If shtf tomorrow, what would you miss most?

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Brent S

Brent S

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Joined
Oct 10, 2013
Messages
14,879
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South East US
Practically, the fridge and freezer. They make our lives a lot easier than we give them credit for.
Emotionally, I could make a long list, but well start with the aroma coming from my coffee pot which was preset the night before, as I wake up. Always remember to be greatfull for the little things in life!
 
The fridge/freezers would be the most I think and second would be my stove. . . . I'd have to be doing a lot of canning the hard way on a pit. Fortunately, I have a propane cook stove and enough propane stored up to last for a few months. That's A LOT of wood to chop, but hey, kill two birds with one stone. . . workout included! Yeah I would miss hearing the news too.
 
I agree with all of the above! I think I would add this...The feeling of being safe! I mean when I go to bed now, I don't think about keeping watch, doing patrols, and wonder, if tomorrow I will have to have a gun battle to keep what is mine! So, I guess not only would I miss that feeling..I fear the loss of it!!
 
jimLE said:
yeah..those's will definitely be missed..same for washer n dryer.running water from the tap.electric fans,ac/heat.transportation.tv electric and gas stoves n ovens..cell phones.radios for music and news
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Hey Jim, we really do have it easy compared to our ancestors. I think I narrowed it down for me though, HOT WATER!
Trying to bathe in cold just plain sucks.
 
Gettingreadymama said:
I agree with all of the above! I think I would add this...The feeling of being safe! I mean when I go to bed now, I don't think about keeping watch, doing patrols, and wonder, if tomorrow I will have to have a gun battle to keep what is mine! So, I guess not only would I miss that feeling..I fear the loss of it!!
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Most people don't like the police, but our world would be a lot different if we didn't have them. I doubt many would continue to work after a major shtf, most would probably be protecting their families. I would never have thought of that, but your right , security is something we take for granted in this country.
 
I would miss all those things as well. What would really make me worry though is if the phone service is off grid and I couldnt call to make sure my kids and family were ok. Especially that I am 2400 miles from them.
 
getnready said:
I would miss all those things as well. What would really make me worry though is if the phone service is off grid and I couldnt call to make sure my kids and family were ok. Especially that I am 2400 miles from them.
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That's not exactly a Sunday drive is it. There's quite a few here that could help with info on ham radios.
 
2400 miles would be very expensive to transmit on a reliable basis.

10 meters might open up for a couple of hours a couple of times a month, but not reliably, especially if there was a EMP or CME...

20 meters would require a 3 or 4 element beam and tower and a good transceiver - with filtering and a decent LINEAR amplifier. Both sides would have to have the same equipment and at least a General Class Licensed ham to operate it.
 
Initially, SHTF - nothing would change for me because I live with the premise that it is going to happen, so I don't afford myself many luxuries - other then hacking into the neighbors internet... I have not tried Winlink - although I should, just to see what it is all about. Would be better to be prepared now then to wait until it happens and then try to set it up in the dark.
My battery bank would take care of daytime operations while the generator would do double duty at night, recharging the batteries and running the fridge and freezer.

The natural gas supply will continue as long as the pumping stations continues to run.
If I had enough garden hose, I could tap the local well and have a 50 year supply of gas - at no charge to me, since they wouldn't be around to monitor it.

The key is to build a natural gas compressor and do a full natural gas conversion to the family vehicle. Then all you have to do is drive up to the gas well, hook up the pump, fill the tank and leave. The most vital part then would be motor oil consumption.
With no new production of motor oil, the local supply would dry up in about a week and then the motors would only run until the oil got too dirty and then they would wear out, or if they ran out of oil, they would seize and blow up.
At that point, even dirty motor oil would have a value.

It would be a good prep to buy 50 jugs of motor oil and 50 oil filters for the truck, car, tractor, generator....
 
what would I miss? absolutely nothing...bring it on.
 
Air conditioning....that is what I would miss the most.

Hopefully, I'll be in a position to still keep it and other electrical things going, by the time the SHTF, but if not, this would be the thing I miss most.
 
Gazrok said:
Air conditioning....that is what I would miss the most.

Hopefully, I'll be in a position to still keep it and other electrical things going, by the time the SHTF, but if not, this would be the thing I miss most.
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yeah i remember fla. in the summertime! had no power after one of the hurricanes for days, it was pretty miserable.
 
My family gets all the modern luxeries I can afford but I know the old near frountier ways from my Grand Parents and Great Grand Parents . I pass this along to my kids and now Grand Kids . On my days off we can go from sitting in the air conditioner watching TV or Gaming to working in the garden,fishing, hunting or something prepper related . But I would miss most some of the modern entertainments on bad weather days . Most of my outdoor activities do not rely on many modern convienances .
 
:D I don't like the modern world with all its electronic gismos, give me the simple life!!!
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Easy to say...not so easy to do. I may prep for something bad to happen, but I kind of like the modern world and its conveniences and luxuries. Can I survive without them? Sure, but at a much reduced quality of life.
 
I agree with gazrok, sure I can survive, but a lot of the things we take for granted make our lives a lot easier. I allready mentioned a fridge, as foraging for fresh food every day would be tough. Toilet paper is another thing we don't give a lot of thought to! I have a hot tub (my main luxury that I use daily), it would be one of the most missed things to me. And as a woodworker, I can't imagine having to cut every board with a handsaw! I could go on all night, but you get the idea!
 
Gazrok said:
Air conditioning....that is what I would miss the most.
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Yup, that's it! In this part of the country, summer nights can be miserable without A/C. I'm old enough to have lived a part of my youth without A/C, even going to summer school without it once. Talk about hating school!

My brother-in-law has proposed building a room underground at the BOL to escape the heat. It's not really practical however because the water table is only a few feet down, and there are no hills. I think we might have to build a mound. Perhaps cover a trailer with dirt or something like that.

There are actually some ancient Indian mounds a few miles from the BOL. They had the right idea...when you don't have any hills, MAKE SOME!.
 
sorry folks, you can keep your luxuries, your hot tubs and your electronic gadgets, I want none of it, never did! I'm just a simple, country loving boy at heart, I was brought up in a city but my family were farmers and fisherman from way back so I suppose it sort of runs in the blood. I just don't like 21st Century living I guess I was born too late!!!
 
bigpaul said:
sorry folks, you can keep your luxuries, your hot tubs and your electronic gadgets, I want none of it, never did! I'm just a simple, country loving boy at heart, I was brought up in a city but my family were farmers and fisherman from way back so I suppose it sort of runs in the blood. I just don't like 21st Century living I guess I was born too late!!!
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I could not agree more. There is nothing I will miss in the "POP" culture we live in. I was raised partially in the country then moved to the city area of about 1200 population. After I graduated H.S I moved to the big city (Atlanta). Huge mistake on my part. I got so caught up in the whole "city life style" and regret every minute of it. Though I live in a city of about 100k population now. I tend to just keep to myself, and live as simple life as possible until SHTF. Life won't be simple by no means for a long time, but eventually it will. That is what I look forward to every single day. Everyday I wish I could just run away from it all, and live somewhat the way Mick Dodge does, but I cannot because I have to also think about my family that I KNOW I WILL have to protect after SHTF.
 
I lived in a small city in the south west of England-population 250,000- for 40 years, both as a child and later as an adult living and working in and around the city, later on with my 3rd wife we moved to a smaller town-population 8,800- in another county for 10 years, we then moved back to our home county but to a rural town-population 1,300, I wouldn't want to go back to living in a city again-as we say over here "it would do my head in!"
 
DrHenley said:
Yup, that's it! In this part of the country, summer nights can be miserable without A/C. I'm old enough to have lived a part of my youth without A/C, even going to summer school without it once. Talk about hating school!

My brother-in-law has proposed building a room underground at the BOL to escape the heat. It's not really practical however because the water table is only a few feet down, and there are no hills. I think we might have to build a mound. Perhaps cover a trailer with dirt or something like that.

There are actually some ancient Indian mounds a few miles from the BOL. They had the right idea...when you don't have any hills, MAKE SOME!.
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I saw where a guy buried some pipes and pulled the air thru them, cooling in summer and heating in winter. He even had a solar fan setup as he was off grid. Geothermal can be done many ways, using liquid or air thru the pipes. Getting an excavator is probably the hardest part of the setup, and I'm not sure how deep to go for the best results. You know, I think that was an episode of doomsday preppers! There was some good stuff on it, occasionally! I haven't seen it in a while, is it even still on?
 
toiletpaper,yes,something we take for granted but be without it...kinda miserable..
what abt music?? that's something I would miss alot,mainly 'cause I can't play a single instrument
 
It's amazing how quickly one can adapt to the climate when you don't use heat/ac. When I'm working outside and get over-heated, I don't go right inside to the ac because then I get the chills. I sit in the shade to cool off. I'm quickly figuring out what I can do without and it turns out that's quite a lot.
What I would miss the most would be salt. It's amazing how much better a bowl of beans and rice tastes with just a pinch of salt added, or a hard-boiled egg, celery, cucumber... everything I eat pretty much. I guess I'm a salt addict. I'm gonna go buy a whole bunch of salt this week.
 
LWesterfield said:
It's amazing how quickly one can adapt to the climate when you don't use heat/ac. When I'm working outside and get over-heated, I don't go right inside to the ac because then I get the chills. I sit in the shade to cool off. I'm quickly figuring out what I can do without and it turns out that's quite a lot.
What I would miss the most would be salt. It's amazing how much better a bowl of beans and rice tastes with just a pinch of salt added, or a hard-boiled egg, celery, cucumber... everything I eat pretty much. I guess I'm a salt addict. I'm gonna go buy a whole bunch of salt this week.
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Not to mention it's great when preserving foods as well. I love the stuff, but my blood pressure started going up, so I don't go near the stuff anymore. I still get more than the RDA just by eating out and the little bit of processed stuff I buy.
 
Brent S said:
Most people don't like the police, but our world would be a lot different if we didn't have them. I doubt many would continue to work after a major shtf, most would probably be protecting their families. I would never have thought of that, but your right , security is something we take for granted in this country.
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i read a survey once.and it said.1 cop to every 400 ppl.i dont remember when the survey came out.but im sure we can at least double that to 1 to every 800 if not more..
 
jimLE said:
i read a survey once.and it said.1 cop to every 400 ppl.i dont remember when the survey came out.but im sure we can at least double that to 1 to every 800 if not more..
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In most big cities I bet the gangbangers and thugs outnumber the cops by far.
 
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