What level of "prepping" (survivalism) is rational, and how "prepped" are you now?

[Grave Grumbler]

Just how prepared should you be to ride out a disaster, man-made or otherwise?  For purposes of this thread, we'll define the various levels of "prepping" as follows, mostly dependent on how long you can "ride it out" before needing to leave your home or receive aid from the authorities:

Level 0:  Nothin'.  Your emergency supplies consist of half a box of Cheerios and a cigarette lighter.  In case of disaster, you'll be first in line for some government-issue MREs and a seat at a football stadium.

Level 1:  While you don't keep things at home with disasters in mind, you at least could live on the supplies in your cupboard & refrigerator (assume the electricity is the first thing to go, though) for a few days to a week.  If the tap water stops flowing you're in trouble, though.

Level 2:  You've thought about prepping to the extent that you have actually bought a fair amount of supplies with just that in mind.  You have enough food and stored water to last a month, and you have at least the level of supplies suggested by FEMA at http://www.ready.gov/basic-disaster-supplies-kit.  You routinely keep a survival kit in your vehicle...just in case.

Level 3:  Serious prepping.  Forget being prepared for the sorts of disasters that have struck this country in the past, you're prepared for worse, more hypothetical ones; nuclear terrorism, bio-terrorism, hyper-inflation, etc.  Instead of a savings account or CDs, you have gold and silver.  You have enough food and supplies to last a year...at least.

Level 4:  It's not just a hobby, it's a lifestyle.  You're ready for the End Times, full-blown nuclear war, a zombie apocalypse, the complete collapse of society, etc.  You have the supplies, land, and skills to make it on your own (or with the help of your friends/family/survival group) for the rest of your life.  You either live on a survival retreat already or plan to go there when TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It) strikes.

So the question is, which category do you most closely fit, and do you aspire to a higher (or lower) category?

I'm around level 2 myself, and would like to get to about 2.5 or so.

[phantom power]

1. I think level 2 is a good goal for anybody.

Disasters happen, and being able to ride out a disruption of services, or an evacuation, for a few weeks can really make your life easier, maybe even save it. It also reduces stress on emergency response systems, if individual people have some basic supplies and preparedness.

[cbayer]

2. Between level 3 and 4, but it's not prepping, it's just a lifestyle.

On a boat and entirely self sufficient.

We make our own electricity and water and have lots of supplies.

At some point, I would need to locate a piece of land for growing food.

Won't be much need for money and although diesel fuel would be nice, don't have to have it.

And i would have to quit smoking, but that's ok.

[niyad]

3. let's see:

bottled water (10 gal)
candles (2 cases)
wine (3 cases)
chocolate (3 cases)

good to go for at least a week.

seriously, unlike friends of mine, who are obsessed with the subject, I just don't worry about it. having lived at or near ground zero most of my life, I just don't care.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

36. Nice to see someone who knows how to cover the real necessities!

I endorse your supply list 100%!

[niyad]

4. one of my favourite prep stories was a young woman I knew many years ago.

we were talking one day (after another socal quake) and she proudly showed off the several cases of canned goods--and her electric can opener. I asked her where the manual opener was, and she said she could never use them. I just shook my head.

[4th law of robotics]

10. Both sad and hilarious

[dimbear]

22. If you get hungry enough, you can open a can with a lot of different tools. For instance,

a hatchet.

[flobee1]

52. tent stake and a rock

true story

[arcane1]

5. I'm at about 1.5 and should be a 2, considering where I live n/t

[hlthe2b]

6. Level 2, though not in my car....

unless I'm traveling somewhere remote by car in winter blizzard season. I keep a fully stocked emergency backpack in the hall closet, which pretty much has everything in one spot. I have a butane burner and extra canisters in a kitchen cabinet ready to go and solar/back-up battery flashlights available in nearly every room and in the car. I do keep a windup weatherband radio/cellphone charger in the car and a Swiss Army knife device that includes a seat belt cutter and a tool to break the window. And I always have a -25 degree rated sleeping bag in the back of the car in winter time. Snowshoes too if I'm going somewhere prone to winter road closures.

Most of mine has comes from international work/travel and backcountry skiing/camping. But, I add a few items to plan for winter power outages and potential tornadoes. I have several water filtration/uv sterilization systems as a back up/supplement to boiling water, so I don't really stockpile water routinely. I do usually have two or three gallons available though.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. Since I cover fires now, often

I have part of my water stash in the car.

You can be assured that will be cycled more often than the water stash in the closet.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. As a former disaster manager

I make a point to cycle my disaster supplies... but I admit, it was embarrassing to get caught by a quake cluster with almost no extra water (I had just finished cycling mine)... so I got my quarterly ration yesterday.

When we had the electricity go out in the region, not only had a radio for myself, but enough radios to share with the neighbors. If we have another of those, I will be out there chasing the story.

[4th law of robotics]

9. Level 2 seems about right

Especially for those of us in hurricane prone regions. Power outages for days (or weeks) are not uncommon.

Maybe you won't die if you aren't prepared but life is a lot easier (and cheaper) if you have food and water stored away in advance.

[Lurks Often]

11. Simple way to have enough water on hand

is for those of you with water heaters to pick up a small hose to attach to the base of the water heater. Depending on your water heater that will give almost a month's supply of drinkable water right there.

[leftofcool]

12. We pretty much do what the Amish Community does..............mostly level 3

I have a year's supply of food for 2 plus extra for my neighbors if they run out of something and extra to barter with.

[southernyankeebelle]

13. Am some where in between 0 and 1.

I have few frozen meats some can goods. Candles yes. I live in a rural area. But you have to have extra money on hand to buy extra stuff.

[justabob]

43. +1 on the money

I would like to be somewhere between a 2 and a 3, but it just can't happen right now. At one point I had a decent supply of disaster food, but I have eaten that away because I simply can't afford to have that much food on hand, or anything else. I could survive a week or so on rice, pasta, cans plus odds and ends.

[southernyankeebelle]

44. Last year I order some large glass jars with screw on tops. I bought 2 lbs bag of rice. I always

buy plenty of pasta and I put them in glass jars. Usually 2 boxes fills on large jar. I even bought dry powder milk. Just to have it. But I do have to buy more can veggies.

[rbrnmw]

14. after listening to McDementia I getting prepared

Just in case this gets stolen

[Courtesy Flush]

15. I'm in a hurricane right now

and it's painfully apparent that I'm at level 2.

But it's a minor storm.

[SmileyRose]

16. I know how to turn wildlife into dinner

Oddly getting safe drinking water in a flood is more difficult

[aikoaiko]

17. Bathtub WaterBOBs are good investments.

There are enclosed bathtub bladders that fill up easily and can hold 50-100 gallons of water.

They are particular useful for areas where you see your storms coming.

[cherokeeprogressive]

18. Solid 2.5 n/t

[geek_sabre]

62. agree. 2.5 is rational.

storing food not only good for disaster prep, but in case of long-term loss of employment.

[XemaSab]

19. Somewhere between 2 and 3

I have seriously considered digging a well in the back yard.

Ground water is only at 8 feet or so, but it's 8 feet of cobbles and I'm thinking I would need serious equipment to get through there.

[Motown_Johnny]

24. Cobbles?

Cobble stone?


Maybe I don't understand but I would think that if you only need about ten feet then it shouldn't be to hard.

See if you can rent a small skid loader (Bobcat or something similar) with a bucket and an auger attachment. Use the bucket to scrape down as far as you can. I would think you can get at least a few feet of topsoil and loose stone out of the way, then put on the auger to try and sink the rest of the way.

[XemaSab]

29. Rocks the size of bowling balls

I am not digging through that action by hand.

[Motown_Johnny]

35. Hell, you can sell that stuff.

I work for a landscape company and we buy various sizes of stones frequently. Including what you describe.

Digging by hand would be almost impossible. That isn't really digging so much as removing stones one at a time by hand. Even the auger I described might not do it. It sounds like what you really need is a backhoe. That should be able to get a good 12 feet down pretty easily through bowling ball size stones.

[sakabatou]

20. Around level 2

[Motown_Johnny]

21. ~1.5

I keep a couple cases of bottled water in reserve and I keep enough food to last for at least a few days.

Batteries, a camp stove and a couple cans of propane. Some other little stuff.


I'm on Detroit's east side. No serious flooding is possible where I am. You would need to overflow Lake St. Clair and the Detroit river to try to get water to me. There is no earthquake fault worth mentioning. Nowhere near where a hurricane could be a problem.

Tornadoes and Blizzards are the only possible issues I can think of. If the problem lasts more than 4 or 5 days then I will start to need for food and water. If there is no tap water or electricity for more than 5 or 6 days I would probably be screwed.


Truth be told, if we get up to where level 3 or 4 is needed then I might not even want to survive it. I don't want to try to live in a world where I would need to eat canned beans and bury my own feces for a year. If a "Mad Max" scenario occurs then just count me out.

[dimbear]

23. I get snowed in for a week or so once in a while, doesn't disturb the force.

Water? I'm assuming the creek keeps flowing. It always has.

I'll just sieve out the fish.

[Mmm_Bacon]

25. Solid Bug Out Bag...

... and a shit ton of Army gear.

[Liberal_in_LA]

26. level 2 here

[2on2u]

27. I'm taking swimming lessons. n/t

[kimbutgar]

28. Level 2.5 living in San Francisco it's drilled into you

[slackmaster]

30. I'm good for about one month without utilities or access to shopping

I think that's totally reasonable in an area that has the possibility of a major earthquake.

[peacebird]

31. Solar powered battery backup system means water (well), plus we have a couple bags of charcoal

For the grill. Enough dried beans, rice, pasta, and veggies in freezer or canned to survive for weeks. I was chastened by the back to back 3 ft snows a few years ago. We live too far off main roads so plows didn't show for close to a week....

[FirstLight]

32. I wish I was more prepped

right now I am almost at a 2....being in high altitude winters has made me a bit more survival-oriented. I have lake and stream water nearby that we can boil if we have to...and I do also have a 50-gal bin of non-perishables, flour, powdered milk, etc...plus the currently stocked pantry and freezer. I can always cook on the wood stove, too. got candles and flashlights around, but we always seem to need more....


BUT - I wish I had more skills in regards to fishing, snares, etc...or train the cats to bring critters home, lol
Also need to figure out how to store gasoline, so if i needed it for the car I could GET off the mountain to my family..
I wish i had a solar generator, among other things...


Most of my prepping also figures that my friends and family nearby would be around and we could pool resources.

[Posteritatis]

33. 2 in practice; 3 and 4 make good brain candy.

Some of my friends will goof around with that one just to see how quickly we can consider stuff on our feet; we'll be walking someplace, someone will proclaim "zombies!" (or some equivalent) and the person they say it to has to immediately find some combination of escape route, shelter, supplies, defensible location, etc.

I dunno about actively preparing for SHTF scenarios on that scale, but I think it's a good thing to at least roll scenarios around so that you can have thought of them.

[riderinthestorm]

34. A solid 2 on both the home front and the 40 horse business front.

We have generators, feed and hay supply backups, cash reserves (inc gold and silver) etc.

However, I'd qualify that and presumably we could easily be a 4 if things were terrible. My sister's got at least a year's supply of food for her catering business at any given time, that would supply all of her family and ours for a year without a problem. We already grow 2 acres of food annually and regularly store 600+ gallons of fuel on the property at any given time (and we have our own well). We also heat our house with a wood stove and have enough wood for years. We also own a rifle and would use it. We have the equipment, gear and stamina to be outside in any kind of weather since we already do it now.

And we have horses. We could easily convert all of our transport needs to horses AND the older retired ones could be slaughtered for food if things got desperate.

It would be a terrible way to live but it would definitely be survivable. Honestly, its the emotional and mental stamina to survive like this that will separate the survivors from the victims in my opinion. Its a mental game.

Having been poor makes a big difference. Once you've eaten food that someone else has tossed as trash (or slept outside involuntarily or lived in your car etc), you are over the "mental hump" that might have blocked you from doing whatever it takes to survive.

[truebrit71]

37. About a 2.75

...I'd like to get to a solid 3

[Cronkite]

38. I think it is important & I am prepared to the point it isn't wise to discuss it.

Can't happen? The stores will always have full shelves and I will always have money to buy enough to survive?

Preparing isn't just for a disaster or severe turmoil; it could come in handy if you lost your job or took a significant pay cut. It could mean the difference between remaining in your home and living in a van down by the river.

I do not want to go into details but I could survive for years without spending a penny. It would not be comfortable or enjoyable but I could eat and drink fresh water.

House is paid for, limited off grid power, well water, several years of stored food, capability to grow more ect.....

[ThoughtCriminal]

39. 2.2

I could probably handle two to three months. I don't have enough water, but in a few hours I could top off quite a few containers.

[cliffordu]

40. I can walk out the backdoor with my little bag

and make fire, shelter, purify water, make traps and forage.

I can probably last for months in really bad weather (except deep snow) and forever in good weather as long as I can find water and something to kill for food.

(Think small: Rats will keep you alive, and maggots, when rinsed and cooked are a lot like rice in soup.)

I am in very good physical shape for a man my age and can travel great distances on foot, although I prefer the bicycle.

IF it's the EOTWAWKI....Well:

I'll take what weapons I'll need from the very well prepared who drop dead from being out of shape or starve to death or die from lack of water along the way.


High speed, low drag survival. For the most seriously prepped.

The more you have, the harder it is to defend and the easier it is to take. I wouldn't build a compound for all the supplies in the world.

[flobee1]

58. excellent plan

"High speed, low drag survival"

the only way to be

[Mojorabbit]

41. 3.5 nt

[laundry_queen]

42. I'd be a level 2 if not for the water situation

However, as long as I had a 10-15 minute heads up, I could easily fill a lot of rubbermaid containers with water. Right now I have a hot water tank as well, but will be moving into a place with a tankless heater - which is probably the only downfall to a tankless heater - no water storage in case of emergency.

My pantry is always full. I probably could eke out 4-6 months of food if need be. I also have some supplies in my car (small campstove for melting snow, emergency candles, lighters, blankets, snacks and drinks etc. I have a crank/solar powered radio that also charges cellphones. n-95 masks for the kids. And so on.

My parents have a lot of supplies also, live close (10 min walk, less than 2 min drive) and have a lake lot an hour away with supplies, firewood, propane powered RV, water from the well or lake if need be, fishing, fruit and nut trees, etc.

My plan is to be 'off the grid' eventually, so working towards that, although I'm not too worried about the 'end times', I just want to live sustainably.

[yawnmaster]

45. fill your bathtub as soon as possible, too, if you have one...

gallon or so of clean water in the tank behind each toilet, too; don't flush it away.

[yawnmaster]

46. Level 2 and above also need to be ready as an emergency gets worse...

for some of the level 0 and level 1 folks to start getting hungry.
some not all...but be ready to feed them or to defend.

[bluedigger]

47. About a 1.5 I guess.

I'm not really in a disaster prone area (the Four Corners). I already lived through the third worst snowstorm in local (recorded) history. It melted to nothing in about a week.

I think most major disaster events here would have ample forewarning. I do keep a full pack in the back of the Jeep, just in case. I also know how to make stone tools if civilization totally craps out, so I've got that going for me.

I should probably get better prepared for zombies, though. They can be a real pain in the neck.

[Le Taz Hot]

48. Level 2

I'm set with:
- Food. We have an extensive garden and, provided I can obtain/keep water, we could live indefinitely off of it -- skinny but we'd survive. I'm also an obsessive canner so we could survive JUST off our canned goods for a good 3 months.
- Camping equipment with survival gear
- Candles
- Acoustic guitar, Autoharp and Recorders for music. (Hey, it's important!)
- Firewood
- Propane
- Water filters

Should have more of:
- Water
- Cash on hand
- First-aid stuff like hydrogen peroxide, bandages, alcohol, etc.
- Medication
- Toilet paper
- Booze

Note: This is actually a good excuse to take inventory of how prepared you are. Got me thinking. Good thread!

[sendero]

49. Level 3...

..... there is really not much in the way of downside to being prepared. As someone once said "you have to be right every day, I only have to be right once".

[Macoy51]

50. I Strongly Support Stockpiling Food

I just stockpile guns and ammo…..and the addresses of my co-workers who stockpile food.


Macoy

[sendero]

51. Very few people..

... in the real world know of my preparations. And they include guns and ammo as well

[flobee1]

53. That is the way it should be

[Marrah_G]

55. yup

[Marrah_G]

54. At my apartment- very little

At my guy's house...we could survive probably indefinitely.

We've taken the time to learn skills, establish an organic garden, we have a wood stove and a solar generator. We also have a storeroom filled with food to last a very long time. I would say somewhere between 3 and 4.

[flobee1]

56. I would say 2+

and it isn't always about what supplies you have stocked up-its about educating yourself and living simply.
Who can gut a deer? a squirrel?
once you gut it, can you cook it? - if yes, you can cut down on the food hoarding.

can you start a fire without matches or lighter?

what was used as currency before dollar bills? gold silver and booze! Gold is through the roof but silver and booze is available, plentiful and affordable.

have you shot a gun? try it sometime-its a great way to blow off steam after work.

Most important! WATER! You cannot live without it
have some on hand
and have a plan to get more if needed

and HAVE A PLAN!
you don't even have to write it down, just think about it. What would you do?

The big subject on my mind at the moment is what qualifies as the tipping point?
What if the disaster is not a sudden event but a slow decline?
food for thought....

[Jennicut]

57. I could survive a small disaster but something that lasted months?

It wouldn't be good. I have food and water, candles and camping equipment. However, I am an insulin dependent diabetic. To stockpile insulin would cost hundreds of dollars and without refrigeration it would eventually go bad or at least be less potent. A small thing happening like a hurricane would be okay, losing power for a week or two would be fine. But some long term catastrophic event? I wouldn't last long. Diabetic coma from the blood sugar being too high. I really need to look into building up my supply of insulin.

[flobee1]

61. start simple

solar/wind power for one of those cigarette lighter coolers or mini fridge.

draw it out on a piece of paper-what would it take?
would a solar charger for a boat battery be enough to keep the cooler running full time?
try it and see....


with google and a good set of tools, you can do anything!

[Fumesucker]

59. 1.7 to 1.8 or so on average..

In some few respects a 2.5 or perhaps even better.

And I'm the kind of person you want around after a major disaster, I can fix or shade tree rig a great many things with minimal supplies..

[reflection]

60. Level 2

And been there for awhile. I think the number of people at level 3 are quite miniscule.

[seabeyond]

63. my hubby is all anal being responsible. one of the things that made me fall in love. so opposite

of what i grew up with. he is knowledgeable and resourceful. so, though we do not do it thinking about "prepping for survival", it is more cause there might be a time for the use of fire extringuisher, flashlights and radios with batteries, huge ass first aid kit, ect....

food, we have tons around to survive.

water limited. but, i am ok with that.