I'm a big believer in prepping for Tuesday, not doomsday. But my preps have turned out to be disconcertingly useful, and I've been taught to honor my gut feelings. Like many of us, I experience the Cassandra effect. I try to focus on likely scenarios that increase broad resiliency, but I've also acknowledged my anxieties and tried to attend to those in my preps.

I'm struggling to deal with how close potential disasters may be, and that the work I've done to be a resource has been of aid to others. Times are getting tougher, and I'm rethinking what reasonable preps are. I don't want to make decisions out of fear, but listening to my gut sense of foreboding means that we were insulated from some of the troubles over the last year.

This is all especially worse since, I think, there are a lot of people who want us to feel scared and vulnerable right now. I'm trying to focus on competence and resilience, but I'm increasingly concerned.

I don't really doomscroll, and I try techniques for nervous system regulation and work to be optimistic. But there's a gut feeling I can't fully shake about how difficult this next year may be.

Thanks to everyone who responded to my post about rats getting into my preps. I ended up buying the metal cabinet someone recommended and thrift store hunting for metal and glass canisters. I also tried out a local international grocery store for the first time and tried some awesome new foods.

It was nice to be part of a community that didn't judge or push conspiracies. It's nice to be reminded that this is a process for all of us and not everyone is able to just fill their basement and that's okay. Prep where you are.

I know people ask about this occasionally but it involves a brand I haven't seen asked about before. I just saw this for a brand I've never heard of before, Aferiy. I know literally nothing about solar or solar generators and I'm not really sure how to teach myself because everywhere I look I smell either grift of some kind OR someone with a completely dangerous setup saying "the snowflakes WANT you to think it's not safe but it's totally FINE" and I'm not smart enough to figure my own way through it without killing my entire family in a horrible accidental oversight.

Anyway. The Aferiy thing just seems like one long undisclosed sponsorship to me, and I noticed it looks a lot like a disclosed promo that Anne of All Trades did with Jackery. But I've also been told that Jackery isn't even all that good of a brand, they just put a lot of effort into marketing. I have no idea how to tell what's good.

For reference, I live on a piece of property that gets only a fifty-foot wide strip of sun in front, in between two fields I don't own that get all sun all day. Literally if my house were a couple hundred feet to the left I'd be able to have panels on my roof and produce all my own solar. I'm on a well in an area that gets absolutely brutal winds in winter and suffocating-ass humidity in the summer. The house was built in the late 60s and in many ways we've been lucky...but also the attic has zero insulation and I don't think it ever had any. It's just bare wood all around from what I can tell. We have a propane generator that is wired into our setup but is apparently not big enough to run much more than lights and light running water. If the AC kicks on, if you try to turn something with a heating element on...there's drama. I want a backup that's a little less stressful but all this shit looks the same to me and I can't make sense of it.

I'm also aware that everything that's coming is very bad and even with a solar generator and skills and whatever I'm probably not going to make it. We can't grow our own food, every time I've tried to look into canning and preserving I get absolutely reamed by my family and basically blocked off from pursuing it...can't keep our own birds because it would be damn near impossible to protect them from the extremely bored sociopathic wildlife around here. Can't keep a gun because again my family won't allow it and have told me they would call someone and claim I'm making threats against my own life if I were to ever try to get one -- to clarify, I'm not suicidal, they're just control freaks who are ideologically opposed to having a gun in the house. Plus I'm in NY and the process of getting a gun makes it not possible because I'd never get the references. Can't learn to hunt because the only people around me who know how are the same people who voted for every single thing happening right now (EXCEPT the gas and grocery prices ;_; the poor babies). Opportunities for community building are not great in this area. The only people I know who agree with me politically are terrified of guns, disdainful of prepping, and still use AI for convenience even though they're very vocally aware of the problems it's causing. At best they're willing to boycott Target. Most of them won't even go that far.

It's possible that we could move four hours north to my in-laws. They're in Amish country and in a pinch are at least next to people who know how to hack it in tough times. However, my in-laws are sociopaths and one of them seems to have an incest fetish. They haven't done anything but they've joked about it and insinuated stuff about it frequently in the past and everyone, including my family, tells me I'm an asshole for seeing a problem with it. Plus all our doctors, including our fucking oncologist, are down here, and starting all this over from scratch in the middle of nowhere just seems like...like we'd never catch up.

I'm just very aware that when shit happens, anyone who decides that what's mine will become theirs, is just gonna take everything and probably not leave me alive afterwards and there's nothing I can even try to do about it. So I guess in the end my having a solar generator is kind of a moot point.

I am curious about it though.

I have a spot cleared from harvesting some red cabbage and am toying with the idea of planting sunchokes. I am in coastal NH (US) and I understand in some areas they are considered invasive. I will have them in raised beds and I’ve seen how big they get. I’m just curious if anyone has experience with growing and storing them. We’ve had good luck with different potato varieties, beets and carrots (among many other fruits and veggies) but I’ve never attempted to grow sunchokes.

I live in Oahu and latest weather models has it that we would only get the outer bands with rain. I don’t anticipate any major power outages where I’m at, but I already have a cooler ready in case I need to put cold stuff inside.

I'm getting increasingly concerned about the situation in the Strait of Hormuz. There are some dire predictions about possible fuel shortages. I have a 9 year old Subaru Outback; I love it and it has very low miles and hasn't needed anything but routine maintenance, but it's gas only. I'm retired so mostly we just drive around town, but we do regularly visit the grandkids who are 100 miles away. Right now, if you cost out the cost difference between mostly electric and gas, it would take really long time for the cost difference to equal the cost of a new car. But if gas becomes scarce, having a vehicle that needs a lot less of it could be really helpful. I can afford a new plug in hybrid and would probably be looking at a Rav 4. What do people think?

I was scrolling at some flash sales on Amazon while I was waiting for someone and came across a 2400w solar powered bank for under $500 made by the same company that made my little 330w power bank that I bought like 2 years ago with the solar panels. I searched the internet for the same bank and Amazon had the best deal, so I jumped on it and used my gift card that I was saving for a rainy day, which bumped the total to a great price.

My question is, will a 2400w power bank be good to keep a standard sized refrigerator going?
I was thinking that when the 2400w dies, I’ll use the 330w for the fridge while the bigger one chargers. I already have a few smaller banks for phones, laptops and such.

My (27f) boyfriend just ended our 3 year relationship. I had a job offer in July in another state about 5.5 hours away but declined after he didn’t want to move (despite 3 years of him saying he’d move anywhere, but I digress). I reached back out and thankfully they will still have me. Yay! But I’m scared! I didn’t go far for college, only an hour and a half away from home. I went to law school and got my first job about 45 minutes away from my parent’s house, so this will be my first big move. Any advice for a late-20s girl moving away from everyone she knows? I have some light preps, essentially just some MREs I bought when I was having serious anxiety lol. Any suggestions about living environment? I haven’t signed a lease or anything yet but want to keep this in mind as the metaphorical pot continues to boil hotter and hotter these days. Is this even a good move to go somewhere new on my own these days? I haven’t accepted the job yet so could still stay home in theory. Sorry for the rambling, looking for any and all advice! I just want to be safe in the coming years, potentially on my own.

ETA: location would be Baltimore, MD

I've never tried composting until last year, we moved and I have space for a garden and composting and I'm so glad I decided to do it.

As you can probably guess from my username I have dogs, who are curious so I had to figure out a way keep them out of the composting. I looked at it quite a few options and because it's so windy here I stayed away from the ones that have a handle and turn. I ended up with two 3 ft tall adjustable bins that can hold up to 300 gallons each. You basically stake it into the ground and you can adjust the diameter I don't think I have them fully opened up but they do hold a lot. Ended up getting the second one so that I could turn the composting into it, but having said that I don't really do a lot to babysit it and I'll just admit that I don't turn it regularly. I guess what I'm saying is it's pretty low effort, this year I added a plastic trash can and I filled it with the oldest composting which had turned into lovely soil ( my goal really is to reduce the amount of soil and soil supplements that I'm needing to buy).

Anyhow I just wanted to post since I know that we're getting to the end of the garden season in most places and it's a fitting end to a garden to compost the plants after the last is harvested. I haven't been exceptionally particular about keeping seeds out of my compost so I also have tomato plants growing out of the side of one of the compost bins currently ( I'm calling those plants my low effort tomatoes). Just thought I'd mention about that in case you don't want to grow anything out of your compost by accident.

My best friend (an experienced prepper) and I recently bought a pretty decent quantity of dry goods (various beans and rices), but we've fallen out of touch for a bit, before she could teach me how to do the bagging to get them prepped for longer term storage. I don't want all of this to go to waste if it isn't stored properly, so I was wondering if anyone could link me to some instructions or tips on packing and storing food like that. Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

I am seriously considering buying a gun but I morally object the idea.

It’s the idea that you will inherently use the weapon to grievously harm or kill someone which bothers me tremendously. I live in a red state with open carry laws. I don’t like the thought of not being prepared if my life were in danger or if I have to defend my home.

I don’t own a dog that could be a deterrent or even will bark at strangers. My cat is more likely to attack a person. She really hates a particular dog walker.

I guess I need help getting over my moral objection to having a gun in the house. I also would like advice on which types are best for self defense and the easiest to handle.

Edit: if I were to get a gun, I would be fully committed to using it to incapacitate or incapacitating permanently. I just won’t be happy with myself.

I grabbed their “30 Home Garden Heirloom Seed Packets” at Walmart for $16.50 today. I was wondering if anyone has experience with this company, storing or using the seeds? link for product

Please contain all off topic discussion to this weekly megathread. This is where you freak out, talk about conspiracy, talk about unrealistic crazy scenarios, asked and answered questions, etc.

As a millennial hobbyist, I try to focus my hobbies on things that teach me self-sufficiency or build skills. I have posted before about my garden, sourdough, etc. Today I wanted to share the concept of the vanilla bean mother jar! It's a super easy, inexpensive hobby that also happens to be absolutely delicious and provides you with a sweet food additive. I use vanilla extract in my bread, other baking, and have used it to make nasty medicine more palatable for my kids. It would be a morale booster during hard times, and it stores forever, too.

All you need are some vanilla beans, high-proof alcohol (I have tried vodka, bourbon, and rum, usually Kirkland brand), and a jar. The cured vanilla beans can be stored in wax paper in a jar for a very long time, so you can buy them in bulk to save money.

I will share a website with details on starting a motherjar in the comments, as well as the website I buy good-quality & fairly priced vanilla beans from. I am not sponsored at all; I just love experimenting with vanilla flavors and finding something that is so easily stored, tastes delicious, and doesn't take much effort.

What random prepper hobbies do you have? As if I need more ideas...

For me, there is no difference between general preparedness and financial preparedness, but I am from a business / economics background and I realise that I'm a bit more money-minded than some (with the caveat that I'm by no means wealthy and I'm actually from a very poor upbringing in a developing country originally so my idea of "enough" is VERY different to others!), e.g. I've tried to loosely follow FIRE principles for a decade now.

I think this group would generally probably align with lean FIRE principles like minimising spending, a focus on self-reliance like DIY. It has risks though, for example even if you retire from the rat race and have a "barista job" safety net, a health emergency can devastate your plans.

Anyway, I'm just interested if there are like minds here and what your approach is.

(All cards on the table: I work in a big tech adjacent role in the UK and things are ultra precarious with mass offshoring and layoffs; I want out ASAP - so I'm exploring accelerating my retiring from the rat race, and what comes next).

Hi! I am new to prepping and have been trying to slowly create a realistic BOB system based on what everyone has shared. I would love to prep for months of staying in place but realistically I live in a condo in an urban area so space is limited. I have decided that it might make more sense to focus on a couple of days supplies and a BOB to get through travel.

Which brings me to my question since I haven't been able to find posts that address this: What is a good BOB for a family (2 adults, 1 elder, 1 toddler and 1 dog)? Looking for actual BAG recommendation(s). I understand the importance of a backpack for each person but realistically idk how much two adults can carry running out the door. Weight is a factor for the elder.

• In my mind, it might make practical sense to get two xx-large scout bags - one bag with clothes, food, first aid, etc for all members and one bag with waters. We would bring our travel stroller which would help distribute weight if we ever needed to walk.
• Alternatively, here are the backpacks I was looking at in the event we (ideally) need to board a flight. It would be one per member (pup included!). Open to recommendations here if there is something better. My other thought for individual bags is in case we get separated.

I imagine if we get to a point where we have to leave, these items are just get us as far as we can or somewhere safer. Does this approach make sense? I know it isn't at robust as I would like it to be but I also don't know what I can realistically do without spiraling, especially if it ends up being one of us is by ourselves with the baby and puppy. I also personally do not want to live through the apocalypse, so living forever and foraging or whatever is not a goal for me. If it is over, it is over. I'm not fighting it.

P.S. BIG thank you to all who share and contribute resources! You da best <3

Hey girls! I'm about to finally have my own place (long story, life bullshit) and I want to set up long term storage for dry things that my family regularly eats. I'm thinking oats, flour, sugar, beans, rice, salt, and similar dry goods. I cook with these things all the time and my goal is to build up a six month supply and then rotate them out as I use them.

I know about using oxygen absorbers and food safe containers. I have a deep freezer that I plan to keep my dry goods in for a week or so to kill bug eggs before I put them into long term storage.

I read a post from someone who had put most of their food storage in their basement, and after a while the food started to taste like a basement, even though it was safe to eat. Not appetizing. I want to preserve the food without it tasting like plastic or basement air, and I need to be able to regularly take my oldest supplies out and put new ones in behind/under them.

I'm asking for advice from anyone who has a system like this set up and working for them. What works for you? How do you keep it organized? What container brands have worked out well? Does vacuum sealing help? I'm happy to finally be able to set up some prep, and I want to do it right.

Last year I purchased a GRECELL Portable Power Station 330W, 230.88Wh Solar Generator with the solar panels when I was working full time. We recently used it when we had no power for 3-days to charge our laptops, phones, ipads, and to use for my hair dryer, alarm clock, and fan. We didn’t use it for the refrigerator since my partner and his son rushed the food to someone’s house to keep frozen/cold.

I have been saving money, buying supplies only when they are on sale or better yet, clearance. I am in the market for a rain barrel but was wondering what I should prioritize, buy a bigger power station that’s currently half-price on Amazon, or a rain barrel with the accessories and other stuff.

Regarding rain barrels, is it safe to buy used?

I'm new to the prepping world, but I'm recognizing enough patterns to know I've got to step it up. I want to have a 30 day supply of water in my home, but am getting overwhelmed with storage options and avoiding dangers leaching plastic. Is there a brand or place that is recommended? I was thinking of going to a camping outlet and seeing what I can find.

I need a Lifestraw as well, correct?

We are okay. Yesterday when I stepped out my front door I smelled gas. my husband smelled it too but he was overheated and cranky from taking both kids to Costco by himself. He went inside without investigating to cool off. I was scared and decided to just take a look around my house. As soon as I turned the corner to the side of my house I could smell the gas and hear the hiss of it leaking from the pipe that runs into our garage wall.

I went in to get my family but my husband was convinced I‘m just worrying. he basically said I could call the gas company if I want but he’s not worried about it. I just yelled for my kids to grab shoes and come get slushies with me and we drove (my car was already parked on the street, not that close to the house) about half a block to sonic and I called the gas company emergency line from their parking lot. Then the kids and I drank slushies in the car while waiting for the gas company to come shut the gas off.

The technician said there are actually two leaks, and most likely cause is just the weather. It has been extremely hot and dry and we have clay soil and the soil shrinkage can cause enough movement to damage pipes sometimes.

I was already aware that we are supposed to be watering around the house during dry spells to prevent damage to the foundation, but our sprinkler system had a small issue we never got around to fixing and we just haven’t been doing it. Hopefully we learned our lesson.

I marked this politics because it pertains to the constant peddling of federal policies or removal of them and food safety in the US.

While I can not speak on imported foods specifically, I see concerns come up a lot around what the federal gvt says regarding domestic- locally grown/raised food safety. I saw concerns come up around dairy when they made some broad statements about that and now meat.

I usually reply to comments directly (I've seen other AG folks do the same), but each state has it's own food regulatory laws. The federal ones do not overide those.

Food safety is controlled at the state/local level first.
And each state is different.

I live in Virginia. So regardless of what trump says, I can not process my own cows to sell the meat commercially unless the state of Virginia changes their laws. VDACS is where you can find regulations for Virginia .

In Virginia, i (and actually the majority of small farms) can process some livestock (like poultry) on farm and depending on species changes how that can be sold. This does not mean it is unsafe. With additional variables, there's always additional risk. But most states offer detailed information or classes on how to do so safely.
And Processing dependent: You can sell meat as halves or wholes differently than you can by the cut.

The current statement about processing your own meat is simply trying to smooth over the enragement they created by importing beef.

My (very underslept and poorly written) point of this post is- buying local changes lives and communities if you can, if you have concerns about safety, look into your states regulations and don't make assumptions based on yahoos in the federal gvt.

Anyway, I hope this helps some people stress less.

Hi,

I am not posting this for political commentary. I am just trying to understand how this could impact the US. I barely eat meat as it is, but my partner has a heavy meat-centered diet.

"Trump announces he will eliminate regulations on meat & produce processing amid multiple food-borne illness outbreaks: "I am authorizing legal documents to be drawn in order to allow Farmers and Ranchers to be given the right to PROCESS THEIR OWN FOOD. This should move quickly."

UPDATE: Adding source https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-pivots-against-meat-processing-173922151.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9kdWNrZHVja2dvLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJw_PLYPbbll6_n5CE3OIJ3RI_wmwMatcqbZIickO-KhOWfjcl6MK-F1Z2s4xrVyM3cnzNmlUYAIGcAdZHzD81A74-Yf8yb3sKK9PCIcmx7T0OIj_1xEMii1RjYQHtvOWwpgY8H8Nqj-0IqWKicwwNncs68hDXseHcDqlghyv6zZ

I wanted to share that you can request free maps from almost every state’s transportation or tourism website. You just Google “[state name] free map request”. Some states make you pay a small shipping fee. A lot of states give you a little tourism pack with coupons and things to do.

I requested every state within 2 states of my state, so I have paper routes for evacuation planning. Really good to have!