My goals are:

Procure 2 more 72 hr kits from RedFlare (use them as a base to improve on DW and DD1's existing Bob's to better allow for special needs)

Procure cross-country equipment for bicycle stable (front & rear panniers; handle bar bags; etc)

Procure & complete planned seed bank

Replenish gasoline supply (40 gals stabilized)

I'm in a bad place at the moment, someone may be interested in buying out house which means we'll have to move which makes storing much preps a pain. We may end up having to move into an apartment for a month or so until we find the house we want which means all the preps and gear I have now will need to sit in storage someplace.
But for 2008 so far I have:
Need new tires for both vehicles, my truck should need new brake pads soon, have 65k on the ones its had since I got it at 14k so I'll buy those to have them ready.
I have a memorial day camping trip planned on the parents farm already and am planning a vacation trip to Shenandoah National Forest.
I'm starting some long term planning for the farm/bug out destination, plan to map everything out with my GPS and maybe start planting some trees.

I'm planning to get in better shape physically, and practice with my gear. Fewer pounds around the middle will let me carry more for greater distances should the need arise. A couple of hiking outings with the Scouts will help me gauge my endurance levels, and give me a feel for carrying my BOB for distance. Practice with my EDC/BOB contents will reassure me of the ability to use them effectively, or point out any deficiencies.

Hey,

My major plans over the next six months involve only one thing, house renovations!

It could be said that this is not part of Survival Prepardness but in my case it is. I need to turn one end of my basement into organized storage for all my outdoor/survival/prepardness items (what my DW calls junk) so I can find the things I want easily when I need them.

I also promised my DW to redecorate (paint, refurnish) our vacant livingroom on the main level once the Christmas tree and toys are put away. This activity also involves prepardness as the gas fireplace my spouse wants installed will be a second home heat source during power failures.

Come summer I will have contractors quote on replacing the siding on the house, it is 22 years old and showing it's age.

I will be very busy instructing our local youth group throughout the winter/spring so I figure most of my personal outdoor time will be spent with them.

Never enough time to do everything,

Mike

I feel your pain, SwampDonkey.

May plans for '08 include building a bunch of shelving units in the basement for storing things.

Building a generator system / battery bank.

Building up my water supply.

Building up a food supply.

Dave

Let's see, I want to introduce DD2 to camping, add rain gutters to the rear of the house then install the rain harvesting system, improve my veggie garden, add a roof-rack to my truck, and reorganize everything in the house.

-Blast

Buying a place and moving my family to Colorado.
begin more involde food storage and general bug in plans and preperations.

Take more time to go outdoors and use my new Marauder and my Hennessy Hammock.

Get outdoors more (bring gf); bring some of my newer, untested gear to break in.

Replace 2.5 gal water that broke. This brings me up to 7.5 gal, for myself and dog. Probably get another pallet of bottles, to bring me to 10 gal.

Need to stash some dog food. But really, given how long a bag lasts, do I really need to? People food is OK, a case of MREs, some Mountain House food, some RedFlare emergency food bars. Plus my pantry and freezer.

Just updated my EDC kit. A small pager case I've had for years, fits perfectly my SOG multi-scissor tool, a lighter, Fenix, 2 tinderquick tabs, and room to spare. Maybe my SAK? Or a whistle? Not counting the pen, cell, SAK classic on keys, or my backpack/man's purse of junk.

Maybe get some tow straps from CTD when the finances get a bit looser.

1. Hook up generator to manual switch into home's wiring.

2. Increase food storage to 6 months instead of 3

3. Renew my CCW.

4. Get the 20 gal propane tanks refilled and buy the adapter hose for my Mr. Heater

* Get my house sold (tough market too)
* Simplify
* Exercise!
* Do a lot more fishing, hiking, and camping

Similar goals; exercise, rotate water storage, new batteries, get a battery powered led lantern, learn more about home furnace, update first- aid kits ( check expiration dates!) back-up computer and check virus software.

I am now also going to be improving and implementing BoB's for the dogs and cat.

Based on Blast's experience, I have to utilize extra special planning for the cat because he has the same look in his eyes as Blast's wife's cat!!!!

Winter/Spring
- Update perishables in BOB/car kits for new year
- join farm co-op for fresh veg, fruit, eggs and chickens in season

For 2008:
- buy a grain mill
- add nitrogen-packed pails of grains and legumes to LTS
- build everyday pantry to 30-day supply
- build cash reserve
- continue to search for vacation/retirement/bug-out property in mountains while this buyer's market continues

Wildman,

Great idea on the bikes. Consider a two wheeled trailer too. Rather than pay full retail, check craigslist, the local goodwill and the bulletin board at your local REI store. In fact, this is such a good topic, I'm starting a new thread.

Teacher

The 72 hr kits have been ordered from Red Flare (thanks Red Flare for supporting ETS)

I've started checking the Goodwill's and Salvation Army stores for bicycle accessories for my stable.

I'm looking for the heirloom vegetable seeds that I will add to my own little seed bank.

I will get 10 gals/gas and a new propane bottle tomorrow.

New tires and an oil change for the van was done today. Thursday, I will get the rear AC blower motor replaced. On the 20th of March, I will get some bushings on the van R/R so the van will be 100% again. The truck is 100% now.

I am exceeding my goals thus far and will continue. How are the rest of you doing towards your goals thus far????

Acquire, read, and put into practice publications on:

edible and useful wild plants
personal survival kits
first aid kits
car survival kit including a bug-out kit
home survival aka bug-in kits
primitive skills

Join and actively participate in a group that practices the above.

More exercise.

Economic survival.

Build better family and friend relationships.

Tell the truth more often.

Spend more time in the relative wild.

I did not lay out my plans before, but things that might come in useful have been purchased:

Additional space blankets;
1 600 foot spool of 150 lb. test utility cord, about 8 feet used to make a braid that was added to key chain;
Mora knives from Ragnar now kept in BOBs (#761);
Added some water to the store for bugging in;
Ordered and await a few more things, including escape hoods for DW and myself; and
Became the owner of firearms (shotguns) for the first time, although I cannot bring them into NYC legally (I can get to them in about 45 minutes driving).

A couple weeks ago pulled everything out of the BOB, looked it over, made sure I thought it should still be there, thought about what was missing, added some first aid stuff, packed it all away.

And most importantly, I got DW thinking a little about such stuff. Although she humors me in preparing, getting her to prepare is a struggle. She still has not clothes in her BOB, despite me asking a couple times. Her comment this past week was that if she really needs to get out, clothes are not going to be her biggest concern. My response was that they would be three or four days later, when you really want a clean pair of skivvies. So, there is osme work to do in that area still. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has a spouse that does not engage in actual preparation.

I was thinking about doing just that. We just got back from skiing, so I may take her long underwear, some underwear and socks and put them in. It's more than she's done for herself.

My BOB does not have much in the way of clothes, but it has a enough that I can change my sock and wears and is the simplest thing I have been able to come up with that will keep me warm and dry.

My plans for 2008
find and move into my own apartment (when ever housing voucher comes through)
check into the various community gardens
get another bike (my main one was stolen)
fix up my old schwin
set up a 96 hr kit ( kinda of hard to do where i live now due to lack of space)
get straps/frame for my alice pack

A few things I need to accomplish are.........


1. Rain gutters and barrels
2. More camping
3. Wood burner
4. Wood shed
5. Firewood
6. New roof for the garage
7. More long term food

Get in shape...I've turned into quite the jolly roller (for my likes).

Refine, actually get supplies and assemble, my EDC. Getting the right hip/belt pouch has been rough.

Get a backpack to start building up my "crash bag"...Gotta have my stuff with me.

Remember me in your vespers as I try to get this done....

So far we have been doing pretty good with our Plans & Goals.

We've added PV Solar to our house with a battery back up (w/ generator available to charge batteries should we have a long term power outage during bad weather);

We have been very dilligent preparing 1/4 acre of our land for a produce garden (8ft deer fence is up, soil turned and prepped, plantings are starting as the season allows - trying to keep organic and heirloom as much as possible).

Grain Mill arrives tommorow, 90lbs of wheat next week, another 1/3 acre being prepared for grains (wheat, oats, spelt).

Actually scheduling to rotate fuels and run generator once a month to keep battery fresh.

We are continuing on our path of self sufficiently step by step and I must say that the insight that I have gained from this site has been invaluable! From upgrading my (near) worthless pocket knife to a Leatherman tool, to the Gerber LED multi-function lights (table, hanging, or flashlight), to Susan's and many other's recommendations for our produce garden. I can't thank you enough for what I've learned - and hope to conintue to learn from this Campfire of Sages.

Thank You!

Dennis

And...how many more posts do I have to make before I stop being a stranger?

Good for you... We had a nice day on Wednesday and I had my 4 year old on the trail-a-bike and the 6 month old in the trailer behind my wife. Worked pretty well, but we will have to take a couple multi-day trip to see how it works on the long term.

For you racks and panniers I would recommend this site for the best prices on Ortlieb panniers and Tubus racks, which are awesome.

The Touring Store

Good guy to deal with.

To stay on topic, our goals this year are to:
1. Spend quality time with my kids
2. get all of our debts paid off
3. go hiking/biking/camping more with the whole family (see #1)
4. Shoot Rifleman at an Appleseed event
5. Finish restoring the tractor I've been working on for 4 years

Greg

Thanks for the link. Yes, I miss the touring I did as a younger man. The greatest time to travel, to me, is in the late summer/early fall when the temps are decent and there is so much to see as the farmers harvest their fields!

Welcome to the site. I think that it's somewhere between 30 and 50. Hang in there, I'm hoping for Grand-Pooh-Bah before I die!

From the FAQ page....

0 Stranger
25 Newbie
50 Journeyman
100 Member
200 Enthusiast
400 Addict
700 Old Hand
1200 Veteran
1600 Pooh-Bah
2500 Carpal Tunnel
5000 Geezer
10000 Know It All

I will have the 2 new 72 hr BoB's on the the 24th of this month. Thanks Red Flare for the prompt service.

I received additional Mainstay ration bars to supplement all of the family BoB's today, in addition to a couple cans of powdered eggs (for those recipes that call for eggs) for emergency food supply. A wind up flashlight/recharger for my BoB.

Hopefully Thursday, I'll finally get the time to go get seeds and some bike accessories.

I'm going to slip a bit on my sked but I have gotten significant progress accomplished. I will keep plugging away in the meantime!!!!

Sad to say but my main goal for this spring is to finally build a BOB.

Well, I failed at purchasing a backpack yesterday.

When it came down to it I still need to decide a few things.

Do I want a hydration system? That's extra money and I'd probably use the pouch for other stuff any way.

Also, do I want external water bottle pockets?

How many pockets do I really need in the backpack?

Would a basic one be fine with things in ziplocks?

I am basically an urban/suburban creature.

I guess I need to decide what I really want to carry with me.

Ugh!

Hey MoBOB,

For packs, I would prioritize the access to water wether it is in the form of a bladder or bottle pockets both make it easy to stay hydrated on the move. I have been hiking without them and noticed I never drank until I was thirsty (typically meaning moderate dehydration) because I had to take my pack off to drink and then put it back on to continue it was a hassle.

On the hikes I have used packs with either a bladder or side bottle pockets I noticed I drank more and didn't have to take as many breaks, allowing me to cover more ground in a day. Making your priorities (like water) an easy task allows much easier traveling. Personal recommendation: get both...I never depend on bladders as my sole water carrier. One little hole and you're out of business.

On another note: deciding what to pack first is a good strategy. I am guilty of buying a huge pack and then deciding what I want to take second. When you have room to spare you end up putting more on your back than you intended (60-80lbs instead of 30-40lbs). It is nice to have room in your pack for extra food and clothing but that extra room is always enticing to fill with "gear" instead (e.g. I already have two knives but I better pack a multitool...just in case).

Cheers,
Nemo.

Sad to say? Wow, you just joined a short while ago. And how many college students even think of having a BOB? I think you should have a BOB, but I also think your far ahead of most for your age.

Thanks, Dan_Mcl,
it seems to me that im behind the curve and have alot of catching up to do.

We all started somewhere!!

Although my mother was telling my daughter today that I was born a survivalists.

I reminded her that although everyone who knows me also says that I am crazy, however,,,no one has ever called me "stupid"!!!!

I bought two kits with Eneloops that has only AA and AAA batteries, but it also has things like these that allow the AAs to be inserted to create a C or D cell. I did not buy it through Amazon, but the kits I bought are like these: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0012S5CSY?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=nextag-ce-tier1-20&linkCode=asn

I've been thinking about getting some of those adapters. Nearly everything I have is AA with the exception of a couple odd thinks like the coleman air mattress pump. it gets used so little that I hate to buy batteries for it so an adapter to run off my existing stock of AA's could work there.

I got the seeds today at a bargain! They normally went for $1.59 or a $1.79 per pack but I got 40 packs at $1.50 per pack. This brings up another point that I will bring up on the appropriate thread which isn't this one.

I also picked up a Hunting Dog First Aid Kit (HDFAK) that even has instructions for treating the dog that you accidentally shot with your shotgun, depending on the range of the shot, among many other instructions for providing 1st Aid to your dog(s).

Wildman,

Cool deal on the seeds! Where did you get them?

-Blast

At a Mom & Pop feed & seed store in Scott, La.

I find it very strange that the Burpee seed salesman has not returned since last spring. Could that be an indication of many more people starting to prepare for some economic hardtimes or a food shortage???? Perhaps that is why many of the seed companies are reporting that they are getting to the bottom of their seed supplies already.

I found both vegetable AND herbal seeds. I got about 3 packs of dill for pickling use.

I am going to have to check into community gardens as i have no place where i live to even have a container garden and proably will scout the farmer's markets for seedlings for an herb garden.
Hopefully i can find some old stock seeds or stuff that has been organically prepared.

My plan This month is to;
1 Rebuild my Maxpedition Devildog Support bag
2 Get 10 sets each AAA, AA lithium batteries
3 Get 2 more Peak LED Systems 3 LED Matterhorn Lights
4 Stock up on .22lr, .22Hornet, and .410 ammo
5 Rebuild my 2 Maxpedition Proteus bags
6 Order garden seeds and herbs
7 Sometime this spring buy a S&W 4" 610 10mm/.40 cal revolver

Increase my water and dog food supplies.

When I bought my seeds at a local Feed & Seed store, I found a "Hunting Dog's First Aid Kit" and bought it.

I think I am going to put together a doggie Bug Out Bag very soon. I like the looks of the kind of doggie BoB's that the dog carries. It's a saddle bags kind of pack animal system.

If your dog will carry the bags, they sound like a fine idea. You better try them out and engage in some training, before you count on them.

I've had good luck this year with:

www.rareseeds.com

and

www.fedcoseeds.com

I never ordered from them before this year. They have a good selection of heirloom / non-hybred seeds.

So far everything we started has come up without any problems.

Hope this helps.

The 2 BoB's that I ordered from Red Flare came in and my wife is impressed (I'm not at home)!!! She is a latecomer to the idea of preparation.

Thanks Red Flare, those kits have gotten her thinking even more so that preparation is wise!!!!

Well, I finally got around to buying a backpack and a belt case. I know I should have acquired much gear and supplies first and then bought a pack to suit, but I didn't. I'll do it in reverse.

The backpack is a generic 2600 cubic incher from the Great Demon Blue Store. It has two water bottle pockets and is hydration-capable. There are three compartments. One has the requisite pen/pencil holders, little mesh pocket, press-to-release keyring and so on. Another pocket has a removable two-pocket media pouch. My initial thought was to put 550 cord in that pocket and feed it out the headphone slit. It also has compression straps on the back. I have no idea what I'll do with them.

The belt case (for EDC/PSK) is neoprene or something like it from Academy Sports. It is made by Freestyle, whoever they are. It is a phone/music case. This case is horizontally oriented, a necessity for me. It was hard to find a case that wasn't nylon or leather that was held together by elastic straps with open bottom corners. It has a main pocket that is open topped and closed by a velcro-secured flap. The flap has a small zippered compartment on it. The case is black, so it should look unobtrusive on most anything I wear. There is a reflective stripe on it. I'm not sure if it will be removed or not.

As I get them roughly put together I'll borrow the daughter's camera and post pictures for comment and ridicule.

MoBOB, that's about the size of my BOB, and I think I've got enough stuffed into mind. My lack as far as looking at the first 72-hours or so is enough water. However, carrying enough water for that period of time is near impossible. And I'm sure if you look at the things you have, right now you own stuff that can be useful in a BOB. If you are like many, you will fill it, and then change what is in it a number of times. My bag itself is going to get a 20+ mile workout this weekend, for the first time.

Dan_McI, I understand about the water. I'll be getting some of the AquaTabs as well as researching previous posts on the preferred/recommended water filters/purifiers.

That's what I've done, and although it's not a solution I am entirely happy with, I've not figured out better.

One of the things in my BOB is a 5 gal bag for water, which I think is made of mylar, like this: http://beprepared.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_ZA%20B100_A_name_E_5%2DGallon+Mylar+Water+Bag

I can carry it much easier than I can ever a pint of water.

I am still looking for the bicycle accessories for my stable. I still have to get 30 more gals of gasoline. My list will then be complete for the spring of 2008.

I have gotten some other projects completed (ie: reorganizing my garage 3 times) which also happen to be those that must be repeatedly done over and over. Oh well!

Goals for spring 2008:

Move next door to wildman!!!!


Just kidding,

already following our old annual hurricane prep punch list.

But you already live next door Samhain!!!!!

Quick update.

#3 and #4 are done. Yay!

I've gotten the 2 BoB's from Red Flare (of which I am quite pleased with) but now I have to add a 3rd 72hr BoB to get from Red Flare.

I am still working on the bicycle stable outfitting.

I've gotten most of the seeds that I wanted, including herbal seeds, but there is still some more to procure.

I've gotten 20 of the 40 gals/gas. I'll be taking care of at least another 10 gals this month.

I've just split my FAK between a non-Latex FAK for the home and the larger field FAK with Latex type bandages, gloves, etc.

Water has been swapped out and I continue to build my stocks of emergency foods and equipment.

New find at the grocery store. Just added some single-serving packets of Blue Diamond (raw) Almonds to assorted kits. Good high energy, emergency food.