Gearing Up

Saw this article with some saying 3 months, some 4 months, some 1 year. Just wondering how long people are expecting to live off of stocked goods. I realize everyone must make their own decision based on personal circumstance and liklihood of expected/unexpected vistors/relatives.

Personally I am 3 months on food and water and not there yet on alternate heat/fuel and Rx meds.

-- Bill P (porterwn@one.net), June 07, 1999

Answers

I am prepared for about 3mo premium food then maybe 6 mo of rice and beans and am also preparing for indifinite wilderness survival

-- anon (anon@anon.com), June 07, 1999.

Bill - This thread just started up today on the same topic. Go to http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=000vHb

-- Ken Seger (kenseger@earthlink.net), June 07, 1999.

(1) Enough to cover the expected emergency period without supplemental foods (such as gardens, etc.).

(2) Enough to last until the self-sufficiency garden is up and running.

(3) Enough for the expected maximum number of people in my household.

Exact values may vary with household, climate, and garden availability.

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), June 08, 1999.

I was doing some thinking on this myself. Was thinking about the long lists of "stuff" some people advocate getting and how others moan that they can't possibly afford to buy all of that. Well- I can't afford lots of stuff either. But how much do you really need?

It's one thing to be sure that everyone has a warm coat, hat, gloves and boots for instance- not depending on running out in Jan. and buying one. But how many do you need? Do you stock up on a five year supply of boots? Ten year? Rest of your lifetime supply? Where do you say enough is enough? Same thing with anything else- at some point you just have to accept that you'll make sure you have what feels like a prudent amount of stuff you really feel the need to have, and let it be. The reality is that either the manufacture and supply of these things will continue, will be interrupted and then continue in some form, or else won't come back at all. If it doesn't come back- you'll have to do without it whatever "it" is.

People are resourceful. If you don't have a particular item, you'll find a way to do what you need to do with something else. If that's not the case- ie: insulin for a diabetic who has to have it- and you stockpile a reasonable supply and still the suply is cut off- well- the person dies- there is no other choice. Can't stock a lifetime supply of the stuff. That is life.

So- seems to me, that re; food- how much to have depends on your situation. Live in an apt. with no way to grow, fish or hunt- need much more food on hand than if you live in the country. Live in a cold area with a 3 month growing season- need more food than a southerner, and so on. Same with water- if you have access to a supply of pure or could become pure water- don't need to store much- if live where that's not possible- store much!

I don't know if this makes sense to you or not- been thinking about this whenever I see the long lists of "stuff" posted here- yes- most items on it are very good and useful- and yet most of this stuff did not exist for our ancestors; who were able to go west in a covered wagon and build their home, clear fields, raise livestock and fend off Indians too. So- sure- I'll make sure i have an extra mantle or two for my Alladin and some oil as well. and matches, soap, TP, meds for the kid, seed and food. But- whether or not i expect the "crisis" to last a month or a decade- I'll not be storing up anything for a decade. If it's not available, I'll make my own or do without. (Although we were discussing this a.m., the prospects of making a "coffee run" to Jamaica or some such place by sailboat, if need be and the coffee supply runs out.....)

-- anita (hillsidefarm@drbs.com), June 08, 1999.