Hi everyone. I am new here. I have been doing some reading and have a few questions. Thanks in advance for your help. From what I have read, it seems like a great group of people willing to help each other.

Here goes:

1) Are there any other women in this group?

2) I can't seem to get my husband to understand that we need to be preparing for hard times ahead - whether that be earthquake, tornado, hurricane, whatever. How can I convince him of this without being a nag?

3) When we have talked about preparedness, the first thing my husband always says is, "Where are we going to store all of these supplies?" That is a good questions for which I don't have an answer. Any suggestions on where to store it and how to transport it if we had to leave home quickly?

4)I have read alot on here about having acreage in the country. We live in a neigbhorhood of about 150 houses with tons of acreage behind us. The acreage is not ours, but the owner lives in another city and wouldn't mind if we hunted on it in an emergency. We live about a mile outside of a city of about 7,000 people. In case of martial law, is it a problem to live this close to other people? We are totally CITY people and know absolutely NOTHING about camping out, wilderness survival, etc. I don't know if my husband or I could cut down a tree safely if we had to. Are we going to be toast in an emergency? How fast could we learn all that we need to know?

Thanks for your help,
Suzie

I've only seen one female name. But this is the internet, so who knows...



Some people have to learn the hard way.



Can't answer that, since I've never been to your house.



I was born and raised in the city. Doesn't mean you can't go out to the natural world once in a while. Weekends, vacations, holidays, sick days (wink, wink). Lots of good books on the subject. Also lots of great stuff on YouTube.

I don't see why you would ever need to cut down a large tree. Use deadwood for fires. Small trees for building shelters.

Where do you live? Chances are you don't have to be prepared for "earthquake, tornado, hurricane, whatever. ", I live in Toronto so I am not worried about any of that. Right away you can cut down on a lot.

Right away it will cut down on your supplies, so you should be able to get away with at least a 72 hour kit..Doug's main page has links to government sites etc. that have a listing of supplies, then you can add to it for your specific area.

Here's a great video of Ray Mears showing how to build a shelter in the woods.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsbSMplJ6g4

There are a lot of women in this forum actually... There was a post about 2 months ago and several of the residents had roll call...

Draw up a plan of what you think you may need for the disasters you are planning for. Be especially mindful of what is common in your area.

This forum contains pages and pages of information on food storage, supplies, etc...

When only one person has an interest in something in a marriage it’s going to be a hard sell to do a lot of things as the disinterested person just doesn’t care.


Tent camping is an excellent way to develop outdoor survival skills. A lot of the things you need to tent camp lend themselves to self reliance. Through primitive camping you develop skills to survive in a disaster, you develop the skills to know what to take with you when you have to leave your home. You acquire the items and tools needed to survive in the middle of nowhere. You develop an idea of how much food to take, how to keep warm on a cold night, how to build and cook over a fire. And a lot of other things I can’t think of off hand. And if you go at it with the right frame of mind, it’s a lot of fun.


Hard to say where to store items, not knowing what your home looks like it’s impossible to say. Food is the most important and will probably take up the most space. Buy a nice cabinet or shelving unit and put it in your basement and fill it with food that doesn’t require refrigeration. The local grocery store is filled with a very large selection of food that taste good, is long lasting, easy to prepare and a lot less expensive then freeze-dried food. If you only buy a few items every time you do the weekly shopping it will take no time to have a good supply of food.

Also buy a good water filter. I have a Katadyn (there are many good brands out there) water filter; you need clean safe water to cook with. Camping stores will have them or look on-line.

Buy some duffel bags (I find used ones for $2.00 or less at garage sales all the time) and fill them up with the food you think you need to survive if you were ever in a position to have to bug-out.

As far as the space it takes up I live alone and a large duffle bag full of food can feed me for 2-weeks and I will have food left over. I go on camping vacations and this is how it works out. So even a small space can give you the needed room to store a few weeks of food.

Even if your husband can’t be made to become part of your preparedness preparations, you can still put away food, after all I would guess you to the shopping.



As far as hunting, it’s not a skill I think most people should depend on without doing it a lot before a survival situation arises. Best to get into it now (legally, no poaching a few animals in the neighbors field) to develop the skills. Game animals don’t like to die any more then you do, they all have developed the ability to avoid danger. You need to understand how to hunt them to consider them as a source of food. That includes the work of field dressing and cooking them. This alone keeps a lot of people from hunting game. It’s a messy job in a lot of peoples mind and they just can’t get past it, better to find out now if it’s for you.

But if you can get him interested in the camping (it’s a lot less money to go camping then to stay in a motel, pick places that you can vacation and camp) he will through doing it develop survival skills that could pay off down the road. It also gives you the ability to know what does and does not work for you. What one person says is an absolutely needed item, another person will not use. Neither one is wrong, they just do things differently. I see almost no need for a lot of the knifes you see people talk about on this site, I would not and in 50-years have not needed them. But the people using them do find a valuable use to them. Using things while camping allows you to thin out all the unneeded items and have the ones that work for you. This way in a bug out you are not carrying a bunch of dead weight you will never need.

Welcome!

I think you hit on most of the questions frequently discussed here, and a couple of new ones.
As to your numbered points:
1) +1 on the "roll call" thread a couple of months ago.
2) Maybe start asking "what if" questions. What if the electricity or water or gas goes out for a couple of days/week during the winter? What if I have to walk home from work? etc. Use these as a springboard. Keep things realistic to where you live, work, travel etc. Asking the right question is always a good place to start.
3) there have been lots of treads on storage, but the first questions should be to look at different scenarios and decide when you Bug Out and to where, and when do you Bug In and for how long. Once you decide what you want/need to do, then you can start supplies planning. Just buying stuff without a plan is not the best way to approach things. Again, your personal/family situation and location drive many of the answers you need. The folks in Florida have a different problem than those in NYC, etc.
4) While a large portion of the discussions and information here relates to "wilderness survival", a lot also relates to urban/suburban survival. IMO, a single family home (which it sounds like you may have) is a real dandy start for a good Bug In plan. You can never take as many resources with you as you have there, and with a little time and effort, can greatly improve. One simple thing to consider is a generator, even a small one can keep your home livable. Many other things can be done.

As to vehicles, what to take etc, if you do need to bug out, again, it depends on where your are, where you are going and the expected conditions. The guys in California have to consider in an earthquake that the roads may be impassable because the highway overpasses are down. The guys in the mid-west probably don't worry about that.

So, I don't think there are easy answers to your questions. But I think if you give us more details/thoughts etc., you will get a lot of useful comments that will help to focus you thoughts and plans.

Finally, if you can learn to master the search function, you will be amazed at the wealth of information on these topics that has been posted in even the few months I have been a member.

Greetings SuzieQ! I'm glad that you have decided to join us.
In regard to your questions, I offer the following:

1) Yes, there are several ladies that have joined this site and they ALL make valuable contributions.

2) Look at www.standeyo.com Stan and Holly Deyo have a great deal of preparedness info at their site and Holly has written a very good piece dealing with getting your "significant other" to come onboard the "Preparedness Wagon". It greatly helped me out with my DW but it still took time.

3) There are a couple of good threads already written on this website concerning storage of goods in homes, small apt's, etc. Use the search engine to find those threads.

4) "The longest journey begins with the first step".
Keep hanging with us and you will receive a "Survival Education" in a rapid order. You'll also learn about other websites that teach specifics about woodsmanship, survival, etc. Above all,"ASK QUESTIONS", we love to share knowledge around our campfires.

Good Luck!!!

1. Never over-represented. Susan, Joy, and others are frequent posters.

2. Joy has expressed similar concerns. The reverse situation also is a concern to many guys.

3. Maybe start with the core tools; they typically fit into small containers as a EDC, PFAK, PSK – then build a BOB for each of you in a couple backpacks. Food – maybe in 5 gallon buckets that can live in your garage rafters if need be.

4. How about taking a wilderness skill course? Start with a short introductory class and see how it goes. Your local park and rec agency, or college may offer courses.

5. In California the Department of Fish & Game puts on “Outdoor Women” courses to encourage participation by the “fair sex” in male-dominated activities. If you are not in California, consider checking with your state’s equivalent agency. Check on the internet for groups near you. Look to your local sporting goods retailers – many host seminars by manufacturers of gear yin which you may be interested. Check the phone book for outdoor oriented clubs that may run free introductory events to increase membership. Consider joining a local Scouting group. See if your church or one in your area has an outdoor program. #1 – make some friends who share your interests and learn from them. Consider posting your general location ans see who pops up on this and other forums. #1 – make some friends who share your interests and learn from them.

1) We have several. Keep trying to get my DGF here, but she likes Zombie Squad. *shrugs*

2) My dad was like that. Then my folks lost power for a week. They have well on a pump. Less than a month later, he bought a generator. He doesn't think my mom is crazy any more.

Although, since this is one of my major bobbies, he still thinks I'm eccentrically morbid. *laughs*

3) Hard to answer. What do you need, and what do you have for underutilized shelf space right now?

4) Hunting is one of those thigns you want to learn from someone, not from a book. Trust me on this one. *laughs*