What would you store?

[Irish-Tech]

I think it depends on what kind of SHTF event as to what is really needed. I prep for a hurricane, power outage, and as everyone in Houston knows massive snow storms. I have 6 months of food, mostly to distribute to my cul-de-sac (sp?). now if i have a day heads up on a major life altering event, im packing my food storage, guns, water, etc and heading to the BOL (in-laws country home 9 hours away). God willing i will have the notice. my 10 year plan is to move closer to the BOL, but its hard to find a decent job up there. Debt will be eliminated in a few months, so that will help in prepping and make it easier to find a job that pays a little less but is closer to the BOL. anyways i got off topic. I have comfort items in my prep because im planning on a hurricane and wont bug out unless its a cat 4 or higher. that being said i only need a week or 2 of preps before things get back to normal. whats the rule prep for what most likely to happen in your area?

[JUSTIFIED]

Hmm well lets discuss that abit and it's gonna sound harsh to some. You dont think there will be a bit of that readily availible after something bad happens? Seen a whole lotta "luxeries" left around when folks left in a hurry like across the pond during hostilities as have many generations of Soldiers on here have and here when wildfires n hurricanes were moving in etc. If it is PAW then that stuff will be around though you will still find yourself in the hunt for real things and forget that for a bit so you can improve your position.
Zombies (them that leach life from others) are like cockroaches and dont all seem to die when bad stuff happens and thats bout all they got when they land. Saw a little of that in some Katrina "victims" that were "relocated" here. Didnt have nothing but a suitcase full of luxeries like $200 name shoes n makeup bags, no food, no water, nothing useful, couldnt even support themselves on a few hour bus ride. Heck couldnt even toss'em a can of beans cause they didnt have an opener, knife nor the knowledge of how to open it on the concrete so they could eat. Wanted it cooked and then some complained bout the quality they did. Give'em a bottle of water and they throw the empty on the ground not thinking it's a resource in their disrespectful ways. In a day or 2 I'll get "luxeries" from them easy enough as they hunger or maybe just wait a bit more. Yep I'm that harsh but I'm also that real.
Be easy enough to trade a bowl of rice for some smell good or shiny stuff. After all isnt that the idea behind PMs and that jewelry some got stocked with high hopes in them extra pounds on their packs? Barter
I seen wayyyy too many shampoo stockin preppers that aint got enough water nor a plan for extended water to wash that hair much less clothes, water animals or even themselves for the same amount of time it takes for the 20+ bottles. Me i'm going on a hair cuttin spree, it's in the plans already. Hygiene, resource waste and extra weight/heat removal as well as taking away long distance ability of the enemy to tell men from women. They aint gonna need no color ribbons or shiny hair berets for a bit.
Nope I'll stay to stocking real stuff and fight hard to hang on to it.
I'll start another thread if needed so this aint hijacked, just lemme know or Mods just do it

Matt, prepping for necesseties always comes first and foremost. As you said, what good is a luxury if you can't take care of yourself and survive? Having said that, if one has the means to do it, picking up a luxury here and there can serve two purposes. One is for personal use and the second for barter.

Us guys don't think as much about luxuries for ourselves but I think for those with women and children in the family it's important to have things on hand to help get them through the tough times mentally and emotionally. You think about things your wife likes that would be good to collect like an extra bottle of her favorite perfume, lotion, a book, etc....The same with the kids. Have a few games on hand, cards, a few toys, etc....This doesn't need to take much of anything away from your prepping budget either. If you go to garage sales or thrift shops to find some of your prepping items you can find these "luxuries" cheap.

[JUSTIFIED]

I think it depends on what kind of SHTF event as to what is really needed. I prep for a hurricane, power outage, and as everyone in Houston knows massive snow storms. I have 6 months of food, mostly to distribute to my cul-de-sac (sp?). now if i have a day heads up on a major life altering event, im packing my food storage, guns, water, etc and heading to the BOL (in-laws country home 9 hours away). God willing i will have the notice. my 10 year plan is to move closer to the BOL, but its hard to find a decent job up there. Debt will be eliminated in a few months, so that will help in prepping and make it easier to find a job that pays a little less but is closer to the BOL. anyways i got off topic. I have comfort items in my prep because im planning on a hurricane and wont bug out unless its a cat 4 or higher. that being said i only need a week or 2 of preps before things get back to normal. whats the rule prep for what most likely to happen in your area?

Depends on the season here in OK Irish. If it's spring/summer we worry about tornados and floods. If it's winter we worry about blizzards and ice here in northern OK. I'll come back to this in a while. Got some pre-moving things to do this morning.

[kilogulf59]

If you're packing a bag to leave, necessities only. But, if you are already there, why not "prep" everything? Unless you're envisioning a 10+ years survival period, room shouldn't be an issue...

You have to remember that so called luxuries are also moral builders. A good bathing, shave, and clean clothes will make a huge difference in one's mindset. Look at the soldiers in the trenches in WWI or in extended combat in WWII. The little things made huge differences. Chewing gum, cards, tobacco, washing one's feet or entire body.

The necessities are food, water, shelter, fire, and guns/ammo...I guess anything else could be classified as a luxury...why not have some?

[JUSTIFIED]

If you're packing a bag to leave, necessities only. But, if you are already there, why not "prep" everything? Unless you're envisioning a 10+ years survival period, room shouldn't be an issue...

You have to remember that so called luxuries are also moral builders. A good bathing, shave, and clean clothes will make a huge difference in one's mindset. Look at the soldiers in the trenches in WWI or in extended combat in WWII. The little things made huge differences. Chewing gum, cards, tobacco, washing one's feet or entire body.

The necessities are food, water, shelter, fire, and guns/ammo...I guess anything else could be classified as a luxury...why not have some?

I want you in my trench Kilo! It will definitely smell better!...chuckle...

Seriously though...hail, tornados, wind storms, flash floods, ice and blizzard(depending on the season)are common here so we prep for those in particular. But the last few years Patriot Lady and me have started prepping for any natural disaster that might happen but more importantly for the economic disaster that, in our minds, is inevitable.

[JUSTIFIED]

Adding to what Kilo said, the better you feel the better you'll function.

[jimmydiablo]

Adding to what Kilo said, the better you feel the better you'll function.

That is true, I feel weighed down and sluggish without my morning shower

[meyekey]

Been a while since I've been on. Nice to see that this thread took off.

I have taken some of the advice and started working and storing foods that I normally wouldn't.

We even bought a cheap grain mill, have been doing our own flour and using it in place of store bought flour. And... we are actually really enjoying it.

I still havn't sealed up the mylar bags, I am waiting on a bit more food and will do it all at once, but I am pretty happy with how things are coming along. When its all said and done I will probably have a good 6 month supply of food for the 2 of us and 3 months of water + the ability to purify more. Not a bad start

The nice part is we are finding that being a "prepper" really isn't that difficult and we have noticed very little change to our budget. We have just been making a point of picking up 1 item everytime we are out. Case of water, bag of rice, extra batteries.... I can only imagine how many supplies we would have if we kept this up for even a year.

We have also really stepped up our gardening we doubled the size switched to all heirloom seeds and planted apple trees that are already producing. By next summer we should be able to put up quite a bit!

Thanks everyone for the thoughts and encouragment as we continue to prep!

[MJC]

I know I've mentioned it before on another thread, but I need to bring a FREE book download to everyones' attention. It is available for download on everythingunderthesun.com This woman, Wendy Dewitt is an L.D.S. food storage specialist. She also has a few videos on utube. (I found them by typing- wendy dewitt utube) If there is anyone who knows food storage, it's the mormons. I have no affiliation with this woman or her church, but I beileve the information in this book is a must have for anyone, not just preppers. Download it, print it, and pass it around.

[Daelith]

Thank you for the info MJC. Found some answers to some questions I had about Food Savers and sealing jars.

Found this blog site that had a lot of her videos all together - http://letusprepare.blogspot.com/200...e-seminar.html

[JUSTIFIED]

I know I've mentioned it before on another thread, but I need to bring a FREE book download to everyones' attention. It is available for download on everythingunderthesun.com This woman, Wendy Dewitt is an L.D.S. food storage specialist. She also has a few videos on utube. (I found them by typing- wendy dewitt utube) If there is anyone who knows food storage, it's the mormons. I have no affiliation with this woman or her church, but I beileve the information in this book is a must have for anyone, not just preppers. Download it, print it, and pass it around.

Thanks! I'll check it out!

[miked2345]

I know I've mentioned it before on another thread, but I need to bring a FREE book download to everyones' attention. It is available for download on everythingunderthesun.com This woman, Wendy Dewitt is an L.D.S. food storage specialist. She also has a few videos on utube. (I found them by typing- wendy dewitt utube) If there is anyone who knows food storage, it's the mormons. I have no affiliation with this woman or her church, but I beileve the information in this book is a must have for anyone, not just preppers. Download it, print it, and pass it around.

What's the name of the book? I went to the website you mentioned, but it looks like a real estate / business website.

[MJC]

Sorry about that. I just went to check it out, things have changed a bit over there. I found the book on another site called allbboutfoodstorage.com then scroll down the page almost to the bottom it will have "wendy dewitt's food storage system 2010 printable presentation", just click on it. If that dosen't work, google "wendy dewitt food storage system download" I've found it on a few different sites. I hope you all get as much out of it as I did. also watch her videos, she's a hoot.

[MJC]

The origional address is actually everythingunderthesunblogspot.com It hasn't been updated since March, but some of the archives are still worth a read.

[Irish-Tech]

link to Wendy's site

here is a link to a seminar including several youtube videos.

and finally here is a link to the booklet itself.