Please offer comments regarding your personal survival preparedness. Two months ago I built an additional pantry, expecting to prepare for a week or two. Perhaps this is not long enough.

How long are you preparing for?

Are you putting away items for barter?

Are you planting a garden/putting away seeds for future use?

Thanks Beth

-- Beth Tams (lulu010101@aol.com), January 03, 1999

Answers

I can only prepare on low-side. Wife will have to kill me if I do too much. Slowly. With dull-knife.

Having said that, I think the important question is "at what point does water stop flowing and sewage backup". At that point things get ugly. Since most of us here can purify water (although the unprepared can't), the sewage is the killer for us "city-folk" (7-11 ~1.5 miles away). "Country-folk" should do better.

Please, "country-folk" (the only survivors) - don't let yer kids grow up to be 'city-slickers!'

-- Anonymous99 (Anonymous99@Anonymous.com), January 03, 1999.

Beth... We have been preparing for about a year now. Counting the dehydrated storage food my Dad (who lives in his motor home behind our house in the country) has bought, we probably have enough for him, my wife and I, her son, my daughter and my idiot DWGI brother in Dallas, his wife and twin sons for at least a year. We have a 8.5 kw propane generator, a 1,000-gallon tank and two 250-gallon tanks. We have several firearms and plenty of ammunition for each. We also have two grist mills (one electric, the other powered by a gasoline engine). We have a bag of silver coins, some gold and some funny money, which many say will be valuable for awhile. We're out in the country, 150 miles from a major urban area, we have a 320-foot water well, plenty of food and the means and the will to protect it and ourselves.

-- Vic Parker (francisco@d'anconia.com), January 03, 1999.

I'm reading many different views on how much you should store. I'm hearing 3 weeks to 2 years so take your pick. No one can really say for sure what you should do. What determines it for me is based on several factors which are: How far you are from a city. How available will water be. Are you on a septic system or city sewer. Do you have a garden, and how do you plan to water it. How many people you will be feeding, and will they be contributing to your preparation (friends, relatives, etc). How and what are your plans to protect your property from thieves or gangs? I once believed in barter items, but I don't see any point in it for me. If I barter away stuff, that means I won't have anything left for me and my family. One more thing, don't depend on others to come through for you, you must be responsible for yourself and family.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), January 03, 1999.

thanks for the response. you brought up a great issue for me. i was planning on planting a small garden in my backyard. however, i live in metro phoenix. i hadn't taken into consideration the water that i would need for that. not much rain here. thanks Beth

-- Beth Tams (lulu010101@aol.com), January 03, 1999.

IF you live in a metro area, consider discussing joint preparations with your neighbors. i live in a metro area also, and for those of us who can't/won't leave here, it's better to ban together, in my opinion. schools, senior centers, libraries are going to be the likely shelters. if your water is gravity fed, that affects your water storage plan. but it also puts more strain on sewage. if everyone is prepared, the stress on emergency services is less likely.

-- Sharon Schultz (shalom100@aol.com), January 03, 1999.

Beth...I too live in metro Phoenix...We have many water canals flowing thru the city. I have mucho agua barrels (from Pepsi). Many swimming pools in the area. Lots of water behind the string of dams north of town. I will have some of my neighbors helping in a "community" effort....I will be happy to exchange info with you.....ron

-- ronbanks (phxbanks@webtv.net), January 03, 1999.

Ron do you have a contact at Pepsi or do the just sell them to anyone. How much did you pay? Do you have a phone # for barrels?

-- Bill (bill@microsoft.com), January 03, 1999.