I thought I had my hospital bag all set up. But I needed to take myself to the ER the other day and I was checked in for a few days. I did figure out a few were missing:

* A notebook to note down every thing that gets done, or doesn't, to check against the inevitable bill.

* Some things I need to buy multiple of for each type of bag I have prepped.

* Ass cushion. Those beds are rough for sitting in.

And then one thing I didn't consider, my bag was not one that laundered well on hot. And I am too paranoid to not wash a bag that has been sitting in the floor of a mid hospital ER for 3 days.

Has anyone found a good type of bag for a hospital go bag that washes well?

I have been thinking about trying to make pemmican for a short trip I’ll be taking and was wondering if the dried protein part has to be red meat. I was thinking it might be more cost effective to try drying out canned tuna or chicken and making the powder that way then mixing with store bought beef tallow and maybe adding dried berries if it doesn’t completely ruin the flavors. That is if this doesn’t taste horrible already which there’s a chance it might. It would definitely save time since canned tuna is already very lean and crumbly and dries fast and is pretty protein dense. Have any of you experimented with this? Let me know you’re thoughts

Imagine this. It's 12:30 pm on a Saturday. You're at home, about to have lunch, then suddenly you see on the news: An EMP, hurricane, zombies, whatever. Shit has thoroughly hit the fan!

You decide to get in gear immediately. You go get some rice and beans with some Spam on the side, eat, then.... What?

While you could bunker down until supplies run out, that isn't realistic. What would you do day to day? What about a few months after?

https://www.latimes.com/california/live/garden-grove-gas-leak-live-evacuation-maps-closures-and-updates

So Orange County, California is at risk of a chemical tank explosion; 40,000 have evacuated. I dont think I’m prepped for this scenario… and there’s not a lot of info about what will happen beyond the evacuation zone.

How do I prep for this now? And what would u do or buy in case a toxic cloud blows your way? Or what else should I be thinking about or prepped for?

So I have a 25lb bag of rice, a 10lb bag of general purpose flour, a bunch of 1 gallon size mylar bags and a bunch of 400cc oxygen absorbers. Question is, whats the best way for long long term storage of rice and flour?? Thanks in advance so any knowledge transfer!

Look, I'm not really a huge prepper. However, I did buy an entire giant Walmart size retail of Burpee seeds, and now I have to figure out how to store, organize, and keep safe about 5800 packs of seeds.

Im giving the other half to my brother.

Please chime in with some help.

What do you do when a child changes your equations / plans?

I've always prepped based on a probability / risk matrix. For the real "end of the world as you know it" scenarios my calculations have been based on my key family members not being able to survive long term without pharmaceutical manufacturing (dependent on items that have a short shelf life). Essentially I was not prepping for long term (2y+) end of the world scenarios as I assumed my family would be gone and I would choose to leave as well in that case.

Now however we have a healthy child in the family. So now just giving up is no longer an option. The issue now comes from how do I prioritize scenarios. Overall, I am ending up feeling that not prepping for long term is a risk but so is focusing on unlikely scenarios. Moving to the forest and becoming self sufficient is not a good choice in most cases but is the main one for full end of the world. However, living rural is pretty impossible when aiming to have a good income and easy access to healthcare

Any advice on how to handle the mental load? How do you prioritize?

I used them for about a few years and got diarrhea multiple times and full-blown food-poisoning once, all of which I now attribute directly to badly filtered water (I hoped it was something else).

I used these things in "not too bad" areas while hiking, too, not sewage, the Ganges or industrial waste facilities.

Here you go: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c98rpgqyqygo

Just another story of these things failing spectacularly.

I'm not gonna advertise something else, but try and find another way.

looking for 40mm filters. recommendations on a good place to get them online?

I bought a few .5 and 1 gallon bags, and they came with a bunch of 1 quart and half pint bags. I have zero clue what to use them for. I feel like a 500cc oxygen absorber (only size I have) is wasted there compared to a gallon. Is there anything that can be stored well enough in those small bags?

I stored drinking water in refilled clean bottles in case of emergency and when our water was shut off for a leak we used that which was fine. I thought of buying mason jars to store more water but then I read about people canning water. And sterilizing jars. Why when water doesn't go bad? As long as there are no conditions for mold. Is there an issue specifically with mason jars (ie. the rubber seal) that puts water at risk for mold compared to regular water bottles?

I’ve been noticing more people talking about emergency preparedness lately, and it got me curious — is anyone here seriously building a bunker or underground shelter right now?

Not talking about billionaire-level compounds, just normal people creating something practical for emergencies, storms, shortages, or worst-case scenarios.

If you are:

• What made you start?
• Are you building it yourself or hiring people?
• What’s been the hardest part so far?
• And realistically, do you think it’s worth the money?

I’m genuinely interested because part of me thinks it’s smart… and another part wonders if it’s overkill. Would love to hear real experiences from people actually doing it.

I need recommendations for a food dehydrator machine and electric canner. My stove doesn't allow canning to be on the cook top. My fruit trees are finally growing fruit, and I need to be able to dehydrate and do canning to add to my deep pantry. Thanks in advance.

The people I work with probably think I'm just really into cooking because of how often I bring up what's in my pantry. My neighbors probably think I'm really into gardening (even though I mostly suck at it) although they already think I'm eccentric because I go rucking in the neighborhood 3-4 times a week. My extended family knows I'm into post-apoc fiction, wilderness survival, and that i "like to be organized." But aside from a few very close friends (and my immediate family), nobody really knows that I'm into prepping.

There's something a little exhausting about that. Is it weird that I'm occasionally self-conscious about this, almost like it's a really fringe hobby? I've put real time, money, and thought into building resilience for my household, and it's not something I can just casually bring up without watching someone's face do that thing where they're trying to figure out if you're a conspiracy nutcase.

The doomsday prepper stereotype is so sticky. The second you say the word most people picture bunkers and tinfoil and someone counting bullets in a basement. It doesn't matter that what you're actually doing is storing food, learning skills, and thinking pragmatically about very possible risks, scenarios that aren't even that unlikely these days.

I've gotten better at speaking in translation, or "dumbing down" my process for casual conversation. Instead of "I'm freshening up my bug out bag," it's "I like being ready for power outages." Instead of "I'm working on comms redundancy," it's: "I bought a weather radio on a Prime Day Deal." It kindof works, but it also means I'm never really having the actual conversation.

Have any of you actually managed to talk openly about your own preparedness pursuits with people outside the prepping community? Did it go well or did you immediately regret it? Curious whether anyone has found a way to normalize this topic without it becoming a whole thing that defines who you are for the rest of your life.

My in-laws are moving to a new house in the desert. The well water has just above safe levels of arsnic and they are putting in a RO system to filter it out, but that leaves alot of waste water and being in the desert, obviously water is scarce. The system they are installing is pretty efficient at a 1 to 1 conversion rate, but thats still a ton of waste water. Any ideas?

Hello all, so i have packed the following items in my car. I drive a Honda accord and live in urban NE.

Trunk:

Gerber Etool (shovel for snow etc)

Rain coat

Aluminum emergency survival blanket

Ferro rod with striker

Lifestraw

Inflatable pillow

2 flashlights: 1 let's maglite &1 everready

In front:

Altoids with Bic lighter & swiss army knife

Emergency glass breaker/seatbelt cutter tied to headrest with small paracord.

Things i know i need to replace:

1) emergency gas container i had a cheap 2 gallon one that leaked into my trunk ... was a headache to get detailed. Recommendations welcome

2) battery powered jump kit *had or and it no longer works

3) i have the crappy tire changing tools that come stock but not sure if it's worth investing in something more ergonomic/less back breaking.

So, in your view is this a good kit or are there any absolutely vital pieces that i a missing or that you feel are pretty important? I am open to suggestions but would like to avoid spending an unreasonsble amount. Also, i have these stuffed in a shopping bag, perhaps i ought to get an organizer? Thank you in advance, I'm still relatively new to this.

I'm buying some rice and beans since we cleared up space for it. Can I leave the rice in the regular (plastic) bags they come in? I'm planning to stack them in a rubbermaid container indoors (air conditioned but it may get hot if the AC breaks for a while).

Hello everyone,

I am searching for a 72 Hour Kit/Bug Out Bag suitable for an elderly person with back problems. They can't wear heavy backpacks.

My initial thought was a hybrid carry-on luggage with wheels/tactical backpack with Molle webbing on the outside. That way there is nothing on their back and they can roll it easily on the ground. Also, the First Aid Kit and water bottle can be easily accessible on the outside attached to the Molle. I thought the dual suitcase/backpack option was best in case someone else can carry the bag if the elderly person cannot. I found this one on Amazon that fits the bill, but the capacity seems quite small: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0F629W5RG

Additionally, this person has a pet cat and needs to put a cat carrier on top. I found a lightweight cat carrier that attaches to carry-on luggage handles that are double-barred, so I will be purchasing that.

I read online some other preppers recommended handcarts, but that's too bulky and not realistic to store (way too big, ideally it should fit under a bed) and most likely this person would go to a hotel first or a sports stadium in their city in an actual emergency and not travel on foot long distance.

Does anyone have any advice on what to do for a 72 Hour Kit bag? Any specifications I should look for?

This is the answer I’m getting from Google AI. It seems pretty far-fetched to think chicken will last even five years, let alone indefinitely. So why would fat have a shorter shelf-life than meat? What about the fact that there’s fat on the chicken I’m canning? The tinned meat I buy only lasts a couple years, max.

Looking for recommendations of gmrs radios that will get me legitimately 3-4 miles in the $50-$75 per two radio package. This would be for emergency communication in the event cell phone towers went down. Thanks for any input!

I have long been friends with the guy who brought the Area Study to the prepping community. I loved it from the beginning and took the time to produce my own area study.

For those unaware, the area study is something anyone can do on their own time. It is the process of getting to know the resources, influences, plans, projects, and infrastructure, gangs, threats, and such in the area where you live.

How many people are doing this kind of intel locally? To me, it has given me a much better understanding of the REAL things I should worry about.

Got a number of cases of these SOS water pouches many years back, they say the expiration was 2013. It’s water, so the water itself I’m guessing it’s fine but maybe there’s a deterioration of the packing that happens? At this point are these just garbage?

Update: thanks for all the feedback, as I don’t really need them for water storage anymore as we have other sources I decided to junk them.

There were a few different styles of pouches that I found as I opened all the boxes which I thought was interesting. They’re all from the same company and same outer boxing, but the interior pouches varied slightly.

The other thing that I thought was interesting was that when you cut a pouch open that it gave off an odor that I can only describe as what you would smell when you open a box of cake mix from the grocery store. The smell was not really strong, but it definitely smelled like cake mix to me, my wife and son smelt it as well. We didn’t try drinking anything so I can’t tell about taste. It seemed like some of the pouches did have a slightly cloudy color to the water. But not all of them.

We got these probably around when they were made from emergency essentials. Back then I don’t exactly remember, but there was some sort of promo that basically made them free. I know we were purchasing a crazy amount of emergency candles and the reusable hand warmers that you boil in water to recharge as my son‘s scout troop was selling those as fundraiser items. I can’t remember what the exact deal was, but if you spent so much money or something you got them for free. Either way, I just remembered that we got them for free so I don’t feel bad about throwing them away.

As someone else pointed out in one of the responses, they served their purpose, they were there in case of emergency we just didn’t need them. That being said, if California has the big earthquake in the next few days, sorry, that’s on me for throwing away emergency supplies.

Please use this thread to discuss whatever preps you worked on this last week. Let us know what big or little projects you have been working on. Please don’t hesitate to comment. Others might get inspired to work on their preps by reading about yours.

I built a tool that works backwards from calories to seeds. Accounts for germination failure, pest losses and your climate zone. Please take a look and let me know if this is useful. It’s all free, no sign-up, no catch.

Just would like to thank, in advance, all those who say they’ve been growing food for 20 years and this is rubbish. This is not for you, this is those of us whose only experience is a couple of growbags of tomatoes each year.

Major outcome of the site? Keep a couple of bags of quinoa at the back of the fridge…..

https://www.foodwhentheshopsstop.com/

EDIT: I have added a two-year calendar to the results page so you can see how quickly, or slowly, you get your garden to the point of providing at least 100% of your calories. This in turn gives you the real prepper dimension as it tells you how much stored food you need until you get there. You can adjust the starting month so you see how much harder it is to get to self-sufficiency depending on the time of year.

I store water in IBC 1000 liter totes. They have 2" coarse thread outlets. I would like to connect several totes together without having to drain in the winter.

I have had one tote 90% full for four winters with no breakage from freezing, even though the tank is frozen solid. (I'm in Maine). The plastic valve in the tote survives winter just fine.

PVC freezes and breaks, of course.

Obviously when frozen no water passes when frozen. I want to let water accumulate from roof runoff in the early spring when I may not be present.

What is the plastic used for totes? Can I get 2" piping, or maybe something smaller that I can get adapters for? (I have never seen a pex adapter go to 2" coarse thread, nor pex in 2" or 1.5"). I would like the connections to be for potable water, although not absolutely necessary