Critical infrastructure failure

one thing I dont think Ive seen mentioned in any of these threads, is do you have a gas mask, do you have potassium iodide,?
especially for those urban dwellers, where I beleive the most likely use of both would come into play????

[Dave]

Why choose a time limit. Unless its for short term goal of getting started.
Do a little at a time ALL THE TIME. I grew up doing this and have continued. Now 65 and consider
we are pretty much done. Just maintain now.

3 large gardens, 13 fruit trees. Berries and grapes
Stored,caned seed (heirloom) enough for 6 acres of veggies.
Greenhouse and all the seed starting and saving stuff.
200+acre lake FULL of fish.
500 gallons diesel,still burning diesel from 1999 works fine.
Large amount of gas.
10.5 kw diesel gen set. burns 3/4 gal hr full load.
Small 4X4 diesel tractor with 4ft tiller.
always at least 2 years of canned,stored food.
Firearms Enough, Ammo Enough.
2 alarms systems, 24 cameras, Solar battery backed up, 2 large dogs.
WATER, Get filters (Aqua Rain) and figure out how and where you can get water.
You would be surprised how much water is around people can't/won't use.

The list could go on almost forever. The point is start now. A little at a time ALL THE TIME,
You can/will get there if you just keep going. If you don't have much land learn to garden like
they do in Japan (there are books on it). If you have no land plan on getting it or find another way
too make up for it.

Quick start: Store water, 50 lbs rice, 50 lbs beans store in large metal garbage can. Cheap and quick.
Most city treated water will store at least 3 months. Pour it out, rinse and refill.
Biggest mistake I see made. People don't start because they think it takes a lot of money.
Reduce your thinking to what it takes to sustain life. Water first, food next and THEN all the rest.

Make use of the county/state resources for info. Land grant colleges usually have great local info.

Missouri, G6400 Frequently Asked Vegetable Questions, MU Extension

HOODS WOODS is a great resource. Read the archives.

[Dave]

Survival info site.

SurvivalBlog.com

we have wood cook stove and heater, and would basically move to the basement, where they are, We have a LARGE pantry, and lorts of canned goods, but water would be a problem. Have to work on that one

[HK4U]

Originally Posted by boyzoi

one thing I dont think Ive seen mentioned in any of these threads, is do you have a gas mask, do you have potassium iodide,?
especially for those urban dwellers, where I beleive the most likely use of both would come into play????

Yes and yes.

[boris]

but unless you have a NBC suit and gear, the truth is that the gas mask ain't gonna help ya.

[Boomboy007]

Originally Posted by docmagnum357@yahoo.com

we have wood cook stove and heater, and would basically move to the basement, where they are, We have a LARGE pantry, and lorts of canned goods, but water would be a problem. Have to work on that one

Hey Doc, Just fill up one of these bad boys in the basement and I think that two weeks will be no problem:

Water Storage and Water Filtration

[toreskha]

Originally Posted by Boomboy007

Hey Doc, Just fill up one of these bad boys in the basement and I think that two weeks will be no problem:

Water Storage and Water Filtration

Long term water storage might be an issue though. If you can't drink it when needed, then it kind of defeats the purpose.

I don't have a basement because I live in FL, but IMO you'd run into a major problem when changing the water. Unless there's a convenient drain nearby, you'll have to carry it out.

I know there's rainwater collection contraptions that are easy to build out of those drums...or you could just make a pass-through system where you always maintain a reservoir that can be tapped if the water suddenly stops running.

[tattedupboy]

My disaster preparedness kit is a work in progress, but by the time it's done, it'll include a crapload of MREs, Ramen noodles, canned goods, ammo, a Bible, and canned goods.

[mom of 3 angels]

Still don't have the stove in, now we have a second BIG stove for the shop that's also minus the triple wall pipe to get it installed. Santa's bringing a kerosene heater and some kerosene this year . . . should help while we're working out the stove issue. No reason not to have a backup backup heat source . . . I really don't like being cold.

I'm with the little at a time all the time approach. Every time I do my big shopping trip for the month I add something to it that I just stick into the storage. Along with a few other things, I got an extra manual can opener last time I went (a nice one--don't go cheap here).

Mark the date on the stuff you buy (Sharpies are my friend) and use the oldest stuff first. Also mark the date on things like shampoo, cooking oil, etc when you open them to see how long they last (remember you'll probably use less shampoo and more cooking oil in a disaster situation than you normally do, so adjust). Then you can calculate how many bottles of shampoo or whatever you need to last you however long you want your storage to last. I know it takes our family about 1 1/2 days to go through a full large roll of TP, so can calculate how many rolls I need to last 3 months or 6 months or a year, you get the idea.

A little side note here, MRE"s are disgusting. If you have them stored (and I do), seriously consider storing other foods as well so you'll have something you can actually eat.