What should we be doing to prepare for hard times ahead...

[CoffeeCat]

I am wondering if people have good "survival" tactics, information or ideas that you could share.

With gas prices going through the roof, the economy being affected by Katrina--and the price of food and other goods probably rising too---what are some suggestions for preparing and coping?

If things get worse--and our economy and our country are affected in ways that we can't even anticipate right now---what can we do to prepare and insulate ourselves from the shock of it all?

Any ideas?

[madeline_con]

1. Find out if we can car pool to work....

with people in our area. It's a start.

[iamjoy]

2. Survival? Judging By What Is Happening In NOLA

If you mean a critical situation where food and other necessities are running out, I think I will die. Literally.

I am not physically strong, and think I lack the stomach for killing. Some one stronger and more desperate will come along and kill me for my last gallon of water.

[candy]

3. I've lived through very hard times---You just do without all but the

necessities.

We are all spoiled.

[BiggJawn]

13. Yeah, I could do without some "luxuries" around here...

But I'd probably be in a foul mood and smell that way in a very short while...

no cable, no i-tunes, no gas toys, I don't smoke, drink or buy sex. No book or record club. No DSL.

Guess the eating out 3X a month has to go (seriously). That $70 month for medicine isn't much of a luxury, though...Toilet would still flush down to about 40 or so this winter, and do you REALLY need hot water to wash with?


Never realised "The Road Warrior" was a documentary of Murka in the 21st Century....

[candy]

25. I'm not talking about giving up "luxuries"-I don't have any either.

There are still lots of things I could give up,though.

1. Lower the thermostat in the winter and put on a sweater.No air conditioning at all.
2. Get rid of the internet and get very cheap telephone service.
3. Give up my daily newspaper and read it at the library
4. Never buy take-out coffee--make it at home.(That alone would save me about $120.00 per month)
5. Do laundry in cold water.
6. Never buy any expensive cleaning product----use just ammonia and water.
5. Play cards and games with family and friends instead of going to the movies.
6. Instead of eating out with friends,have dinners or lunches at eachother's homes.


I could save money without trying very hard and so could most of us.

[w8liftinglady]

14. true...so have I

no cable
generic everything
$200 car
shop at goodwill
grow as much as you can
find lots of free entertainment for the kids
walk a lot
float your bills
garage sales

[Lifelong Protester]

4. Boy that is a good one

and I confess to feeling that same instinct myself, like hoarding canned goods and all. I'm a school administrator, and I worry about us having enough fuel to get our kids to school this winter, either because we are going to be rationed or the price is so dang high, we won't be able to go to school for more than a few days a week.

I'd be filling the larder folks, and no, I'm not kidding.

[rsmith6621]

5. Move To Iraq

the USA spends more in one day in Iraq than upgrading Dikes in 50 NOLO......

[kenny blankenship]

22. 5 cent unleaded there

happy motoring! They have a state-run oil company of course.

[buddysmellgood]

6. I think it's a good idea to have a 3-5 day supply of food, water etc in

an emergency supply kit. That's just a good idea. It used to snow here in Wisconsin so it just made sense to be prepared. But if you're talking long term and a depression, I'd say learn how to do with less. Enjoy simple things and read up on how they dealt with it in the 30's.

[novak goes postal]

7. GUNS? MONEY? and LAWYERS?

oh! I am sorry supposed to be civil ...... and of course if I had money It wouldn't be bad times.

[Horse with no Name]

8. I've had this urge the past few months to stockpile water

Every milk jug is rinsed and filled with water.
I have also purchased 20 gallons of unopened water.
Detergent bottles are filled (without being rinsed out) to provide soapy water.Bleach bottles are left unrinsed and filled to make bleach water.
I'm storing it in my garage.
You can survive without alot of things...but most important is water.

[BeTheChange]

10. Water is definately the most important for an otherwise healthy human..

you can go weeks without food if nessecary.


Good for you.

[Catherine Vincent]

33. I like your tips.

The detergent and bleach bottles. Thanks.

[BeTheChange]

9. I think the biggest thing..

is to have an easily accessible emergency kit. Antiseptic, water purification tablets and water purifier, camp stoves, plastic tarps for shade, twine, - we have a small very light compact tent. Fishing line and hooks. Utility knife with compass.. bandages.

We keep several days of camping food packages, vitamins, cod liver oil, sunscreen.

I think that about covers it.

[titoresque]

44. great list...add sodium iodite eom

[Jamison]

11. Get advice from our elders.

Seriously.

Talk to the people who lived through, and are old enough to remember how things were in the Great Depression and get advice from them.

[titoresque]

12. Our family has decided

to start having regular family meetings. It's nice because we all live pretty close to eachother. We're going to make a list of things we need to learn how to do.....survival. Since it would take too long for everyone to learn everything.....and we may not have that kind of time. We are each going to learn 1 or 2 things well enough to teach eachother. Anyhow, just a thought and regardless if anything really gets to that point......we'll learn some new things.

[AlienGirl]

19. Excellent idea...

I am a connoisseur of dystopian and end-of-the-world literature, myself, so I've already thought out a lot of this.

Tucker

[Richard Steele]

15. Stock up on canned goods RIGHT NOW!

Food moves in VEHICLES; rising fuel prices are gonna
ripple-effect FOOD prices in a few days.

Buy a bicycle if you don't have one already.

Go online and hit used bookstores for every "fix-it"
book you can find: Home repair, appliance repair, etc...
anything that can make you more self-sufficient.

Insulate your home; however much you spend is
gonna seem CHEAP in a year or 2!

MOST of all: get to know your neighbors.
We are all going to need STRONG communities
to see us through this shit.

Just my 2cents!

[AlienGirl]

16. Know at least five people you can trust with your life.

Learn how to make do with what you have. Learn to sew. Plant a garden if you have space. Learn how to do simple repairs (home and auto). Learn at least one hands-on trade that people will need no matter what (like plumbing or engine repair). Get some back-stock of coffee and cigarettes and vodka, even if you don't use any of those things yourself. Know how to do a little of everything. Be exceptionally nice and polite to those around you, for someday you may have to depend on them. Make other people's lives easier so that someday when you're desperate they remember you did them a good turn once.

None of these things will inconvenience you much; none will be a problem if things just go on as normal; and if a cataclysm happens, any of this might save you.

Tucker

[titoresque]

20. hmmmmmm some of this stuff sounds familiar

;)

[AlienGirl]

21. It ought to!

;-)

[ohio_liberal]

48. Hands-on trade

My son is graduating next year and can't decide what he wants to do with himself. I suggested that he become an electrician, plumber, or mechanic. Plumbers make twice more money than nurses around here. He kind of turned up his nose at it and it disappointed me. He wants something more 'glamorous' I suppose. Tech jobs may go away but damn, we're always going to need plumbers.

Me, I'm going back to nursing school next year at 38 years old. It's never too late to learn a new trade. And I'm already doing basic engine repair in the neighborhood. Most of the people around here, even the menfolk, don't do simple things like changing oil. I wasn't allowed to drive a car as a teenager without knowing how to fix some of the most basic things.

[anitar1]

17. I've lived through some hard times as a child and learned

a lot. Amazing what one can do. Heating is going to be expensive from now on. Lots of thermals and throws, keeping the thermostat low. We happen to have a wood stove and plenty of wood available, so that helps immensely. Buy dried foods in bulk, also canned. But if one needs them, why not? I am planting a winter garden this year in my raised beds. That's easy to do.Plan on having some games around to use. Cards are fun. If one is unable to drive as much due to gas prices, plan to do errands and grocery shopping in one day. I do that now and it is easy.Bake your own bread, easy and tastes much better. Grill meats instead of using the oven so much.The gas barbque tanks go a long way. I also have kerosene lamps if needed.It is a good idea to have the large plastic carboys for water storage. There are some excellent resources for dried veggies. The best are the Mormon organizations. One can order from them. You'll have to google or call a local LDS church to get info.They come in large ,air tight cans. small packages]I know you prefer a no meat diet. Prices have already escalated here. Good luck.

[ispeculate]

18. I am thinking about getting myself a nice bicycle...

and if gas goes to $5.00 I swear I'll use it!

[titoresque]

23. you'll want to make sure the tires

are the No-flat kind!!

[BiggJawn]

27. How far's your daily commute?

Mine's 30 miles, and I said "if it ever gets to $3..."

Time to Fish or eat Bait, I guess...

[ispeculate]

31. I think my commute is about 10 miles maybe a little less

I guess Im gonna get in good shape

[BiggJawn]

47. I know some guys who do 40 miles round trip every day....

But these are guys who are into "Ultra" rides and their idea of a long ride is 1200 Km (750 miles)

[undergroundpanther]

24. I can't wait for death to take me out

Survive? why? Why bother.. This world is nothing to me anymore. I never feel peace,I am not happy,I don't belong here.. All you see is pain,mind games ,lies,oblviousness,and people playing make believe and domination games even as they die,..A world of Haves depriving have nots,THe Us and them as bullies stomp everyone down and the down blame each other but never question the domination system that covers the minds of this world and posses it like an invisible prison..We are in platos cave..

I want out.Fuck this life... and... nobody gets out of existance alive.
So why fight or fear death? I don't. Death is the gates of this physical trap opening, Death time to break out of the birth death cycle and the resulting traumas of existance forever.. Life and suffering is what happens to us when evil touches the good principle ..

[DemonFighterLives]

29. Hang tight man!

We need ya around here!
Things will improve eventually when we run the bad seeds out.
:beer:

[undergroundpanther]

34. Run them out?

They'll only come back bullies hate to lose..I think we will have to destroy them.Machiavelli was right.Sadly he was right.

[DemonFighterLives]

40. They will be bullies to the end

and I know it is not easy, but the tide is beginning to turn. B*sh has made one fatal error and that is that all of us would continue to believe him and follow blindly. Some can't stand him, many know that he is heartless and the rest are questioning everything around them. Why has the country gone to hell in a handbasket since dubby took power?

[faithnotgreed]

38. panther i hope you saw my post to you earlier this evening

im thinking of you

looks like you dont live very far from me either (im in dc)

[kentuck]

26. Move to the country....

Buy some canning jars, pints and quarts. Plant a garden. Green beans and apples and berries can good and last long. Get a wood burning stove. Find a spring or dig a well. Hunt walnuts and hickory nuts in the forests. Buy a good shotgun or .22 rifle to shoot game if necessary. Bury your potatoes in very dry dirt under the floor of your house where there is no moisture and they will not rot. Get about a dozen chickens for eggs and "set" a couple of hens on about a dozen eggs each, so you can have chickens and eggs replenished. If possible, get yourself a pig but build his pen downwind, a good distance from your home. :)

[undergroundpanther]

37. Don't have the money

Or the will to do it.I just don't think it is worth fighting anymore.

I live in the suburbs in my moms basement.I collect disability. Soon I fear the repugs will cut it..and I will be really poor as in NO income.

Society would deem me a loser.I have nothing to woo another country with so they'd accept me as a citizen,I would not be chosen.and I could not afford to go anywhere.This culture blames me for having PSTD they say to raped women they ask for it, and blame me for my suffering rather than help or care or empathize.They'd condemn me for "not pulling my weight" and judge me for being different. I haven't the desire to live among a society like this one I isolate because I can't stand it, So Death is my freedom especially when the system most people have pinned their definition of self worth upon implodes and screws them.They weill not bite the masters hands they will bite people like me because they fear master.People do not like being shaken out of a comfy delusion and waking up to the horror that is.

And their anger will be misplaced before they ever admit the leaders they love and ape"the powers that be" have made our life as it is,and they will seek leaders to fixit again and again so they never have to introspect and grow up.

That is why when a person in pain speaks or complains they shoot the messenger blame the victim..it is better than confronting the abusive system.

[kentuck]

39. Everybody has something to contribute....

It's not necessariy something "physical". It doesn't have to even be visible. The most valuable assets are invisible and cannot be touched by another person. It is the soul within each of us. It is immeasurable. It's as if someone put one drop of LSD-25 into a bucket of water. We do not know the impact of one person's soul - no matter their physical qualities.

[BrutalEntropy]

28. well...

I hardly know much about survival... but I know if you take a 6volt lantern battery and touch the contacts to a piece of steel wool it will light on fire... put some kindling on top of it before doing that of course.

Sure beats rubbing two sticks together ;-)

[koopie57]

30. I drive slower

and if there is no one behind me I coast. I filled my car on Sunday and am playing a game to see how many mpg I can get. It is stupid I know, but it helps me feel a little better.

[doc03]

32. Turn Amish

[DanCa]

35. a couple of thoughts

1: No tv and computer on at the same time.
2: Buy battery powered candels lamps and radios to kill that electricity bill.
3: Only watch the tv programs you want to no surfing or couch potatoing.

4: Bicycle or walk when you can
5: Ride public transportation
6: Cut Coupons
7: put spare change in a cup at the end of the month than cash it.
8: Order cheap stuff on the menu bbar
9: buy in bulk
10: Car pool

[DanCa]

36. a couple of thoughts

1: No tv and computer on at the same time.
2: Buy battery powered candels lamps and radios to kill that electricity bill.
3: Only watch the tv programs you want to no surfing or couch potatoing.

4: Bicycle or walk when you can
5: Ride public transportation
6: Cut Coupons
7: put spare change in a cup at the end of the month than cash it.
8: Order cheap stuff on the menu bbar
9: buy in bulk
10: Car pool

[kestrel91316]

41. Buy a good solar oven.

[Wizard777]

42. Impeach Bush. He'll just take a bad thing and make it worse.

[wli]

43. My medicine needs refrigeration. I'm dead not long after power's out.

I can't live without it.

[Contrary1]

45. I am almost embarrassed to admit it....

but I started tonight. I went to three grocery stores, and bought $200. worth of canned vegetables, tuna, salmon, peanut butter, and pasta. Tomorrow, I am going to the meat market I do business with, and load up on beef, butter, and other items I can stick in my freezer. I will also be stocking up on cat food for my furry friends.

I am very fortunate that I have the extra cash to be able to do this. I only wish I had a garden that I could harvest and do the canning myself.

I can't do much about the gas, since I work from my home. My husband is going to speak to a co-worker who is moving not too far from us next week about ride sharing.

I worry more about my adult children. They haven't really experienced bad economic times. I think we are headed for the worst times this country has ever seen before. I wasn't around for the Great Depression. I know it was very bad then. But the mentality is different now. There is a meanness that has settled upon this country the last few years. And that's what I am worried most about.

More homeless, more without jobs...and more people who can't bring themselves to give a damn about the suffering of others.

[theHandpuppet]

49. Contrary 1, think about buying a food dehydrator

You can buy up lots of fresh fruits, veggies and beef and dry them yourself for long-term storage.

Here are some links:
http://www.harvestessentials.com/fooddeh.html
http://www.excaliburdehydrator.com/
http://www.food-dehydrator-store.com/Excalibur-Dehydrator.htm?s=GAWS&kw=

[youthere]

51. You might think about canning some of that meat...

No worries if the power fails.

[Tsiyu]

54. Someone on DU calls this hoarding

No. This is providing for your family and yourself so you are not a burden on already overburdened emergency services and it is helping you survive with some semblance of health in an emergency.

Some years I can and lay in a good larder for winter. I have relied on those canned goods when I lost a job, needed some stuff to add to a food drive, knew someone who needed food badly.

So, no, it's not hoarding; it's common sense.

[theHandpuppet]

56. Yes, it's the kind of traditional common sense planning...

... that I grew up with. My parents and grandparents always kept a well-stocked larder, not only to see them through hard times but in case an emergency should arrive.

[KayLaw]

61. I started doing this last November

Right after Bush "won." I joined Costco and spent about a thousand dollars stocking up, then did the same thing with $700 last week. I'm going to do it again tomorrow, though I'm itching to shop today.

[Tsiyu]

46. Don't buy any more worthless crap

*Get a Grundig handcrank radio/light from campmor


*Stock up on canned meat, fruit, soups, preserves (jam, etc), crackers, non-perishable cheese, pasta, sauce, etc. Don't buy a bunch of any one thing or you'll get really sick of it. Just pick one item a week to focus on if you shop weekly. Buy 12 cans of each item ( or more). It will add up and won't take such a bite out of your budget all at once.

* Get a hand-powered can opener LOL

* Use zinc oxide for deodorant (Desitin).

* Water, water, water.

* Bleach, bleach, bleach

Lots more tips but others will cover them because DUers are a resourceful bunch.

[theHandpuppet]

50. We have a solar powered radio and hand-crank lantern

No worries about batteries. I'd recommend them to anyone. Also a solar cooker/oven. You can actually make one yourself from free blueprints you can download from the web. Just do a google search for "Solar Cooker" blueprint and you'll find several of them.

[Tsiyu]

52. That's my next purchase

I bought a couple for nephews at Christmas a few years ago and I wish I'd had one the other night. It's hard to find that new pack of batteries in the pitch dark.

We have a Coleman stove for cooking and a Lehmans iron campgrill for outside ( and four acres of woods) but I will check out that solar cooker design.
Lots of good ideas...

[theHandpuppet]

55. We bought a Freeplay

Here's a link:

http://www.survivalsuppliers.com/products/disaster/BayGen-Freeplay/

[BiggJawn]

62. That's better than a solar powered lantern....

Couldn't resist....:D

I have a Freeplay radio, too. It has BOTH solar cells and the spring motor.

[H2O Man]

53. "....that you could share."

With those four words, you answered your own question. Learning to share is the #1 survival tactic. Everything else is secondary.

[all.of.me]

57. revolution.

[tazkcmo]

58. Don't Panic

Just try to become as self sufficient as possible. Grow your own food for instance. Indoors even. Set up a rain water collection system. Either for consumption or to water those plants. Most folks can even raise a few chickens in the backyard. Yes, even in the city. There's lots we can do but just don't freak out. Stay calm, focused and hopeful.

[Karenina]

59. Job ONE:

INDICT.IMPEACH.IMPRISON

[LeftHander]

60. Tips...

Alternate fuels for heating and cooking (wood, wood pellets)
Solar panels, deep cycle batteries
Stock up on candles and lamps
Tune up your bicycle
Set up 60 gallon rain barrels on each downspout
Convert the yard into a garden (next season)
Start canning local fresh veggies (good idea and it's fun)
Turn off the TV.
Get a weather radio (Until Santorum gets the NWS privatized)


I've already switched my house to wood pellet heating.
Working on solar and batteries to supply modest electricity needs.
Riding my bike to work.