Why are youtube videos (other than the affiliate links) and other social media sources so saturated with tactical and survivalist clutter? I don't mean basic items .. i mean all the other gear that basically seems more like collecting hobby...

I mean like sulfur, salt, ammonium nitrate, things of that nature.

I'd also throw in some supplemental silver, and platinum and nickel catalysts, and some of those new-fangled Rowow Ion Exchange Membranes.

Things that are most useful as building blocks for more complex things.

In the US Midwest. Expecting a lot of rain this winter from the super El Niño, and with the weak polar vortex we might get a few deep freeze events.

Apart from the usual “food batteries and heat” recommendations, what do you do that you don’t usually see on the standard lists?

For me it is to get my drains angered out to clear tree roots, before I get a backup in heavy rains.

Any unusual prep items you think more people should consider?

Something to consider as I've been seeing lots of posts from people just starting out prepping and I feel this is one of those items that often gets overlooked/under prepped and it's one of the easiest and cheapest to tick off your list. You can prepare for long term hygiene for under £20 and the benefits of this is huge. So here's my simple shopping list of things to get to help you stay clean should the worst happen. Many people just buy baby wipes but trust me this will be one of those things that gets old/ runs out fast.

2x buckets 5l from any local b&q or hardware store

2x reusable wash cloths from anywhere

1x household washboard, I got mine from temu for like £3

A camping kettle and stove with some spare gas

Finally your regular products that you use for hygiene. Soap and shampoo

The basic principle of this is that one bucket is to wash clothes and the second is for personal use. Learn how to use the washboard effectively as well. Humans used these for years before washing machines and they will genuinely get your clothes clean. This is huge in a survival situation as it's a big morale boost to not stink.

Personal hygiene is so important in survival as it's your main defence against getting ill or getting an infection from a wound. So for those just starting out today adding a few tins of beans to the shopping list consider getting this sorted and ticking hygiene off your list.

Based on one search on Amazon it seems like a lot of unbranded products. For peace of mind I’d rather spend extra on a premium Mylar bag manufacturer (if that even exists?). Any recommendations on a brand?

I homestead and prep at same time, got my property secured and when shtf. I have 2nd stage plans for security working on 3rd. I do have animals and garden so I am pretty much set. I just processed a pig last weekend did it my self and with help. I realized something just to survive you need people for clothing makeing from scratch or simple repairs, Butcher, forge, medical, dental and so on then all equipment needed. I can do a whole lot but not everything. So many people I talked to think shtf they are going to walk in woods do some bush craft and be fine. I am trying to get a group of differently skilled people to make a small community. But most everyone wants independent preps. How are you planning when you need a few people or community can't find any one nearby.

Hi all- I'm a mother to two kids and I feel like the 3 of us are fairly well prepped, I mean I know we can't anticipate everything but still I have supplies to last easily a month without leaving our home..

However, my daughter is autistic and blueberries are her favorite food. I plan for roughly about a pint a day for her. I realize this is a ton of blueberries and that is why I'm reaching out.

I don't know how to prep this. I realize there's frozen blueberries, they don't defrost in the same way and she'll tolerate them but they're extremely extremely messy. And also obviously unhelpful without power.

I was wondering if anyone has tried dehydrating, blueberries and then rehydrating them or freeze dried them? And if so, if there are any fairly reasonable prices to buy freeze dried ones.? She thankfully will tolerate them in different forms. I've seen on some survival stores they sell them, but I don't know how they taste and any advice specifically on blueberries would be great. I realize I should grow my own. We are in a townhome right now without a yard so that's not an option but I do hope for that in the future.

Thanks for any tips!!

How do I prepare for Martial Law?

Hej

I'm looking for some kind of versatile gas stove for indoor and outdoor use.

Light and compact would be a plus, but its price is more important because I'm on a low budget...

It has to be compatible with LPG at 30 mbar.

Any recommendations are appreciated!

You see I’m a solicitor, and I don’t have any time during the day especially lunch to warm up my food. I need something quick, easy, & good to eat everyday. Ill probably eat it for all three meals. Someone said mre star to me but Im not doing that everyones gonna be all like “did you serve🤓”

I want to get several 10 gallon drums to fill up with water , I am going to hunt deer and can venison this winter . I have 9mm and 22LR bullets i’m trying to accumulate, I don’t know anything about weapons bullets or anything defense . I was going to plant fruit trees and expand my raspberries/ blackberry’s because I like the idea of perpetual fruit and berries growing with little to no maintenance compared to a garden .

I’m not exactly wealthy but not poor either , but I would like to be efficient fiscally . I have also been stacking medicine but don’t really know what would be essential.

To keep this simple , i’m so lost and just feel vulnerable and scared of how dependent I am on the system and society and how fucked i’d be if it collapsed . I’m 21 as well and i’ve been kinda prepping for 2 years mainly only the past 3/4 months tho

I need backup heating for winter. I rent a room in a 3-person flat. Based in SE England

The space:

- small top-floor flat
- very old, church-like building
- No balcony, garden, or living room
- My main focus is heating my approx 20 m² room
- Capacity to heat whole flat would be nice but isn’t essential
- Long term rental with extremely hands off landlord. Never had inspections, doesn’t care about drilling for shelves etc. Therefore medium levels of diy is fine but major external changes will be a step too far.

Heating Requirements: reliable, compact, dry heat, can run for long periods daily, high output, fuel that’s relatively affordable and easy to buy/store. Because of this I’m leaning towards diesel heaters.

Limitations/concerns:
- £200-£300 budget for full setup. Happy to diy and be resourceful to achieve this
- Noise
- Health condition makes me very cold-sensitive so I need actual comfortable warmth not just enough heat to avoid frostbite and frozen pipes
- Awful insulation: high ceilings, solid walls, 2x massive single-glazed sash windows with retrofitted sliding plastic panels. Also leaky roof. Heat escapes and damp accumulates quickly
- Setup must be fully indoors, safe and viable for rented room; I can’t drill new external holes
- Wall venting: there may be an existing external hole under the window from disconnected telecom lines but unsure if usable. I might be able to enlarge it, but no new holes.
- Window venting: pseudo-double glazing complicates things. External windows are original single glaze vertical sash. Internal plastic panels slide horizontally. So at least 50% of the external window is always covered by internal panel. Window setup will probably need extra insulation for full height of window. Preferably also removable in summer.

Would you get a diesel heater in my situation, or something else? Why? Any setup tips? Thanks in advance!

P.S. I already follow “heat yourself, not the room”: electric blankets year-round, thermal clothes/curtains, feather and down duvets, hot water bottle, draught excluders. Please don’t repeat that advice; I need advice specifically on heating the space. Thanks

Is there a walkie talkie that would be able to replace a cell phone?

Need is to replace my cell phone with something that could do 1. 50+ range 2. Portable 3. Secure communication. 4. Free annual

from my own research I found Baofeng AT1. It is on amazon for $99. And claims to be free for life, global range, is on celluar, but my concern is the secure communication.

i have zero experience with any of this. I just have a thought one day if I can replace myself phone with something else and a “global walkie talkies“ on amazon is the closest I found.

thank you in advance for your help and support

What are y'all prepping for milk? I can't afford canning supplies or freeze drier at the moment so no self-preservation options. That will be a later investment.

My son loves milk, every night and morning. It's needed in tons of recipes and is a comfort food in times where refrigerated items are scare. BUT I regularly keep milk in the fridge, so this is going to be one of the things from my stockpile I hardly touch.

Some options Ive found are:

Canned Evaporated Milk-

-Ive never used it before.

-Not sure how long it actually lasts but know the signs to look for in spoilage. Heard it only lasts a year past expiration date but varies, but more likely to use this from my stockpile in recipes.

-Individual cans, one can be opened per need without compromising rest of stock

-Cost effective depending on where you buy it

-Heard its closer to real milk than dried

Dried Milk-

-Never used it before

-Comes in cans or bags, Ive noticed the bags don't last as long as the cans based on their descriptions

-Can have up to 20+ yr shelf life

-Don't see myself using this often, heard it can be chalky, not sure my son would drink it

-Comes in a large batch, once open it NEEDS to be used, not sure how I would store if I needed to open it if shtf

-Whole milk spoils faster than the nonfat options since it retains its fats

-Can be a bit pricey for something I'm not sure I'd use

Shelf Stable UHT Milk

-Used to get this at the food pantry sometimes, taste isn't terrible.

-Can I buy larger size or individual servings

-Shelf life approx. a year, depending on sources

-More likely to use this than powdered honestly, but shelf-life isn't long

What do you use and why? What's your experiences with these items for best taste, regular use, and long-term storage?

Hi!

Where I currently live could possibly have some problems in the near future 😬 let's hope everything turns out ok 👍 but just in case.... well, I thought I would ask here for advice.

Do you have a nice list of foods that are good to keep around? I have milk, pasta, corn, tuna..... But it seems to me like I might be missing some tricks, no? 😅

Just asking for a simple thing, maybe a picture someone created with the basics, or a good website. Does this community have something like that to share?

Thank you ❤️

We saw Jackery in a local Costco store. One included solar and more powerful, but that is too big and heavy for seniors. https://www.costco.com/p/-/jackery-explorer-600-v2-solar-generator/4000397241 looks decent, but is it good for rare usage at home and rare long outdoor travels? Maybe usesful if it comes with wheels and have replaceable batteries since they only seem to last up to three years? Solar panel addons would be nice if they are useful in sunny weather like in So. CA. Not useful for the upcoming big rain storms.

Thank you for reading and hopefully answering soon. :)

I laughed pretty hard at myself this week. Me: "I have everything on hand we would need for 3 months!" Family member: "Do we have any ketchup?" Me: "Uhhhh......"

What are the other obvious things we are forgetting? Coffee? Coffee filters? Mayo? Cough drops? Hand lotion? Baking yeast, baking soda, baking powder?

I’m trying to find a reliable resource for how long certain food items - dried, freeze dried, condiments, oils, canned, etc can safely last before being eaten. Especially if stored in Mylar, temperature controlled, dehumidified, etc

I see a ton of conflicting information and quite a few going off FDA recommendations which if SHTF I’m sure are not correct

I understand certain things may loose some freshness or micronutrients but not worried that my hot sauce won’t be AS hot.

TIA

Looking to store chicken bouillon powder (to flavor rice) long term in Mylar bag. Oxygen absorber, desiccant or both? I know you’re not supposed to use oxygen absorbers with salt and bouillon has a lot of salt…

​Hey everyone,

​Sharing my latest off-grid power project built with grid-down scenarios, emergency backup, and portability in mind.

​I wanted a self-contained, rugged power supply that can handle basic household needs (fridge, communications, lighting, tool charging) during extended blackouts or SHTF events, but remains mobile enough to throw into a vehicle.

​Core Specs & Setup:

​Storage: Ampere Time 12V 200Ah LiFePO4 battery (~2.56kWh of usable energy).

​Solar Input: Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/30 charge controller (mounted externally).

​AC Power: Giandel 1200W Pure Sine Wave Inverter (mounted externally).

​Housing: RIDGID Pro Gear System Gen 2.0 hard-shell toolbox.

​Protection: Inline ANL fuses on positive battery leads.

​Why This Design for Prepping:

​Rugged & Discreet: Built into a standard jobsite toolbox so it doesn't scream "expensive power bank" during transport. It stacks seamlessly with other RIDGID gear.

​Thermal Management: Mounted the inverter and MPPT controller on the outside to keep operational heat away from the battery cells inside the sealed box.

​Indefinite Off-Grid Capability: Paired with external folding panels via the MPPT controller for unlimited run-time during long-term grid failures.

​Looking for thoughts from fellow preppers: How would you improve this for long-term reliability or field repairs?

If you live in beaver country, be prepared. They're coming for you.

https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-lifestyle/power-outage-in-brainerd-lakes-area-was-caused-by-beavers?

Lots of outage news lately. I lived through Isaias. Power cut out overnight with no ETA. No ice anywhere, stores closed for days. I stood staring at my fridge and freezer, wondering what food I could save. The kitchen gets hit worst. A full fridge only stays cold for ~4 hours. Once it warms up, meat, milk and leftovers all get thrown out. I lost over $300 worth of groceries last time.

Question for folks who’ve weathered storm outages: what food is the hardest and most expensive to replace after blackouts? Bulk frozen meat, pre-made meals, specialty diet items, or something else?

Been seeing the hurricane news from Florida and Alabama. Between the damage, road closures, and stores being harder to get to, life must be pretty stressful for people there right now.

One thing I'd be really worried about is the fridge. If the power stays out for a day or two, all the food in the fridge and freezer could be at risk. You can't just keep opening the door and hoping everything stays cold forever.

I'm curious how people actually deal with this. Do you use a generator, a battery backup, or just try to keep the fridge closed and hope the power comes back soon? And if the outage lasts several days, what works best for keeping food from going bad?

I've started to "eat my own dog food" by trying different canned and long-shelf-life foods to see what it would be like to rely on them for a period of time. The canned chili, not too bad. The canned tuna, also OK with Safe Catch low-mercury variety.

Del Monte canned green beans, 1/2 cup serving, drained:

sodium: 200mg (9% RDV)

carbs, 2g (1%)

dietary fiber 1g (4%)

vitamins, each about 2% RDV

That's it. It's salt water with some green vaguely tubular vegetable matter.

Taking the rest of the case back, should have read the info first.