First it was Iran. They were launching “satellites” and firing rockets high into the atmosphere. Many said it was prep for an EMP attack. Then, during the Obama years, they started patrolling off our coast. This is what one EMP expert had to say about these navy patrols:
“I think the Iranian Navy patrols off our coasts may be intended to lull us into complacency, to get the U.S. Navy accustomed to an Iranian naval presence in our hemisphere, so eventually they could contribute to ‘Zero Hour’ and the great day when the Mullahs decide to drop the nuclear hammer on America,” said Pry, who staffed a former congressional EMP commission.
Now we face a true threat from North Korea. To the casual onlooker it would seem America is simply waiting to be hit by an EMP. The enemies of our nation know they cannot stand up to our military might and they have figured out the EMP is their hail Mary.
Are you preparing for an EMP disaster? Its about more than just the Faraday cage. How many threats and voices will our nation shun before the lights go out and America starts to eat itself?
Here are 10 items to hoard before an EMP attack:
LIGHTERS
A successful EMP attack is the end for modern heating and cooling systems. We will be thrust back hundreds of years and outside of our ingenuity, wood will be how the average man stays warm. Fire will be a massive part of your life. You will use it to purify water, cook food, heat your home and preserve food.
Forget the bow drill or the fire plane and just hoard tons of lighters so that starting a fire is something you never have to worry about. Lighters are one piece of modern tech that we can take into a post EMP setting.
CASH
Americans are just terrible when it comes to saving money. The good news is there is no better time to start. Don’t throw all your money in the bank. When the EMP runs through your neighborhood it will shut off those ATMs permanently. How will you get your money?
Keep a healthy store of cash either in your home, in a safe or hidden somewhere that is easily accessible without electronics.
Ideally, a months’ worth of cash makes for a great disaster fund. Your EMP goal should start there.
BULLETS
Whether you plan to barter or besiege your way through the post EMP landscape you will need ammo. Ammo makes every list of best bartering items and for good reason. Here is a great method to get cheap and reliable ammo for SHTF to start your stockpile today.
Store ammo for your weapons and popular rounds for weapons you may not own.
.22, .22LR, 9mm, .45apc, 5.56 are all great options to store and buy in bulk.
TOOLS
Right now, tools are cheap. Dirt cheap. High quality tools are being produced on a massive scale and waiting to be gobbled up. What’s the harm in storing multiple sets of wrenches, hammers, axes and sockets?
Beyond just the tools themselves, now is the time to stock up on things like mineral oil to protect our metal blades and tools from rusting. Also hoard some linseed oil for treating those wooden handles. Tool maintenance will be a huge part of surviving an EMP.
Also, stock up on sharpeners. If you are out of electronics you will at least want the sharpest axes and knives and saw blades to make the demanding work a little less taxing.
Related: Tools You Will Need When SHTF
COOKING OIL
The process of creating commercial cooking oil will take a huge hit following an EMP. The large harvesting machinery and the manufacturing machinery that produces the oil will all be off line following an EMP. Cooking oil is one of those items that most preppers forget about. Right now, you can buy basic cooking oil for less than $3 a bottle.
BOOKS
While we all have access to the oracle through our phones or computers it won’t be there after an EMP. Some experts think that the effects of an EMP will not be completely felt by all electronics, I can promise you that our intricate network of information will fall apart after a EMP, even if they are right.
Suddenly you will be left with only the hard copy information that exists on your book shelves.
- First Aid
- Gardening
- Repairs
- Home Maintenance
- Self Defense
- Philosophy
- Prepping (of course)
- Homesteading
These are all great options for the average person to have on their shelves.
WATER IN MANY WAYS
After an EMP water will become a gamble. While taps may work for a limited time, there is no assurance that we will have clean and safe water coming out of them. In order to prepare for this, you must start hording water today.
Do not depend on one source for your post EMP water. Instead, take a tiered approach to water storage and maximize your methods for water procurement.
You should have access to plenty of the water that comes from the sky. Rainwater collection is a crucial method for hoarding water. While the 55-gallon barrels work well, you may just want to make the investment in a massive 1200 gallon cistern.
Retail water can be purchased and stored as well, or you can use tap water to fill things like waterbricks for the future. If you do store retail water just be sure it gets cycled through because the cheap plastics will no doubt leech toxins into your water over time.
MEDICINES
Medicines are tricky. You gotta have em and you should most definitely hoard them but you should also be careful when it comes to cycling them out. Unlike food you can’t just pull and older bottle of Tylenol out of the cabinet and have it for dinner. That is, unless you don’t want to worry about the EMP anymore.
After a medicine expires its effectiveness will begin to decrease and this will make it harder to dose properly.
When it comes to hoarding meds, I think you have to take a loss on some items. It’s a bet. When meds get close to expiration start asking around. Someone will need them. Buy a fresh stock and start the process again.
Spend a little extra and buy things like children’s medications even if you don’t have kids. These will be gold in a collapse.
Related: The Hidden Truth About Taking Expired Medications
FIRST AID
Filth. That is what comes to mind when I think of a post EMP world.
Filth, pests and the diseases they harbor. Remember, waste will sit around, trash will sit around. You will be working and moving more than usual to survive. You are going to get cut and you are going to get sick.
Along with basic first aid you should also hoard the materials needed to setup a simple quarantine. Our scientists will not be working around the clock to create vaccines for illnesses anymore. It will be up to good hygiene, immunity and the ability to quarantine the sick.
- Rolls of plastic
- N95 Masks
- Rubber Gloves
- Plenty of Soap
- Feet Covers
- Coveralls
TRASH BAGS
Trash trucks are broken down, the water system is compromised but all your trash and excrement must go somewhere. Do you have a plan for that? Trash bags will give you options when it comes to how you handle your waste.
This will affect your general health exponentially. It will keep pests away from your home and you will limit your exposure to the harmful bacteria both in pests and in waste. Sickness will be one of the biggest killers in a post EMP world.
Starting a Stockpile
I subscribe to three hard and fast methods of stockpiling or hoarding items for a collapse. These methods will give you options based on where you are financially as well as where you are on the rungs of preparedness.
SUPERMARKET HOARD
The supermarket hoard is a slow and plodding process that involves buying a handful of small extra items each trip to the supermarket. This is how you build a strong first aid haul or how you slowly gather your lighters and trash bags.
Think about it this way. You hit the supermarket about 52 times a year. If you grab an extra box of trash bags half the time imagine what you could have by the end of one year!
BULK PURCHASE
If you are in a hurry and have the means you can also bulk purchase items. This will work best if you can get neighbors or other preppers to join in on the purchase. When it comes to things like ammo this is your only option.
The bulk purchase will consistently get you more for your money, but you must have a chunk of money to make the purchase. Do not make bulk purchases on credit unless you are paying them off quickly.
DISCOUNT EXPLORER
If you have the time and the inclination you can also hunt for hoarding deals. Mastering the world of coupons and discounts will allow you to build your stockpile fast and at a great price. The world of discount can offer you incredible benefits.
Of course, the only problem with discounts is they are inconsistent.
Use a combination of all three methods to assure you are hoarding all the items you need to survive an EMP.
You may also like:
This Food Lasts For Years Without Refrigeration (Video)
When It Comes To EMP Preparedness You Only Have Two Choices
15 Things You Think You Know About Faraday Cages But You Don’t
Good article, however, I will point out a common misconception related to what was said about medications.
Some medications become less effective over time while other medications actually become stronger, and the problem becomes over dosage rather than ineffectiveness.
One example would be a medication with a high dose, that has additives to cause it to release over time. Another example is a medication that chemically deteriorates into a different, related chemical that has increased side effects, or affects the dosage.
Modern medicines are simply chemicals in many cases, and subject to the wide variety that chemicals may break down or change over time, or due to temperature, light, and contamination.
I agree. You have to research the meds. Not all are safe after the expiration date. Granted some only lose potency but others are dangerous.
Great concise article on what and how to start to start storing for use and barter!
i know people scoff at EMP”s how do u think an attac on the US will come about?If your not going to flatten everything and walk in with Tanks then it will be by economy. People will come tigether for survivle and direction, basic needs will be 1st on the list. these 10 things are right in there.
Great and simple article for beginner.
Great article and really important things to consider when facing the possibility of life without electricity. As far as water and tools, we plan on relying on an Emergency Well Tube (emergencywelltube.com) to maintain access to our well water in a worst case scenario. Also a good idea to turn off your power and test your plans!
When I was a kid, trash and garbage were handled in two different ways. Food garbage was collected by Henry Jankowski who owned a pig farm. The garbage went to the pigs. The garbage can had better not contain anything but food scraps otherwise it was dumped on the street.
Boxes, cans, jars etc went into the incinerator in the yard. After they were burned so that there was no food left in them, they were collected by the trash man. It was a private individual who came around and collected metal and glass. He sold it and made a living off of recyclables.
Not much was in plastic and burning plastic gives off noxious fumes. I don’t ever remember having stuff encased in plastic as we see today. Not knowing better, we probably would have burned it.
In an end of the world situation let me present this scenario:
Everything vegetable will either get eaten or go in the compost pile.
Everything meat will be eaten. Bones, when all food value has been extracted from them will be used as our forefathers used them. Buttons, needles and other tools. Whatever cannot be used will be smashed into small pieces and buried in the garden for fertilizer. Bone meal is an excellent fertilizer.
Plastics will be reused until they no longer can be used. They will disappear soon as plastics are a petroleum based item and that will be a disappearing item.
Tin cans will be recycled. They can be used as caltrops and other delaying devices. They can be cut open and flattened and used as roofing material. There will be other uses that do not occur to me at this moment but inventiveness will once again come to the fore.
Glass will be precious. Glass jars and bottles will be saved, cleaned out and reused over and over.
Paper products will be used and then will be used for fuel.
Toilet paper will be burned or buried. Unless someone knows factually better, I would suggest that burning will save room in your pit toilet and will make handling the human waste easier.
While the women may say uewww! No Way! Sanitary cloth products will be washed and reused. I notice that this article didn’t mention either T.P. or women’s sanitary products. May not be necessary to survive, but sure make an otherwise nasty brutal life pleasanter. Old fashioned sanitary napkins will be the most sought after product.
The old fashioned backyard incinerator will once again become a fixture at each house. Burning is the most sanitary way to dispose of disease harboring items. While some urge warnings against open fires drawing unwanted attention, unless it is a huge column of black smoke, there will be so much smoke in the air after an EOTW event that where it is located will be next to impossible. Having just experienced the Thomas fire, I can definitely state that without the column of smoke emanating from a particular house, it was impossible to tell where the fire was. The website Next Door was daily filled with comments like, “Does anybody know where that smoke is coming from?”
as we were all concerned with the shifting wind that we might suddenly have to evacuate again.
By the way, Claude, if you are interested and read this, I would be happy to write an article about how a cool, calm and collected prepper reacts when compelled to move out in the face of fire at 0400 in the morning. Hardeharharhar.
Just post an answer to this post and tell me where to send the article if you want to have a dose of reality.
Well, I, for one, would DEFINITELY be interested to read that article!
Well, I, for one, would be VERY interested to read such an article! I’m sure you learned some things from the too-real event that you might not have been able to anticipate.
Ha! I have never met a Chuck that I have liked and you are no exception, cocky prick.
Sir, you imply you have actually met LCC. Very doubtful indeed. With your (troll) attitude, one can only assume you will become one of the first casualties of SHTF. The chip on your shoulder has effected your eyesight.
Gettin Old,
I would have to agree – there is no call for that type of comment.
I have also never met LCC, but I can tell you from multiple posts on this site that he has always, to my knowledge, been respectful, and seems knowledgeable and committed to helping others prepare for any SHTF scenario.
I find his comments to be informative and interesting, but what do I know? I’m just on here to learn from others, and contribute where I can.
Maybe, if I was on here to tear other people down in order to feel better about my tiny penis – then I would see things from FYC’s point of view. 🙂
Why did you have to trash this important page with your foul name and disgusting language?
We don’t get on this web site to read smut you posted about our friend left coast chuck. We try to share experiences and knowledge to help each other to be more prepared when bad things happen and we do it with dignity and respect. 100% agreement is never expected but 100% mutual respect is. If you want to bash people I’m sure there are many tabloids who would be happy to post your comments.
FUCHUCK…TOO FUNNY!!! but true.
Back atcha, you fake prepper coward. You don’t even have the balls to leave your handle! Also you must be a wizard with the English language, using all those manly adjectives?
LCC,
Am I guessing right by your Hardeharharhar that Mr Murphy and his laws may have involved themselves in your well laid plans?
Sounds like a fun and interesting read – you should definitely write up the experience.
Yes, that was a caustic comment on my “cool, calm and collected.” As I drove away, I was complimenting myself on our smooth, fast exit from our home, just as I had planned — except for a few minor glitches. My best take-away from the experience is to make a list of the items you need to take away from your home. On the list note the location in the home where the item is normally kept and try to always ensure that the item is kept in that location. After using it, make sure it is returned to its place that you have on the list. Add up the number of boxes, bags, backpacks that you should be loading if you follow your list. Just before you jump in your car to take off, count the number of bags you have in your car. A description on your list of what the bag should look like is helpful in determining which bag is missing.
That’s the very short course. If you do nothing else, please get started on the check list today. It will save you time and dismay.
Thanks everyone for the kind comments. I try to be positive in my posts and try to offer information that I either personally know or have studied. It’s not that I am so smart, it is just that I usually have made the same mistake, too often and finally, after all these years, have started to catch on — sometimes.
Mr. Davis says he reads all these comments, so perhaps he will invite me to write the whole “fun” adventure. I can laugh about my mistakes only because I didn’t lose my home to the fire. I am quite sure the poor folks who did lose their homes are unable to find any humor in the situation at all. My wife and I have lived in this house for 50 years next month and fifty years of our lives are within these walls. It would be devastating to have that much of your life wrenched away. I can’t imagine it.
Items which are irreplaceable in natural crises are family photos, letters, and older legal documents. All such should be in containers easy to load out and kept in consistent places within an abode.
Otherwise I’m in full agreement with LCC’s remarks, and wonder about that FYC cretin. Almost certainly an urban anarchist parasite.
Enigma,
100% agreed about the personal documents, and about FYC.
I keep a briefcase with all of my personal documents ready, and in a known place. This includes:
Birth Certificates, contracts, deeds, insurance policies, car and other titles, any digital scans of old photos, documents, emails, passwords, and miscellanious on a terabyte drive, etc.
My policy is that – If it is scattered throughout the house then half of it will be lost.
It also makes it very easy to find things when I need them… they can all be found in the same lock box at any time if needed during the normal business of living life.
PS – FYC can go kick rocks. What a great bunch of folks on this site. 🙂
If I know women (after circa 65 years experience with them probably do), there will be annotated photo albums and other familial impedimenta. All of that should be in one ‘social’ room so it can be raked from shelves, cabinets, etc. into a water-proof container. Maybe the RubberMaid kind.
Samsonite hard-shell briefcase indeed works for smaller stuff and documents. As for a terabyte hard drive, must keep an eye on changing tech. The shift from parallel to serial interfaces was a problem.
You are a re righteous dude in my book, left coast chuck. Would be proud to be one of the “good” survivors with ya, if (when) it comes to that.
A modern-day product called a menstrual cup can be washed and re-used and is gaining popularity among pre-menopausal women. A very good option, but comes in different sizes and styles, and a woman would be wise to test and acquire one that is most comfortable for her.
Scooter – thanks for the info. Being a man I never heard of this, but it is good info to pass on to the females. 🙂
LC Chuck, could well see you and ClergyLady collaborating on realistic prepper articles.
You for an urban perspective, she for a rural-subsistence one. She’s been in this prepper / survivalist game for circa 60 years, but needs an editor.
Many of this site’s articles are unrealistic; indeed likely ‘controversial’ simply to get eyes, thus to incite clicks and comment. AKA ‘click-bait’ for advertisers..
Yet, as with broadcast-cable Multinational Corporate Media, any Web site which thus destroys its credibility literally throws its future away. Only ‘stock-in-trade’ news and information sources have is a fragile credibility.
Incidentally, agree with you on the Mad Max idiocy of noisily trundling around bristling with weapons. If preppers can afford to do so, they should travel internationally, avoid staying in bubble resorts and cities, and instead visit those places where locals live (often for centuries – even millennia) subsistence, agrarian, and pastoral lives.
Charitable folk even may be able to inspire natives with ideas and principles, while avoiding Western technology-dependent things. If so, go to those few places not yet broken by imperialist invasions and occupations. (If any still may be found..)
enigma – normally I am in full agreement with you on the issues, and I mean no disrespect, but I do not see the click-bait articles that you are referring to.
Most of the actual articles on this site are relevant, and the advertisement links at the bottom are easy to avoid, and they link to other websites. Maybe I am missing something.
I agree that LCC and Clergy lady (CL) should probably collaborate on a few articles. CL has a lot of experience, as does LCC. I would volunteer to proof read the articles, because again – no offense intended, but both can get a little long winded at times. 🙂 I can get a bit wordy as well, but if I focus I can be concise and stay on point.
Controversial and non-standard uses of terms make me a bit paranoid. One Leftist practice is their trying to subvert prior dictionaries and encyclopedias.
We doubtless all could use critical editing. Nigh inevitable for an enthusiast to get too narrowly focused and verbose.
Agree in general about this site’s quality of _operation_; other ostensible prepper / survivalist, and social, sites much -much- worse.
Not to disagree on the sanitary napkins but they could be used in better ways as wound dressings etc. What was used in the early days was old sheets torn into strips. Yes, they had to be washed and reused until they fell apart. Hated it!
The medicine part like with painkillers could prove toxic to horde while insulin in the injector pens can separate with no way to mix them back together. But as for ammo 223 is also a very cheap hunting ammunition that can drop things the size of a moose. Theirs also lots of herbs to start stocking up on such as stinging nettle which has hundreds of uses or their even ramsons bear garlic that can have 20 uses aside from flavoring food.
Draco1264- There are several websites that sell heritage seeds, and others that specialize in medicinal herb seeds. Bouncing Bear Ethno-Botanicals is one that I have used in the past.
Even if you just grow a small personal greenhouse of herbs you can harvest some, and let some go to seed every year. Unfortunately, the greenhouse is necessary to preserve the integrity of the seed…
IMO, Monsanto should be sued into non-existence for their irresponsible pollution of the environment, and the destruction of the natural seed genome.
Instead, honest farmers who’s crops are cross pollinated by GMO species, are successfully sued for using Monsanto “patented” seeds without paying… even though they never contracted with Monsanto, or bought any of their seeds.
Monsanto sued into bankruptcy, amen – from your mouth / keyboard to God’s ear.
Corporate IP a bane of freedom. Real problem there goes back to an 1882 SCOTUS ruling that corporations are ‘persons’ in law. Thus enabling tyranny under the color of ‘law’. Only natural persons should own patents and copyrights, and even then for a very limited term.
SCOTUS holding was corrupt from inception, for its goal was to make exploitative ‘barons’ (railroad, steel, etc.) immune in their own persons and fortunes from prosecutions arising from the brutal actions of their henchmen.
Disagree about .233 / 5.56mm ammo. Too easy for small/light bullets to get deflected by vegetation etc.
For general-purpose uses, the .22LR, .308 / 7.62x51mm, and 12G are more consistently reliable. 12G most useful all-round, comes in a variety of configuration, and some shotguns feature easily interchangeable barrels.
In some ways crossbows are even better; gunshots likely to attract unwelcome attention. Yet someone skilled with .223 can make that caliber work fine. So long as they aren’t indulging urban-warfare fantasies….
Cash will be worthless in a few days, as soon as folks figure out the power ain’t coming back. You’d do well to store ‘some’ cash for a non-EMP situation…job loss, bank runs, etc
Tools will be had for the taking. A national EMP will result in 75-90% die off in a year, so there will so many things of this type laying around, spend your money on something else rather than stocking common items multiple deep.
Trash bags ? There won’t be any trash. For one thing, all the packaged crap you buy now will be gone (most likely so will you, but that is another story). If it burns, it will be burned to stay warm. If it composts (and you have any sense…heck, I have a neighbor NOW that raises a few backyard chickens and sends their poop out in the weekly trash pickup ! ),you will compost it, or feed it to chickens/pigs/dogs/etc. If your human waste disposal plan it bag and bury, you need an outhouse, or in my case, the same septic system with gravity fed spring water I’ve been using for decades.
I swear, some of this stuff shows common sense is truly NOT all that common.
Great reply and thanks for the exception clip on survival 104 !
hard cash is metal. Silver is not just money but antibacterial and people are drawn to it. Buy tools now because a lot of survivors will be scavenging and late sell them to you. Even a minor earthquake could close you spring. Trash bags have a lot more uses than trash.
I don’t agree that “cash will be worthless in a few days”. For me maybe and others who are into prepping mode, sure, but you can bet that most people will be in denial believing that ‘everything will be fine in a few days’. I have plans on what I will buy in the first few days, although I already have all I believe I will need. Plenty of people out there hoping to make a killing selling stuff for a lot of “valuable” money.
Interesting comment, andy, about a small earthquake and springs and wells. I have an acquaintance who lives in the gold country of the PDRK. He told me there had been a small earthquake about 40 miles away. Suddenly the artesian spring on his property dried up. In addition, his well water suddenly developed so much copper in it they had to add a special filter charged with limestone to remove the excess copper. It was not potable without treatment. That was certainly an aha moment for me. Never even entered my mind that an earthquake that didn’t do any visible damage could wreak such dramatic changes in natural resources.
I had an artesian well on my property in Christmas, FL. Out of curiosity, I put a clear plastic pipe in the wellhead, and read off that the source was at least 10ft above ground level.
Figuring how level Florida is the source could have come from fairly close, maybe within 50 miles, or it could have come from a source as far away as Georgia.
An earthquake anywhere between the source and myself could close off the path of the water, or open up an artesian spring that would drop the pressure – significantly affecting my water supply.
Underground waters generally superior to surface.
However, have seen cases in Florida where idiots dumped garbage into caves and sinkholes. thus contaminating. So a good idea to have well/spring water tested, also useful to consult geologist-hydrologist about ‘ultimate’ source.
Best ‘prep’ sites are in tropical / subtropical climes (between latitudes 30N and 30S) , & on mountainsides near falling waters.
enigma – I posted about this before, but I will repeat it here:
I worked for the highway dept (Orange county, FL) about 18 years ago, and at that time it was common practice to drill huge drainage wells down to the aquifer for the purpose of limiting flooding from storms and hurricanes, and also to recharge the aquifer quickly due to sink hole problems.
As you can imagine, all of the trash, street runoff (oil, etc), dirty needles, animal feces, etc, went unfiltered directly into the aquifer for years.
The days of deep underground water supplies being assumed to be clean water are long gone.
The moral? Have your water supply tested regardless of where it comes from.
Aquifer injections: A good cautionary for ‘urban survivalists’. BTW, building and operating a simple gravity-fed 3- or 4-stage household water-filtration system isn’t very difficult.
ALL household water should be thus filtered; remember, skin is an organ too. Some noxious substances can pass through skin.
My general recommendation for all preppers is to get away -ASAP- from North American urban and suburban zones. Now, while folk may be under far less pressure than that imposed by sudden crisis
Enigma,
I have to agree whole heartedly. Unfortunately, while most filters will remove particulates – removing dissolved chemicals such as fluoride, various prescription drugs, birth control pills, etc, requires specialized filters.
Probably, the best bet for the average person is to collect rainwater to be filtered. It still has plenty of trash in it from chem-trails, and other pollutants, but these can be filtered out with a simple bio-sand filter, followed by activated charcoal to remove any remaining odors and tastes. This system will work for treating surface, or any other relatively clean source water as well. (no petroleum compounds)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosand_filter
Check.
I am very close to Christmas and Bithlo. It’s all been built up, but oddly enough my house is supplied by a well. There is also a pong in the front of the house that is fed by underground water.
Of course we have filters, but honestly, despite those who say that bottled water is a scam, we buy and drink it because it’s ready to go and good for storing thru bad weather and there is no question that it’s clean and tastes good unlike our water that may have minerals or salt affecting the taste.
While I see the positive side of a spring fed pond, the reality of desperation creating panic and fear, I do worry about people seeing it, recognizing it and thinking it’s full of fish or other edible critters when in fact, some idiot fished it dry years ago.
Frank,
I had a house in Christmas years ago. It had an artesian well on the property which was awesome, but the water was full of both sulfur, and iron. You pretty much had to have some kind of treatment system to make it pleasant to use.
If you decide to tap the artesian well, then be sure to aerate the water before you use it. The water tends to become oxygen deficient underground, and will pull the oxygen from your body if that is the only source it has.
I fed mine into a screened open tank (inside of a building) using a toilet float valve, and then used the well pump to draw from the tank.
It is a shame that they built everything up around there, but I guess that it was inevitable. Still, it was pretty nice to be close enough to town for a quick trip to the store, but far enough out that you could set up a target in the back yard. We had some folks that would run their air boats up and down the street once in awhile too… 🙂
Ground water in any built-up area likely questionable. Neighbor’s (even your own) septic tanks, and chemicals (ie. for lawns, etc.) and engine oils disposed improperly. Run-offs of whatever (dog feces?) into ground-water.
In past, only used urban ground water for irrigation. (If used in sprays, avoid inhaling.) Instead of constantly humping distilled water, just keep some gallons in original containers on hand and daily use urban supply. But filter AMAP.that supply.
Reiteration: in any real crisis, North American urban situations NOT tenable. If at all able, get out NOW while you may do so gradually and in an organized and thoughtful manner.
enigma – I wasn’t suggesting that he use the pond water, but rather to tap into the artesian well directly. I agree about the surface water. It is only suitable for emergency use, and then only after being thoroughly filtered and treated.
I am surprised that he doesn’t have fish back in there yet. It usually doesn’t take long for a few eggs to get deposited from birds feet.
My prior wasn’t about directly using surface waters, such as a pond, creek, etc. It was about the doubtfulness of uncritically using ground water, ie., _subterranean_ water.
Ground water, whether artesian or pumped, has a variety of ultimate sources. Firstly of course rain, but also whatever anyone in an urban/built-up area puts into the ground. Such as lawn chemicals – fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, antibiotic residues….
So in any urbanized area ground water itself must be monitored, tested, filtered, and monitored again before ingestion and use in cooking. Boiling water itself doesn’t remove contaminants, it simply kills pathogens.
To be sure boiling is necessary, yet not sufficient. To remove other pollutants water also must be filtered heavily and/or distilled. Some European jurisdictions also irradiate water before its distribution using UV.
Agree about the strange paucity of fish; birds bring all sorts of stuff, ie., frog as well as fish eggs. Birds are a mixed ‘blessing’:such also bring viruses (SARS & influenza in the case of waterfowl), bacteria, and amoeba, and the latter can be immediately dangerous.
There have been cases in the US where someone swam in warmed surface water, inhaled into their sinuses amoebae, those got to their brains, and proved lethal.
Earth is the only planet humanity has, yet it’s not an unalloyed fun-fun-fun situation. One does what one can which is prudent according one’s resources, and then goes ‘home’ – if one has that.
enigma – I agree about most ground water and about testing any water source on an ongoing basis, but as far as artesian wells are concerned – these are probably safer than most sources.
The artesian well starts at a higher elevation than the spring itself – probably a lake in Georgia for Florida springs. After filtering down through the earth it remains under pressure until it is forced out of the ground.
The fact that it is under pressure pretty much precludes the problems of dumping trash into them. I worked for the highway department in Florida for years, and they had run-off being dumped into the aquifers. The aquifers are not under pressure – if they were, then the drainage wells would have become rivers with the water pouring out of them instead of into them.
Know about artesian principle; and agree, yet better safe than sorry. At minimum, _all_ water should be taken through a gravity-process home-built (thus home-maintainable) four-stage filter stack before storage/use. (Have an illustration of a system using recycled bakery buckets, but can’t post images here…)
Florida indeed a mess underground. Casual visitors / tourists don’t know state is honeycombed with caverns usually filled with water of doubtful quality. Excited TV folk occasionally yammer about sudden sinkholes with houses crumbling into them, which phenom should provide folk with a clue.
You really need to stop using the word “Hoard” as it pertains to preparedness. People who have the foresight to be prepared in an emergency situation are not hoarders.
Hoarding is illegal and anyone with enough food to wait out the troubles will be a hoarder and arrested. Your food, cash, and tools will be handed over to local politicians for them to dole out to keep in power. Legally, anything you have more than you need for a few days is hoarding.
Are you kidding? You actually think there are enough “hoarding police” to go around house after house checking? The people caught will be those who like to boast on how much they have or those who buy a few thousand dollars worth of food and essentials on the day of the disaster, thinking that they can not be traces in 5 seconds or less. Hint: Walmart stores have at least one main register than still tracks everything in a serious power outage. They can track your purchases using your cards and/or your face (if you are a regular) which is then linked to your cards and address. Want proof? Try entering those drawings they have by entering the receipt number, after a while you don’t even have to type anything and their computer recognizes you by just the info in the receipt. (They tell you, you do not qualify.) I don’t qualify. Suggestion spread out purchase through the years. Do not wait to the last minute or the “hoarding police” will catch you.
I am not a hoarder by my own definition… hoarders collect old newspapers, pizza boxes, and other worthless trash. 😉
“Hoarding” or more correctly stockpiling of supplies is only illegal in communist states. It is perfectly legal in the remaining free portions of the USA.
I agree; there is a huge difference between stocking up and hoarding
I read all the comments and remarks and I agree that the word “hoard” should be used carefully due to the fact that people will point their fingers at a person who is prepared and call them a hoarder and accuse them of being greedy and selfish and whatever else they decide to say as an excuse to take your supplies.
Needless to say to this crowd, how unfair and ridiculous that is because even if you were to find your favorite brand of rice and to buy all the rice on the shelf, the next person who finds an empty shelf can choose to buy that rice later, select another brand, or go to another store. The store WILL restock in 2-3 days.
Nobody worries about leaving stuff for other customers. Matter of fact when I buy gear, and it’s really cheap (Sale or clearance) I usually buy the last one or two or more. That’s how it works, stuff is for sale, customers buy it, everybody is happy, we all know the deal.
It’s not only unfair, but it violates our rights, as those laws were put into effect after establishment of a free enterprise and free trade system. And it targets prepared citizens who are buying what they want just like everybody else. It’s our right to shop freely.
Frank,
Never had a problem with that, but the ones that drive me are when you tell people that they need to stock up for emergencies, and they say, “I’ll just come over to your house…”
You’ll leave disappointed… lol.
Depends. During a crisis, persons who clean out store shelves ‘just in case’ and merchants who double/triple prices are indeed unloving abusers of their neighbors.
In small natural communities, such merchants may get remembered in dangerous ways. Local volunteer fire company may be unavailable someplace else when that merchant has a catastrophic fire…
Yet in ordinary times if one simply spots a sale and cleans out a shelf – fair game. In a JITI economy, shelves may get restocked overnight with ‘New! Improved!’ items. No sane merchant lets shelves languish long without goods – feudal taxes impel him/her to make every inch pay.
Price gouging is illegal in most, if not all of the USA. Merchants who jack up prices in an emergency get remembered in court with huge fines.
That does nothing for the people who got robbed, but it does serve as a deterrent.
Word ‘hoard’ has a dictionary definition, and probably a legal usage. Currently it essentially means ‘denying necessary resources to others _during_ a crisis’.
Nobody sane would be threatened by someone else ‘hoarding’ disassembled and flattened cardboard boxes…
Prudent and gradual accumulation of resources well before a crisis isn’t hoarding. The OP misuses the term.
Great information. Most people just scoff at the idea of an emp. But, if our enemy wants to take us down without firing a discriminating shot, that’s the way to do it. This country would be on its knees in days. Just think, no cars, cell phones or ways to charge if you did, no running water, no grocery stores. What you have in your house, might be all you have if you don’t have skills. Knowing edible plants on your property, being able to preserve what you do find, cooking over an open fire, knowing where you can get firewood, etc. Having luxuries like soap and feminine products will be hard to come by, unless you know how to make them. Diapers too! There are so many things we take for granted. How much stuff do you have on hand? Do you go shopping every week? Maybe it’s time to think outside the box….the electric box.
One thing I would suggest, make yourself a simple rocket stove, instead of relying on an open fire. First, hardly any smoke; second, can work with small pieces of wood and third, is way more efficient. Many versions on YouTube. Also build a simple solar cooker with a few boxes, a reflective surface, such as heavy duty aluminum and duct tape in case you can’t find wood.
Thank you for the article. Good feedback also. It will be so helpful to many….for those who own homes, live in homes privately owned by someone they know, and those having a comfort
level with their living arrangement where they will not be evicted for non payment
of the monthly lease amount upon the onset of nuclear /chemical/biological war-civil war-major terrorist attack(s)-an EMP-USA financial collapse-ICE Nine.
The ones with no comfort level as to where they have to live….or what condition their present health is, have
only the hope of goodness from another human. To all who are able to know about this list, think of those who cannot.
La,
If someone lives in someone else’s house (rental) then they just need to prepared to barter for the privilege of staying there. Nearly every person on earth has one item that they can barter, and that is their labor.
If they are unwilling to work, then throw them out and move in someone who will. It is not like the landlord will be able to rent it to anyone else for money, so if you are willing to contribute your labor, then why have a house sit empty for criminals to move into, or have the neighbors tear it down for firewood, and building materials?
There is no profit motive in throwing out good tenants once the economy tanks.
Thank you for your insight and reminder, La. We need to remember that “No man is an island,” that we are all on the same ship, ultimately. However diligent (and fortunate) we may be today, we never know what tomorrow may bring. And what circumstances we may find ourselves in, through a stroke of good or bad luck. And with that thought, do we really want to live in a world that is so dog-eat-dog that it’s every man for himself?
The one thing that comes to my mind if you want to be prepared the best, is to dig your own well. Most water tables around the United States is within 20 to 30 feet to get potable water. My own well is only 17 feet down , and it’ s been providing good water since 1843 when the house was built. I plan to install another well close to it , and put a pitcher pump on top so when the electricity goes out for what ever reason I’ll still have water.
Charles,
Same with my house. Shallow (“dug”) well. We did put a pitcher pump on top for under $100. I mounted it over the inspection port on top. It is nice to be able to pump clean water w/o electricity. Better than hauling it up from the creek (if it’s not dry or frozen).
Stock up on the leather seals. Over the years, they dry out and shrink, or wear out. I’ve replaced both a few times. I keep a couple sets of seals as spares.
duct tape in quantity for long-term storage will have the adhesive dry out. what about sealing the tape in a vacuum ‘Food Saver’ bag?
Bailing wire has been around for a very long time, does not dry out, and can be used for many of the same purposes as duct tape, although not nearly all…
…unfortunately, duct tape does not last forever. 🙁
Be careful how you store that bailing wire. It will eventually rust. Keep in a plastic bag and spray a little wd 40 and seal up.
Wannabe,
Good point that I forgot to mention. However, use mineral oil instead. It has dozens of uses, and doesn’t evaporate like WD-40. WD-40 has plenty of uses too, but long term lubrication or rust protection aren’t all that good.
Aluminum electric fence wire is relatively inexpensive and is much easier to work with than the old baling wire which I don’t know where to get it as bales now use twine.
Harbor freight has baling wire…
if you’re going to succeed as a prepper – learn now that poly ”breathes” – it’s air permeable – a poly bag isn’t a long term storage container …
Remember the toilet paper and paper towels!
Absolutely. Baby wipes are good for many things. Go with unscente dthough, the perfumes can cause skin irritation. My family laughs at me for doing this but that is okay. Every time you go to a fast food place always grab extra napkins, and in a short period of time you have a lot of extra paper products. I tend to get extra plastic ware as well. Put them in a large one gallon zip loc bag and viola, extra supplies.
I’ve been using the discount prepping for about the last year and a half. My local Kroger has a sale isle that I hit every day. Prices are roughly half of the usual price, and they put up multiple numbers of the same item.
I have picked up quite a bit of good BBQ sauce, which can make nearly any meat palatable. 🙂 Big bags of rice, beans, and other dry foods, powdered milk, can openers, OTC medicines, trash bags, soap, spices, cooking oil, etc.
It is just a couple dollars extra on my usual shopping, but it really adds up over time. I try to pick up an extra bag of dog food every month, and rotate them out every few months. The dogs will still have to eat too when the trucks stop running.
Folks who had to eat them claimed that MREs were inedible without hot sauce. Its use became so ubiquitous that I understand MREs now contain a packet of hot sauce in each box. I am not fond of hot sauce, but I like BBQ sauce on lots of things. I like it better than ketchup on my food. Good idea, DP.
Do not put much faith in butane or any fuel. I lost a couple of good refillable lighters to bad butane. When I returned it each time it was put right back on the shelf. I stopped buying a lot of things there. Even the expensive fuels cannot be trusted for long. Cheap throw-away lighters don’t last long. They leak and can cause a fire. Buy kitchen matches (strike anywhere). Dip the heads in melted wax and store for the future. Buy canning wax and store pounds of that in a cool place. A thin strip of butcher cord or plant fibers, cut the wax lengthwise, and press two pieces together to make a candle. For that matter, cooking oil can be used, but it decays!
Yep, socking up on tools and books that teach common things we need to know. Packing horses and mules; drawing pictures; farm mechanics; the gun and how to make one; Fences, Gates, and Bridges; handy farm equipment (repro from 1901), herbals; modern battlefield medical…
I do not like linseed oil because it doesn’t penetrate enough. Tung oil, which is toxic, will try to penetrate to the heart of the wood. Mineral oil is better than linseed oil, as well, because it doesn’t decay and will not grow mold, which linseed will.
Water! I had an interesting experience. A worm slid out of my bathroom tap. Not a garden worm, but a brown worm (stomach). If you cannot trust your water, remember, the ancients used cups and cooking vessels of copper, bronze, and brass because copper kills parasites and many diseases, and zinc kills viral infections. Zinc and Vitamin C are being used by doctors in C. America and S. America to combat malaria. Copper will kill even liver flukes, something modern medicine cannot. All metal utensils must be kept polished-clean, with a thin film of mineral oil on them. Cooking oil is acidic and can pit the metal and poison you. Wash them before using them.
Medicines: Very good advise! Rubbing alcohol should be stored, as can other things indefinitely if kept sealed. 90% alcohol is back and I think can be used in alcohol lanterns. Trash bags have multiple uses. Hoard the expensive lawn bags but cycle them because manufacturers are putting things in garbage bags to make them break down when wet.
A reliable lighter is the good old fashioned Zippo lighter. There is good reason why every GI in WWII and Korea carried a Zippo. Now I read a post from another prepper who writes an advice column and he derided the Zippo because he overfilled it and the lighter fluid ran down his leg when he put it in his trousers pocket and gave him a rash. That was because he didn’t know how to fill a Zippo. When I carried a Zippo back in the good ole evil days when doctors were recommending Camels, one quickly learned not to fill the reservoir until it was soggy. A couple of squirts was enough. By the way, a corny joke from those days: Did you know that 99.9% of the doctors who switched to camels later switched back to automobiles?
I know. I’m keeping my day job. I’m not quite ready for SNL.
Folk who plan to ‘bug-in’ should be advised that there are copper pans and pots available online. Use your favorite search engine.
Fact is, if every metallic surface in hospitals and clinics were plated with or made of copper (not merely stainless steel), many fewer induced infections. Plus, if every wooden surface, such as hallway chair railings, were periodically coated with Tung oil, microbes would be discouraged.
Aside from sanitized implements and devices in sanitized packages, plastics should be banned from medical contexts.
enigma – I agree about the copper, but also people should keep in mind that silver is anti-biotic/microbial as well.
While it is nearly impossible to find actual “silver”ware today it would be worth buying if found cheaply. (silver plate is fine).
Old timers used to throw a silver coin into the milk to keep it from spoiling as quickly. Make sure that it is actual silver, and not modern clad coinage. You can pick up Canadian maple 1oz silver coins (99.999% silver) for roughly $22 ea depending on spot prices, and quantity purchased.
Sadly, silver is too costly to get much used, regardless of the context. I simply reminded folk that copper is better than nigh any plastic or friable.
For distaff members of the prepper minority, attending estate sales may prove a good distraction from grim reality. Folk also may find silver-plated and silver utensils in charity shops. Charity and remainder shops too often are staffed by persons not understanding the value of simple ‘antique’ household items.
Elders die, and their relatives rapidly shovel the stuff out to charity, that which doesn’t simply get thrown away. Much the same happens with storage units; much value gets trucked to dumps or sold for scrap.
Good thread overall. (Except for FYC’s smear.)
However, paper ‘money’ will rapidly lose desirability. Metal coins, of whatever vintage, likely to become preferred as value symbols. Convincingly counterfeiting silver and gold coins with milled edges is very difficult. Plain specie wafers and bars will be suspect, too easy to fake.
Ammo. Kinds with utility in both self-defense and hunting likely more in demand. That in general is 12-gauge, .22LR, 9mm, 45ACP, 5.56mm ‘ball’ (unjacketed), and 7.62mm NATO. Most-generally-useful ammo is 12G hunting loads.
So many situations and things depend on whether and how US distribution systems recover. Any vehicle, network, and matrix in North America which has embedded Integrated Circuits will be disabled via any EMP over area from OKC to Grand Rapids. (That means y’all too, Canadians, so you have skin in this bad game.)
In any protracted crisis, wild animal populations rapidly rebound. Not just deer and rabbits, but also the critters which prey on them. Coyotes and wolves, and wild dog packs.
For an entertaining read based on a post-nuclear scenario, see the novel ‘Alas, Babylon’.
Enigma there are more deer now in the US than ever before and they have become a nuisance. Of course only us gun nuts will have the weapons to kill them. The Demwits will have to go hungry.
Libtards are now buying guns in droves, thanks to Trump being elected. Suddenly, they see the wisdom of being armed against an overreaching federal government. lol
I doubt that they will have the skills necessary to hunt for food, but will likely waste a lot of good game trying…
you know, shooting a deer 3-4 times with a 9mm pistol, and it runs off to die in the woods.
This is in response to the above comments by dp and gandolf (great moniker!). I enjoy most of your insights and comments, but I think your perception of the political leanings of those who grew up with, are well trained in, and even collect guns and ammo may depend on where you live.
In these parts, you can’t say everybody hunts or preps, but almost everybody loves venison, rabbit, squirrel! And understands how you get it, the skill (and usually patience) that is required. Guns are respected and valued. Most around here are furious about, fearful of, astounded by the city folk attitude about guns. And put their votes where their values were, as unpalatable as their choices were.
I kind of get it. If your only interaction with guns all your life was at the end of a snub in your ribs held by someone who wanted your money to buy drugs, and you grew up thinking meat came wrapped in plastic, and eggs grew in plastic cartons, and you had never been exposed to country living, well… I would say they’ve never lived, but maybe it’s more like being color blind. You can’t see what you can’t see. I feel sorry for them. They don’t even recognize fresh air when they smell it.
But out here? I’m sure there are what you are labelling “libtards” or Demwits around here, somewhere, but they aren’t voting like that, and don’t think like that. I think of what you’re talking about as prisoners of the city. If I call myself a woodchuck or redneck or even just a farmer, let them think I’m dumb. What does that matter? We are all pretty complex, aren’t we? Can’t tell the players without a scorecard…
Actually, when I use the term “libtard” I don’t care where someone lives. It refers specifically to a political ideology that embraces liberal and globalist politics and policies.
If someone is not voting that way, then chances are good that they aren’t thinking that way either.
I understand that the education system, television, upbringing, and other causes are to blame for most of the folks that think this way. They don’t get a pass from me. I was able overcome my crappy public education, and I am in no way a genius. You have to willing to seek out the truth, and invest the effort into yourself.
To anyone who doubts that the education system in the USA is at the root of the problem, then I suggest that you read a book by Charlotte Iserbyt – “The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America.” She also has many good interviews available on you-tube for those that prefer videos.
I see I wasn’t clear. The specific part of these two comments I am referring to is about who owns and uses guns, and are respected good hunters. They are Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Independents, Greens, and what have you. Gun ownership and use is not limited to any political beliefs in this neck of the woods.
gandolf
February 12, 17:29
Enigma there are more deer now in the US than ever before and they have become a nuisance. Of course only us gun nuts will have the weapons to kill them. The Demwits will have to go hungry.
February 12, 18:32
Libtards are now buying guns in droves, thanks to Trump being elected. Suddenly, they see the wisdom of being armed against an overreaching federal government. lol
I doubt that they will have the skills necessary to hunt for food, but will likely waste a lot of good game trying…
you know, shooting a deer 3-4 times with a 9mm pistol, and it runs off to die in the woods.
Demonic Party adherents likely expect to use ‘Authority’ to rob those who know how to self-provide.
Recommend departing urban zones whenever feasible. Cities are actually machines designed to loot persons who are value-generators.
I place an order on the third ( 3 ) of this month, it still has not arrive yet…when is it coming….
I purchased several prepper books from you and I only recieved the old ways. I spent almost $200.00.
Pam cooking spray is good except for frying things. We use it on the griddle for making pancakes.
I’m not sure what is in PAM, but it probably isn’t too healthy. If you pick up a few pump type spray bottles, then you can put olive oil, or some other quality oil in there and use that to spray frying pans with a light coating.
I buy olive oil in the gallon cans. It is a standard part of my food preps.
I keep hearing about storing cooking oil for long periods. It becomes rancid in just a few months, and would likely not be edible (or taste good) and have to be used for some non-edible purpose. I’m thinking that canned shortening—which also develops an off-taste in time) would be a fair choice. Otherwise rendering fats from meat sources seem to me to be the best bet.
Know about urban deer and foxes, and raccoons rummaging trashcans. Folk have even seen coyotes in built-up places. Wouldn’t be surprised if folk are losing housecats to the latter in the Detroit area.
Who knows what is traversing Toronto ravines? A raccoon family would visit me nigh every evening circa 2011. On good clear evenings, I sat out in the gloaming smoking my pipe, and the youngsters would approach and paw at my cuffs.
As for Libtards. just because you can kill something, that doesn’t mean you know how to butcher, prepare, preserve, and cook it. Safe preservation of proteins in warm places a real challenge.
Pump dispensers for veggie oils are good. For survivalist purposes, forget anything using compressed gasses.
All the articles about what to do , what to have , and what to learn are useful and informative. But one thing has been left out. Actually putting into practice your “bug out” plan. In other words, spend your 2 wk vacation living in a condition resembling 1890. Actually dinie yourself any access to anything produced after 1890. Requires a little research, but it will be very illuminating will highlight flaws in your battleplan. You will find that the folks in 1890 were a hell of a lot tougher and resilient than 21st century folks.
Amen.
Although 1890 may be initially too early a cutoff point. People may still employ innovations invented as late as circa 1930, such as rubber-tired vehicles and auto-loading firearms.
Might consult Amish folk, if you can get any to talk to you. Without getting into doctrine, might ask open-ended questions about communities of faith and community interdependence.
Good article and I found it helpful. Since I garden a lot using plastic to protect tomatoes and other plants from blight, etc. – I will be adding tape (duct tape and others) that works with the type of plastic to be used. Some work great indoors but no so great outdoors.
Restricting air movement in/out of a quarantine area will likely require several types of tape (plastic to plastic, plastic to glass/wood/painted surfaces, laminates, etc. When I take it down, I’d rather not deal with damaged surfaces, glue residue — yeah, minor problems… but mental health wise… it is my place and I want it to look nice, at least as best as it can given what the situation may be at the time – take care
Yes an EMP attack will destroy a lot of stuff. But what do you do if you Want to live in a city after you capture it?
Where will you get the parts to repair what was destroyed?
The #1 was to cause an EMP Blast is with an AIR BURST NUCLEAR WEAPON. Do you lnow where the bad guys can get one?
Elbert Jones,
After the collapse of the old USSR a bunch of nuc’s went missing…
Elbert Jones,
Sorry, I spaced off your first question. Get the water flowing is number one. This will probably mean getting pumps to pump existing well water into the local water tower. Start growing food locally.
The original power grid, and electricity to every home, are the least of your worries.
Priorities:
Water
Food
Security/Defense
Electricity is a luxury.
A bucket toilet is the best way to eliminate smells and compost over a 2 year period for amazing fertilizer. If you do it right, all germs get heated to death.
We have used one for as long as 6 months as a test. We put a camp toilet seat on the top of a 5 or 6 gallon bucket and layered with sawdust after each use. It was true. The best book I have read on it is called “Humanure”.
My favorite quote from the book.is about waste only being something we do not have a use for. The compost pile is covered with carboniferous material as well and not disturbed except watering during dry summer months.
Throw some worms into the compost pile and you are all set. 🙂
emp will not come…
we have been taken over already .
you just dont see it. keep prepping it will get worse,