Excellent post from another forum.....
I found this to be an excellent post. Except that I personally have included guns in my survival plans......
Quote:
DON'T PANIC!
: )
no, okay, just being silly. but i think comments like Ran's, and the Archdruid's, Orlov's, and others, are right. these things happen over time, with some spikes here and there? like Katrina?
also, panic never helps. sometimes the most useful thing to have is a sense of humor, and an easy-going attitude. give up blaming and worrying, and just try to do what you can.
that being said, the Short List depends on where you live, your age, your "tribe" (or if you have one) and stuff like that. leaving aside those specifics, i'll give you my best shot here:
1. health, A--if you need check-ups, meds, dental work...get that taken care of. do it soon.
2. health, B--how are you living now? can you eat better? sleep more? reduce stress? walk more? you want to be in your top condition anyway, no matter what happens or does not, right? but if bad things go down, this might matter a lot. the tooth you get filled now, is the tooth you won't be having your buddy pull out with pliers should TSHTF and there are no dentists, no? if you sometimes walk a couple miles to the store now, just 'cause, then when/if it happens that you HAVE to do that, you'll just shrug it off, no big deal. bikes are cool, though, too! think of it like you are planning a big camping/hiking trip, maybe?
3. community/tribe. if you can, and if they live in your area, make peace with your family. you will NOT need to convince them you are right about politics or anything else, if this stuff ever comes down in a real way any time soon--REALITY will make that argument FOR you, and they will just be thankful for any knowledge or supplies you can share with them. and, for most people (although not all) your family will probably be a better, more trustworthy support, during the kinds of times you are worrying about. y'all may not LIKE each other, but, more often than not, you'll tend to back each other up somewhat reliably. i am totally the "black sheep" in my own family, but i still know they'd have my back, and THEY know that generally speaking i KNOW my SHIT even if they don't like it! they may hate my "politics" but they'd trust me on water purification or herbs for a sinus infection! if family types are out of the question for you, work on LOCAL--like same city/same BLOCK-- friends, co-workers, and neighbors. and of course, be prepared to form "tribes" on the fly, if things ever happen that quick and bad in your area (not likely, but, you never know.) having a group is probably the biggest advantage possible, if things get suddenly tough. if you're planning to rely on a Sudden Tribe, then you really need to know your stuff, and have some obvious things to share.
4. pay off debt. again, always smart, in any era. being "free" that way matters, psychologically if in no other way. depending on your situation, you may also want to pay up/ahead on rent/mortgage, utilities, etc. just to give yourself a cushion if things go pear-shaped for a while.
5. on that money theme--have more than one savings/checking account, in banks that are totally not related. try to have one of them be a good credit union (usually a little safer than banks--Peak Oil forums has links to groups that rate them both.) i'd also maybe work towards being able to keep $500 or $1000 or more cash on hand, just in case. if a lot of banks start to go down, SPEND it quick! : ) if you are worried you'll just spend it, or someone could break in and steal it, then FREEZE it in a plastic bag inside some food item in your freezer--then YOU can't SPEND it on impulse, and no burglar is going to work THAT hard!
6. are you on meds of any kind? RX or OTC? have extra. if you really NEED them, have a couple of MONTHS extra. if YOU have something chronic, research treatments based on foods/diet or herbs, and make sure you will have those on hand. if you suffer from terrible sinus pain due to allergy, that is NOT something you want to be dealing with, in the midst of some crises where you need to be thinking quick & smart but you can't get them! daily coffee/tea drinker? better have that, too, or maybe caffiene pills (Chicory is a northern wild food that will help with coffee addicts in a pinch.) if YOU don't need them, i'll promise you can trade them with someone else who DOES need them. cheap OTC meds like aspirin or decongestants, you can stock up when they are on sale--they last a LONG time, they are small, and you can trade them or give them away if you don't need them. take every RX you are offered for things like antibiotics, fill it, and keep it. probably should add here, if you smoke daily, stock up, and also stock up on that gum for quitting...in fact, even if YOU do NOT smoke, i PROMISE in bad enough times, you'll be able to trade that shit like gold only faster! (you don't have to plan to take advantage of addicts, you can plan to help them out with a fair trade--won't be your fault that's what they need, and if they do NOT get it, they would really be in pain anyway. of course by the same token...if you've got your own vices...this is just being realistic.)
7. food & water--this gets tricker, and more specific depending on your location/needs. the main thing i'd say about this, as a person who lives in a city (rural and isolated may be different)...whatever i have here, whatever i slowly store up as a back-up in my apartment, my assumption is that if anything truly serious or sudden happens here, i'll be giving *most* of it away. if my neighbors are freaking out, and i can help by giving everyone a couple pounds of rice or something, we will ALL get way more benefit from my doing that, than i could ever have gotten by hoarding it to myself. if you don't already have your "tribe"--you may be able to create them just be being someone who is calm, and has some extra good stuff to share...congratulations on your promotion! you are now The Dude, and i hope you have some answers!
8. others here have already mentioned things like solar ovens, solar chargers and batteries, tools, and so on. if you have the cash, those would be good. i would add a good sleeping bag to use if you lose heat/power in winter, a lantern, and some way to heat water/food. think about how you would "camp" in your home, what would you need? it might be a pain, but it will still be easier than camping out in the woods for real! try to think of it as an adventure, something fun. maps of your area are good, and a battery or crank-powered radio so you can listen in on what is happening.
9. in keeping with the FUN theme--think of things you'd LIKE to do, if the power went out and things went wonky for a while...musical instruments? books to read? yarn and needles to knit or crochet? pencils and sketch pad? a foot-pedal powered sewing machine? games? cards? look at it like this: say it all shut down, and you had NOT prepared, you did NOT know anything bad might happen, what could a neighbor show up with that would just totally make your day? be ready to do that for someone else! think of some low-tech craft or skill or something that sounds like fun, get the tools, and learn how to do it! man i LOVE those little skin-head punk girls i see knitting hats on the bus! your thing may be food-related, or crochet, whatever! something that YOU know how to do, can be "traded" an infinite number of times to others in exchange for something you might want or need.
10. let's say you have enough cash, that you are worried about losing it--how can you hedge that? again, as others have said, dried foods, tools, hand/solar/battery-powered appliances, water collectors/filters...some way to pee without poisoning yourself and your neighborhood. i would add:
*high quality chocolate
*good salt, pepper & other spices
*dried herbs--especially anything with medicinal uses like ginger or garlic
*coffees/teas if you drink them--in particular teas that have medicinal uses
*RX/OTC meds
*raw honey--LOTS, you can use it for a billion things (sweetener, wound care, preservative...lasts FOREVER!)
*vodka, or another clear alcohol--you can make tinctures, trade it, lots of things
*INFORMATION--if there is good stuff online, PRINT it now. if you can get cheap, good first aid books, or plant guides for your area, those will be very useful over the long term. what about books on how to do home canning? fermenting? pickling? and so on?
*BULK--in addition to rice/noodles--if you have organic flour, you can culture it to make bread with seriously ONLY that, and water, and a way to bake it. won't be the *best* tasting bread, but it will last a while. Ran's site has much detailed info on sourdough bread.
*PROTEIN--dried beans, canned tuna, peanut butter, etc.
*FAT--bacon drippings from cooking, if organic and NOT nitrate added. coconut butter (needs fridge.) oils--olive is good and can stay at room temp.--i have LOTS of that, freeze up some butter, too.
*VITAMINS--they will last longer than fruit.
*SOAPS--for washing yourself, your dishes, you clothes. if it ever got that bad, the most simple, basic kinds will do all three.
*SEEDS--let's just say things generally won't get much better, then you'll be wanting to grow new food in your own yard, or someone elses. you can just save them from any organic/farmers market stuff you buy now. dry them out, store in a plastic bag, make sure you know what they are. maybe start to practice now (even in house-plant pots) with a few, see what makes them grow best? who doesn't want a tiny peach seedling in a pot on their desk at work?
man...i'm sure there is more. for myself, i break this all down into a few possible situations:
1. shelter in place for a shortish time--so, that's like planning for a REALLY long power outage, that may also mean no water, and no shops open, etc., but generally things keep going on the same as usual.
2. shelter in place, indefinitely--assuming no one panics or goes nuts, how do i and my neighborhood transition to something like being at least regionally indepentant? if jobs go away? or if that power never comes back on, and the stores can't re-stock? (i'm lucky where i am...i think we have enough family farms & farmers markets and stuff that sell in town now, that my little city won't be going anywhere for quite a while no matter what. we're far from any coastal sea-rise zones, and just north enough that we won't get TOO hot, and east enough that we won't get too dry, and far enough away from the NYC/DC population center that no one is coming here in a hurry. we may have some localized floods, and some bad storms, and fairly cold winters, but, all told...i'm thinking we're in a good spot...a couple thousand years of Native American habitation before the English showed up tell me even more than that. and, we own some important rivers, after all!)
3. get out of Dodge NOW! which i hope never happens...but that means some crazy weather event or something that means i have to just take off without much time to get ready. where do i go? do i know how to get there? CAN i get there by walking or biking? i probably do NOT need to advise anyone here that you are best off if you do this on your own, don't get on The Bus, or get rounded up and shoved into The Stadium...this is the weirdest and hardest one to think about for me. and, i'm not ready. if it comes to that, i will probably stay until it is too late.
BONUS for Super Doomers: MAPS--make sure they show bike paths, Rails-to-Trails, rivers, and anything else likely to be a *quiet* way out of Dodge. Binoculars--always better to see "them" before they see YOU. small Radio, at least AM/FM, so you know whatever you are "supposed" to know (weather/police...well...i'm just not THAT bent yet, but i can see why you might want that, too. if they say "GO here," maybe you will want to go anywhere else BUT there?) oh, and i guess at least one personal safety device, and you can interpret that however you like--but your main goal is to startle, confuse, and get the heck outta there, and many things will do that for you (my current favorite just makes a MASSIVE high-pitched noise than can be directed if need be! "WOOO WOOO WOOO...Bye!") if you live in a big enough city, you may already see some of the Out-Mates...add those to your general criminal tough guys, and, while not a happy thought, it is probably worth being prepared for, how to get away should you walk into something like that.
just remember, no panics, no panics...it's kind of like a Reality Show game. try to have fun, and try to help everyone else, too.
really...i think this is going to unwind at a pace that is slow enough that people like those on this forum will have trouble even timing it! some others, in some places, may from time to time be caught unawares---maybe your job is to be ready to help them?
-patricia
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