September 3, 2024 - What did you do this week to prepare?
Posted by Anthropic--principle@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 80 comments
Please use this thread to discuss whatever preps you worked on this year/week. Let us know what big or little projects you have been working on, please don't hesitate to comment. Others might get inspired to work on their preps by reading about yours!
Express-Dog-4762@reddit
One of my preps paid off this week. My son came down with walking pneumonia, I gave him a new bottle of fish mox, which is amoxicillin. He's getting better every day. Have treated several friends using the same meds and it always made them feel better. It's the same FDA approved medicine you get from the pharmacy. Same FDA number on the capsules, same color and size of prescription amoxicillin. Just a lot cheaper and stores well for years.
Wackywilly12@reddit
Worked on getting an old cb radio up and running
Express-Dog-4762@reddit
I still have mine from years ago. After I took it out of my truck, I bought a base station 120/12 volt inverter. Puy an antenna on my garage roof and used it regularly.
Anthropic--principle@reddit (OP)
I want one so bad but never see any anywhere. Or I just forget.
How many people still use those?
Wackywilly12@reddit
Not the most, I think if you’re serious about radio transmission then you may want to look into HAM. I don’t really know anything about it though, and we had a couple old cb’s laying around so I’m trying to get them to pick something up. I can pick up one dude who just yells on channel 6 constantly and that’s about it
MIRV888@reddit
I got a hand held CB at a yard sale for 5 bucks. Seems to work fine. Has a car lighter power cable too.
Southern_Water_Vibe@reddit
Haven't done anything deliberate, but I tallied up my food and found out that I have about 69,285 Calories in my house, not counting odds and ends like flavorings, half a thing of olives, etc.
If a situation arose where my stove and water still worked (say, plague quarantine, or freak snowstorm, or if I somehow gave birth tomorrow*), I could live comfortably for over a month, survive and be a little hungry for 46 days, and possibly survive two months.
Which is kind of comforting to know, that if I can store all that without realizing it, I can totally get the rest of it (water, first aid supplies) together.
*all of these are impossible but they're all I could think of that fit the bill
icyoniontime@reddit
Got a chest freezer last week and have been buying extra meat each week from the local farm share to stock it. Cooking about double the food my family needs at each meal to put away vacuum-sealed freezer meals. I have dietary restrictions so it's a big prep focus for us.
Charged the big solar battery I got on sale. Still need to test pass-through mode and automatic switching over, gonna use it to run the fridge for medications during short power outages.
Next is re-sanitizing and refilling the water cubes and getting the car emergency gear settled. Easy to spend a lot on that, trying to do it a little at a time, but we're heading in to colder weather so need to at least have blankets etc.
theillustriousnon@reddit
Fed my bees, finished drying corn for seeds and grinding, finished drying sunflower heads.
actualsysadmin@reddit
I tried my hand at growing sunflowers and they didn’t take. Any tips? I’d love to get enough seeds to salt and eat, or press them into oil.
theillustriousnon@reddit
What ag zone are you in? Happy to help if I can.
DisingenuousGuy@reddit
Took the external 8TB hard disk home from the office for a monthly comprehensive backup of all my data, photos, videos and important documents before putting it back tomorrow. Going to be updating my burned DVDs and misc. flash drives for additional backup.
Also gave my only vehicle a proper oil change last weekend.
The trunk already has a well-stocked bag and my "GTFO Tote" in my garage is OK so I didn't mess with it at all.
Vegetaman916@reddit
This week I did a full mechanical overhaul on what would be my "bugout" Jeep, and also completed a project to create a box kit for offroad recovery and also basic survival and emergency tools inside that vehicle. Even some basic water/food supplies that can go back and forth from garage to vehicle in a small bag before trips.
Sometimes, prepping just means being ready for the simple things.
Like being stuck crossing over Donner Pass in the snow. Don't want people in the car to start feeling peckish...
actualsysadmin@reddit
I miss my jeep sometimes; but at least I’m back in a 4WD vehicle
Vegetaman916@reddit
I spend almost more time off road than on these days, so 4WD is definitely a must. I've got a Wrangler outfitted for bugout, and a Grand Cherokee for more casual expeditions, both coming up on 10 years old. Jeeps are awesome, once you replace... everything, lol.
AttentionFar2582@reddit
I threw out a lot of paintings I did last year. I cannot stand the smell of the lingering (acrylic) paint. I am taking up colored pencil drawing instead which can be easily shredded. My city is becoming petty about the amount of garbage people can put out for collection (although this is increasing the amount of litter on the streets), so I am decluttering.
I am also actively disengaging from anything not senior related. I had planned to do volunteer work possibly teaching English but with the politics and ideologies and mass demonstrations of the younger generations I feel safest with seniors thus I won't be doing this.
MrHmuriy@reddit
We didn't do anything special - we put the grown vegetables in a root cellar, let the grapes ferment into wine, I made 10 liters of moonshine (in the process - I tried a little), preserved tomato juice and made several jars of pork sausages in a pressure canner
actualsysadmin@reddit
Make sure you keep the heads and tails of the moonshine separate from what you’re gonna drink. Might work for sterilizing but don’t drink it.
MrHmuriy@reddit
Yes, of course, I distill the moonshine twice and then age it with coconut activated carbon. I use the tails and heads mainly for lighting the coals in the grill.
jake_robins@reddit
Kicked off some great workstreams this week!
actualsysadmin@reddit
The last thing I care about in a disaster is tech. That can mostly be rebuilt, and it’s generally not info you need immediately.
Most reference materials could be downloaded onto your phone or tablet which is a much more conservative use of power.
jake_robins@reddit
My home network is not in preparation for a disaster, it’s in preparation for an internet outage or sudden departure of online services I use. It’s about self-hosting and self-reliance 🙂
actualsysadmin@reddit
I can recommend some software if you’re interested for some self hosting options if you’d like.
You might like the datahoarder subreddit too if you hadnt seen that.
jake_robins@reddit
I’ve heard of it! Data hoarding is a bit further down the list in my priorities right now though hahaha.
actualsysadmin@reddit
One thing I would recommend is just keeping ISOs of your favorite OS in triplicate saved on redundant drives. Stuff like windows workstation/server, Linux, sql, docker, etc. stuff like that wouldn’t be able to be replaced for years.
thunderblade95@reddit
Reading prepping books and making a list of things that I should add to my preps. My biggest mistake was posting a topic on here and ridiculed about it. Yes I'm still buttmad for anyone else seeing it because this is a page about prepping and yet the topic was barely answered and more statements about how it would never happen. Like why are you in here if you're not going to give advice/tips. And there are others who had the same thing. Is the mentality really "You're on your own" rather than "let's provide necessary information so we don't make mistakes"?
actualsysadmin@reddit
I liked your post, as well as the counter argument.
Eredani@reddit
A big part of prepping is considering things that are unlikely to happen. I'm confused about why so many anti-preppers are here. Gotta troll somewhere, I guess.
thunderblade95@reddit
That's why I joined city prepping community from YouTube. His website has free starter guides and they often have live discussions with experts that anyone can ask questions. If you become a member you can talk to other members who will actually guide you
squidwardTalks@reddit
Yeah .. sometimes this group is supportive... And sometimes not. I usually try the history first.
Bejant@reddit
Working on hiking more than 3 to 5 miles with a pack. I'm up to 3 miles with 11lb pack.
actualsysadmin@reddit
I would recommend more miles with only water weight. I like going on uneven unpaved ground so walking sticks are used which transfers a lot of weight off your legs and knees to your arms.
Dangerous_Nobody2477@reddit
Cut, split and stacked firewood. Canned apple pie filling.
actualsysadmin@reddit
Nothing like apple pie. You grow the apples or know a guy?
I got some cans of pie filling for like $2.50/can recently. It’s not terrible but it’s not homemade. Apple, blueberry, and peach iirc.
Traditional-Leader54@reddit
Purchased additional first aid kit for a vehicle. Working on restocking expired meds in 2 other first aid kits. Took care of personal health via medical appointments and bloodwork. “Fall” cleaning and organizing of the house and a lot of prepping for today’s first day back to school for our two kids.
actualsysadmin@reddit
Too damn hot to want to clean here still. Maybe in another month or 3 haha
actualsysadmin@reddit
50lbs rice sealed in Mylar.
Bought more silver
Almost done acquiring the tools I need to make a platform for the backseat of my truck. This will be the start of my carpentry experience.
Purchased a chest freezer on sale for $189. Just waiting on it to be delivered to Home Depot this week so I can pick it up. Happy I got a truck now, this would have been a missed opportunity otherwise because shipping would have been almost half the cost of the item.
During an inspection of my preps I found my girlfriend used 10 gallons of gas from the garage. That’s approx 80 hours of usage on the generator, but it’s okay because I had another 20 gallons on hand and my truck holds 32. I hadn’t added stabil to that gas yet since it’s nearing the end of hurricane season. I’ll rotate this gas into our tanks and buy fresh and add stabil at the end of the season. Check your preps!
I got my new bread tins in today so I can keep refining my bread making abilities. I’d like to learn a way to cook this without the use of my electric oven. I was thinking my propane smoker can get that hot, it’s basically an oven.
This week was also gun range week. Got some good reps in.
Signed up for an instructor lead gun course in a few weeks to get more confident with an AR15. Should be interesting. I’m proficient with a handgun, bolt action rifle, and decent enough with a shotgun, but AR15 is a completely new platform for me.
Increased canned food stores. I try to get an extra 8-10 cans every time we go to Sam’s or Costco.
Sunny_Fortune92145@reddit
Started dehydrating my zucchini.
Environmental_Art852@reddit
You are blessed. 12 years ago, my husband did not have my back, and I lost so much respect for him. His friend verbally assaulted me. While I was outside my dying son's apartment.
Environmental_Art852@reddit
I purchased more fire starters. Replenished the canned food. Looked for additional storage solutions.
mcoiablog@reddit
Working in the garden and then the kitchen every day. Picking countless tomatoes so canning lots of sauce. Dehydrating basil, parsley, cilantro, oregano, swiss chard, dill, mint, lavender, rosemary, thyme and yarrow. Freezing figs. I will made jam at some point. Beans are being frozen. I started 2 bottles of vanilla. They will be ready for Christmas. Been organizing my medical pantry.
rmannyconda78@reddit
Made some hardtack the other day
Background_Wear_1074@reddit
This week I purchase two used 275 gal stackable water storage containers. These will go in one corner of my old garage which I basically just use for storage and tools, table saw, etc. These will replace the six 50 gal barrels I've been storing water in for 3 or 4 years. The blue barrels do not have a faucet on the bottom so the water would have to be pumped out. The 275 gal containers have a large opening in the top and a 2 inch threaded opening on the bottom with a shutoff valve. I will purchase an adapter for the 2 Inch opening that will allow me to attach a garden hose. Next, I need to purchase a chlorine power and citric acid to prevent bacteria, mold or algae growth.
batShitsTheFan@reddit
Made my GF laugh that i spent 350$ on a backpack to put more expensive stuff inside that im hoping on to never have to use.
Additional_Insect_44@reddit
Mixed miracle grow with water in a jug, found a caterpillar on a pumpkin plant that's nearly dead, bought a boonies hat with bug netting in it.
hadespersephone@reddit
Bought 2 more fire extinguishers. A family member's house burned down a few days ago. Everybody made it out unhurt but they lost everything. Please make sure you have extinguishers and fresh batteries in your smoke detectors!
spleencheesemonkey@reddit
Bought a solar panel and an MC4 to XT60 cable.
iwannaddr2afi@reddit
It's harvest/foraging season so staying busy with that. Our garden did not do great this year (and while it doesn't help anything, I'm hearing from most other people in my area that they experienced the same thing). Many of the wild plants produced much less as well (primarily fruits, berries, and seeds).
It's a reminder of how lucky we are not to be solely reliant on the garden and land for our sustenance. Also provides the opportunity for a thought experiment about what we'd be eating right now if we did have to (lots of greens, carrots did pretty great as well).
Otherwise, we're working on lots of projects around the house and land. Clearing and cutting up dead fall and storm damage victims lol a lot of that this year as well.
We're trying to enjoy the last bits of summer, so not going quite so hard that we lose out on time. It's a balancing act, as always!
Financial, as always, continues and is boring to talk about.
squidwardTalks@reddit
I went through this exact thing this weekend too. Normally I'm storing like crazy this time of year but this year our garden isn't producing from poor weather. I went mushroom hunting and didn't find anything and now I'm kind of auditing what we're using vs what is available. There are more native plants I want to use for foraging that I intend to grow so I'm looking more towards those options. We're also going to do more raised beds in case our garden becomes a swamp again.
iwannaddr2afi@reddit
Yes, very good call. We're seriously looking at how to possibly raise the only area we can have a garden in (just via landscaping - hauling in compost, soil, and manure) to address the water issues as well. Also have been slowly learning what plants normally grow native a zone south of us to help them migrate, but that's obviously an imperfect solution, since things are weirding as much as they're warming. Best of luck with all this.
Kildor@reddit
Inventoried our bags. Create SOP for gunshots in neighborhood. Started developing communication plans and developing primary, secondary and tertiary routes to our rally point.
TheBTCScalper@reddit
Bought quite some new stuff. - get home bar almost fully equiped. - extra small solar pannels
Skeedybeak@reddit
Bought more Mountain House #10 cans for 50% off during their Labor Day sale!
squidwardTalks@reddit
I almost hit that up but we have a lot stored in our root cellar. So I don't know if we'd actually use it.
baggagehandlr@reddit
Getting a quote to have a simple pump hand pump installed on my electric well to have access to my well water off the grid
deltronethirty@reddit
I haven't found a well guy that would advise it. They suggested a secondary "irrigation" well. Less than $thousand.
baggagehandlr@reddit
I've spoke to 5 well companies. Three told me what I wanted didn't exist. One told me it may not be worth it because you'd have to pump it regularly. The last one, recommended by simple pump, said it works great they have installed many but is an expensive add on
squidwardTalks@reddit
Good to know, something like this is on my to-do list as well.
1Startide@reddit
Attended a NGL (No Greater Love) meeting for the first time at the invitation of a client. It was actually quite interesting (watched the movie Grid Down, Power Up which was very enlightening), and learned about a neighborhood radio communication chain that might be lifesaving during both mi or and major emergencies. It’s not political - the attendees seemed 50/50 conservative and liberal at this meeting), and while it has a religious base, wasn’t overtly religious. I’ll attend a few more times, but feeling fairly positive about it after the first experience.
Andr1yTheOne@reddit
Looking into meshtastic for family off grid communication.
wakanda_banana@reddit
Installed bidet, ordered more air filters
GovernmentHovercraft@reddit
Been working with plastic rope & learning the different ways it can be utilized. Bought 6 packs from HD & put some in mine & my kids bags.
ThatGirl0903@reddit
It’s still garden season!! Pushing my plants hard to get enough to freeze. This week I’ll be processing green beans & tomatos I’ll be making into paste.
Lactating-almonds@reddit
Figuring out how to make full meals in my freeze dryer! Expensive investment but so far it’s been amazing at making long term food storage
bioglaze@reddit
24kdgolden@reddit
I worked on better organization and it's going to be a longer term project. I have a go bag but I had used some items and not replaced them. I also had home items that I began to consolidate and label.
J701PR4@reddit
That reminds me that I haven’t done a good inventory since COVID.
J701PR4@reddit
I bought nice lightweight mess kits for my family & bought several #10 cans of dehydrated food.
Our local firing ranger went out of business & tomorrow we’re joining a new one that has an outdoor rifle range.
GreyBeardsStan@reddit
Replaced the old farm truck for another that's the same model, same year, same parts. 70k less miles and zero rust or damage.
Multiple vehicles can give such peace of mind
fresh_lemon_sugar@reddit
I put a case of water in the back of my car and a can of tuna in the emergency crate in the garage.
Wild_Hoverfrog_3@reddit
I bought two straight razors, 400 replacement blades, 4 round 4” mirrors, two balls of shaving soap, 1 boar hair brush, and a box of bandaids. Sealed and placed in the box for the day after.
btbmfhitdp@reddit
i watched a prepping video on youtube so i could feel like i was doing something without actually doing anything.
Ravenamore@reddit
Bought another pack of water. Each pack is a little over a gallon, so my goal is 12 packs - 3 days worth of water for all four of us. I've got three and a half so far.
My health insurance gives me a certain amount to spend on things like OTC stuff, food, utilities, etc. per month. After I use it for big things, I usually have about $40 left over. The amount doesn't roll over, so I generally use the leftover to stock up on OTC meds/supplies for first aid kit, and food that stores easily. Last month, I got several cartons of long-life milk, two containers of peanut butter, and two things of jam.
This month, I plan to:
-buy more wheat gluten to make and freeze several different flavored batches of seitan to vacuum seal and freeze.
-practice making cheese with stored powdered milk.
-scan important ID/papers and store on a mini-SD card that fits in my emergency shortwave radio
-buy a couple cheap five gallon buckets and a plunger to turn into off-grid washing machines.
My husband, who supports my prepping but isn't really one himself, told me he'll make them if I can give him plans for can holders/dispensers.
New_Internet_3350@reddit
We went camping! Nothing like prepping than sleeping in a tent and testing out your gear!
29RnKnowing@reddit
Bought a camping toilet and instant coffee. I got priorities! 😅
elletnahc@reddit
Bought a 20ft cargo trailer. 1 to use it to move & 2 figured I can use it as a little shelter if needed
Freakyfrogfun@reddit
Worked out and range time (I’m robbing grandmas)
crystal_smith_159@reddit
Didn’t spend a dime on Labor Day sales choosing to be smart and not spend money I don’t have.
crustyrope69@reddit
Gave my family the option to go mobile to predetermined location. Options are key.
grandmasterTilt206@reddit
My partner and I laid out all our B.O.Bs on the table and equalized our supplies, changed rations if expired, and made lists for what we need more of or need to get.
It took several hours and a lot of running around but it was a good bonding experience, and it made me realize that..
If you can't prepare for the worst days with your partner, trust them to make the right decisions no matter what, or trust them to whole heartedly have your back in any situation, then I wouldn't want that relationship.
I feel confident in my partner choice and I love him that much more for being so damn amazing, and at this moment I feel blessed. 🥰