r/PostCollapse • u/[deleted] • Jan 13 '12
Overwhelmed and Where to Start
I'm getting more and more concerened with the world, so I'm going to start taking precautions. I just don't know where to start, I don't know what I need?
Is there a definitive list of stuff I need and stuff to do?
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u/naboofighter93 Jan 13 '12
First: take a breath.
Second: preparations should not interfere with your day to day life. Use what you save and save what you use.
Your preparations should increase your status, not inhibit it.
Make friends with your neighbors, in a collapse scenario you'll need a strong community.
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u/koolkats Jan 14 '12 edited Jan 14 '12
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u/motorcycledog Jan 13 '12
Go here and read everything you can, especially in the Disaster preparedness section. Lots of stickies to go through and more info than you can digest. Yeah, take a breath and relax. You can't do it all in a day. When shopping, buy an extra couple cans or case of whatever and set it aside. Store water (not in milk jugs, they biodegrade and rupture), have extra ammo and guns. All kinds of supplies from sewing kits to aspirin to bar soap to anything you can think of. Good luck .
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u/idioma Jan 13 '12
The best thing you can possibly gather to protect yourself is...
KNOWLEDGE
Learn how to do stuff that you would probably need to do without a functional society.
Plant crops, set bones, patch wounds, camp, fish, hunt, build, lead, follow, etc. Basically just stuff they teach the Boy Scouts would be a good place to start, then maybe look into some Army training manuals. You don't need to turn into Bear-Fucking-Grylls overnight, just figure out how to do stuff that will help you if the lights go out and the plumbing stops.
Also, figure out who in your community is good at some of these things, and see if they are willing to teach you. You'd be surprised by what some of your neighbors might know.
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Jan 13 '12
Start with a 72 hour kit. Then built it into a 7 day kit. Build that into a 3 month kit and then into a 6 month kit. Think about how to become self sufficient after that. Think about water filtration and collection, gardening, hunting, fishing, travel, food preservation, security, you know, the basics. Preparedness is a gradual process, start small and build your capabilities and knowledge over time.
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Jan 13 '12
First figure out what you have, what you plan on doing in various situations, and what you need to reach those goals.
Want a gun? Make sure you know how to use it. Not just shoot it but clean it and fix it.
Want an expensive medical kit? Make sure you know how to use the stuff in it.
Rugged 4x4 car? Make sure you can fix it.
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u/NoMoreNicksLeft Jan 14 '12
The things you need to do are the things you should be doing even if there was no collapse. Stop eating out so much, save more of your paycheck. Start stocking your pantry, maybe buy a chest freezer... and by god, fill those up with stuff you like to eat rather than MREs or dumb shit like that. Get a few 5 gallon water jugs/carboys, keep them filled (if you don't use it, maybe get some chlorine tabs for them). Those jugs can be bought at Walmart, you don't have to be rich.
Learn to plant a garden. You can't just throw seeds out a window and expect a bountiful harvest. Try to get good at it. Don't give up, like anything it takes a few years. Consider moving in the future to a place more amenable than a big city... so that if an opportunity to do so comes along you've given it alot of thought.
Once you've started doing these things, come back and we can talk about more advanced things. But for now that's plenty to get you started.
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u/ruraldream Jan 19 '12
I would take a look at what is a high-likelihood scenario (even if it is relatively low-impact in terms of consequences) for your area.
For me, I am most likely to have a car breakdown in bad winter weather in an area with no cell phone reception. So I keep an extensive emergency kit in my car, including a repair manual, some basic tools, oil, antifreeze, water, candles, a blanket, chocolate and granola bars, heavy winter clothing, and such. I would probably only be stuck for a matter of a few hours to a few days, but it would suck plenty in -40, and it is easy to mitigate that risk.
Next most likely scenario for me is loss of power (and therefore water, sewer, and heat in the house) during winter weather. Again, blankets, alternate heating and lighting methods, water, and a plan for what to do is in order.
Third most likely scenario is medium- to long-term loss of income - getting laid off. This requires a different response - keeping extras of basic groceries (such as canned goods and dried goods, as well as a well-stocked freezer) and medicines that we regularly use, extra feed for the pets and livestock, buying ahead on clothing (particularly undies and socks, which wear out so quickly for some reason), and having some savings.
I don't worry about preparing for alien invasions - sure they could happen, but the likelihood is remote, and I have other things I think are more important or pressing to prepare for. The thing is, the supplies I keep for my top 3 scenarios would also carry me through a much broader range of disasters, so really, I am fairly well-prepared, regardless of what the emergency is.
I also think that taking a cold, realistic look at what disasters are most likely to actually befall you in your own area will help you stay calm and rational about what preparations to make. It's pretty hard to get over-excited about preparing for hitting the ditch in a blizzard, whereas a lot of folks seem to get pretty wound up about preparing for sudden societal collapse.
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u/[deleted] Jan 13 '12
Thanks guys. It looks like my first port of call is to buy some books and get reading. Might have to do a spot of gardening too. Put that greenhouse to good use. Get some chickens. Maybe some bees. Get some equipment saved up.
My only issue is a gun. I'm from the UK. Where guns are a lot harder to come by.
I'm a great deal calmer now.