Preparations Update

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Have a random question, what exactly are you prepping for?

It occured to me while ago it's pointless to try to prepare for anything more than a few months of some local disaster or food shortage or something
You really can't prepare for a nuclear war, or for a life ending natural event ( major asteroid, pole change, aliens with superior technology etc) or for if our own government wants to come take your stuff
Very few people have real bomb shelters that can hold up in a nuclear war, or a small army to defend their stuff
In this crazy world and uncertain times, who knows exactly what to prep for. But I hope never to see my family and friends starving, or suffering from something that I might have been able to ease if only I had thought to put away. No, we’re not going to live forever and we can’t take it with us, but if we can make life nicer with a bit of care, what not? I think I’d rather pass on warm and with a relatively full stomach than cold, in pain, and starving misery.
 
Have a random question, what exactly are you prepping for?

It occured to me while ago it's pointless to try to prepare for anything more than a few months of some local disaster or food shortage or something
You really can't prepare for a nuclear war, or for a life ending natural event ( major asteroid, pole change, aliens with superior technology etc) or for if our own government wants to come take your stuff
Very few people have real bomb shelters that can hold up in a nuclear war, or a small army to defend their stuff
You never know.
 
I'm preparing for what's happening now. Crazy inflation. And what's happening soon, economic collapse. Simple living and homesteading takes practice, and food storage is a ton of work that takes time. Neither of those things happen in a week or a month, they have to be lived. Basically I think it's a smart thing to live out of the system, as much as possible, because the systems of things are starting to fail and going to fail completely. BUT to each his own. Sonya, if you think it's pointless to prep for more than a few months, then that's what you decide to do. I just don't believe that at all.
 
I was going to say something along the lines of what AH said - inflation for sure. I have wheat I bought a year+ ago that we are eating now. Paid $5 for what now costs $12 (can't remember prices - just an example). Also, if I am not "allowed" to purchase items because of my personal beliefs, I will have a reserve to get me through until I can figure out an alternative or new source. Lastly, transportation issues / supply shortages: will say this is more in regards to consumable parts for vehicles and such things. I don't really plan or prep for a nuclear b0mb or aliens, but more for the things like we've been experiencing.
 
I got the silver megawise food sealer on Amazon. There were actually several on there that were not very expensive b/c many of them had coupons available. The Aldi ad this week also had a food sealer for $20 that I would have bought too but they didn't have any on the shelf when I went there. For those prices, it doesn't hurt to have an extra on hand. They also make great gifts too, especially if given with a few bags so they can start sealing right away.

I need a sealer that has a cap & chamber for jars.
The one I ordered has the tube for the jar attachment, but I don't think it has the jar attachment itself. I remember getting them for regular and wide mouth jars on Ebay for really cheap. I'm sure Amazon has them too. They aren't that expensive and they come in really handy. I love storing things in jars b/c they are easy to see and are critter proof. I stored 50 pounds of popcorn in jars and sealed them up with my food saver. The jar attachment allows for more options of buying in bulk and saving money.

I'm actually going to get more sealing containers. I should start putting leftovers in those and seal them up before putting them in the frig. I'm sure it would extend the life of anything that was stored that way. I see they are pretty cheap on Amazon right now too....24 containers with lids for $21......cheaper than dollar store containers. Yup, after I post this, I'm going shopping for those.
ETA: those ones I just mentioned are not vacuum sealable containers......still shopping.

Have a random question, what exactly are you prepping for?
For me, it's inflation and probably economic collapse. I'm spending my dollars now while they are still worth something. I'd rather have assets right now than cash. I still have cash put away, but if I come across something that I should stock up on b/c I'm certain I'll need it someday anyways, then I have no problem buying it now.....especially if it's for a decent price.
 
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Have a random question, what exactly are you prepping for?

It occured to me while ago it's pointless to try to prepare for anything more than a few months of some local disaster or food shortage or something
You really can't prepare for a nuclear war, or for a life ending natural event ( major asteroid, pole change, aliens with superior technology etc) or for if our own government wants to come take your stuff
Very few people have real bomb shelters that can hold up in a nuclear war, or a small army to defend their stuff
Disagree. Prepared for all of those....save pole change, as there is no indication that would be a major problem.

But given that 99% of problems, are local disasters, thats not a bad thing if you draw the line there.

Its just that I reached that point 20 years ago and didn't stop.
 
I'm preparing for what's happening now. Crazy inflation. And what's happening soon, economic collapse. Simple living and homesteading takes practice, and food storage is a ton of work that takes time. Neither of those things happen in a week or a month, they have to be lived. Basically I think it's a smart thing to live out of the system, as much as possible, because the systems of things are starting to fail and going to fail completely. BUT to each his own. Sonya, if you think it's pointless to prep for more than a few months, then that's what you decide to do. I just don't believe that at all.
It's not that I think it's pointless exactly, it's more that I think its impossible to prepare for whats coming. That's all. I used to prepare for stuff like economic collapse also, but now that we are actually as prepared as I thought we could be, I am realizing it is impossible. I don't know how to exactly say that better. When we lived in the city, I thought we would be prepared if we moved to a farm in middle of nowhere. Now that we are here and been here for over 7 years I am realizing it is impossible.
Many people can't even live without modern medicine for example ( like your husband?). We can't farm without fuel and vehicle repairs. We could for a little while but eventually the hay will run out, and our old bodies will wear out doing everything by hand. We have no idea what is going to break in the buildings, so we can't really stock up for that either. We do have some plywood and 2 x 4s, and stuff like tarps, but right now I need stuff to fix the bathroom. YOu can't stock up on every potential item you need.
Water: we have free spring water, but what if a nuke down the road contaminates it? Storing a lot of water takes up a huge amount of space. Or what if it just dries up? You don't know what the crazy weather is going to do.
And if the poles flip or the nukes hit, most if not all of us will not survive regardless how much food you have.
I have been a prepper for many years and the older I get the more I realize it's pointless to think you will somehow survive by stocking up 5 years of food. That's all. It's also pointless to stock up on a gazzillion rounds of ammo, because few have a small army. Do you have a well? Your water will run out if you have no power to pump it. Gas will go bad if stored too long. And so on

Sorry this was long but like I said I have been a prepper for a really long time and I do think everyone should stock up on enough stuff for local events but anything more is not even realistic. Food goes bad, even canned stuff. Rotating it is a huge hassle, and personally I like fresh food, so for us total waste of money except a few things. I have enough rice stored for probably a year, same with sugar, salt and other stuff we use that really doesn't go bad. We have animals we can eat if there is no food. Discouraging, huh? LOL
 
Disagree. Prepared for all of those....save pole change, as there is no indication that would be a major problem.

But given that 99% of problems, are local disasters, thats not a bad thing if you draw the line there.

Its just that I reached that point 20 years ago and didn't stop.
You almost got wiped out by a fire this year....sorry but I had to point that out to make my case. We've been on the other forum for many years and there are really few people that live like us and if WE can have major problems, what do you think will happen to all the people less prepared? I think it will come down to luck on who survives, and maybe I dont want to survive if it gets that bad
 
I'd like to live as well as we can for as long as possible. Nothing is forever, our bodies on this earth certainly are not forever. We do discuss how husband would not last long with his meds, but it doesn't mean he won't try. Rotating food is a big pain, I know. All of these things make it hard and probably not worth the effort to some. It's a personal choice.
 
For me, it's inflation and probably economic collapse. I'm spending my dollars now while they are still worth something. I'd rather have assets right now than cash. I still have cash put away, but if I come across something that I should stock up on b/c I'm certain I'll need it someday anyways, then I have no problem buying it now.....especially if it's for a decent price.
that's probably a good move, but how to you decide what to spend your money on? We have this problem also. Few of us have unlimited amounts of money so you have to spend it in a good way. But we can't stock up on too much fuel since it will go bad. We only have so much room to store hay and it will also go bad after a while or not as good anyway. I would like some more solar panels but waste of money if for example a EMP destroys them or it will take us longer to make our money back on what we save in electricity that we live. Can't stock up on vehicle repairs , obviously, since you don't know what will break and we can't fix it anyway
can't stock up on medicine since everything useful requires a prescription, now even animal antibiotics ( I stocked up but they will go out of date in a few years)
 
that's probably a good move, but how to you decide what to spend your money on?

My initial reaction to the question was spend it on what is important to you, and I still believe that. It made me think, what do we really need? There are some things that we have in abundance, way more than we will ever need in our lifetime. So why not make a list of what we DO need. It would be a good exercise in reviewing all of our preps, and see where there might be holes. Reviewing all of our lists to see if anything is missing.

Right, wrong, or indifferent I have also narrrowed my time span to 15-20 years. Morbid to think that way, but the odds would say we won't last any longer than that, even if nothing catastrophic happens in the world.
 
that's probably a good move, but how to you decide what to spend your money on? We have this problem also. Few of us have unlimited amounts of money so you have to spend it in a good way. But we can't stock up on too much fuel since it will go bad. We only have so much room to store hay and it will also go bad after a while or not as good anyway. I would like some more solar panels but waste of money if for example a EMP destroys them or it will take us longer to make our money back on what we save in electricity that we live. Can't stock up on vehicle repairs , obviously, since you don't know what will break and we can't fix it anyway
can't stock up on medicine since everything useful requires a prescription, now even animal antibiotics ( I stocked up but they will go out of date in a few years)
I guess I'm in a fortunate position with funds right now. We've been ultra frugal for many years and now we have savings that we can spend because we have no debt.....and I feel the need to get things now rather than to wait. I always waited for clearance sales before spending on 'preps'....or a better word is stuff that I'd someday need. For example I found a new nice foldable cane for next to nothing so I bought it. Thankfully I don't need it right now, but I'm sure someday I (or hubby) will. It does create a storage and organization issue, but I'm fortunate to have room since the kids are gone.

As I get older, it's hard to dump my frugal and 'stock up' mindset that I've always had and switch to spending, but not going overboard. Now I'm kind of thinking about the kids when I buy stuff. I often ask myself "will they be able to use this?" Also, if a collapse happens, will these things make a difference? I don't know. But as long as it doesn't negatively affect me now, I err in the side of stocking up because I don't trust our govt' and they are running us into the ground.

As far as medicines, many will last long after their expiration date but may be less potent. You have to know if they will be toxic or not, so, you should know that before stocking up. It also would be prudent to find out if you can find your own alternatives to medicines like local medicinal plants. Thankfully we rely very little on meds or supps.
 
It’s a prep right?? The house we bought last year had two gas fireplaces and a natural gas furnace. So if the furnace went out, we still had the “fireplaces”. But if the gas went out we had nothing. When the house was built, there was a wood stove in the basement so all we really had to do was remove the gas one and put this one in and run a little stove pipe to the existing chimney. The chimney pipe was in great shape and clean so we are hoping not to have any issues for a long time if we have to rely on burning wood for heat. But for now, we all enjoyed the warmth of a real fire last night
CAE1ED23-D71F-4A37-9506-DA3F9C19A919.jpeg
 
My initial reaction to the question was spend it on what is important to you, and I still believe that. It made me think, what do we really need?
Air, water, food , shelter , defense, that's it
Air will be ok until the nukes hit or some asteroid will blow dust in the air
water we have until the spring dries up or gets contaminated somehow, then you can collect rainwater or worst case boil river water
food we have walking around outside plus can grow some, plus have rice we have stocked ( since I cook rice all the time and it doesn't go bad)
shelter we have lots of buildings unless they get nuked, burn to the ground, or blown up or the government removes us from them
defense we have against single intruders, for large groups or government, no we don't have a small army

there you go :)
 
Sonya, five years worth of food is a great goal. One of the things I prep for is getting old and not being able to produce enough of my own food. My preps don't guarantee anything. They delay and give me a cushion so that I can adapt to the new reality. If I have two years worth of food and I can produce half a years worth of food per year then I can live for three years. I'll take whatever I can get.

I stock up on meds. At my age expiration dates make little difference except for liquids but even those don't expire on the next day or even the next month. The army conducted research on medicine when expiration dates started being printed on the boxes. Most pill or capsule meds were fine for 15 to 20 years after the expiration date. Even then they became less effective not ineffective and not poisonous. There was one antibiotic that supposedly became toxic but I believe that was only one patient death that was attributed to that.
 
You almost got wiped out by a fire this year....sorry but I had to point that out to make my case. We've been on the other forum for many years and there are really few people that live like us and if WE can have major problems, what do you think will happen to all the people less prepared? I think it will come down to luck on who survives, and maybe I dont want to survive if it gets that bad

I was afraid of almost getting wiped out. I didn't lose anything to the fire but a bunch of sleep, time and energy.
 
that's probably a good move, but how to you decide what to spend your money on? We have this problem also. Few of us have unlimited amounts of money so you have to spend it in a good way. But we can't stock up on too much fuel since it will go bad. We only have so much room to store hay and it will also go bad after a while or not as good anyway. I would like some more solar panels but waste of money if for example a EMP destroys them or it will take us longer to make our money back on what we save in electricity that we live. Can't stock up on vehicle repairs , obviously, since you don't know what will break and we can't fix it anyway

Yes, you have run into one of several 'walls' in prepping that are hard to break through.

This one comes from when you realize that 'modern' preps all have issues in the long term.

This doesn't make them useless. But they are not a finished solution, they are a buffer. No preps last forever, and there is no disaster that lasts forever.

Prepping is a lifeboat, its not an island.

That being said

"how to you decide what to spend your money on"

Is a big question, and one I struggle with as well. I'm still working on it. I hit another prepping wall with the fire....."How much prepping do you need to feel safe, knowing you will never actually be safe"
 
Yes, you have run into one of several 'walls' in prepping that are hard to break through.

This one comes from when you realize that 'modern' preps all have issues in the long term.

This doesn't make them useless. But they are not a finished solution, they are a buffer. No preps last forever, and there is no disaster that lasts forever.

Prepping is a lifeboat, its not an island.

That being said

"how to you decide what to spend your money on"

Is a big question, and one I struggle with as well. I'm still working on it. I hit another prepping wall with the fire....."How much prepping do you need to feel safe, knowing you will never actually be safe"



I have one complete steam engine that lacks a steam boiler. I have the castings to make 5 more. I have dreams of running my milling and lathe with one steam engine. I have a coal seam on The Ridge. I can see a path from EMP to 1860 vintage technology.

I did have all of my teeth pulled so I don't need a dentist. What I can't cover is high blood pressure. But if I run out if whiskey and tobacco, the high BP may fix itself.

Ben
 
I have one complete steam engine that lacks a steam boiler. I have the castings to make 5 more. I have dreams of running my milling and lathe with one steam engine. I have a coal seam on The Ridge. I can see a path from EMP to 1860 vintage technology.

Yep. The most advanced technology that person can hope to really be independent on. I'd love to get to that point someday.

I'm still maxed out at about the 17th century.
 
Sonya, five years worth of food is a great goal. One of the things I prep for is getting old and not being able to produce enough of my own food. My preps don't guarantee anything. They delay and give me a cushion so that I can adapt to the new reality. If I have two years worth of food and I can produce half a years worth of food per year then I can live for three years. I'll take whatever I can get.

I stock up on meds. At my age expiration dates make little difference except for liquids but even those don't expire on the next day or even the next month. The army conducted research on medicine when expiration dates started being printed on the boxes. Most pill or capsule meds were fine for 15 to 20 years after the expiration date. Even then they became less effective not ineffective and not poisonous. There was one antibiotic that supposedly became toxic but I believe that was only one patient death that was attributed to that.
Tetracycline, doxycycline, the -cycline family of antibiotics.
 
I think this is the time to really get things you need/.want because we don't know exactly what's coming in the spring. It doesn't sound good, though. For the last several years I've considered an electric pressure canner and I've made the decision to get it now. I'm going to watch all the black Friday and Christmas sales to see if I can get a good price on one. I noticed that the price has gone down on the 16qt. Prestos. It's been a while since I looked but last time they were over $100. I was surprised to see they have an Amish canner for big waterbath loads. If you've considered a steam canner you might want to take a look now. They are going up though. There are a number of videos on YouTube showing how to use them.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Presto-Precise-12qt-Electric-Pressure-Canner-02144/920031969
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Presto-16-Quart-Pressure-Canner-and-Cooker-01745/5913467
https://www.walmart.com/ip/VEVOR-Wa...el-Large-Stock-Flat-Bottom-Brushed-/398555608
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Fruit-Sa...r-with-Temperature-Indicator-VKP1054/19321294
 
I think this is the time to really get things you need/.want because we don't know exactly what's coming in the spring.
Its funny, this is exactly where I was at in 2020.....blew most of the savings on 'hard' assets. Not all strictly prepping, but the same idea, better use it or lose it with the money.

I'm a lot more unsure now though. Kinda at loose ends. Everything is so expensive its hard to justify spending any money.
 
I think this is the time to really get things you need/.want because we don't know exactly what's coming in the spring. It doesn't sound good, though. For the last several years I've considered an electric pressure canner and I've made the decision to get it now. I'm going to watch all the black Friday and Christmas sales to see if I can get a good price on one. I noticed that the price has gone down on the 16qt. Prestos. It's been a while since I looked but last time they were over $100. I was surprised to see they have an Amish canner for big waterbath loads. If you've considered a steam canner you might want to take a look now. They are going up though. There are a number of videos on YouTube showing how to use them.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Presto-Precise-12qt-Electric-Pressure-Canner-02144/920031969
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Presto-16-Quart-Pressure-Canner-and-Cooker-01745/5913467
https://www.walmart.com/ip/VEVOR-Wa...el-Large-Stock-Flat-Bottom-Brushed-/398555608
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Fruit-Sa...r-with-Temperature-Indicator-VKP1054/19321294
I’ve got one of those Presto electric canners and love it. It’s strictly small batches but I’m canning for only my father and myself. Use it mostly for soups, broths, and trials but it does come in handy.
 
Its funny, this is exactly where I was at in 2020.....blew most of the savings on 'hard' assets. Not all strictly prepping, but the same idea, better use it or lose it with the money.

I'm a lot more unsure now though. Kinda at loose ends. Everything is so expensive its hard to justify spending any money.
There are some pretty shady stories going on about credit card companies closing people's accounts with no explanation and other activities. I keep hearing that they'll be shutting the banks down for a week or so this spring. I'm not sure what's actually going on but if they do this, my gut tells me to expect some kind of money grab. Better to start spending that savings on things I need.
 
I’ve got one of those Presto electric canners and love it. It’s strictly small batches but I’m canning for only my father and myself. Use it mostly for soups, broths, and trials but it does come in handy.
Thanks for the feedback! I've done next to no canning these last few years because it's so much work and I'm only cooking for myself now. I love that I can also use this for waterbathing pints and halfpints. I don't do many quarts anyway and have the same idea that those would mostly be soups.
 
There are some pretty shady stories going on about credit card companies closing people's accounts with no explanation and other activities. I keep hearing that they'll be shutting the banks down for a week or so this spring. I'm not sure what's actually going on but if they do this, my gut tells me to expect some kind of money grab. Better to start spending that savings on things I need.
Luckily I have no credit score, debt, or credit cards.

And moneys value is dependent on....its value. Grabbing money is usually useless on a large scale....as if people don't trust their money will stay their money, it loses its value and hence the reason for grabbing it.
 
Sonya, five years worth of food is a great goal. One of the things I prep for is getting old and not being able to produce enough of my own food.
the problem with that is food goes bad, even cans ( and I don't like canned food much) . when we still lived in Orlando, I put flour in Mylar and opened it after about 3 years. It looked and smelled ok at first, but after a week of being open ( inside a closed bucket) it went bad and I had to toss it. Just one example. There is very little food that will last 5 years, so you have to constantly rotate things which is way too big of a hassle for us. Plus there is this, if there is 5 years of no food in stores, you will have way bigger problems than food. You will have bigger problems if there is no food in the stores for a week
Most of us do not live in Alaska nor do we want to. I don't. So just because you might be out of reach of the gen pop doesn't mean the rest of us are.
I don't particular wish to survive a mass extinction event or nuclear war , life already sucks mostly, can't imagine what that would be like
 
I went ahead and ordered the Presto electric canner from Walmart and should get it in a week. Most places that carried them were out of stock so if I wait there might not be any available. I'm looking forward to doing a lot of canning around Christmas.
 

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