many of which are either canned or frozen. Some things are dried.

As of today, we could probably live quite well for about 6 months with what is now on hand.

We have lanterns and lamps and access to a generator if needed.

Some of our preparations are a result of lessons learned after the 2009 ice storm.

 

[GotGarlic]

We are also in hurricane country, so we prep for that. I have lots of food in the two fridges with freezers and the stand-alone freezer, plus the pantry (which actually takes up four cabinets in my kitchen [emoji38] ). We have a generator and a gas stove and water heater, so we're good there, as long as we can get gasoline to run the generator. Need to get fresh water supplies for this year. We do have a well and the water is potable, but the pump is electric.

My problem would be getting essential medication that is perishable, so I can't stockpile it. So I would not plan on lasting very long in a war, to be honest.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I have:
5 - 55 gallon water barrels with potable water
20 cat litter plastic buckets, sanitized and filled with:

• dehydrated vegetables
• dried beans, rice
• pemmican
• jerky
• seeds (fruit, veg, herbs, flowers)
• paper products
• socks, underwear
• winter clothing (hats, scarves, gloves)

Canned foods on shelving
Ammo for the rifles and pistols
Compound Bows and hunting arrows
Complete medical kits with IV fluids
Complete set of the Foxfire Books and several survival manuels
Outdoor Grill
Charcoal

Not too worried about no electric, but will be getting a generator soon for the freezer. I can go without phone, computer and TV for a while.

We live in tornado country and I have always been interested in "end of the world" stories. I guess I am a Prepper...

 

[roadfix]

For war?
Water, non-perishable food, medicine, and lots of ammo.....

 

[di reston]

I think it depends very much on what you need to stockpile for. If, say, it's for emergencies, I reckon you would need less than would if you lived in a hurricane zone where it would, in the event of a disaster like Katrina, and even then, when THAT hurricane struck, people were evacuated from the area. In that case, you would be dependent on Government hand-outs, charitable donations and so forth. When WWII struck Europe, Britain had rationing, and provided recipe leaflets to help make supplies go further, and female work forces were sent off to till the land and produce much needed food. War zones are the worst, along with famines. We all know what famine does, and fortunately there are international organisations who send supplies to famine-struck areas, and help the local people with projects to cultivate crops, dig wells, irrigate and help people that way.

To a very much lesser extent, most of us stockpile for personal emergencies, and in that case it's simply a matter of calculating in the event of whatever happens. Personally, as we live in the countryside, it makes sense to have some reserves, although there are towns not far away. I'm a hoarder anyway, and we always have plenty of stuff. But I always give something by way of food to the Libyan refugees on the streets. I'm by no means a Saint Di, but I feel sorry for these guys.

di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde

 

[Addie]

Unfortunately, the apartments in this building fail to give the tenants to become preppers. The apartments are just to small. I buy paper towels, toilet paper and several other items in bulk. They store under my bed, the little table with the long skirt, my walking closet and I have plenty of cabinets. I am fortunate in that I have the largest apartment in the whole building. And I have two rooms. Most of the apartments are just big enough for a single bed and couch in the main room. The kitchens are extremely small. Some have only four cabinets. I always have a cabinet full of can goods. Except for veggies. I had enough of canned veggies as a kid. Hated them then, hate them now. Our mechanical room is full of gas machinery to keep the building going. And of course there are the emergency lights in the hallway.

One time a truck hit an electrical pole and we were without lights for a number of hours. It happened right before everyone was ready to make their supper. So out came the peanut butter, crackers, and other foods that folks had in the apartments. Everyone had a good meal and had eaten enough to claim they were full. I have a hand operated Swingline can opener that I have had since Pirate was about five. (He is 50 now.) Out it came also to open a can of Spam and some other canned meats that someone had in their pantry. Everyone sat in the hall and had a great time. We had gas, so I heated up the two cans of hash I had.

During the Blizzard of 1978, I was working for the Police Department in Charlestown. I got a good look at what happens when you are not prepared for an emergency. After day three or four, the police were flooded with calls of people who were diabetic and had run out of food. For a Type 1 diabetic, that is very serious. It messes up their insulin intake.

I think I have enough food to get me through two weeks, maybe three.

 

[roadfix]

For war?
Water, non-perishable food, medicine, and lots of ammo.....

I forgot to add cash money.

 

[Steve Kroll]

Well... I have about 700-800 or so bottles of wine in the cellar, so I suppose I'm well prepared for a wine shortage.

Seriously, there are many other scenarios that seem far more likely. For example, losing one's job, or experiencing a health event, or getting hit by a natural disaster. Along with retirement, death, and taxes, those are the kind of things I try to prepare for.

War? Let's just say I don't think I'll be building a bunker anytime soon.

 

[GotGarlic]

Well... I have about 700-800 or so bottles of wine in the cellar, so I suppose I'm well prepared for a wine shortage.

Seriously, there are many other scenarios that seem far more likely. For example, losing one's job, or experiencing a health event, or getting hit by a natural disaster. Along with retirement, death, and taxes, those are the kind of things I try to prepare for.

War? Let's just say I don't think I'll be building a bunker anytime soon.

+1. In addition, we live less than 10 miles from the largest Navy base in the United States. This city has been a center of war operations more than once, which makes our area a primary target. C'est la vie!

 

[blissful]

Not war but the war on food prices rising, a good thing to stockpile things which keep well, which will go up in price. Honey, wheat grain, rye grain, canned coffee, teas, WINE, alcohol, canned goods. Learning to save seeds has saved me money. Learning how to make vinegar, is cool. Once you have say, 6 cans of coffee in stock, there is no need to buy it until you find a fabulous sale on it. I'd say more than 50% of our food dollars goes to restocking and the rest to milk, eggs, bread, toilet paper, and fresh veggies and fruit. Don't buy everything that is on sale, if you aren't used to eating something, those sale things may be forgotten and go to waste. Eat what you buy, buy what you eat.