When SHTF, a lot of folks here may be stocked to the hilt with canned foods, buckets of dried foods, rice, etc. when shit really begins to hit the fan there are a few major reasons why you should steer clear of your stockpile for as long as possible:
# 1
If it gets to the point where do you feel compelled to start consuming your prep, then that means things are likely not gonna be getting better for a very long time, which means that you should be out there in the streets/stores groveling for whatever remaining supplies you can get, and continuing to stockpile excess while reducing your consumption to subsistence levels.
By the time that available supply runs out, everybody who has no prep will perish (this is not a good thing - don't celebrate the demise of others, just because they were too ignorant to prepare). After this period of time passes, there will be a lot fewer remaining people to consume whatever resources remain, which means that you may not have to dip into your stockpile to survive. If things continue downwards from this point (think of a worst case scenario like a nuclear winter), you will still have whatever number of months of supplies that you started with to survive the real SHTF that ensues.
Reason # 1 could be summed up as "shit can always get much worse".
# 2
The next reason is that you may think shit has hit the fan, and so you begin to consume your stockpile, and then suddenly things turn around and start getting better, and now you have consumed your stock pile and you are no longer prepared for whatever comes next, while the likelihood of another SHTF scenario probably increases exponentially after this point in time (due to all the systems that will have failed as a result of the first SHTF).
# 3
If your neighbors and everybody around you have been going to the store/other resource pool, and you have just been comfortably hiding out in your house (to avoid chaos, etc.), then the likelihood of somebody nearby realizing that you are stocked up goes up increases.
The first point stands on its own and should be reason enough to follow this advice.
BONUS
Whatever food preps you have, add 100 pounds of rice AND 1 water filter (life straw or Sawyer Mini) per person to that. It's cheap AF, you can buy cheap mylar bags from Amazon and oxygen absorbers to put in those bags and the race will last for many years. And then you will have about six months extra runway when SHTF.
Here are the mylar bags:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MDWBMY4/
Here are the oxygen absorbers:
I listen to a financial commentator on YT and his sign for when things are dropping off the cliff is when the FED starts to buy stocks in the open market.
He says the moment they start doing that in order to prop up the economy and market, is time to get the hell out of dodge. He says, sell your stocks cash out and brace for what is about to come.
Yeah there's a distinction, because when the Fed begins actually purchasing stocks directly, in a big way, that's a good sign that we are heading into some very serious shit. The stuff they've done so far is damaging for sure, so it's not to say that this would be necessarily that much more damaging; it's more about what it is a sign of, namely the end of the market.
I'm using roughly the same reasoning except to add: commodities are likely in a bull cycle imo
True that, insanity in the commodities markets lately.
"plunge protection team" is already controlling market volatility.
theyre controlling $SPY w/ puts.
Could you break down your comment for someone who is not so market/commodity savvy?
I just invested in soy, wheat, lithium, gas, and uranium, but truthfully I am a complete amateur.
apparently, via numbers, although there aint no FUCKN name to the number, weeks ago, the PPT stabilized the market via their instruments.
apparently, the "PPT" is basically some shadowy-fuck FED peeps doin some unscrupulous activity on the market.
its not verified. def speculated... with COMPELLING evidence.
my tin-foil hat, that i wear around my nuts, per the ukraine/russia debacle, USA markets must not show weakness w/ all the sanction-fuckery.
https://www.reddit.com/r/amcforDRS/comments/t9z2h9/plunge_protection_team_sold_a_lot_of_puts_at_the/
https://munknee.com/what-is-the-plunge-protection-team-why-doesnt-it-act-in-the-interests-of-the-average-investor/
https://confoundedinterest.net/2022/01/24/dow-rebounds-to-close-100-as-plunge-protection-team-yellen-powell-etc-come-to-the-rescue/
Y'ALL CUCKS THOUGHT THE NWO WAS BAD...
This cannot be overstated ^
#3 is a good tip. Thanks!
Sawyer minis and Life straws are for bug out bags. If you're staying put (which most people should under most situations) you need a better and bigger water filter. Get something like a Berkey filter. They're expensive, but last for years, remove almost everything, and are fantastic in SHTF scenarios.
Berkey is just a giant Britta filter - literally a gravity percolator through activated carbon and ion exchange resin. I've got better shit on my fish tank. It's overpriced shit.
That doesn't match the independent lab tests on Berkey filters. Do you have other tests that prove otherwise? If you have sources to prove me wrong, I'd be happy to read them.
There are industry standards to test to, and yet they refuse to actually test to those standards. Their independent lab tests sent a single gallon through the filter before testing the output. NSF/ANSI standards require twice the rated lifetime capacity to go through the filter before testing its output. Moreover, they make ridiculous claims that they get 99.99999% of contaminants out, which is orders of magnitude better than distillation and reverse osmosis, the best filtration methods there are. A pretty bold claim for a company that refuses to subject their products to industry standard tests. People have cut open black Berkey filters to reveal the insides, and it's literally the same shit that's in a Britta filter: compacted activated carbon and ion exchange resin.
If you want 99+% purification, get a RO system. You can even combine RO with carbon and ion exchange resin to get really pure water.
I absolutely agree; great advice. Berkey filters are a big investment for a lot of people, but if you can afford one and you're planning on bugging in and you have the space for one, the big Berkey is a great option.
Zero water filter is cheaper and better
No, they're not.
Zero water filters only remove 23 contaminants, mostly only chlorine, lead, and other dissolved solids (which could even include natural dissolved salts in water), and their filters are only good for 3-5 months. Berkey filters remove 203 contaminants, and each pair of black filters work for 6000 gallons (several years worth for an average family), and in a SHTF scenario they can filter questionable water from sources like ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers.
Zero water filters are a gimmick filter, barely above Brita filters, since they pride themselves on removing dissolved solids, which is laughable in comparison to how well Berkey filters work, which are also independently lab tested, removing 99.999% or more of each contaminant, including bacteria, cysts, parasites, viruses, plastics, pesticides, VOCs, pharmaceutical drugs, chlorine, chloramines, lead, arsenic, etc.
There's a reason why most serious preppers have bought a Berkey. They're that good.
How long have you been working for Amazon?
LMAO touché - I hate giving out an Amazon link tbh
It's a bit more complicated than that. There will be a cost benefit for obtaining more food. Having the stockpile might mean you can avoid taking a bad risk just because your family is starving.
I agree that just because you've got a stockpile doesn't mean you can sit on your laurels and wait for it all to blow over.
You can use these buckets (link below); the seal is excellent, so it doesn't let any oxygen in or smell out, which helps prevent pests from even being interested, but also use the mylar bags and oxygen absorbers that I added to the bottom of the original post.
If you buy a 20 pound bag of rice and a few 2 pound bags of beans, you could put all of them into mylar bags and fit them into one of those buckets. So repeat that three times for every person and you will have well over three months worth of food for everybody in your family. Buckets are probably the most expensive part, but they're great investment for portability, lastability, and in your case being able to store them in a basement.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096LWH56M/
That's expensive. If you have Menards in your area, a 5 gal food grade bucket plus gamma lid are about $10. I've got a dozen or so. Throw mylar bagged rice in there with a couple silica packets and you're good to go.
Plastic buckets
Eh, you only need food prep for 30 days. After that the army will be corralling everyone into camps anyway.
Keep the rice and beans in separate mylar bags; they could share the same bucket, but bag them separately. Make sure to write with a magic marker what is in each bag and the date that it was sealed, so that you can always reference that later. Write all of that on the flap portion of the bag, the flattened out part that you sealed.
I wouldn't worry about the expiration date, because once you put them in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers and seal them they will last for decades. make sure that you get as much air out as possible when you seal them, don't seal them like balloons with tons of air or else the oxygen absorbers will be wasted. The idea is that you put them in a mylar bag which does not allow oxygen in or out, and then you put oxygen absorbers in there, and the absorbers use of all the remaining oxygen in the bag, so nothing can grow, no bugs can survive, etc. you're basically creating an environment that is hostile to life.
On top of using sealed mylar bags, if you put all the bags into a gamma seal bucket (I put a link somewhere in the comments here to that bucket), that will further prevent oxygen and bugs and rats and everything else from getting anywhere near the bags. Not to mention it makes them much easier to manage, stack, etc.
If you put a few oxygen absorbers in each bag, you should be good, but if you wanted to be extra about it, you could also put each bag of rice and each bag of beans in the freezer for a few days to make sure that you kill any potential insect eggs, etc. if you do this, do it before you seal the bag and without oxygen absorbers in it. Then take the bags out and let them warm up to room temperature while standing upright, then put the oxygen absorbers and seal them.
Love to hear your thoughts on my situation.
I live in a high rise in a major metro area. There is 3 levels of security before you can get up to my floor, on the 20th and only one way in to my unit.
My thought was to shelter in place. My mother was part of the evacuation of Houston for Hurricane Ike and that was a complete cluster. She spent 7 hours stuck on 45N surrounded by everybody and their brother trying to do the same. The idea of bugging out feels like it would be doomed from the start, unless you had forewarning. While I know most people say "get out of the cities", I am thinking that could work for me. If I hunker down, reinforce my door, I might weather the worst of it.
I have been stockpiling food and water, but could do more.
I have purchased a 9mm and have 10 boxes of ammo, mixture of FMJ and hollow points.
Your opinion would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Hey, pertaining trying to bug out in real time, I agree with you that, unless you have the forethought to realize "OK this shit is about to get real" at least a day in advance, you're probably gonna be stuck in the city and those who try to bug out will risk being stuck somewhere in the road.
Getting out of the city while you still can is a great idea, unless you're really tied to the city for some reason. If that reason is just that you like the city, get out; you can always come back later when things calm down again. If you've gotta be there for family/worker reasons, it is what it is, but you might still take a look at the suburbs to see if there is an affordable option outside of the urban perimeter.
If you are going to stay, make sure you've got everything you think you need for many months (as much as you can afford / have room to store). One of the big problems in a city, and especially up in a tall building, is water. Municipal water is only on because there are people there 24 hours a day making sure it's on. In a small town, there are ponds, creeks, swimming pools, etc. that you can just grab some water out of and filter, if you need to. In a big city, you need to be prepared to have your own water source. One of the things you can do is plan to bleach out your bathtub and fill it with water at the last minute, but I would also recommend a dedicated water storage solution like this:
https://www.usaberkeyfilters.com/products/aquatank-ii-emergency-water-storage-container/
1 gallon of water per person per day for at least 60 days is a good start. And then, just like in the original post, plan to find other water to consume until you absolutely cannot find any and then you can consume your emergency source.
I disagree with number one, or at least disagree that it doesn't acknowledge the trade-off of you continually putting your life at risk. If things are that bad, food riots and all that, but you have a nice stash, it is much safer to stay home, read books, and chill. Forage if you have to, or if it's safe. All the people with empty refrigerators prior to the food riots will be very, very willing to take your life. Why give them the chance.
To a point, I agree. If it's totally crazy and there are riots outside, it's probably safer to stay inside, but if it's just getting a little chaotic, I think that taking the risk to wait in a long line to get some groceries is much better than consuming your prep.
IM STEALN YUR SHIT, FIRST. THANKS IN ADVANCE.
Not making any assumptions, but most people who make that joke don't have any preps at all. Make sure you have at least three months worth of food, water, and supplies, because when SHTF, in all honesty, you will not be stealing anybody's stuff. Everybody will get really serious really quick.
just carved BB on every bullet on my first clip.
I AM INEVITABLE.
With the stupidity of what I see people spewing around here, most are going to die.
Plenty will stay alive long enough to hunt/ fish wild game to near extinction, but survival isn't a good time for the feminized. A life of focusing on your feelings isn't good preparation for a survival situation where you need logic.
many many people will die if it seriously comes to what a REAL shit hits the fan scenario will bring. you know it, i know it, everyone knows it. I know everyone likes to stay in their little world and fantasy bubble, but reality is much different
Imagine this scenario. Collapse. No more food in usal place for normies, aka no more supermarket supplies, because global collpase or global war, or global reduction in transportation due to oil reserves ending.
What do you do?
If you have food stored away, and you have children, you need to teach them to shut the fuck up. You would need to pretend you are hungry. You will need to get out and fake searching for food...
If other hungry ppl start thinking you have food, they will do EVERYTHING in their power to get the food away from you. So, if alone, never leave the house? Have dogs? Will you shoot others to protect the dog/s?
Do you have guns? In USA sure, in Europe no. But in USA others have guns too... so double edged sword. Plus most houses in USA are wooden, so very easy to fucking kill someone hidding behind a fucking wooden wall. In Europe, at least where I live we have concrete houses.
Yes I would kill to protect my dog, and then feed that person to my dog. I met with several neighbors of mine to discuss this scenario and when I mentioned feeding the dead to the dogs, they thought it was a great idea. A lot of pitbulls in my neighborhood and they're all friendly. A few neighbors have body armor and night vision equipment, we plan on setting up a watch schedule that includes a dog at each entrance. Every front yard would turn into a garden. A few combat veterans around here and the post locations have already been determined. Only 4 ways into the area and every entrance will be blocked by cars and provide a good line of site for intruders. I'm grateful for good neighbors that have their eyes open and are preparing. It will take a rather large group to be effective.
Big plus to have good minded neighbors...
I don't want to sound like a moron, but I'm not prepped at all. I was going to use being a nomad to avoid any bad situations, but now the entire world seems screwed with lockdowns and supply chain issues.
I hear you; in the long run the nomadic lifestyle might help you avoid chaos, but in the short run and in the long run you're gonna need food and water, so make sure you are very prepared. Spend a few hundred dollars minimum to buy bags of rice and mylar bags to store it in. Even the Bible has much to say about being prepared:
https://offgridsurvival.com/bibleteachespreparedness/
Here are the mylar bags:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MDWBMY4/
Here are the oxygen absorbers:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Q4XTJKY/
Just put a few oxygen absorbers in each one with rice and then use your iron to seal them (takes about one second to seal each one with your iron on medium high). Make sure you don't open your oxygen absorbers and expose them to the air until you're ready to use them and keep their bag sealed after you take each few out, to limit oxygen exposure to the remaining absorbers.
This whole process should take you no longer than an hour, and shouldn't cost you more than $80, including bags, etc., for about three months prep. 20 pounds of rice is enough food for one person for a month.
Yeah I'm looking to start settling in to one place. I actually don't even like to be nomadic, I just kept finding places that I didn't think were good enough. I tried staying in a central American country and found out the president was a commie who was totally onboard the WEF agenda.
I'm just keeping my head down and putting in work on some skills that hopefully will help me get through whatever comes. And when I pray about where I should be, I feel the Lord is telling me I should be where I am. But yeah it seems wise to at least start buying a few months backup food. Thanks for the info.