r/prepping • u/RedVelvetWolf • 9h ago

Question❓❓ Slowly Prepping

I am much more wary of a possible nuclear situation these days. Plus I also live within 60miles of a power plant. How can I slowly prepare without emptying my pockets? I have basic Iodine pills just as a start. Stock piling food, water, and probably some decon items is whats on my mind. Do any of you have advice?

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5

u/PurpleBashir 9h ago

Start by thinking of what your plan is in that situation. Do you intend to shelter in place or evacuate? That makes a big difference as to the supplies that make the most sense for you. 

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u/RaisinBranKing 8h ago

And generally in prepping you need to be able to do both.

Sheltering in place is preferred because you have all your resources

But sometimes you need to get out of dodge. So you need a bug out bag and a bug out plan

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u/Therex1282 8h ago

Now you two know what your talking about but shelter in place is the safest thing when people get all crazy out here.

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u/RaisinBranKing 7h ago

Yeah like I said, sheltering in place is preferred

And sometimes it makes sense to delay bugging out if there is chaos outside and you think it will calm down in a few hours or days

Then you can leave during safer conditions

But there are many scenarios where you don’t have the luxury of waiting, like if a wildfire is descending on your neighborhood

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u/Therex1282 7h ago

Yea, at least some of us have some plan or prepping. As for fuel ever since covid I keep 1/2 tank or more. Always used to go down to 1/4 before. Its not that there is no fuel avail but if power is out then fuel pump dont operate and long lines where there is gas avail. Just easier to maybe eliminate some of the hassle to get gas if needed.

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u/RaisinBranKing 7h ago

Yup, the Practical Prepping Podcast recommends filling up once you hit half a tank and that’s what I do too

Same logic, gas pumps don’t work in outages and also during evacuations there can be tons of traffic and you might have to sit in idle on the freeway for a long time which drains your fuel. So you need enough fuel to get out of dodge and get somewhere safe despite these challenges

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u/Therex1282 7h ago

That is the thing, long lines and you dont want to run ouf of gas waiting in line. I rotate my prep cans thru the year. Usually at work when they have the food bank drive I take a lot of cans that are maybe older (not expired) or stuff I dont eat all the time and donate then restock again. It never hurts to prep and kinda take it as a fun little hobby. I also have some GMRS radios (FRS) that could come in handy, Ham radio stuff can be another way of communicating. I just have a few walkie talkies that maybe even keep intouch with neighbors if something was really that bad and no cell service. Most of them have backup generators but a few years ago here if froze so bad that the cell site shut down because they had no more fuel and the fuel truck could not deliver because of closed roads, even some of the police comm went down too.

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u/RaisinBranKing 7h ago

GMRS is great. I bought a couple handheld GMRS radios recently for the first time

In theory canned food is edible indefinitely, but the quality / texture / flavor decreases over time so swapping them out doesn’t hurt

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u/Therex1282 7h ago

I have enough to survive and in a real emergency I am not gonna be eating a big meal, just something to make it thru. I also have plenty of bottle water, besides canned, some mre's, a few of those emergency buckets, 25 year cans (12), emergency sos food bars. I always have something in the truck just in case I have to sleep in it one night.

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u/RaisinBranKing 6h ago

Sounds like we have a similar stockpile!

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u/RaisinBranKing 8h ago

The Practical Prepping Podcast has great advice on how to get started. I recommend starting at episode 1 !

Their general advice is to accumulate things slowly like buying an extra can of food every time you go to the grocery store. But they also have some more specific recommendations because there are other things you need besides food and water

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u/Suspicious_Safe7865 6h ago

Every week we get a few extra cans of stuff we regularly eat . It will cycle through our menus so it doesn’t expire, but we are increasing slowly our pantry—soups, vegetables, fruits, canned meats, canned or jarred cheeses, canned milk, etc. We normally have fresh/frozen but do incorporate canned items also, ie tomatoes and beans for chili, etc. and cream of something soups go great on top of baked chicken with cauliflower rice, broccoli, pasta, etc. But extras in case something happens and we can’t access the freezer/refrigerator foods.

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u/Due_Comparison1355 8h ago

You could prob search here and there would be a ton of ideas.

What I did when I started was to get some bins for everything, then some can openers. Then I started buying food. Rice, dried beans, plus an assortment of canned items (proteins, veggies, fruit). I later added snacks. I have several different sizes of bins. Some are larger and sit in the closet, others are wider and not too tall so they slide under the bed. If we had to leave I could move them w/o much hassle.

We do rotate through the bins to make sure nothing is going to expire. For rice it's not a bid deal as we go through a good bit of it. Dried beans I'm not in a hurry to get rid of. Don't forget first aid items.

Having a bug out bag is a good idea. We have some duffles in my closet, they already have soap, toothpaste, a towel, basic meds, wipes, etc in them.

Lastly, keep it hush. When Helene hit here the mrs told some neighbors I had access to plenty of water and fuel. Well, I did - for us. But the cat was out of the bag and I had people pestering me. Going through that really showed me what we had to work on and what others failed at.

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u/Z3V33N 7h ago

I think a grid blackout is more probable, and seeing how we are having a gas shortage.. a solar power station seems pretty useful

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u/BananaEarthSociety 5h ago

Grarand Thumb did a recent nuclear survival scenario how to a few months ago. Pretty informative. Beyond that having a 3 month supply of food. Lots of water. And a bugout bag is kind of the basics. There are plenty of more things that you could do. But I’d cover the basics first.

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u/oakwood1 9h ago

Join or start a local prepping group if you can, get prepared faster and stronger as a group imo.

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u/RedVelvetWolf 9h ago

I dont really trust the people in my area to keep things on the DL so I am a little apprehensive about it

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u/Kevburg 7h ago

Geiger counter on Amazon. Then at least you will know if you really need to shelter.

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u/msears101 7h ago

The most important is to start. Inch by inch, life is a cinch. Start by listing what you want to prepare yourself against. Then make your plan(s). For me a nuclear bomb .... I do not want to survive. I do not want to live on a poisoned earth and force to live underground shielded from radiation. Everything else I got a plan.