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There's currently a thead about "Zombie Apocalypse". While I've posted on it I dislike both the choice of words in the title and the fact that it's mainly a debate about whether preparing for bad times is even worthwhile. That's most unfortunate because people do encounter bad times both as societies and as individuals. Right this minute there are people who don't have necessary food, prescription drugs, or any means of transportation to get them. In many if not most cases this is the fault of the individual. We'll dismiss these as these people would just get into trouble again if somehow their problems were suddenly solved.
But ther are others who are in bad situations through no fault of their own. They may be recovering from injury or illness. They may have had a major car problem and not really have the funds to comfortably rent a car for two weeks or longer. They may just be getting old and worn out. They may have even lost their driver's licenses as a result of age related problems with no immediate safe alternative. If I lived in a large city I'd certainly be uncomfortable if the driver of the handicapped van knew I weren't home as he might call his cousin who's a burglar. Don't scoff. There were several cases of this in Chicago a few years ago. But if you're an urban fatalist who believes what happens happens and we have little or no control over events you may as well stop reading now. But if you're the sort who wishes to survive please read about my ideas for preparations to survive alone barring medical emergency for weeks or even months at home with only your pets for support.
I try to keep a year's supply of prescription drugs on hand; I never have less than a six month supply. That applies both to me and to my older dog. I have aspirin, fish oil, and other OTC medications and supplies as well. If I use them every day I keep my year's supply. But there are other things like laxatives and the opposite which may hardly ever see use but it would be foolish not to have them. First aid supplies are important as well and you should definitely take the Red Cross course on basic first aid. It will teach you what you should have and how to use it. Think about soap, deodorant, and related supplies as well. There have been threads on the Self Sufficiency and Preparedness forum about cleanliness which seem to always degenerate into bragging contests about how little people wash, let alone take baths. From both the standpoints of physical health and morale this is idiotic. I know that I wouldn't be very happy covered with dirt and stink as well as being unshaven. After observing the effects of this summer's heat wave make sure that you can keep cool. If you live where you can do it have a little generator that will at least keep a small air conditioner running to cool at least one room. It's no exaggeraration to say that it could save your life. If you doubt me ask your doctor. There are heat waves in some parts of the country almost every summer and power failures are not uncommon.
Store food and water. There are water containers on the internet to store potable drinking water. The user removes the water with a siphon. Buy extra food; buy what you eat. In a long period of isolation you may be limited to canned and packaged foods so consider some powdered milk and eggs, but not too much as you will probably need to discard them eventually. However, some powdered eggs are suitable for both scrambling and cooking. You've probably had powdered eggs at a Sunday brunch unless you avoid all but the top places. Think of those big trays of scrambled eggs.
Food and water storage are important topics; do some searches. But having been a survivalist since the Seventies I can assure that regular foods are the best to store. Special survival foods are very expensive and often unpalatable. Buy with caution and care and only for specific uses. Canned pet food stores fine but the oil in dry foods often becomes rancid in as little as two to three months. Your cats shouldn't be eating it at anytime because it's all nutruitionally deficient, Ask you vet.
Don't forget fire extinguishers. If you don't get around well have plenty of them. Defensive measures always bring naysayers but consider home invasions. If people know that you're not in good shape you become a real target. You'll nee to be ready.
I'm curious as to what people are already doing and always looking for ideas. Be sure to ask questions. I didn't start this thread to debate whether to prepare for emergencies so I won't answer argumentative posts. I advise others who are interested in planning to do the same. My goal here is to get people through emergencies whether personal or societal. Let's share our knowledge.
How do you accumulate a years worth of prescriptions? Pay for them out of pocket at different pharmacies?
Our coverage doesn't allow one to be refilled until it's "time" for it.
Mail order did allow 3 months at a time but that still couldn't be refilled until a certain time.
DH and I have also been prepping for years. There are all sorts of people who say, "I can't!" "I don't have the money!" - they see the ads for a year's worth of dehydrated foods for a thousand dollars and shrink away from the idea. Over time, though, you can slowly accumulate what you need. Prepping should be an on-going process of thought, planning, and determining need.
Even store-bought seeds are (still) inexpensive. Last year I bought several interesting gourds and some pumpkins, all from 'heirloom' plants according to the grower (whom I have come to know), that were on sale at a farmer's market for a pittance because they were past their prime. I cut the fruits open, took out the seeds, and dried them. I have hundreds of seeds now, all in zip-sealed 'snack bags' that I buy (also on sale) for just that purpose. Seeds can last for several years if dried and stored properly; I learned a long time ago that the 'stamped expiration date' on seeds was solely for the producer's legal protection. Right now I have 2 year-old corn seeds and 3 year-old green bean seeds that are growing like weeds in the garden. I don't plant vegies to be ready for the 4th-of-July picnic, I plant them to eat, but especially to can - whenever they produce.
I didn't plant tomatoes this year because last year my tomato plants went insane. Problem is that they didn't start producing until late in the year; August and September (late wet cold spring with a frost in mid-June). So one very cold weekend I went out to kick over the brown plants - and they were literally covered with thousands of tomatoes that were protected from September's below-freezing temps by their own dying foliage. I filled two 5-gallon buckets the first day, brought them all in, washed them, canned them, and did the same the next day, and for three more days after. By the first snow, I had used 4 cases of quart canning jars for tomatoes, tomato sauce, etc. We have enough for awhile now... If we plant something one year, we usually harvest enough for the next two, including seed savings; in this way, we 'rotate' our crops so that we always have a supply on hand.
This past year we ordered indigenous fruit trees from the local DNR @ $.83 apiece; they are in ground and growing well with watering and fertilizer. It may be two-three years before we see any fruit - but we are prepping for that, too. Three years ago we bought baby chicks on sale - now we hatch the eggs out to keep up and increase our flock, and butcher and can the 'extra' roosters.
Use it up, wear it out, make it do... we repurpose everything. DH uses discarded plastic containers for storing his 'little parts', he is OCD and marks everything neatly with his Sharpies. The bottoms of our food storage cans and the tops of the canning jars are marked by content with sharpies, too - in case the labels wash or otherwise come off (one flood and the following year of 'surprise meals' will teach you that! ) We have lived here 4 years and the unused space under our basement steps is already covered with unrinsed bleach bottles refilled with water for 'just in case' - even though there has never been a problem with water access here. Yet.
Like most of the folks around here, we 'store up owes' - when we butcher a steer, we give what doesn't fit in the freezers, jars, or what we don't dehydrate to neighbors. These neighbors in turn help us out with workloads or needs. No one is rich, but everyone has plenty, because some people know how to do things, others have sources for items, etc. DH fixes the equipment of the local parts' store owner's husband, and gets his parts for all of his other repairs for free. Don't have cash? Barter your skills.
DH's prescriptions can only be filled at certain times of the month as well; however, he puts back one pill at a time (again, in carefully marked bottles) whenever he has a couple over from refill to refill. In this way he stores up his meds.
We buy things on sale like crazy. Every fall the local stores have 'stock-up' sales - we can buy cases of soup for $4 one week, $2 condiments for $.89 in the summer, etc. You can use soup for meal basics or just to have a nice hot lunch on a snowy day. Our friends and neighbors and we call each other when we go to town, pick up stuff for each other, and tell each other about unadvertised sales so that we all profit from them. Tomorrow is our 'town day' (we go every two-three weeks) and I'll be cashing in a couple of coupons for "a Year's supply of Bounty paper towels!" that I received in the mail for writing an online 200-word essay on Independence Day. Cost me all of 10 minutes to write...
I am carefully plotting out how I will spend this year's salary from my Aug-May job. This year I'm buying my beehives and beekeeping equipment, piece by piece, month by month, and bit by bit, so by the time it comes for me to order the bees, I'll have two hives already built and ready to go. Some new people who just moved here are looking for a place to move their hives from their old place; I've offered them the use of my garden in exchange for bee help (she just started her hives last year then had to move). There's no room for frivolities in our budget; our biggest 'entertainment' expenditure is a once-monthly trip to the local restaurant/bar to keep our friendship/barter relationship with the local owner.
Everything on paper says that we live in abject poverty, but because we barter and trade, stock up gradually, pounce on opportunity, plan out what to spend when, and don't spend frivolously, we can prep in a constant lifestyle, not all at once in one fell and expensive swoop.
My parents are on specific perscription meds that cannot be bought more than the specified dose at a time, so that option is limited, but we can buy OTC meds and have those stockpiled.
Some old remedies like sulphur and Iodine are easily available and last for years.
Between my parents, sister and her family, brother and his family and my family we have land, and timber, we raise horses, cattle, hogs, goats, sheep, rabbits, turkeys and chickens.
I have a very large garden, as does my mother, so what I can raise in abundance like tomatoes, green peppers, beets, peas, turnips, pumpkin and squash, while she raises onions, corn, and beans.
Because of the cows, goats and chickens we have milk, cream, butter, cheese and eggs.
Our horses are draft stock, Belgians, and the cows are Scottish Highlanders and we have teams of both for working if there were no fuel for the tractors so we could still plow and harvest. We also have a lot of horse equipment so we could still cut hay, harvest grain, even grade roads.
I make bio diesel and methel alcohol so we have fuel for the tractors and generators.
We hunt, trap and gather wild edibles, and I know most of the medical plants available in this area.
We usually have at least a years worth of supplies stockpiled, more if we have it from a good harvest.
Our water is on wells or springs, and I have a methanol plant for the methanol that works for distilling and purifying water as well.
Our timber and sawmill provide heat and building materials. We have hand tools for every occasion, and power tools as well.
For instance, we have several welders, (both plug in and with their own generator), and I also have a forge so we can fabricate or fix our equipment.
I have planted some native fruits on the places so while we can't grow peaches for instance, we can grow chokecherries, buffalo berries, goose berries, service berries, rasperries and other so our fruit needs are taken care of, but I find that our Rhubarb plants that are super prolific are also a great source of vitamin C.
We dehydrate, salt, smoke, can and freeze our supplies so that even if the power were to fail, (we do have generators), our vegetables in the root cellar and our meats in the smoke house would still be ok.
I am going to build a springhouse as well at my #3 site for refrigeration, but we are set for storage until then.
You have to work with what you have, and take into account where you are to make a good plan for self sustained or the prepper lifestyle.
"...beyond their prime". Hmmm. At going-on-65, I might qualify for that.
I also believe in "store what you eat, eat what you store". When the local grocery places have their "Can-Can" sales, you will see us there buying veggies, fruits, tomato sauce, soups, and everything canned that is on sale. Usually we do this twice a year. The dried goods we store (rice, oatmeal, pasta, potato flakes, dry milk, etc.)...we find these so cheap that we buy 'em at any time, and in bulk. While we do not yet have a full garden (not moved up north yet), we do buy produce from local farmer's stands, and we can this...together. I think having a large variety of foods, rather than just the oft-recommended "hard red wheat - rice - beans - honey - salt" routine, is better for health. And frankly, having to eat what I've stored before it expires, has improved my present diet.
We have bought a few "storage" type goods, such as canned scrambled eggs, canned Red Feather butter (wow, is that stuff good!) and freeze-dried fruits such as bananas and strawberries. These have a very long shelf life, which is good. But we have not gotten into the MRE thing or the "year's supply freeze-dried entrees". Too expensive.
Storing gallon-sized bottled water and even the 5-gallon size bottles (made for water coolers) has been a strategy for a long time. We figure in an emergency, we will be too busy, right at first, to worry about purifying water. So we store water that we know is drinkable without any further treatment, for at least a month. Out in the garage I have a group of 32-gallon new plastic trash barrels, lined with USDA-approved clear plastic liners, filled with tap water. I generally run a hose in from the outside spigot, then add a little chlorine, and seal. This stuff is meant for washing and other uses, but in a pinch, it can be used for drinking and cooking as well. There's quite a battle that went on over on another thread about the merits of Berkey water filters. I'm not sure what to think, but we're keeping ours.
Sure, aspirin, Tylenol, band-aids and larger bandages, we keep that stuff, along with peroxide, alcohol, ASAP silver solution, antibiotic ointment, moleskin, on and on. I'm not even sure what we have. Metamucil, I know we have, and anbesol for dental pain. Cold remedies. Lucky for us, at our ages, neither of us is on any long-term prescription drugs, so getting a large quantity to store is not (yet) an issue.
We store plenty of soap, shampoo, toothpaste and brushes, deodorant, nail clippers and files, combs and brushes, body powder (I like Gold Bond the best, "for wherever" as the ad says). We try to stick to the same brands and types as we usually use, figuring we'll be under some real stress if things go down as we expect them to, and having familiar items will help us avoid additional stress. Elsewhere I have outlined our plans for 12 VDC power, with later addition of an inverter for some (limited) AC power. I also strongly recommend that preppers get at least one good generator in the 5-6Kw range in order to run a clothes washer, or an air conditioner if need be.
I guess the older you are, the more you will want to avoid any sudden disruption in familiar routines, which can add to already high stress levels. We also keep some comfort items around, to further add a sense of normalcy and reduce the stress. People of any age can find their thinking and ability to perform, compromised by stress. I would recommend that couples share the prepping, rather than having just one member bear the burden. For the ladies, let your guy have some of his "guy" things; for the gents, remember that your partner is always a lady, and will want to have some of her feminine things also, and don't begrudge them!
Hi, my name is Cathy and I hoard soap and TP. Hi Cathy...
Prescription meds may be a problem for lots of people. Like Old_Cold my plan only allows for just in time refills and 3 months if we participate in the mail order program. Also many docs don't like writing year long scripts for whatever their reasons may be. Because we snow-bird I finally got my doc to do year long prescriptions. One though is spendy even it's generic form and it sets me back roughly $800 out of pocket for 6 months outside my health insurance plan's coverage for when we travel. Sadly it's an off label use for severe hot flashes and I sleep very poorly without it. Time may take care of the need but for now it is a quality of life issue. Count yourselves lucky if you don't need meds, or they are cheap or your health plan allows advance purchases.
One thing I didn't see mentioned is medical devices. We have a large tote filled with old splints, leg/foot boots, slings, braces, wraps, ice machines, PT exercise bands and the like. We are both rough apparently. I break bones, my DH tears tendons and sprains things. Most of the time with some exception time heals all things with little intervention but one needs to remain immobile or limited in mobility (depending) for the healing time. After my second cast (I am hard on casts) for a foot break, I dispensed with the whole thing and went to a big stiff hiking boot for 4 weeks. I could have really used one of those foot boots that velcro on and off at the time.
Similarly I broke my hand and they made a nifty little removable cast out of a plastic/polymer that can be remolded after a bath of boiling water. It was wrapped on with an ace bandage over a thin cotton sleeve. Naturally we saved that chunk of plastic and the sleeve material. Many of these things can be found in near new condition at thrifts. Crutches, braces, boots, ice machines and the like. I also collect how to and recent medical books. I grew up in a medical family on my Mom's side and I fortunately have more than my fair share of knowledge in that department but a book to back up memory is a very useful thing especially in the short term until medical help can be had.
Same is true for pain meds. I don't generally take them unless I really need them as I tend to have paradoxical reactions to them, even the mother of all pain meds, morphine, which I don't have at home, just had it after surgery once. I refused it the second time. Painkiller classes of drugs key me up, give me the jitters, put me on edge and while they do diminish (but not remove) pain to some degree, the effect is quite unpleasant so I've kept a fair supply for other's use. It came in handy when DH tore his quadricep tendon from his kneecap. I gave him two Vicodin and took him to the ER. He was not yelling in pain by the time we got there.
Anyway another good thread. I'll probably have more to say when I have more time.
I take a generic drug fo high blood pressure, lisinopril and HCT. I get a 6 month prescription which Walmart fills for $20. It's cheaper than a co-pay would be on my insurance. Then I've just filled it all at once. I can see the problem here especially if people are getting narcotics. Talk to your doctor. I can see that this one is more of a problem than I thought.
Nor'Eastah,
Thanks for the information on Red Feather Butter. I've seen it and hesitated because it's very expensive. I did just buy three types of eggs, two produced by Honeyville as well as Ova Easy. I haven't tried them yet but I believe that they could fill a hole in my supplies. They have excellent shelf lives both before and after they're opened.
I won't argue Berkey. I'll just say that I only would filter to get out mud and large particles. After that it's either iodine and distillation.
I should have mentioned paper towels and toilet paper. We can say include with that Saran-Wrap, the real thing as well as aluminum foil of different sizes and trash bags; you can never have enough.
I'm going to mention some ammunition because it's particularly suitable for people who may not be able to handle much recoil as the bullets are very light. It's rated as the most effecitive, however, by Evans and Sanow. As a bonus it's not much of a wall penetrator. I use it in my very light Smith & Weson Model 638, 15.1 ounces, the gun that was designed to be not only carried in the pocket but fired from the pocket as well.
How do you accumulate a years worth of prescriptions? Pay for them out of pocket at different pharmacies?
Our coverage doesn't allow one to be refilled until it's "time" for it.
Mail order did allow 3 months at a time but that still couldn't be refilled until a certain time.
Prescription medication is by far one of the hardest things to properly maintain for advance emergency preperation. There are a few handi way to hedege the odds.
1. Always fill the prescription at the first date or refill eligability. RX plans actually account for a certain percentage of spoilage in use. So although you may have four 30 day supply, they may base the refill on a 28 day supply due to pills you may drop, get damaged etc. This means that the longer you have the prescription the more medication you can be stockpiling because the refill order date is moved up a day or 2 each month. You have to either figure it out or often the pharmacist will let you know the date the refill will be aproved.
2. Refills and new rx is your friend. When you see the doctor, tell them you need a refill rpescription as your about out (do this if your within a month of having no refills) take that refill to a new pharmacy and immediately use them for that prescription. Continue using up the old prescription from the other pharmacy but don;t bill it to the insurance. This is easy especially if yuo use a RX that is base on odd dosages. If you need 10 mg and the pill comes in 5mg, tell the doctor that your insurance pays 100% if you get a 20 mg tab and you'll cut it in half. They may give the new RX based on the same # of pills with the higher dosage yet you still have a month or two of refills on the old RX.
3. FREEBIES!!!! Don't be afraid to ask your doctior for some samples. tell them you like the convinience of the corporate marketing packaging of the samples when you travel and I bet they dump a half year supply of free samples in your lap.
4. The OTC similarity chart is also yuor friend. You may be on a medication that may have a lesser dosage OTC alternative. Lets say the OTC medication is only 10 mg of the medication but you need a RX version that is 50 mg. Buying the OTC and using 5 instead of 1 may do in a pinch. Also there amy be several OTC items that when combined will equal one of the RX versiosn. And last don;t foreget the natural alternatives. Many RX medications have a comparable natural equivilant. Finding a good knowledgable licenesed naturopathic MD is also your frien in preparing for emergencies.
5. Do you really need it? many folks are on RX medications at a dosage that isn;t doing squat for them. Often times getting a second prescription opinion will yield a different RX recommendtaion or a reduced dosage recommendation because they are not following the same road map your've been on for years, they are look at the trip from a fresh start. You would be surprised hw often a second prescription opinion results in less medication or the elimination of some.
6. Last but certainly not least, you can always look for a "Russel" type pharmacist
Hello, Cathy.
I didn't mention medical supplies because mostly we don't think about them - we have tons, everything from 'store' bandaids to full-body burn packs and OB kits (I'll never be caught 'birthin a baby' without my equipment again! LOL.) We have splints and wraps, crutches and joint braces, even preformed pillows to put a patient into Trendelenburg or reverse Trendelenburg positions for blood flow. Whenever our EMS changed out hospitals/suppliers, the "old stuff" was discarded - into our open bags. We even have suturing materials and scalpels. Beprepared.com carries most of the medical supplies we have; including replacement blades for scalpels. Most things can be made in a pinch from available materials; I can sling and swathe with scraps or bandage with a 'ladies' pad or a tampon, or splint with cloth-wrapped board scraps or even tightly rolled newspaper (which you can soak in salt water briefly, form, then duct tape for even more strength). You can sew flesh with a needle and thread dipped/run through alcohol if you have to. I buy the 'after-sunburn' aloe gels by the quart; not because the aloe is efficacious after sitting a year on the shelf, but because I look for the gel with the 10% lidocaine in it for a painkiller. It works on more than just burns. Just last month I dug out a 2-inch splinter after numbing the area with the lidocaine gel.
We don't have things like O2 bottles or defibrillators, mostly because in a SHTF scenario, those things, if they are needed, won't do anything but prolong either the victim's pain or the responder's agitation. Learning and being able to triage is important - because in any long-term emergency, even a 2-day hurricane, you won't have emergency-ambulance care or hospitalization available to you. (The strict definition of triage is determining who will live and who will die.) There are some things that you can't fix- if someone is too far gone in anaphylactic shock, due to food, plant, or insect reaction, and benadryl or an epi-pen don't help, then a defibrillator or O2 isn't going to do you much good. We can trach a patient in the field - but, if there is no hospital available for after-care to fix what caused the need for the trach, the patient is pretty much screwed. I have 'brought back' exactly two patients with CPR - out of literally hundreds- and one was a newborn. Pretty much the general rule is that if you don't see the person 'drop and stop' (breathing) it is unlikely that you will bring them back - or, if you do, that they will survive longer than 24 hours without hospitalization. And the Heart Association apparently knows this - as they have stopped teaching rescue breathing and now only teach compressions for certification.
Great thread topic, I'm learning much from y'all who are a bit more seasoned.
Having a difficult time admitting I'm "past my prime"; but realistically, anyone over 40 probably is to one degree or another not as capable physically as doing many things as he/she was in the 20's and 30's. For instance, I don't like to climb trees anymore to do my hunting. I know that I'm not as strong, balance isn't quite as good, and that there is no shame if I can still harvest meat from ground hunting. I think that allowing pride to take a backseat to realism over what one can do physically is a good way to avoid unneccesary injury or even death in a survival situation.
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) We have lived here 4 years and the unused space under our basement steps is already covered with unrinsed bleach bottles refilled with water for 'just in case' - even though there has never been a problem with water access here. Yet.
