Last stop at the store!

[Ma'am]

Taking into account what preparations you have already made...If $#!~ was in the process of hitting the fan. And you knew this was your last trip you could make to the store for a LONG time. What are the things you would grab? Assuming civilization had not broken down yet....

Rules:
You still have to pay for what you are getting. - no looting yet
What store would you go to if you could only pick one- possibly 2?
Would you spend all that is in your bank account? or just get a few things?
You can only buy what you can get in your vehicle.
Keep it realistic-no huge purchases last min because it is not realistic.
**Remember you are competing for resources...other people will be frantic as well!

I think it is important to have a plan for just about everything-just wanna know what my fellow preppers plan on getting!

 

[Clyde]

Taking into account what preparations you have already made...If $#!~ was in the process of hitting the fan. And you knew this was your last trip you could make to the store for a LONG time. What are the things you would grab? Assuming civilization had not broken down yet....

Rules:
You still have to pay for what you are getting. - no looting yet
What store would you go to if you could only pick one- possibly 2?
Would you spend all that is in your bank account? or just get a few things?
You can only buy what you can get in your vehicle.
Keep it realistic-no huge purchases last min because it is not realistic.
**Remember you are competing for resources...other people will be frantic as well!

I think it is important to have a plan for just about everything-just wanna know what my fellow preppers plan on getting!

luckily I have 2 grocery stores and two CVS's with in 2 miles of me. I would take the wife's van, and hit the Canned isle of the store grabbing things that have longer expiration dates. Also grabbing water. I wouldn't mess with the stuff that spoils uber quick. At the pharmacy (CVS) I would try to refill every Rx I have. And stock up on as much first aid stuff as I could. IF I had the time or money left over I would hit the Lowe's or Home Depot that is 3 miles down the road for last minute stuff, i.e. plywood for shoring up windows. Same with Costco (5 Miles away).

Thankfully I am good on electrical power through my solar generators.

 

[Ma'am]

I have a grocery store 10 min drive from my house (and about a zillion stores on my way home from work)...and a little bit past the grocery store are several farm stores. I would start off in the grocery store and (like Clyde) hit the canned food section. Then hit up dry foods/baking sections for salt/sugar/flower/yeast. Also I would grab several more bags of dog food-that is one area I need to bulk up my stored supplies. If any water was left over I would maybe grab a few more cases. If possibly I would wanna grab a few bags of potatoes, definitely a bottle or two (or more)of bleach!!! I would try to grab some batteries-candles possibly-I think I am ok on medical supplies but it wouldnt hurt to maybe grab a few more.

Then off to the farm stores for a little more ammo (can never have enough) but if they would be out I still think I am in good shape. Could grab a few more bags of dog food....other bulk 'animal' food-some of which can be supplemented into my diet if we were to get desperate. I would also fill my car up on gas-and hopefully be able to grab a few gas can and fill them up too.

Then running home to Bug-in and get comfortable!!

Frilly stuff I would get if time allowed..... Extra book from the farm store on gardening/ seed saving/ animal husbandry ect
games to play (i dont have much in the lines of entertainment post SHTF)
Extra meds for family- they will undoubtedly show up.

 

[jimLE]

just like ma'am n clyde.canned n dry foods.water,dog food.there's 1 grocery store and 4 convinance store 6 miles froom me.and 1 feed store.auto part parts store and hardware store.id hit um all up for things i know id need..pluse the pharmacy for any meds my mom might have.and any extra they might let me have for her.if i had a bug out box trailer.i'd make real sure it's loaded up n ready to go if needed...and if i had time and money.id go to where i got my nook to begin with.(tyler tx).buy 2 more,but the better ones.1 for my mom n 1 for me.id get onto the internet n down load stuff onto them that we both would go with.there's store between there n here that id stop at as well if i figure i had the time n all.includeing any ammo i can buy..then i get every thing put away where it needs to be when i got home.then settle down and wait.

 

[The Norwegian]

Hmmm. This is a situation I do not hope I will meet. One reason only, there are no "good" grocery stores close by. Of course canned food section, dry food but also spices for medicine use. Will also look for things that can be used in bartering later on. All depends of course of how many days (even weeks we are talking about). If we are talking of a long period of time on our own then we need supplies to grow food ourselves. Should a situation like this happend in a few days I'm in deep ****... Not enough Food or supplies stored yet

 

[Trapper]

I am a ways from any grocery store. I have to go at least 15 miles. To get to the good stores, Sams Club, sporting goods etc... I have to go 45 minutes 1 way. If possible I would get to Sam's with all the cash I could muster up and load the van. If conditions were safe, (try to get ahead of the panic) I would send my wife a separate store to double our efforts. If needed I could call the father in law and get him to hit Sam's as he is not far away.
As far as what to get, I would try to put up another layer of what I already have. I tend to keep to the basics. Long term storage foods would be top on the list. Food would be the biggest item to get. Most of the other areas I am good to go. I am sure as time progresses many holes will be found in what I should have had........

 

[Bfree]

Like others Id hit the groc. stores 1st and get all the canned foods I could,then rice, beans, flour, corn meal, salt, and pepper & sugar. Oh yeah, and as much Tony Sachery's as I could possibly get. That goes on everything I eat. Then I'd hit the sporting goods store, just to get whatever stuff I may need like ammo, batteries, socks, shoes, and cold weather gear(all though Im in good shape w/all that, one can never have enough.) On my way home fill up as many port. gas cans as I can. Then hit the road, and I'll see you on the other side. (Im not saying Id do this but its a good thing to know where all the solar panels are in your area, i.e bill board lighting and stuff.)

 

[Dani]

Honestly, I feel that I am good on food for the house, but I would like to gather more water and feed for the critters. So I would make a trip in the truck with the 20 ft long trailor to my (not so ) local feed store and stock up on sweet feed, crunch and hay.

 

[Tyler]

I would go to my nearnest grocery store and grab a ton of canned goods, flour and water. Then I'd drive to our local sports store and grab some more things like stoves, fuel, arrows, extra bow equipment, 5 new bows, a few targets, fishing suppiles. Hopefully my parents see the signs or I can convince them and they go to different grocery stores and buy some more canned goods and long term things. Also we could send my brother down the road to get items such as extra blankets (no power no heating) batteries, toilet paper, wire (for w all curcits traping) and matches. Aslo to the store to grab some food. Assuming we can't do a full blow out on items then I'd think we would be pretty well off by hitting multiple stores with muiltiple people. I'd think we could add an extra 2 months to our stores. Also we would need to hit parmacies and the hardware store. My father and I would go to the hardwarem stores and buy, extra axes, hammers, nails, boards, light bulbs, bukets and fire wood. My brother an mother could go grab more medical things such as disinfectants, band aids and medicines. They could also fill perscriptions (very important, my father needs a hormone medicine due to lack of thyroid) This is where I think I come out on top of you guys, I live within 3 miles of most of these places. (Sports store is exception) I'd also fill the bath tub with water, the sinks as well. I'd also set about printing and finding books on survival online (I have about 13 now) we would also need to get fuel for our vehicles and would need to set about shuting the house down (putting the reladins, metal window covers, down and locking up my moms car with my dads car in the garage. I'd then set about insulating the attic more (for winters and summers) and move stuff up there to live with. All that in 2 hours. I'd think we'd would end up spending a ton of money on this but as arron said in revolution: 80 million dollars in the bank and I would trade it all, right now, for a roll of Charmin. Money in the bank won't do you any good if TSHTF for longer than expected.

 

[Ma'am]

This is something I have been thinking about for awhile...If i have the chance to get to a store and purchase even just a few things i dont wanna make any mistakes....I am working on making a list and keeping it in my car/BOB/purse or even glove box in my car.
I (like most others) will probably be in a panic and thats no reason to make stupid mistakes. If i am prepared with a list- i can focus....get in-get out and be home and safe! This weekend when I go to the grocery store I am gonna make a list as i walk thru of what I would want to purchase-keeping it in order as i walk thru. Also keep track of the price- so i can maybe put emergency money in my car so I can use that (normally i buy everything with my credit card-that might not be an option!)

 

[Trapper]

I keep an excel spread sheet of my preps. It lists each item, how much I have, how many more I need, total goal, approx. cost. I know what I have most of the time. I can just take a copy of that and work on getting what I can. I know it would be impossible to get duplicates of everything on the list but at least I would have something to go by. I can determine at a glance what else I should get and get it done. Lists for prepping I feel are essential. For this topic alone is a good reason to list out what you have and what you need.

 

[sharkbait]

We can skip the stores and get by on what we have if needed,but if school is in my priority is getting our kids home from school and making sure my wife gets home from work.

 

[sharkbait]

Meant to add that if time allowed,I would empty the bank account and buy extra and larger sizes of cold weather gear and clothes (boots,gloves,thermals,coats,etc) for the kids,they are set for a year or two now,but kids never stop growing,lol.

 

[Gazrok]

You still have to pay for what you are getting. - no looting yet
What store would you go to if you could only pick one- possibly 2?
Would you spend all that is in your bank account? or just get a few things?
You can only buy what you can get in your vehicle.
Keep it realistic-no huge purchases last min because it is not realistic.

I'd love to say I'd hit WalMart, but to be honest, that place would be insane. I'd actually go to my closest Publix (a grocery chain here in the southeast) if I could pick only one.
The main reason is that it is outside of town, so won't be too slammed.

If I knew it was really the big one, yeah, I'd drain the bank account. (mostly, money there is just for bills anyhow, we do savings differently).
First, I'd hit the medicine aisle and get as much as I could. Publix has their own brand of most, which is generally the same and cheaper.
Then, I'd hit the canned goods, and load up there. Then rice, pasta, spices we use a lot, bottled water, and toilet paper.

If a second store is an option, I'm hitting the Lowes and loading up on wood. I've got a big diesel dual-wheeled F-350, so I can haul quite a bit of stuff home.

 

[Altani]

I've seen what happens in the larger town close to me when something bad happens from when we had power outages and a tornado. I know what goes first and how busy it is (I was working at Wal-Mart on the day of the tornado and I do suggest staying out of there on a day like that). I would probably try not to hit those unless I was sure I knew more than the average joe about what was up. (In other words, if there was no panic yet and nobody else was frantically stocking up.)
Instead I'll stay in my little town. The gas stations have canned goods and boxes of food and water, a hardware store just opened here so I'd hit that to get some fix-it and building supply stuff. There is also a family dollar here that I could hit up for supplies first like canned food, water, hygiene, basic medical stuffs.
If I was already in the major town nearby (very likely because if I'm not at work, I'm in school for the day) I would hit the lesser known places on my way back to my little village. Hardly anyone thinks of this one grocery store that I frequent just on the outside of town because it's really out of the way. In the same parking lot there is a pharmacy next door (buy medical supplies), the grocery store has it's own inexpensive off brands that I would stock up on along with water, of course. There is also a dollar general next door that will have a variety of items similar to the family dollar. Then on a back road nowhere near a town there is a BIG lumber and plumbing yard that I would certainly stop at to get my share of lumber for building/fixing/securing.
Would I spend every dollar? Depends on the situation. If I know society will not be the same after or that my money won't be protected afterwards, heck yeah. I'd rack up every credit card I had buying stuff. If I know I'm gonna have to pay that off after the fact, maybe not rack them up all the way but get them as close to the limit as I feel comfortable enough that I can pay them off eventually.
I've got a small truck with a rack overtop that can haul a lot and a tracker that you'd be surprised what I can get in there.

 

[old_anorak]

We'd hook the trailers to the trucks and hit the feed stores first. Lots of things people will overlook there. Grocery next. One thing, there will be at least 2 people per vehicle, one driving, the other armed. Someone has to stay with the vehicle while the other is in the store so you aren't looted.

Most likely though, we'd stay put and wait until the initial panic is over, it's amazing what people will overlook to get that last bag of Funyuns.

 

[Gazrok]

I'm slowly but surely building up a surplus of hay and feed, trying to stay as stocked up as I can. Dog, cat, and rabbit food is where I could use a bit more stockpiling too. I've only got one 3 horse trailer, but it can hold a pretty good amount of hay I've learned. (It also makes a decent bug out plan, as it has a little living area, with a propane fridge, even AC.) I keep a BOB in there too, along with other supplies, and camp out supplies.

 

[Hockie]

now just why would the store owner take worthless paper $, much less checks or credit or debit cards? I bet he'll be holed up with an assault rifle, running people off, or he'll be dead, the place looted, long before you get there. I'm not going anywhere near where people will go, if shtf. You could easily just be shot on sight, so that they can take your stuff. One guy sitting in a vehicle won't deter anyone who is desperate and knows diddly about combat shooting.

 

[Trapper]

In the first day of SHTF I seriously doubt it will be a blood bath like you make it out to be Hockie. If its that bad where you live now you better bug out now!! It would be like before a major winter storm or hurricane with frenzy buying at first. Killing panic wont set in immediately. Theft would certainly start much faster but a man watching over the good with a gun would be a lot of deterrent.

 

[Hockie]

how will YOU know, but nobody else will, hmm? Every general/feed/convenience store I've ever been into has been a "hotbed" of local gossip-info. I think that you are risking a lot, to gain very little. Best have everything already cached, and avoid people altogether, for a year after shtf. Contagious diseases will be very bad, dead, rotting bodies will be everywhere. one MONTH of no power, everywhere, will see a 10% die off of the Us population 30 million people. People are so dependent upon electricity that it's astounding. Just Google for how many are in hospitals, hospices, nursing homes. No electricity means no gas pumps, guys. No water in the pipes, no fire or cop or ambulance or garbage service. Towns will burn and pile up in garbage, packs of starving dogs everywhere, eating dead people. Desperate people will have long since turned looter. Many will do so in the first week.

Edited by: Clyde
For: Content

 

[Trapper]

Wow, is all I can say.......... If you have the time or narrow minded to enough to worry about settling old scores after the SHTF. We were not talking about a week, month, or year after. It was a pending situation of unknown?? When 9/11 happened, I did not see the USA implode on itself. I think that is what the discussion was about, hmm? BTW, your estimation of 10% dead without electric in a year is conservative. It will take a week for the true panic to set in, then all bets are off.

 

[Clyde]

how will YOU know, but nobody else will, hmm? Every general/feed/convenience store I've ever been into has been a "hotbed" of local gossip-info. I think that you are risking a lot, to gain very little. Best have everything already cached, and avoid people altogether, for a year after shtf. Contagious diseases will be very bad, dead, rotting bodies will be everywhere. one MONTH of no power, everywhere, will see a 10% die off of the Us population 30 million people. People are so dependent upon electricity that it's astounding. Just Google for how many are in hospitals, hospices, nursing homes. No electricity means no gas pumps, guys. No water in the pipes, no fire or cop or ambulance or garbage service. Towns will burn and pile up in garbage, packs of starving dogs everywhere, eating dead people. Desperate people will have long since turned looter. Many will do so in the first week.

Edited by: Clyde
For: Content

Please do not use this forum to advertise your "hit list"

 

[Hockie]

i said 10% in one MONTH. In a year, it will be 90-99%, if something has not restored order sooner than that. and oh yeah, scores would be very nearly at the top of the list of "things to do". Because the guy said power is coming back on in 30 days, right? Personally, I think that if it goes out and stays out for 3 weeks, it won't be coming back on for at least a decade.

 

[sharkbait]

i said 10% in one MONTH. In a year, it will be 90-99%, if something has not restored order sooner than that. and oh yeah, scores would be very nearly at the top of the list of "things to do". Because the guy said power is coming back on in 30 days, right? Personally, I think that if it goes out and stays out for 3 weeks, it won't be coming back on for at least a decade.

Thats funny,we lost power in last years storms for three weeks,order was maintained,nobody got shot,there was no looting,and when AEP finally got to our section of the grid-"poof",the power came back on.You are clearly over exaggerating.

 

[QuietH3art]

Taking into account what preparations you have already made...If $#!~ was in the process of hitting the fan. And you knew this was your last trip you could make to the store for a LONG time. What are the things you would grab? Assuming civilization had not broken down yet....

Rules:
You still have to pay for what you are getting. - no looting yet
What store would you go to if you could only pick one- possibly 2?
Would you spend all that is in your bank account? or just get a few things?
You can only buy what you can get in your vehicle.
Keep it realistic-no huge purchases last min because it is not realistic.
**Remember you are competing for resources...other people will be frantic as well!

I think it is important to have a plan for just about everything-just wanna know what my fellow preppers plan on getting!

At first I thought a lot of people will try the ATMs to attempt to get their money out. I don't keep my money in the bank.
The only store close enough to our home to consider going to in the situation you describe above is a small convenience store, so maybe we'd try to top of the gas tanks and see if they have any toilet paper and water left. Otherwise, we're going to have to hope what we've prepped gets us through.
This was a significant question for me. I've thought about it for several days. I'm now going to spend the next couple of weeks making sure I have a little bit of everything that's on my list. I'm still lacking a few things.

 

[Dani]

Edited by: Clyde
For: Content[/quote]

 

[Dani]

how will YOU know, but nobody else will, hmm? Every general/feed/convenience store I've ever been into has been a "hotbed" of local gossip-info. I think that you are risking a lot, to gain very little. Best have everything already cached, and avoid people altogether, for a year after shtf. Contagious diseases will be very bad, dead, rotting bodies will be everywhere. one MONTH of no power, everywhere, will see a 10% die off of the Us population 30 million people. People are so dependent upon electricity that it's astounding. Just Google for how many are in hospitals, hospices, nursing homes. No electricity means no gas pumps, guys. No water in the pipes, no fire or cop or ambulance or garbage service. Towns will burn and pile up in garbage, packs of starving dogs everywhere, eating dead people. Desperate people will have long since turned looter. Many will do so in the first week.

Edited by: Clyde
For: Content

but only for Clyde's editing skills

 

[Dani]

Lwest. . . just start out small and build up when you can. I started out with building up to 2 weeks, then a month, then 6 and so fourth. Little by little it will happen as long as you are determined to make it happen.

 

[Gazrok]

Thats funny,we lost power in last years storms for three weeks,order was maintained,nobody got shot,there was no looting,and when AEP finally got to our section of the grid-"poof",the power came back on.You are clearly over exaggerating.

A lot of other factors though. I'm guessing you were in a more rural area, and of course, there was full confidence the power would be restored?
In a city, and without that confidence, I'd expect things would fall apart a LOT quicker, especially if the idea was that power loss was permanent.

 

[Altani]

Holy smokes, that escalated! I think people are underestimated just a little. Yes, those medically dependent on electricity would be in deep crap but I don't think the die off would be THAT bad. 99% in a year? That seems really exaggerated. It will be bad, I grant you, but 1% left? I'd like to think there are quite a few hill-folk here in the Appalachians alone that would know how to manage without power and know how to defend it well enough. And that's just in this region (Several states and sections of states are included in Appalachia). Now factor in all the preppers (not every prepper is on the internet and on this forum so there is likely more than you may think), historical reenacters and re-creationists that do know a lot of survival skills that worked okay for thousands of years, and other survivalists and I think that we can say that a bit more than 1% can survive. The cities would be bad and eventually they would come to the rural areas but we'll be ready for 'em here and they will be malnourished, tired, and desperate by the time they get here I hope. Country folk will have at least that much time to get ready for the masses because I don't think they will 'jump ship' right away.
I agree it'll be like a coming snowstorm at first. People will be optimistic but stock up on a lot of stuff and certain items will be hard to come by (like water). Those are what I think I should stock up on, personally. But other things they won't think about until it sinks in that it will be long term or that the situation won't change like building supplies. They also will hit the big box stores first. Those who can adapt and think outside the box will be the best off in this kind of situation, in my opinion.