It’s a fantastic evening here in NJ, with the exception of my allergies kicking up, which reminds me. Time to stock up a few seasons worth of Zyrtec or some other anti-hystimine. As long as they as stored correctly, they should last for several years without worrying they go bad. I think it is going to be a bad allergy season. They hit me pretty hard a few days ago, and as I sit here on my deck, enjoying the evening writing this post, there is certainly pollen in the air. Allergies were never a real prep consideration until this evening when I was hit with the pollen in my eyes and nose.
I’ve been doing as much reading as I can about the economy, Japan, inflation, oil, spending, unrest in the middle east, etc. It all seems quite cyclical at the moment, and one issue does not exclude the other. It’s quite frankly disconcerting and scary. When is the hammer going to drop? Is the hammer going to drop? Are the people predicting inflation correct? Who’s pulling the strings, really,and why? All these questions, and what I am seeing are saying a couple things to me. Feel free to call me out on it if you like, but I feel like I am indirectly being told to accelerate my prepping, find more ample storage, and stock up faster. I am feeling like I need to build a better “milestone plan.” Milestone plan, you ask? Sure. Every project, emergency, situation has bumps that are mini changes in the significance of the situation that can make it better or worse depending on the situation. In this case, I feel like I need to revisit Bug Out plans, Bug In plans, the goals, and what the milestones in between should be. Thoughts of the chicken and egg seem to be in my head, chasing each other.
- How much more food do I buy?
- What kind of foods?
- When was the last time I did a food inventory?
- Where do I store it?
- Do I place a large online order? Where would I store that?
- Do I get a storage unit? Do I want to spend the money on a storage unit?
- Do I bring some to a family home that is slated as a fall back/Bug Out Location?
- What other gear do I still need to acquire?
- Who else is going to be with me? Anyone? (the lingering question)
- What do I explain to the woman I just started dating if she finds all this new “stuff” in my apartment (not that she has been here yet, but try and explain away #10 cans of freeze dried and dehydrated foods when you want to keep your prepping private for a while).
- Is it time to move to a larger place with more storage space? Do I want to spend the money to move to a new place with more storage and spend more money every month?
- Do I just buy another month’s supply of food from one of those companies that have it in the packet and is freeze dried? That is a little expensive.
- Do I accelerate buying another rifle, ammo, and traps for food?
- Should I cache some or all of this stuff? How long will it take me to pick out Cache locations? How long would it take me to prepare the Cache and the Cache locations while working a demanding job?
- Do I invest in more vodka, beer, comfort foods, etc. that can be used for barter, fuel, and other purposes?
- Oh, and how the hell much is this all going to cost me if I accelerate the process?
Then questions like this pop into my head:
- What would I do if something happened right now?
- What would I do if prices on all items spiked in the next 48 hours?
- What would I do if suddenly oil importing were shut down?
- EMP? Natural Disaster (Earth Quake, etc… )?
The list can go on and on and on and does. One thing is certain, people would come west eventually. Another thing is certain, my preps have a finite end date on them if I were to stay here. Meaning, eventually food and water would run out if the water stopped running and food could not get to the grocery store. Not good. I need more seeds. I need better plans… They say most emergency situations have a 72 hour lifespan. Looking around recently it looks more like a 365+ day life span. At a minimum 100 times longer than the State of NJ is prepared for in an unforeseen event, man made or natural.
One day this weekend is going to be dedicated to preps, re-evaluating my Bug Out Bag, again, as well as putting some additional plans on paper, and mentally running through drills in my head. With luck, I can run some of this by one or two of the other preppers I know. Seems I just ran it by you too… What do you think? What are your thoughts on the economy, disaster, etc. Please feel free to let me know.
That’s a lot to think about! I guess with that much to ponder, prioritizing is in order, and I think I’d try to determine where the biggest gaps were and start there. I’d also try to determine what the biggest threats were and work it from that angle.
For example, you’re wondering about your food stockpile. More space? More food? That’s a lot of time and $ that won’t pay off in the least if you’re caught outside of home and can’t even get back there to use it. Same is true if you have to bug-out. Bye bye food supplies!
I know its impossible to think of everything, and it would probably drive one crazy attempting to do so, so I think I would start by what I thought was most important to get done because of the most-likely scenario.
I hope that makes sense. My coffee hasn’t gotten into the bloodstream yet!
Imo barter is overrated.
#10 is going to be interesting! Let us know how that goes! 😀
See my comments.
How much more food do I buy?
What kind of foods?
When was the last time I did a food inventory?
These are all kind of the same question. Unless you do a food inventory and find out how many cumulative calories you have stored, you don’t know how much you should buy. My goal is to have six months of calories for two people at 2000 calories a day. Your goal may be different given an apartment’s space limiations.
Where do I store it?
Anywhere you can. Closets, pantries, under beds and on shelves. If you have a storage unit, use that.
Do I place a large online order? Where would I store that?
I have a similar issue so I did some economic calculations about what I could store cheaper than purchasing from Thrive. It appears to be about break-even with buying beans or rice from the Mormons. Shelf Reliant is also close in cost to DIY.
Do I get a storage unit? Do I want to spend the money on a storage unit?
If you don’t have the space and feel the need to have six months, that is a great option. It also disperses your stores across two locations.
Do I bring some to a family home that is slated as a fall back/Bug Out Location?
Yes. If you can. Two or three totes with food stores is a good place to start. If there is more room and they will let you use it, go for it!
What other gear do I still need to acquire?
That is a question you will have to answer. Brainstorm about what you don’t have and then price and prioritize. That is what I do to fill gaps.
Who else is going to be with me? Anyone? (the lingering question)
What do I explain to the woman I just started dating if she finds all this new “stuff” in my apartment (not that she has been here yet, but try and explain away #10 cans of freeze dried and dehydrated foods when you want to keep your prepping private for a while).
I would tell her you were a boy scout as a kid and learned to be prepared. You are now a man-scout and stay prepared. Don’t use the word “survivalist” or talk about SHTF or TEOTWAWKI scenarios, just keep to prepared, sustainable, etc. Maybe she believes in being prepared too. Never know! You should be more worried if she learns you conceal-carry. Prepare for that conversation in advance.
Is it time to move to a larger place with more storage space? Do I want to spend the money to move to a new place with more storage and spend more money every month?
See above!
Do I just buy another month’s supply of food from one of those companies that have it in the packet and is freeze dried? That is a little expensive.
Up to your budget and storage capabilities.
Do I accelerate buying another rifle, ammo, and traps for food?
From past posts, it appears you have enough fire arms (if that is possible). You’ll have to evaluate your ammo stores. I don’t know anything about traps for food.
Should I cache some or all of this stuff? How long will it take me to pick out Cache locations? How long would it take me to prepare the Cache and the Cache locations while working a demanding job?
Caches are something I have not considered. If I decide I need to cache, it will be in a storage facility, not out in the woods.
Do I invest in more vodka, beer, comfort foods, etc. that can be used for barter, fuel, and other purposes?
If the SHTF, we will all have to barter. You never know what will be in short supply and what will overstocked. Bullets? Alcohol? I guess it never hurts to have extras.
Oh, and how the hell much is this all going to cost me if I accelerate the process?
Why accelerate the process? The odds of a SHTF scenario are the same today as they were yesterday, slim. You will never be able to predict the source, magnitude or timing of a SHTF event. Take your time, plan it all out, and do it on a budget. Otherwise, you are going to stress yourself out and go broke doing it.
🙂
I can relate to the allergies-it’s been bad lately. The best price I found for Zyrtec was at Costco, better than any drugstore even with a coupon. The generic anti-histamin (like Benadryl) is pretty good. Regarding the rest of the preps, I’ve worked on the shelter in place stuff enough with the space we have, now working on the bug out part. I agree things seem to happening fast, in a lot of places at the same time it is hard to feel secure about anything.
Have you tried using local honey (within 100 miles) for your allergies? Take 1 teaspoon of honey 3 times a day, and they will lessen, if not completely go away.
Thanks… I’ll have to give that a shot.
You crack me up sometimes. So, now that it’s months later, what happened with the girlfriend?
Unfortunately, Mr-Jones, that traveling for work a couple weeks a month is hell on a new relationship, therefore there is none… 😉