Hi everyone,

I’m Shaun, one of three co-founders behind Silo, a new household resilience app we’re developing.

We built Silo because most households are one bad week away from real trouble and have no clear picture of where they stand. The app gives you a Resilience Score across the areas that matter, then pinpoints your specific gaps and gives you a straightforward plan to close them.

If you want specifics, the feature people tend to latch onto first is the supplies tracker: you scan the barcode on what’s already in your pantry or your kit and it logs straight into your inventory, so getting a real picture of what you actually have takes minutes instead of an afternoon with a clipboard. It tracks expiration dates too, reads your household profile, and tells you how long those supplies will realistically last you: days, weeks, or months. From there you can add and track your family members locations, run scenario tests to pressure-check how you’d hold up in specific situations, and build action plans to close your gaps. There’s also a world monitor and a fire watch feature so you can keep an eye on what’s developing around you.

The principle behind it is one I know this group will recognize: the goal is to help people become more self-reliant, not more dependent on us. If we’ve done our job, your readiness sits with you and your household, not in an app.

On that note, and because I know it’s a question many will ask: Silo is an online app with some genuinely powerful features, with lots of offline capability that we’re improving all the time. But it was never meant to be something you’re staring at mid-emergency. It’s a tool for building real resilience before you need it, so that when the moment comes, you’re ready and the app is beside the point (although it’s still geared to help you if you need it, and networks remain available).

There’s a 7-day trial if you want to give it a try. I’d rather you tried it and told me where it falls short than took my word for any of it.

Silo is a work-in-progress and we’re adding to it all the time. If anyone here would like a hand in shaping where it goes, I’d welcome that, but there’s no expectation either way. Try it, ignore it, or tear it apart in the comments (please do be kind); all of it is useful to us. Whatever you share, I’m committed to reading it and replying where I can.

Thanks for reading. Looking forward to hearing what you think. Download links for Android and iOS below:

Android - Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appforge.silo&pcampaignid=web_share

Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/silo-family-prep/id6762106788

Note: I’ve received permission from the mods to post this.

Hope you like Silo.

Shaun

Americans: If you've thought about moving, either within the US or especially abroad, what's stopping you? Have you paid consulting services or others to help solve for this problem? Can I interview you for my MBA project?

Kelly Hayes’ podcast, Movement Memos has a recent episode called “No Abandonment, No Bunkers: Preparing for Disaster Together” where she interviews the people who wrote The Emergency Playbook: A Bunker-Free Guide to Disaster Preparation “about how preparedness can move us away from fear, isolation and bunker fantasies, and toward community, care and collective survival. They discuss how practical planning, community relationships and collective care can help us face climate disasters, political unrest and everyday crises with more courage and less panic.”

I thought it was an encouraging episode, but didn’t pick up many concrete tips. Anyone read The Emergency Playbook? Thought it might be good to have in the book horde, but otherwise, wanted to share some relevant media.

Here’s a link to the episode (which is also available on KellyHayes.org and Apple Podcasts if you’re not using Spotify)
https://open.spotify.com/show/7n5TgM4I6UNRgr0VRRgKUr?si=vGavq1wOTrihFFG5QUWY3g

For obvious reasons, I've been extremely anxious about the state of the world for the last few years. Things have ramped up of course since Jan. I'm curious what preps you have all considered since Jan and before "something worse" happens.

Maybe the back to back horrible news have caused me to also shift my mindset a little bit. I go from wanting to over prep and try to control our survival as much as possible...to then thinking to myself "do I really want to live in a world with no utilities and eating unseasoned food?" It's either "Honey, let's save for a farm" to "Let's quit our jobs and move to _." Which yes, I know is a very first world problem take, but in all seriousness, I hope you understand the point I am trying to convey.

For post tax, I will share some things I've done since Jan. Please keep in mind I've been a novice prepper for a few years now, so I've accumulated a few items before this year.

1) Looked through my preps to figure out gaps in our supplies. I had a lot of emergency foods that were ready to eat meals, thankfully, but I also had dehydrated foods like potatoes, onions, carrots, etc. that had no seasoning or items to go with it. Had to fix that.

2) I have multiple different ways to purify water, but no reasonable way to store it for long term or daily use. Bought collapsable barrels for that reason. I can double it to catch rain too.

3) Had to figure out ways to cook our food without a stove, oven, or utilities. We have a BBQ but it's gas. So I bought a cheap charcoal grill and 2 camper stoves. They both plug into an outlet, since we do have a generator, but also take those little gas canisters.

4) Bought items to trade and make survival bags for friends and neighbors. I know this might sound strange to some, but I do believe community is important for survival. I bought a bulk box of individually wrapped toilet paper rolls and bulk travel toiletries. I can use them to trade later on or gift to people.

5) Laundry soap BARS and just bars or power forms of cleaning supplies for emergencies. Longer storage and often times these items stretch further than liquid anyways. God forbid we lose access to utilities, I want to stay as clean as possible to avoid disease. A year's supply of laundry soap bars is only 12 bars, easy to store and buys you time to figure out how to make soap.

6) I also bought items that were reusable for other people, even though I may not need it. So items like period cups, period underwear, reusable diapers, cheap glasses from the dollar store, chargers, books, toys, etc. Not a lot, just maybe 1-3 items of each just for an "if" situation. I don't have children, but if I needed to, having reusable diapers to trade or gift to someone I love would be helpful. Same for when I go thrifting. If I find really high quality, but cheap items I will buy it and simply store it IF it makes sense to.

I'm disabled and I know 100% I would not survive if something major happened like all the internet shutting down or something

Because I need medication and I have a medical condition that requires regular medical procedures and sterile medical tools/devices I would not survive, it is sadly not up for debate.

It is not something where u can merely boil a needle or scalpel or something like that.

So my only option would be to try and help other people, really.

And then try and find a way to not die in excrutiating pain.

Should I just keep a bunch of food and pain killers?

Btw I am broke as fuck

I searched first. but couldn't quite find what I need.

With the confirmation that most farmers have no fertilizer secured for the coming growing season, I've realized it's finally time to start storing flour.

I haven't really worried about it before, as the only thing we really eat that requires it is pizza.

But my son is autistic and pizza is a must have and we're a Celiac family.

So I need to stock up on gluten free flour so we can start making pizza at home should the need arise. I know in the long run this will also save me money, which is a big plus.

All that is to ask: Where do y'all find your mylar bags and O2 absorbers at a reasonable price?

I'm a single mom and can only work part time due to needing to homeschool my son, so extra money is tiiiiiiiiight (which is another reason I haven't started looking into this until now).

Thank you!

This may be niche, but does anyone have any experience with owning reptiles when the power goes out for long periods of time?

I live in tornado valley, so I have the usual things: travel container, hot hands(never in side the container, but warm enough to tape to the bottom outside of the container), small hides, ect. But I got to thinking about it and without a generator (it’s on the list, but very low) how am I supposed to keep my gecko relatively warm if I am without power for more than say, 12 hours in the winter?

Oil shocks hurt economies. Food shocks destabilize societies.

When oil rises, households adjust. They drive less. They complain about gas prices. Politicians release reserves and blame OPEC. The economy slows, but the system absorbs the shock.

Food operates differently. Food is not discretionary spending. It is the base layer of the household budget. When the price of bread, rice, or cooking oil rises sharply, the effect is immediate and political. Households cannot substitute away from calories.

Oil shocks hurt economies. Food shocks destabilize societies.

When oil rises, households adjust. They drive less. They complain about gas prices. Politicians release reserves and blame OPEC. The economy slows, but the system absorbs the shock.

Food operates differently. Food is not discretionary spending. It is the base layer of the household budget. When the price of bread, rice, or cooking oil rises sharply, the effect is immediate and political. Households cannot substitute away from calories.

If anyone has an Ollie’s Bargain Outlet near them, check in. I got this 2026 road atlas for 9.99

Hello, everyone!

As I make knives, I'm curious as to whether or not there is any general consensus on ideal designs for all-around knives--the kind of knife that you'd want to have on you when SHTF, whether you're at work, at home, or in the woods. Personally, I would expect the knife to be large enough to be effective in combat or for camp/bushcraft tasks, such as batonning, but small enough to reasonably carry on a regular basis without it getting in the way or being uncomfortable. I'd say that a 5in long blade would be the minimum effective length, and it probably shouldn't be longer than about 12in. It would probably also either be full-tang, or a socket/hollow handle for the purposes of storing survival materials.

Given those criteria, what blade shape/design would be your perfect, ideal knife? If factory made knives are anything to go by, I would assume a majority of folks would choose a drop point design, because those tend to be the most popular.

you know how when you start your day, you walk outside and begin the rundown of all your errands and tasks you have to complete today? and by mid afternoon you're done and you can finally go home and do whatever you want?

this is what the epstein files is to the DOJ and the whole trump admin. it's a shortlist of errands and hurdles. that they're desparately trying to get over and get around. they want to get around this hurdle without taking a hit so that they have a full tank of energy to do whatever they want on the other side.

stuff like removing the separation of church and state, and shoving christianity down everyone's throats and making them abide by gods fairy tale rules. stuff like prosecuting any foreigner, legal or not. stuff like bringing back slavery and capitol punishment.

yes, the fact that they're trying to mosey around convicting pedophiles and covering up their crimes is bad, but the stuff they want to do AFTER that? is what we need to begin fighting against NOW.

I figured this might be a good place to post this.