In response to the post What if Hillary Wins? and participating in my first Q&A post goingray58 left the following comment:
List what you think are the 10 most important things to complete over the next 18 months to prepare. (this assumes post election is not good I suppose). Also assume like everyone limited resources. It’d be great if each step were prioritized … most to least important.
Great question and ever since I have come under the strong belief that Hillary Clinton will be the next President prioritizing preps has been on my mind. Just for clarity let me explain: I believe that over the last 8 years this country HAS in fact been fundamentally changed and not for the better. I see this only continuing under a Clinton presidency and am very concerned what the future holds. Racial tension, open borders, a divided country, terrorism – and a $20+ trillion dollar Federal deficit. All these things and more are motivating me to set a timeline for preparedness.
With goingray58’s question it appears I am not alone. 18 months would be approx 1 year into her first term. Regardless of the precision of the timing I think the following “steps” would help increase the odds of succeeding in a collapsing country:
#10 Antibiotics – Post-collapse life is going to result in a dramatic increase in cuts and abrasions from physical labor. The risk of infection post-collapse will increase as well. Having antibiotics on hand could prevent someone from losing their life.
#9 Fuel – Any type of economic struggles or collapse will cause fuel prices to skyrocket and supplies to potentially dry up. Putting away extra fuel will cushion any issues and provide an emergency reserve. Regular gas should be stored in metal containers if possible and treated with PRI-G Fuel Stabilizer. Diesel stores much better than regular gas. How much? As much as you can afford and safely store. Safety is worth mentioning. Store fuel away from any residential buildings and if stored in metal drums make sure they are grounded.
NOTE: Definitely add a pump to siphon and transfer fuel. Scavenging fuel may be a common activity in the future.
#8 Transportation – Transportation is often discounted but consider the incredible benefits. A car, truck or anything similar can carry supplies, people, even animals and cover great distances in short periods of time. Vehicles can get people out of bad areas to safer areas.
Consider vehicles types. A big truck might get you 13 miles to the gallon. A small hybrid may bring 40-50 miles per gallon. Which one is better in a fuel starved environment? Motorcycles, scooters, ATV’s and UTV’s are also options to consider.
#7 Toilet Paper/Sanitation – Toilet paper is not something that is easily replaced or substituted for. It is inexpensive and as much as possible should be stored. Make plans on how bathroom activities will be handled and gather the necessary supplies.
Stock up on bar soap, liquid soap, and deodorant as well. Lysol and bleach should be put back. Overall these items are not expensive and can be found at dollar stores and discount outlets.
#6 Develop a Bug Out Plan – Even if all intentions are to stay in place preparation for evacuation must be put in place. If for whatever reason a need to relocate becomes evident just heading out in a random direction is not the answer. Becoming a refugee is not the answer. Do the research. Network with people. Find a location which to go. Have a plan and the ability to pick up and go.
#5 Firearms Training – By far there are too many preppers out there that talk about guns, read about guns, and even dream about guns but do not really know how to use them. There is a big difference between punching holes in paper and using a weapon in defense of your life.
Find a firearms instructor who can see what skill level you’re at and elevate your skill level where it needs to be. Defensive pistol and carbine classes are a good step. You need to get as comfortable as possible with your firearms being able to shoot them with either hand, different positions, and at different ranges. Reloading proficiency and handling weapon malfunctions are important areas for training. Group movement and communication is also important and requires a substantial investment of time and effort to get it right.
When the brigands show up at the gate of your neighborhood and a firefight breaks out that is NOT the time to discover that your magazines are in pouches backwards or that the battery to your rifles Bushnell TRS-25 is dead.
#4 Communication – Information is valuable. It will be even more valuable after any type of collapse. Getting news of what is going on not only in your area but in surrounding areas will be extremely beneficial. Information obtained over the airwaves can influence decision making and planned activities – such as whether it is safe to travel through and area or not. An AM/FM radio is a minimal effort and getting one with shortwave even better.
For personal communications a few pairs of FRS/GMRS radio’s will allow people to talk up to 2 miles apart. Consider the advantage that provides. Additional distance can be gained using Ham radio’s such as the Baofeng UV-5R and more expensive options.
Don’t forget CB radio. Although much of the CB band in some areas is covered with profanity and other offensive communication it can be very useful.
#3 Firearms – Much like the 2nd Amendment protects all other amendments, firearms protect yourself, family, and supplies. In a collapse there will be tremendous desperation. Normal, friendly people will become destructive and violent. If you are not prepared to take defensive action against those wanting to take supplies – well, you may not have your supplies for long.
I recommend the following for a BASIC firearm battery –
- Semi-auto centerfire carbine/rifle. This could be an AR-15 variant, AK, Mini-14, M1A – whatever you feel comfortable with and can afford.
- Pistol – whether a revolver or semi-auto practice and be able to shoot it accurately. My current pistol of choice is the Canik TP9SA 9mm.
- Shotgun – Remington 870 or Mossberg 500 pump action 12 gauge.
- Bolt Action Centerfire – for long distance shots a quality bolt action in .308, .30-06, or .300 Win Magnum. Current choice is the Ruger American.
- Rimfire Rifle – The .22lr is such a versatile round its inclusion in a survival battery is mandatory. Hundreds of rounds can be purchased for little money. My current choice is the Smith & Wesson M&P15-22 with the Ruger 10/22 coming is a very close second.
#2 Stock Up on Food & Water – Pretty common sense thing here but nevertheless extremely important. Food. Food…..and more food must be stored away and then add even MORE. Water is certainly part of this as in physical water but then add water collection methods and filtration.
I’m a big believer of storing what you eat and eating what you store. When it comes to food storage everyday foods are very inexpensive. I’m talking canned meats, vegetables, fruits, soups and stews. Buy on sale and buy in bulk. Adding literally hundreds of pounds of rice, beans, and pasta can be done on a budget and stores extremely well.
Freeze dried food – such as Mountain House – is lightweight, tasty, stores for decades – and is expensive. If it can be afforded freeze dried foods are a great addition to add variety to the food storage program.
Don’t forget a variety of spices, flavorings, sauces, and herbs. Pounds and pounds and salt and sugar must be put back.
Oh – don’t forget what I consider one of the ultimate survival foods – pancakes!!! 50 pounds of “Just Add Water” pancake mix and a couple dozen bottles of syrup will make hundreds of pancakes.
I’m getting hungry.
#1 Join or Develop a Group – This might catch many by surprise that the number one step to take in preparation for a collapse is get a bunch of like-minded people together. Surviving in a post-collapse world where desperation is commonplace and evil can run free requires security. Patrolling even a small property front, back and sides with two adults 24/7 is nearly impossible. Being in a “survival group” of like-minded people who can band together when the Shumer Hits The Fan is critically important.
A few thoughts:
- Skillsets are important for members though intelligence, character, and loyalty are even more so. Skills can be acquired.
- Members need to gel and get along. If they can’t it will be a problem.
- Members must commit to be part of the group meaning they must attend meetings and participate in activities. Sure “life happens” but by far that needs to be the exception and not the rule.
- Physical handicaps should NOT rule out members. A communications expert in a wheelchair is invaluable. Going overboard on member requirements may eliminate those could truly be assets.
- Morals are important. You want decent people in your group. Those that treat people like crap now will do so and worse after the Shumer hits the fan.
- Military experience might be good but not necessarily. Just because someone was in the military doesn’t make them a wilderness expert or a tactical genius. There are plenty of people that served that shot a gun to qualify and that’s it.
- Trust comes with time and building of relationships.
The more people in the group the easier it will be to get all the tasks worked on that need attention.
Ok folks – thoughts?
JR
Great posting. You brought up a lot of good points and info that people should consider.
As always, excellent article and content. One thing I would mention is Garden Seeds. Heirloom seeds would be best but needed for carrying on. Thanks again. Keep Looking UP
Question on the bleach. I’ve read various things about longevity of bleach; some says 6 months. Can anyone verify how long it lasts for sure? Also, store bought water some say is good for a year. After that point, can’t it still be boiled or ran through a purifier and still be used?
I heard same that bleach “half life” is such that bottles degrade within 2-3 years. I have purchased 73% Calcium Hypochlorite (specific kind of pool shock in powder form) and a Nurse who looked deeper into the issue said this was the way to go. Various info online shows added some poweder to one gallon water to create a bleach solution to use. I had some Costco bottles of bleach but have now shifted to this powder with very long shelf life. Have Berkey and Sawyer filters as well, especially since Sawyers can be backwashed to extend life of filter.
I’ve added the “Be Prepared Collection” from SowTrueSeed.com and the heirloom seeds from Emergency Essentials. I buy new each year and learn from the oldest seeds during the current year.
If Hills gets in, I would assume we would see a gigantic rush to buy the “bad things” before some executive order does something to keep them out of the peoples hands. Have to make sure to be balanced on all fronts of prep, but she would come in with an agenda…
Great article! Thank you for posting.
JBernDrApt-I have checked bleach that we have had for a year and it still smells bleach like.I cannot verify the exact potent strength..8 drops per gallon is recommended though if you are storing your own water.
Lightning
Chlorine gas is volatile and sneaks through the wall of the bottle and when you open it… i.e. limited shelf life.. It’s in a lot places .. but you can store Calcium Chloride (pool shock) as a crystal/powder. (forever) and make a bleach solution as you need it. on Amazon it is about 13-15.00 per pound Be very careful . . not all pool shock is Calcium Chloride and their differences or additives make them poisonous. Even the correct chemical releases concentrated gas when mixed and chlorine gas is lethal in small concentrations. So directions, ventilation etc etc..
That said it works..
Here is an example link that has a recipe.. there are others.
http://tacticalintelligence.net/blog/how-to-make-chlorine.htm
I’ve looked local and NONE of the chemicals in the local pkg stores can be used .. so ordering may be the only way to get it.
I think it is worth a test .. with th e test subject being something other than yourself 🙂
Thank you everyone for your input. Very much Appreciated. I do have some 73% Calcium Hypochlorite but was wondering for those “not so sure” friends I am trying to educate what was known about regular bleach which is easier to convince them with! And PR thanks for the info on the liquid detergent and LAVA – the man’s soap!!! Rourke, thank you so very much for providing this forum for all of us. Keep Looking UP
Very nice job with the list of concerns. I also agree about gardening being of huge importance. People who don’t grow their own food just assume that a few seeds is all they need. Not even close to reality. Get busy gardening now and learn the realities of it. I have been gathering leaves as I do each year at this time to pile on my garden for sheet composting. This technique has turned bleached white sugar sand into dark fertile soil that has grown all my veggies for decades.
Power is at the top of my list. I spent a good deal of money in 2010 to build a large solar array but the prices have fallen dramatically since then. If at all possible put a system together now. This allows you to run freezers and stoves. I went through weeks of hurricane induced power outages here in SW Florida and don’t want to be without AC ever again.
CaptTurbo.. got a link or reference to what you used, output etc etc .. I’ve been gradually doing mine and I am interested in what you did and with what mfg if you can share .. Thanks GG58
JR – oh that photo did me in-I will be making pancakes for dinner tonight !!!-smile !!!
-with our homemade maple syrup. Lightning
I have been trying to send you an article and the e mail keeps getting returned.Please tell me what e mail you are currently using.Thanks
Better than bleach is the Katadyn pocket filter. If you must have chlorination, consider laying in pool shock but beware it is strongly corrosive and even though packaged and then put inside a second sealed container, any ferrous metals nearby will rust. Keep this stuff outside. Several years ago, I purchased several 5 gallon cans of liquid soap that should keep things clean for years and years. The following looks like it might be a good buy:
http://www.quill.com/purex-laundry-detergent/cbs/251170.html
If you really think times are going to be immediately bad, now would be the time to rent a backhoe and dig a nice deep hole for the out house.
PR
I forgot to add, LAVA hand soap might not be as smooth as Ivory but it is one of the very best cleaners and a bar should be in every bug out bag. It’s composition is such that it lasts a long time even in soft water. Another bar soap to stock is Fels Naphtha. One neat thing about Fels is that is will remove oil that makes poison ivy so awful from skin greatly shortening the period of rash. Shave a little Fels from the bar into the laundry and it will remove any ivy oil from clothing in the wash. The wise will have at least a case of each bar soap in stock. Fels will irritate sensitive skin if not carefully washed off afterward or followed by a milder soap. The old laundry standby powdered Borax in the white box is another good soap to have set back, boxes and boxes. Every prepper should know how to make lye from wood ash and treat fats and lards to make soap. Try as I might, none of my home made soaps (and I was once trained as a chemist) come out quit as well as the factory bar soaps. I even ordered a mixed case of L’Occitan face soaps for the wife and daughter, and perhaps to barter, and hid it way under the Lava and Fels which stock is unlikely to be disturbed. There are many powdered laundry soaps in one gallon plastic buckets and several of these in lieu of the 5 gallon sizes recommended above will sure make laundry easier. I’ve pounded clothes on rocks in streams but nothing works quite as well as a little laundry soap in the electric washer.
PR
I live in an area with abundant poison ivy, oak, and sumac so I’ve had to give a lot of thought to inadvertent contact with these irritating plants. Have you the means, add a tube of clobetasol (the most potent topical steroid available by prescription) and a tube of Mupirocin (the only topical antibiotic that will work well anymore) to your meds store.
PR
Hi PR, when i was a kid working the grandparents farm when school let out up in Ore, i ounce got a bad case of poison ivy. My grandfather stripped the bark off a bush like tree in the front yard and boiled it up. I had to take a bath in it and the itching pretty much stopped right away with the redness and bumps disappearing over the next few days. If memory serves me right I think it some kind of willow tree.
He had learned allot of native american medicine from shomens from back in the early 1900’s. anyway he planted many medicine plants on the farm around the house.
B359
Might have been willow as it is rich in salicin. Having mentioned Mozart and Vienna, the following caution is appropriate:
Salicin, the active ingredient in willow bark, seems to have contributed to the death of the composer, Ludwig von Beethoven. Apparently, Beethoven ingested large amounts of salicin before he died. His autopsy report is the first recorded case of a particular type of kidney damage that can be caused by salicin.
How’s that for trivia?
PR
Good article JR,
JR. Great article. Lots of good points. The only thing I would add is if you think Hitlary is going to win or even suspect she might win, don’t wait until she does to buy guns and ammo. There will be a mad rush and lots of shortages if she wins in November. Everyone will know she plans on appointing extremely liberal judges and will use executive orders within a few days of taking office to ban guns and ammo. If you don’t have it before she wins in November, chances are you are not going to get it.
Excellent point JAS and might bump ammo .. and things to toss it with up to a higher priority, since the other stuff could be done after if not in conjunction. If money to both at once .. is an issue.. good thought.. thanks
Timing is a big deal.. 3 days .. People and stores have 3 days of food on average . JIT inventory. Think about what happens when it snows for example. So how long will it take for desperation from good people 5-6 days. Bad people will start as soon as there is a diminished deterrent.
1.)Beans
2.)Bullets
3.)Band aids
4.)Group – Not that I really disagree with the list. The group thing has been very difficult to do on the commitment level. Good folks yes.. stress tested .. mostly.. committed absolutely can’t tell to NO. So 4 strictly on level of difficulty.to establish.
5.) Coms – as I’ve commented I know not enough but am learning .. Side bands and antenna types seem important .. and if you need a relay network .. close is all you will get unless you spend $$$.. If it is outlawed .. then your need for the right antenna and High freq become critical unless you want to be DF’d.
6.) Firearms training – have it .. but if you mean training WITH the group for group tactics .. I’d need a group and see what they can or can’t do .. RE:4 above
7.) Sanitation – Home made soap is indeed harsh and Lye now controlled, potash takes a lot of hardwood ash … Purchasing enough soap to last very long points to bug in. Independent water source to work the septic system. Beats digging cat holes or trenches all over the place.
8.) Fuel – a tank as opposed to cans .. not sure how much it matters if you don’t have 200-300 Gal around Diesel and Gas.. depends on duration I guess. If you need to bug, you can’t take all that much really.. maybe 500-600 Miles worth. Preposition Solar and or caches.
9.) Transportation – Man I want a 70’s-ish engine with parts that interchange with common parts .. MPG is a big deal as you said. Bug in or out .. depends
10.)Bug out plan – This one for me .. is a maybe .. Mostly because I am 50 minutes a big city ..10 from a small community, and I am developing what I need there .. OpSec is lite and I could be totally out to lunch .. especially if there is no group to back it up. If I live IN a city .. absolutely further up the list.
I don’t even agree with my own comments in part, as I re-read them .. it just depends on .. What (Financial, Grid, Natural Disaater etc).. Duration, .. whatever I do not have and need is critical.. Everything I come up with, I can see a scenario of why it should be closer to number 1. I do think my 1, 2 and 3 though. As bad as it sounds, if I have 1-3 I can get the rest if I have to, whether through barter or other.
Man it’s a hard topic, which is why I asked. It changes every day I think about it, and in part gets in the way of what to do when. The list is probably more like 25 – 30 long but I asked for the top 10 in priority order and the comments have added to my thinking process and perspective.
sorry for the book .. again .. Geesh!
GG58
Antibiotics mentioned above are nice but a good medical kit is also essential. Sometimes the need for antibiotics is infection from a wound that must be cleaned out or debrided. Might want to add some formulas for Dakins solution, oral rehydration solution, use of povidine and sugar for wound care as well as raw honey for same. Sooner or later someone is going to be injured or debilitated for whatever reason and require medical intervention. These are all simple treatments that can prevent catastrophic consequences. Some first aid knowledge is a prerequisite for members of the group as well as some knowledge base in the form of books i.e. when there is no doctor, or survival medicine handbook, special operation forces handbook, etc. I like the idea of a hard copy just in case of lack of power.
yup agreed.. I would add that is you or I …get injured in the field .. Likely not violence.. just cut while Farming.. Hunting.. or more.. bad water or food .. Antibiotics will also be necessary. I personally will give anti-biotics to family ahead of the infection if the wound is dirty and even hints at it. I’m less worried about enabling “bugs” with resistance than correcting things that other medical methods won’t fix. So both .. in measure .. Paper copy .. yessir..