Art
06-04-2023, 03:02
I've mentioned stuff we've done in this area piecemeal over the years and thought I'd give a comprehensive update on how we've done things based on experience and stuff. Again, we're disaster preppers, not Armageddon or Zombie Apocalypse preppers. We have prepared for natural emergencies (hurricanes and stuff.) We're good for 2-3 months off the grid by ourselves or maybe half that if the kids have to stay with us.
Power: Last year we upgraded our portable generator (8200 starting watts 6500 running watts) utility by having an inlet jack and interlock plate installed. This allows us to operate the house directly off generator power, no extension cords running all over the place. We keep stabilized fuel on hand for about two weeks running the generator 6-10 hours a day to keep the refrigerator and the little chest freezer going and to maintain outside communication and keep stuff charged. In the last year we've also gotten a little mobile role around the house air conditioner (that little dude blows some cold air) and, thanks to the great Texas freeze of '21, a little electric space heater. We have also increased our supply of batteries and put them in a carrier that holds over a hundred AA and AAA batteries as well as some C and D cells and has a tester. We also have an extra 12 volt battery for the generator which is a key start model.
Food: Thanks to the Generator we can eat food from the fridge and freezer for 10-14 days with no public utility power, after that we'll get some more use out of that supply by filling the ice chests with stored ice and putting food in them.
Now we're into the "prep pantry." and long term storage food. We have three varieties on hand:
Canned food: Advantages - least expensive option, more nutritious than you would think, requires no water, long shelf life, appetizing for at least five years after the "best by" date and edible well past that. Disadvantages - extremely bulky and heavy, tends to be heavy on salt and sometimes sugar.
MREs: Advantages - extremely calorie dense, requires no water unless you use the Field Ration Heater and then it uses very little, decent storage life though not quite up to canned or freeze dried food standards, a bit bulky but very light weight so if bugging out is something you're contemplating its a good choice. Disadvantages - expensive and if you want the real stuff its a good idea to know a Military Member or retired Military Member with access to a PX. Heavy on the preservatives and not meant to be eaten long term. Living on these things exclusively for weeks or months can result in problems like "leaky gut syndrome."
Freeze Dried Meals: Advantages - almost indefinite storage life, very light weight, excellent "bug out" choice. Disadvantages - Expensive and sometimes hard to find, not calorie dense at all and if you stick to the recommended serving sizes you can find yourself on almost PoW rations. Some brands require pots for preparation, requires a lot of water and it needs to be hot. Not all are created equal, for example we've found Mountain House to have better ingredients and tastier than Wise.
Water: We have about 10 - 15 gallons of bottled water in reserve at all times. We also have a five gallon contractor cooler and a 20 litre GI jerry can made for water, we fill those at the first sign of trouble. Since we cook with gas we have the luxury of being able to boil water when the power is out. Water wasn't a problem here until the freeze of 21 when the city water failed and we went a week without potable city water. We used all of the water in the contractor cooler and jerry can in that time. We're going to need to increase our stash.
Hygene and Medical: There are complete first aid kits in the house and the car. The one in the car is a military field kit that is excellent. I've used it twice, once on myself and once on someone else. We also maintain about a year's worth of essential prescription drugs. The prep pantry contains bar soap, tooth paste, hand sanitizer, liquor, bleach, detergent, toilet paper, flushable and sanitary wipes, nitrile gloves, masks, over the counter pain medications and, since my gut is a mess because of medication stuff like laxatives and anti diahrreals.
Security: We have steadily upgraded our security. We have an alarm system we intend to upgrade this year. There are good locks on our exterior doors and a high end padlock on a latch inside the gate on our exterior fence. Our safe is bolted to the floor in a corner of the master bedroom closet and we just replaced the old hollow core door on that closet with a solid core door with security hinges and a good key lock. Everything valuable is inside that closet now and the really important stuff is in the safe in the closet. The master bedroom itself has a key lock. As an ultimate last resort, when all else has failed and we find ourselves in "the gravest extreme" we are well armed, especially important since I'm too old and sick to fist fight or wrestle anybody anymore.
Emergency Lighting: We have four kerosene lanterns and plenty of fuel. We also have four battery powered lanterns, a bunch of candles and plenty of flash lights and head lamps.
Last but not least, the prep pantry has both dry and canned cat food as well as "kitty litter" for the wife's baby kittys.
This is from our experience for our particular concerns, take it for what its worth and as usual YMMV.
P.S. Suggestions are welcome of course.
Power: Last year we upgraded our portable generator (8200 starting watts 6500 running watts) utility by having an inlet jack and interlock plate installed. This allows us to operate the house directly off generator power, no extension cords running all over the place. We keep stabilized fuel on hand for about two weeks running the generator 6-10 hours a day to keep the refrigerator and the little chest freezer going and to maintain outside communication and keep stuff charged. In the last year we've also gotten a little mobile role around the house air conditioner (that little dude blows some cold air) and, thanks to the great Texas freeze of '21, a little electric space heater. We have also increased our supply of batteries and put them in a carrier that holds over a hundred AA and AAA batteries as well as some C and D cells and has a tester. We also have an extra 12 volt battery for the generator which is a key start model.
Food: Thanks to the Generator we can eat food from the fridge and freezer for 10-14 days with no public utility power, after that we'll get some more use out of that supply by filling the ice chests with stored ice and putting food in them.
Now we're into the "prep pantry." and long term storage food. We have three varieties on hand:
Canned food: Advantages - least expensive option, more nutritious than you would think, requires no water, long shelf life, appetizing for at least five years after the "best by" date and edible well past that. Disadvantages - extremely bulky and heavy, tends to be heavy on salt and sometimes sugar.
MREs: Advantages - extremely calorie dense, requires no water unless you use the Field Ration Heater and then it uses very little, decent storage life though not quite up to canned or freeze dried food standards, a bit bulky but very light weight so if bugging out is something you're contemplating its a good choice. Disadvantages - expensive and if you want the real stuff its a good idea to know a Military Member or retired Military Member with access to a PX. Heavy on the preservatives and not meant to be eaten long term. Living on these things exclusively for weeks or months can result in problems like "leaky gut syndrome."
Freeze Dried Meals: Advantages - almost indefinite storage life, very light weight, excellent "bug out" choice. Disadvantages - Expensive and sometimes hard to find, not calorie dense at all and if you stick to the recommended serving sizes you can find yourself on almost PoW rations. Some brands require pots for preparation, requires a lot of water and it needs to be hot. Not all are created equal, for example we've found Mountain House to have better ingredients and tastier than Wise.
Water: We have about 10 - 15 gallons of bottled water in reserve at all times. We also have a five gallon contractor cooler and a 20 litre GI jerry can made for water, we fill those at the first sign of trouble. Since we cook with gas we have the luxury of being able to boil water when the power is out. Water wasn't a problem here until the freeze of 21 when the city water failed and we went a week without potable city water. We used all of the water in the contractor cooler and jerry can in that time. We're going to need to increase our stash.
Hygene and Medical: There are complete first aid kits in the house and the car. The one in the car is a military field kit that is excellent. I've used it twice, once on myself and once on someone else. We also maintain about a year's worth of essential prescription drugs. The prep pantry contains bar soap, tooth paste, hand sanitizer, liquor, bleach, detergent, toilet paper, flushable and sanitary wipes, nitrile gloves, masks, over the counter pain medications and, since my gut is a mess because of medication stuff like laxatives and anti diahrreals.
Security: We have steadily upgraded our security. We have an alarm system we intend to upgrade this year. There are good locks on our exterior doors and a high end padlock on a latch inside the gate on our exterior fence. Our safe is bolted to the floor in a corner of the master bedroom closet and we just replaced the old hollow core door on that closet with a solid core door with security hinges and a good key lock. Everything valuable is inside that closet now and the really important stuff is in the safe in the closet. The master bedroom itself has a key lock. As an ultimate last resort, when all else has failed and we find ourselves in "the gravest extreme" we are well armed, especially important since I'm too old and sick to fist fight or wrestle anybody anymore.
Emergency Lighting: We have four kerosene lanterns and plenty of fuel. We also have four battery powered lanterns, a bunch of candles and plenty of flash lights and head lamps.
Last but not least, the prep pantry has both dry and canned cat food as well as "kitty litter" for the wife's baby kittys.
This is from our experience for our particular concerns, take it for what its worth and as usual YMMV.
P.S. Suggestions are welcome of course.