i live in the city and its extremely hard to prep. i was just looking for some ideas?
How can you prep if you live in the city?
- Thread starter Alexander Ferreira
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Develop a great BOB. Get a good survival book and study your butt off. Just remember knowledge is easier to carry than gear.
There is a fiction book that was recently available on Kindle of 2 city people who did not even know how to cook. "A Tale of Two Preppers". It's a very quick read and may give you some ideas on how to get started. Welcome.
Welcome!
The big challenge in cities is going to be your fellow survivors. Here's where things will get rough. Roving gangs will form to bully resources. Your best bet will be to stay hidden, have your place already look like it's been looted out.
More than anywhere else...you'll need firearms, so get them as soon as you can, along with ammo.
For supplies:
Think in categories.
WATER - Can be found lots of places in the city. Toilets (the tanks, not the bowl), hot water heaters, offices usually have jugs for water coolers, water delivery trucks, restaurants, convenience stores, grocery stores, even in garden hoses (you'd be amazed how much can be in these).
FOOD - Can still stockpile in the city. You can buy food and can it yourself, increasing the shelf-life for years. Canned food keeps well, some dry food (rice, beans, pasta, potato flakes) keeps for over 15 years if stored right. Of course, lots of stores and places to find food. You also want methods of cooking that involve no smoke, or foods you can eat raw. In the city, smoke will certainly give you away. If you do have to cook, do it at night, when no moon is out (or just a bit), and possibly even away from your hidey hole a bit, so you can flee there if you need to.
The cities are full of all other resources, but come SHTF, these resources will be contested, viciously and violently. Obviously, I think most of us would advise relocating to a rural location if the SHTF, but that isn't always an option. If stuck in the cities, stay hidden, and live off your preps without going out. But, I'd really advise arranging for some kind of rural place you could go, preferably a prepper friend in such a place. No doubt you can bring some skills to the table, so they'd likely be glad to have another able body heading their way.
The big challenge in cities is going to be your fellow survivors. Here's where things will get rough. Roving gangs will form to bully resources. Your best bet will be to stay hidden, have your place already look like it's been looted out.
More than anywhere else...you'll need firearms, so get them as soon as you can, along with ammo.
For supplies:
Think in categories.
WATER - Can be found lots of places in the city. Toilets (the tanks, not the bowl), hot water heaters, offices usually have jugs for water coolers, water delivery trucks, restaurants, convenience stores, grocery stores, even in garden hoses (you'd be amazed how much can be in these).
FOOD - Can still stockpile in the city. You can buy food and can it yourself, increasing the shelf-life for years. Canned food keeps well, some dry food (rice, beans, pasta, potato flakes) keeps for over 15 years if stored right. Of course, lots of stores and places to find food. You also want methods of cooking that involve no smoke, or foods you can eat raw. In the city, smoke will certainly give you away. If you do have to cook, do it at night, when no moon is out (or just a bit), and possibly even away from your hidey hole a bit, so you can flee there if you need to.
The cities are full of all other resources, but come SHTF, these resources will be contested, viciously and violently. Obviously, I think most of us would advise relocating to a rural location if the SHTF, but that isn't always an option. If stuck in the cities, stay hidden, and live off your preps without going out. But, I'd really advise arranging for some kind of rural place you could go, preferably a prepper friend in such a place. No doubt you can bring some skills to the table, so they'd likely be glad to have another able body heading their way.
What are we talking about here ? No storage space ? apt ? What ? There are ways around this.
A Warm Welcome!
Alex, I live in the city in a 66 Square Meter Condo. yes, you can prep but to a limited degree. Currently, my preps can last me about 2.5 weeks but am stocking up on more. Am targeting at least 3 months supply. You just have to calculate it properly
And be inventive in your storage
Alex, I live in the city in a 66 Square Meter Condo. yes, you can prep but to a limited degree. Currently, my preps can last me about 2.5 weeks but am stocking up on more. Am targeting at least 3 months supply. You just have to calculate it properly
And be inventive in your storage
I started out as a city prepper, mostly for Hurricanes, then grew from there, so I remember when I didn't have so much space. There are some great tools for storing cans, for example, that allow you to rotate supply, and maximize space. A spice rack can save a ton of space (and make it easier to find things). Cup hooks and glass holders can be under cabinets to use that space also. If you drink a lot of water, a water cooler may also be a good plan. If you have any kind of yard or patio space, a rain barrel can be good. If you look, you'll find lots of wasted space that can be used for storage (over doors, for example, with a simple shelf).
I started in a small apartment in town as well & I invested in a water bob which can hold up to 100 gallons of water, also for non potable water you can also fill up the washer. For food storage I used under the couch, under the bed, packets behind pictures ect ect, I was in New Orleans when Kartina hit & the one thing I can say is no matter how much or haw little you do have prepped you need to be ready to defend what you have. Gazrok is right though staying hidden is the best way.
They say that you can store a year's worth of food for one under a twin bed. Start there. Add shelving in closets up by the ceiling. Get a storage trunk for your coffee table and fill 'er up! I collect old vintage suitcases, fill them up and stack them. You can stack them higher than six feet. They look really cool too. You can put together a water filtration system with a ceramic candle filter and two five gallon buckets. If you have that and a bottle of bleach along with a medicine dropper, you should be able to purify large amounts of water. Store some bottled water too though. Have a mix of canned, dehydrated and ready to eat food. I make my own laundry and liquid soap. One bar of Zote soap makes ten gallons of laundry detergent. It is a lot easier to store a bar of soap than ten gallons of soap. I live next to a lake, so getting water shouldn't be a problem. Rain barrel is a great idea if you have a place for one. Do you have a storage locker in your building? If so, you can store non food items in there and just bring them up to your place when SHTF. If you are allowed to have firearms in your area, I would suggest getting a handgun that you are comfortable with and train as much as possible with it. I would also suggest a shotgun and possibly a 22 rifle. I have the Ruger 22 takedown that breaks apart and fits in a backpack. Buy as much ammo as you can. If you can afford an AR-15 or something, great but they are expensive. If you can afford a mountain bike with saddle type bags for bugging out, get one. You can install hooks in your ceiling and hang it up when not in use. Get a small hibachi type grill if you can and even a camping stove with some propane tanks in case you need to cook food in your apartment. Buy some brackets with REALLY long bolts and a steel bar to add to your front door if SHTF for reinforcement. Take baby steps and little by little, you will get there.
Keep your pantry, fridge, and gas tank more than 50% full at all times.
apartment its like a one family apartment
Do you have an attic? If so, try storing stuff in bins up there. Also store stuff that you normally keep in your apartment up there so you have room in your apartment for food and water. Don't store your food and water in the attic. You can use lids to copier paper boxes that are really shallow, put canned goods or packaged foods in them and store them under the couch, dresser or armoire. Go to offices in your neighborhood and ask if they have empty copy paper boxes. Put an armoire in the corner instead of flat on a wall and stack water cubes or cases of water behind it. You won't even see them. As far as doing things cheaply, look for sales. Try to do $25 a week. Month one could be water. Get the ceramic filter off Amazon, two free pickle buckets from the deli and a bottle of bleach on week one. There is your water filtration system. I find bottled water for $1.99 a case all the time. So, on week 2 buy 12 cases of water. Week 3, buy a rain barrel. You can find them used on craigslist or make your own. Week 4, buy a water bob for the tub. If you don't have a tub, buy 12 more cases of water. You can also get free pickle buckets and fill with tap water and stack them up somewhere, even on a patio. You stack 3 of those suckers up and you have 15 gallons of water for free. Bam! Then go onto food during months 2. Get beans and rice first. Look for sales and buy whatever you can for $25 and stick it is a free 5 gallon pickle bucket along with an O2 absorber. The following week, buy canned meat and soups. Search garage sales and craigslist for a camp stove and other stuff you need. If you don't have a firearm, especially a handgun that easy to conceal, get one pronto. Even if you have to sell some of your stuff, get one. When people ask what you want for Christmas or Birthdays tell them Walmart gift cards. Let people know you are looking for camping equipment if they have any they are wanting to get rid of. Same for a mountain bike. They will ask if you are going to start camping and just say, "Yes". No need to explain that you are prepping. You would be surprised what people have in their garage that they want to get rid of. One of the most important thing that you can get is vitamins. Get several bottles of multivitamins, magnesium, vitamin D and Complex B formulas. Magnesium and the B vitamins will be hard to get into your diet unless you are eating a lot of nuts and seed or fresh green veggies. You will be indoor much of the time, so Vitamin D will be crucial. The multivitamin will fill in the gaps where your diet is inadequate. During times of stress, our bodies need extra vitamins, so this will be crucial.
I did not even think of vitamins. that's a good idea
I study orthomolecular and natural medicine. A lot of people will get sick when SHTF due to vitamin deficiencies. Adequate nutrition not only keeps people healthy, it can cure those that are already sick. Try to take your multivitamin and cut it in half and take half in the morning and half in the afternoon. That way, you absorb more of it. Always take your B vitamins in the morning or they will keep you up at night. Take vitamin D with food that had a bit of fat in it. Divide magnesium up in two doses taking 250 mg in the am and 250 mg in the pm with food. People should be doing this now and not waiting until SHTF.
Yep, the dollar stores by me often even carry these....which is awesome, when they are going for way, way more in other stores.
Ally, how do you get the pickle smell out of those buckets? That's always prevented me from ever using them.
I am a professional picker and picker rule #263 is Charcoal gets the smell out of ANYTHING. This includes moth ball fumes. Use plain charcoal and not the kind with lighter fluid in it. If you are trying to get the smell of something out of fabric, I take a large black trash bag, lay a layer of newspaper or white tissue paper on top of the layer of charcoal and then gently lay the fabric item on top and close up the bag. If you lay fabric straight onto the charcoal it will get all over the fabric. For pickle buckets, just put some charcoal bricks in the bottom of the bucket and put the lid on for about a week or so and that should do it. If it still smells, put the lid back on and wait longer. You can use the same charcoal pieces several times and then you can just BBQ some burgers with them. I wouldn't use the ones you use for moth ball smells over or for BBQ's though.
I have heard that the Firehouse pickle buckets will not come clean no matter what you do but others will. Pickle buckets from other places will. I wonder if it has something to do with the red plastic. Not sure. Even if the water smells kind of vinegar like, it is a easy and cheap way to store water. It is still safe to drink and wash up with. I went to the Walmart bakery and the Albertson bakery and asked for buckets. They gave me some that are white, square and a bit smaller than 5 gallon but they were free. I planted tomatoes and cucumbers in them. I will be asking for more. They use them for shortening, frosting and stuff like that so there isn't any odor in them. I think some people line them with food safe bags too. You can just get on the phone and start calling bakeries and delis in your area and have them hold them for you.
I've gotten spoiled with gamma lids, so they'd have to work with them. I hate the bung style ones.
Yes. People get so hung up on doing the best and then when they can't afford it, they do nothing. Better to store water for free and keep a bottle of bleach on hand then not store anything at all just because you can't afford fancy water storage containers or to put in a well. Do what you can now and when you can afford better, do better.
I'd agree. I've got one rain barrel, but plan to add one more, and two actual potable water barrels by the end of the year. But, in the meantime, I have some cases of water stockpiled, and some filled jugs (and this is while having a well).
Diversity is key. It isn't wise to rely on one water source. Have you done the two 5 gallon buckets with the ceramic filter yet? I am doing that next so I can treat the lake water. Even though I have the lake across the street, I can't rely on that. I have to have water stored too. Worse case scenario if we have to bug out is to grab the 5 gallon bucket with filter and throw a bottle of bleach in it and I will have a way to make 5 gallons of drinkable water from almost any source.
I saw that (and will try it at some point). I will probably depend on the well first, stored water second, treated rain water third, but a fourth option is getting water from fresh water sources nearby. Also, purification straws.
Yes,they are a good idea too. I am going to try to buy some to put in our BO bags. If you are on the move, you won't have time to wait for 5 gallons of water to go through the filter. How many acres do you have?
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5 and 1/2. Check the New Members/Intro forum and the Newbie Rancher thread for a pic of our place.
That's a good size. My husband wants A LOT of land. I think it is better to go smaller and really be able to utilize what you have than to just have land that you are staring at and do not have the time or money to develop. Of course, we could always just plant costal on it or stick some cows out there. I am think 10 acres is what we need. If we inherit my inlaws place, it is 35 acres.
There are times I'd like more...and then times it's hard to imagine how we'd manage more....especially with both of us working. Right now, we have a friend as a ranchhand, and she maintains the place for room and board (and commission in the shop), and pretty much whatever fun stuff we all do....so she really doesn't want for too much. Our two kids are home now, and looking for work, so they've been helping on some of the needed catch-up tasks. Otherwise, we're pretty busy with ranch chores on the weekend.
Eventually, we may look into getting some or all of the land behind us. Would give us more pasture space, and a lot of crop area (and we'd probably do some hay growing)...but really, I'm not seeing us having the time or funds to do that anytime soon. That plan would require one of us working from home at least...which is possible, but not in the foreseeable future right now. Once the mortgage is paid off, we may go that route though.
Any other siblings regarding your inlaws' place? May be something to at least plant the seed (but you may have to agree to allowing other siblings to come if the SHTF)....
Eventually, we may look into getting some or all of the land behind us. Would give us more pasture space, and a lot of crop area (and we'd probably do some hay growing)...but really, I'm not seeing us having the time or funds to do that anytime soon. That plan would require one of us working from home at least...which is possible, but not in the foreseeable future right now. Once the mortgage is paid off, we may go that route though.
Any other siblings regarding your inlaws' place? May be something to at least plant the seed (but you may have to agree to allowing other siblings to come if the SHTF)....
Welcome and wow, tons of ideas here!
