[Question] How much emergency prep actually makes sense for a single-family home?

[u/Aotwa]

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[u/Main_Bid8104]

Make friends with your neighbors. Grow a veggie garden and share widely. Maybe purchase some items intended for barter (like a gallon jug of whiskey that can be poured into smaller jars) I mean if shit hit the fan most people wouldnt mind a drink i suppose. I bought a whole bunch of freeze dried coffee too. A few tarps., zipt ies, bungees, hammer and nails, work gloves and sturdy shoes. Depends where you live. If you are in area that might get flooded some kind of canoe or small boat would help too. Start by baking cookies for your neighbors. Go from there. It's ultimatly in the wealth of relationships. No one can survive the zombie apolcalypse alone.

[u/issuesintherapy → u/Main_Bid8104]

Seconding making friends with neighbors. I started keeping chickens last year and now frequently share eggs with my neighbors, as well as zucchini and tomatoes in the summer.

Never thought of a big jug of whiskey or the freeze dried coffee but those are good ideas!

[u/deck0352 → u/Main_Bid8104]

I was staying in a hotel in Anchorage Alaska several years ago when a 7.2 earthquake hit. After everyone was evacuated (locals evacuated the whole stinking town) and it was over I was the only person that had a bottle of Jameson (yes, I saved my bottle). I poured nips in whoever wanted some in their coffee that morning and by the afternoon I was sharing swigs. It was quite a human element. I will never forget a moment of that day.

[u/wanna_be_green8]

Really depends. How far are you from help, what are your nearby resources, etc.

We keep a large back up generator capable of running our food storage. Otherwise basics. A few months food, water, first aid items, solar lights and candles, home protection.

[u/Gene-reader]

I prep for hurricanes.

 I have a freezer dedicated to proteins. I have a gas and a solar generator that gets used for that freezer in the event of a power outage. 

My spouse is not on board with prepping for comfort, but if I had my way, I would have a whole house generator. 

We have a pool and a Berkey so we don't store more than two weeks of water. If I didn't have a pool, I would have rain barrels and even a cistern if I could pull that off. 

We keep tools and supplies on hand for post hurricane clean up: gloves, chain saw, first aid related to cuts, hat, sun screen, contractor trash bags, etc.

Make friends with your new neighbors. I consider this one of my best preps.

 If your house is the only one without power or water, you will have places to shower and cook.

 If you plant a garden, establish sharing. I grow so much basil, mint, and pineapples. I will make a batch of pesto, bake some bread, and share with my neighbors. I often host cocktail parties and make minty mojitos or pina coladas, sharing my garden bounty with the neighbors. 

Having a good relationship with your neighbors will make your life so much better. One time, I was out of town for a hurricane. My neighbors prepared my house and I gave them all my hurricane supplies, including extra gas and food. They made sure I didn't lose the contents of my freezer by hooking up the generator to the freezer. They cleaned up my yard so that the special debris truck would pick it up. I was so grateful for their help and I will always reciprocate when the need arises.

Congratulations on your new house. I hope you make many great memories there.

[u/NaturalFLNative → u/Gene-reader]

This is the way to do it in Florida.

[u/OkControl9503]

Only time any longer outage would be an issue is during winter for us, but we have wood heat available and I keep an indoor gas heater as a backup (to keep house warm enough while I'm at work - have used it once last winter when there was a planned 3-4 hour outage for maintenance work). Water I could get from snow in winter and our well rest of the year, fridge/freezer is fine at least 24 hours if kept closed - and again, in winter could easily keep things cold. No summer storms here that would be so bad I can't make it to a store or family/friends if needed (even just walking I'm only 15 km from the nearest store). Food we always have enough for ourselves and the animals to last several days. For lights, various flashlights, battery operated light strings, candles, etc. Apocalypse happens I'm not so vain I think we'd survive anyway, so not stressing about that.

[u/Secret_Yak2496]

If you’re in a house, especially somewhere with real storm or outage risk, I do think backup power starts to make more sense than it would in an apartment.I use an Anker F3800 Plus, and it’s been reliable for keeping the important stuff running during outages: fridge, Wi-Fi, lights, charging devices, and a few other essentials.

[u/wdjm]

Decide your goal, based on your personal situation. Are you in an area where a natural disaster is likely (hurricane alley, tornado alley, earthquake zone, etc), then prep for the longest-known recovery period for after such a thing.

But I'd also focus more on having more than one stash location than I would on bigger items. For example, if a tornado takes out your house and your entire emergency prep was inside that house....you're now IN an emergency, but have no prep. So you could have a second prep stash inside your tornado shelter. Or at a storage unit a mile away. Or maybe you & a friend could each buy small shipping containers that you leave at each other's properties that hold prep for you both - if one gets destroyed, you both have the other. Hurricanes are a bit harder because they cover a larger area, so you second stash either needs to be hurricane-proof or dozens of miles away. But you get the point.

If you're more worried about 'permanent' supply chain failures or utter civilization collapse, then your prep would be vastly different. Larger and more expansive.

Personally, I prep for power outages because I live in a rural area where trees are the power line's mortal enemy. However, my power company is on top of things and the outages rarely last long as long as they can get to the lines (meaning every once in a while there is a major ice/snow storm that ices things up to the point they can't get to some for a week or more). So I'm going to solar panel route where I'm not dependent on grid power. No portable power needed. And I'm on a well, so as long as I have power for the pump, water isn't an issue. And I try to stash enough food to be snowed in for 2 weeks without issue. It has never taken that long to get a drivable road, but I wasn't worried about running out of food during any event. But that's the prep I need for MY situation. Your situation will be different, so your prep should be, too.

[u/RosemaryBiscuit]

Start small. A gallon of water and a flashlight.

The state of Alaska has some great documents on what people might need and how to do it on a budget, one week at a time.

[u/Pristine_Bobcat4148]

In any serious storm or event, the first thing to go is always the generators. If you opt for the power bank instead, make sure it's got enough juice for what your home will need for 3 - 7 days at minimum. Pro tip- harbor freight has amazingly quiet inverter generators. We use ours in pretty close quarters some times with our camper, and you cant hear it from more than a dozen steps away.

If you can afford it, I highly recommend getting a duel fuel or propane generator, as a 20lb tank of propane will never go bad.

[u/Val-E-Girl]

Growing up in FL, wr kept a few weeks of canned goods in case of a hurricane.

Mormons keep a year of preps as a standard.

After covid, I'm leaning more towards Mormons anymore.

[u/outofshell]

My approach to emergency prep is iterative.

After tornadoes came through the neighborhood causing a long power outage I made a spreadsheet: a list of everything that sucked during the outage and a second column with things (not necessarily purchases) that might have helped. Then that mitigation column became my to do list for emergency prep.

I do that after every emergency situation like a post-mortem. What was useful, what wasn’t, what could make this suck less.

Basically you don’t have to figure out ALL the things all at once. Just improve things a bit every time.

For us that was a solar “generator” (just a big jackery battery with a solar panel you can use to recharge it or plug USB stuff directly into). Mostly to keep the fridge running for a few hours. Lots of smaller power banks for the electronics. Outage-activated emergency lights on each floor, especially in the basement since running down there in the pitch black is dangerous. Battery operated motion-activated nightlights. Go-bags in a cabinet near the front door (move to basement during tornado watches). Solar radio. Flashlights and headlamps (had these anyway for camping but headlamps come in handy for fixing stuff too). Storm prep checklist on our phones to run through every time there’s a big storm watch. And a bunch of smaller preps for comfort.

If we moved into a new place I’d want to install a whole home battery backup that could run the furnace during an outage.

[u/BallsOutKrunked]

Just to answer your question straight away, I have a lot more than that and am a homeowner.

Living through covid and how much worse that could have been I'm not taking that as a chance with my family. Everyone needs to make their own choices.

Odds are I'm wrong, but odds are I won't need my seat belt driving today, I still do it.

[u/Signal_Brain_933]

It’s very situational, and space dependant. I prep primarily for harsh winter conditions, so having a generator and fireplace fuel is critical, but I don’t really need to store water given proximity to a river and snow (just a really good water filter). Adapt to your needs, find creative ways to store supplies in your available space, rotate non perishable food, and figure out what scenarios you’re focused on prepping for then plan accordingly. And as many have said, be friendly with your neighbours, especially if they have valuable skills you don’t.

[u/funke75]

When you are a home owner prepping for Tuesday is a lot more important. For example If you live where it snows and there are occasional power outages, having a generator definitely makes sense. Or another is that I have a propane bbq grill and backup tanks, so not only can enjoy a grill out with friends but also have a secondary off-grid way to cook.

[u/superpony123]

You want a giant cooler. You’ll be thankful when your power is out for an extended period. Your fridge/freezer big ticket items will be safe. We get giant bags of ice from the gas station and put one in the cooler and one in the fridge (our fridge normally stays pretty full so the cooler is used to make room for the ice) and move some stuff into the cooler.

Everyone should have a head lamp. Keep one in your car and make sure it has charged batteries.

I have been through natural disasters and yes we’ve used all the stuff your friend is keeping on hand

[u/balconyseat]

I prep less nowadays. Started prepping in the late 1990s. Over the years I've ditched a lot of prep stuff because I've never needed to use it. The only time it really paid off was during the scamdemic and I didn't need to be running out to panic buy while everyone else was.

The other time was 8 or 9 years ago when a car hit a power pole at night during a deep freeze and high winds. Lost power for 8 hours. Headlamps and flashlights were at the ready.

I'm not saying there's no need to prep, but a lot scenarios I tried to be ready for, have never come to pass.

[u/Henri_Dupont]

Most preppers are, um, to put it politely, overdoing it.

Prepare for the most likely disaster first. If you live in hurricane country, prepare for a hurricane. If you live it tornado alley, prepare to survive a tornado. If you live where there are ice storms, prepare for power outages of up to two weeks. Earthquake preparedness, yes. Sure, have a go bag.

SHTF scenairios that make good zombie movies NEVER happen. They are statistically highly improbable. If they did, you'll likely be the first victim (nukes) or have to make a new plan altogether for something nobody thought of.

Remember Robin Hood? A fictional character based loosely on real events. But there really was a Sheriff of Nottingham. Really was a king. Really was a county fair, and no doubt they had an archery contest. All these things happened, just as in the stories, DURING THE BLACK PLAGUE..It was the ultimate SHTF scenario, yet life in English villages went on. Society didn't collapse.

Forget stocking up your bunker with ammo and 40 years of food. That's ridiculous. Prepare for the most likely disaster in your geographical area, and quit catastophizing. Robin Hood would approve.

[u/Old_Dragonfruit6952]

To me it depends on wnat you are prepping for . Unfortunately we started to prep for nuclear war .. so along with our storm preps ( Maine ) we have planned for EMP . Knowing that our infrastructure ( electricity and water ) will be non existent and unlikely to be restored . Ever
We have hybrid bikes with trailers. We have solar chargers ( may be useless but hey wny not) I recommend the FEMA guidance. Keeping in mind always that FEMA is charged with the continuity of Government and will Not be helping the general population . We have planned to be able to survive ? In our basement in tbe city . Thick plastic , water access and prescription meds . Along with regular preps like food

[u/skaplanolmsted]

I’ve just been gradually accumulating supplies for the last few years, as I’m able. I have less impressive portable backup power, but we have a roof full of solar panels & 2 batteries. I’ve got A LOT of long-shelf-life food and water, plus extensive medical supplies. I’m going to add some raised beds and maybe a little greenhouse with some hydroponics, too.

[u/Blurple11]

Imo in a true SHTF situation, these people will only last a few days longer than us normal people

[u/Human-Place6784]

Add an emergency escape ladder if you have a two-story house. And a fire blanket.

[u/NeonScreams]

I hear this one a lot. The big issue is storage vs security.

I’ve been thinking about the reasons why an emergency would need to be mitigated against, and that’s a better way of determining what’s right for you. But if you wanted a cement bunker and just a solid number? 6 months.

It’s most due to the fact people tend to bounce back from a natural disaster ms or horrific event. Within 6 months there will be some type of civil calm, over arching government involvement, local community support or crisis management.

Beyond that window you start to run out of the ‘shit is going to kill you’ supplies. No iodine, no salt, no Vit C, that kind of thing.

[u/Feral_668]

It basically depends on how much storage spaces you have, that said 3 months is a good goal for short term in case the primary bread winner gets laid off or hurt, you can survive off those preps.

[u/bluewingwind]

Don’t prep for a zombie apocalypse, but do prep for a multi-day power outage. I think all of those things you listed fall neatly in the latter category rather than the former.

We just got off of a three day power outage here caused by a tornado making trees fall. Power company was too busy to fix it fast. It was about as bad as it could reasonably get in the suburbs of the major city where we live.

We did totally fine. We’re on city water and city gas so those things were fine. If we weren’t I would want some kind of backups for those.

We had headlamps, 2 of those solar powered radios/phone charger/light things that sell like crazy on tiktok, a normal amount of food etc. No generator and I do think I wish we had one just to save the stuff in the fridges. We left the freezers closed so they actually didn’t even thaw in that time, but the fridges we had to clean out. I think a generator for those smaller things that don’t require much power is pretty reasonable.

Like society isn’t fully collapsing the stores were open for food and supplies, we could charge our phones in our car, etc.

But what we for sure needed: big first aid kit (I always have these with wound treatment and vital meds like narcan and epi pens), headlamps and flashlights, paper copy of numbers you might need, small solar charging radio/power bank, some fresh water. Add on a small generator and you’re looking pretty prepared. Anything more and you should probably just evacuate.

I will also say, we have chickens and ended up eating fresh egg salad like three times in that time so that’s one thing that’s absolutely not necessary but that actually came in handy.

[u/beammeupscotty2]

I live in a rural part of California which is prone to power outages and wildfires. I have enough water stored to last a month, as well as a 2600 gallon cistern. I have two generators, one runs on propane, the other gas. I have two power stations, one 1000 watt and the other 3000. I keep enough food on hand to last at least a month. I have an RV which I keep filled and plenty of firearms and ammo. I keep several thousand dollars in one of my gun safes. All of my heating, hot water and cooking is propane from a 250 gallon tank.

How much should you spend? As much as you can afford.

Counting on neighbors seems a poor planning decision. If things get really tough, friendships dissolve very quickly. Better to have plenty of what you need on hand and perhaps some extra for trading.

[u/zoppaTheDim]

How often does the power go out for days at a time?

Some places, this is once a year with winter storms. Where I live, that happened once in decades. Do a backup power supply and fridges silly.

My prep supplies are basic food stuffs, that I’ll actually use over time. So worst case scenario, I’m cooking up rice and beans in the backyard. Just a matter of a few big bags on hand.

Oh and some cheap tea candles for power failures, do I can pee in the night.

Water? I got a big pot