So, where I`ve moved to I need to be prepared at any given time for 'long term emergencies' and by that I mean being on my own w/out power for long term or being able to get into town.

And, at that the town is not 'filled' with supplies. The town is 1 city block with 1 grocery store/misc, the other grocery store is 2 or 3 blocks away too both are a 20-25 minute drive from my house in the best weather.. 30-40 minute with mild snow/ice on the road and probably 1hr minimum w/out power, and 1ft+ on the ground and not plowed. The nearest larger supermarket is about 45 minutes in "best weather" from the house, and also larger towns.

My most common emergencies will be power outages lasting 5+ days and fires or extreme freezes/cold temps causing power outages and pipe bursting issues and large amounts of snow-fall keeping me in my house, and accompanied by now power.

I'd like some help in coming up with a check-list of stuff I should have on hand. I'd like the list to contain things as minor as shovels to as extreme as diesel generators and anything in between.

Basically, looking for group effort in creating a master list of "want to" / "need to" haves.


Some info about us the house:
We have at least 1 month food on hand at any given time, we live on a well and septic system, our pressure tank is "120g" but has approx 45g of water available. Our water heater is propane on-demand, but does require minor power for pilot, the only other usage of propane is our stove for cooking. Our tank is 250g, and I have 2 100lb (33g) and 2 30lb(13g) tanks full too. Our primary heat source is wood stove, we have 1 cord on hand ready to use (adding another 1 or 2 soon). It was in the teens last night and I did not put a large log on when we went to bed and it was 61 when we woke up, and 23 outside. The house is a 2 story, approx 2k sq.ft, 2x6 walls, double insulated ceiling, basement that is insulated and a concrete floor.

My plans so far are to add a second pressure tank of equal size, and a 2000g above ground water tank, diesel generator (We have a 6500watt (max) gas one already).

So, if you got 8ft of snow in two days, had no power, had one way into your house (one lane road too) and min 1hr + to town.. what would you stock on hand to last you until you got power? Let's assume that it's a freak winter and power is out for a month straight (1 week is not uncommon to happen a few times a year so saying 1 month is not uncommon for a bad storm that could happen like an earthquake in CA!)

Let's start that list

sounds like to me that you are well ahead of any problems..lots of food..a real generator and not just a little camping one..wood heat..your own water supply--so on,you could hunker down for the winter with a bit more basic food..big sacks of flour--lard--sugar--i would think that in the "old days" a lot of farm and ranch familys were in the same spot but without power or transport into a town that was a lot farther off..i think just cabin fever would be you only problem..stock up on CD's and good books ---

OK, I find it easier to think of the problems first.
I also tend to keep it pretty simple.
1: You can lose power.
This is not the problem but it creates problems.

Two approaches.
You could get a generator to supply power. This means an expensive piece of gear and the fuel storage for it. I don't think there is anything wrong with having a small back up generator, but you do need to maintain it and have fuel for it...

Or,
you could do some manual power for electric power substitutions and work arounds some of the problems you will face.
If nothing electric works it means no fridge, no electric water pump, no lights, no thermostat controlled heat for house or water.
a) the fridge-If it is winter you can just stuff what needs to be kept cold into a Rubbermaid bin and set it out in the porch. If it is summer you might be able to use an ice box type camping cooler. Either way, your fridge food is what you will be using up first.
In addition to fridge food I would suggest having some food on hand that does not need a fridge to store. Canned and dry stuff most likely. NOTE: if you have a root cellar you have a natural fridge at 41 degrees, perfect for storing a couple of sacks of potatoes. a few bushels of carrots, apples, a barrel of wine, etc.
b) Water pump. You are on a well, it could be dug or driven. You have limited water in your plumbing and with no pump you are without water. You could maybe think about getting a manual back up pump for the type of well you have. If it is winter and you have 2 meters of snow on the ground you can fill a few buckets with it and set it near the stove to melt.
c) Heat. You say you have a woodstove so you should have heating and cooking covered right there. Outside barbecues and campfires can be useful cooking options too. If you think the house might get cold enough to freeze plumbing then drain the water supply lines and pour a little antifreeze into the p traps under the sinks, tubs and toilet.

d) lighting.
I really like Kerosene lamps. A few K oil lamps can be set in your book shelves to be admired as interesting country antiques until you need them. (put new wicks in them)
I use lamp oil though because most Kerosene is not as well refined as it should be. The best lamp oil is now sold as paint thinner.
You might save money by buying Odorless Paint Thinner/ Mineral Spirits in 5 gallon pails at a painters supply, but I just buy it as a case of the one liter jugs because I do not use that much of it. So long as it is mineral spirits it will burn in Kerosene lamps, stoves and space heaters. The stuff is also very easy to store.
Candles can be nice but the flame is not protected and they flicker, and a lamp give more light and a lot more heat.

e)The road out: A snowmobile, a tractor with a snow plow or blower to clear the drive way, a horse and sleigh?

f) communications. You might lose your telephone. If you have a cell phone it might still be working, you might be able to get somebody on a CB radio, you might have a marine band radio if you own a boat.
If you are serious hardcore you might get your HAM license and become a radio station.

If you really want some good ideas about how to live without electricity go visit some Menonnite or Amish. Lehman's is a pretty good source of stuff for off grid living.
http://www.lehmans.com/jump.jsp?itemType=CATEGORY&itemID=1121&iMainCat=1121&iSubCat=1121

I started out several years ago in longer term preparedness after I saw that people couldn't care for themselves for even 72 hours after Katrina hit. When I put together my plans, I focused on the big 3, shelter, fire (heat and cooking), water and added food since this is a longer term situation.

We have a 5KW portable generator with about 50 gallons of gas stored that should hold us for about 10+ days if we use is properly. I also installed a proper disconnect panel so I can power 10 circuits in my home. Those include freezers and refrigerators, sump pumps, heating system, and lights in different locations in the house.

We also have installed a pond near our home that is stocked with fish, so protein and water are taken care of.

As far as heat is concerned, we have an outdoor wood burning furnace as well as 2 fireplaces in the house.

We keep a pantry that could keep us fed for probably around 2-3 weeks as well as long term storage foods for probably another several months if needed, our property is large enough that we could hunt to supplement that.

Since I know that no one can do it totally on their own, I have plans and agreements with several other individuals and families that would be helpful in a longer term situation, that have skills that I do not possess and everyone knows what to bring if they show up.

Finally, I keep sufficient tools (Yup, guns and ammo) to ensure that I get to keep what is mine for the duration.

Also, if you have not done that already, get yourself a good range of hand and power tools. Plus a good stock of nails, pine boards, plywood, 2x4's, heavy tarps etc. Handy if you ever have to do any emergency repairs. Besides, it's the kind of stuff you'll always need around the house anyway.

Lots of different "tanks", some water and some propane. My read is thus:


Bigger propane tanks are available as are propane kits for generators. Get the diesel genset and a large tank for fuel, but keep the gas generator you have now and convert it to run on propane (back-up for the diesel). Get a bigger propane tank.

Other than fuel, look at what you regularly eat and buy more of that. You didn't mention TP, get lots of TP.

If the water table is high enough, I would be inclined to add a hand pump to the well.
If your 2000 gallon above ground storage tank is up a little, you can gravity feed the faucets without a pump--for 2000 gallons, anyway. My in-laws lived for years in a house where the water was gravity fed from a springhouse uphill. They'd leave the cold water faucets dripping lightly, to keep the line from freezing in the winter. Not a lot of pressure, but consistent.
How will you keep the storage tank from freezing? Indoors, it would sure temper the heat fluctuations, but that's a lot of volume.
Root cellar, if it's feasible, and lots of canned vegetables otherwise.

My cousin lives with her husband and baby and lab in a yurt up in the cascades. In 2008 they installed a room for septic system, so they didn't have to use the outhouse.

They live 7 miles from a trail head so in the winter they park their car there and use a snow mobile to and from. Even with the baby.

So I see what your trying to do.

I agree with supplies on hand to repair your house in case of damage from tree fall or too much snow on the roof. And in case you have plumbing issues.

I would have several cords of wood available, not just 2 or 3. When i lived in the PNW we had at least 9 cords to get through our winter and that was in a fairly suburban area. And our wood stove had a flat top so we could heat food and water. Multi-purpose to just heating the house.

Do you have a grey water system? It sounds like you may be able to have a food garden where your at. At least for some types of vegetables.

Is your new 2,000 gallon water system going to be brought in or will you have some sort of catchment system for snow and rain?

One thing I looked at and still might do is self generator using a bike trainer. A basic set up, minus bike, costs around $800. However it would charge up enough energy before or during an outage to power any immediate need item (coffee pot, microwave, laptop, etc) for dozens of uses. Based on how many batteries you purchased to hold your charge, you could run a small frig or ice box continuously on just an hour of effort a day. If you used a mountain bike it would be duel purpose for fitness and travel when not creating power.

I have to tell you, I am a bit envious. The problem your describing is one I'd like to have some day.

I appreciate the contribution guys but I don't want us to get stuck on these "large items". As I mentioned I think we are decently set for the larger items, and by all means keep contributing. Don't feel as if you have to also instruct me specifically, feel free to create a "master list" for someone who has nothing in the way of preparedness... this may be better for us to review / compare by not assuming we / anyone has anything

Things I thought about last night away from the PC that were not on my list are tooth paste and a manual tooth brush. We use an electric and only have 1 manual in our camp pack, the electrics could work in a pinch but a week of bad teeth care would be icky to say the least also I was thinking about our dog, and making sure he had enough food to last a bit.. we normally have enough on hand for a month for him but sometimes we let it run low. Sure he could eat people food for a bit but this would put strain on us.

Continue...

If you lose power you don't really want to run the gen set 24/7.
(check out the comments on fuel costs for one of those)
That means little or no TV or computers, and the batteries in electronic games only last so long.
So if you got kids make sure they have some games to play.

Cards or checkers anyone?