Hi folks,
Bit of a newbie here, but keen to learn.
I have a question: whilst I appreciate that ETS concentrates mainly on outdoor survival, I am keen to hear what the people on this forum have to say about bugging IN? By this I mean, if the SHTF and you happenned to be in a fairly secure home - would you stay there?
The most likely scenarios (for me) appear to be terrorist related and I dont think it is beyond the realms of possibility to expect one fairly soon. Is it wise to get prepared to spend alot of time at home without electricity/water/shops being open/martial law?

I'd be interested to hear everyones opinions.

Ross

When I´m in a fairly secure home and I can´t expect to improve my situation by going to a different place, I will definitely stay.
It´s always wise to have some supplies just in case you have to stay and can´t resupply. I think many members do that by rotating an adequate stock. Building social bonds will also help when times get tough.

BTW: When you search for it, you´ll be able to find some threads on the topics of preparedness for natural desasters and the importance of having a good community.

An excellent site for 'IN' Preparedness is :

http://millennium-ark.net/News_Files/Hollys.html


Almost everything you would like to know and organized, step by step.

All of the below is just my opinion and if any of these statements are considered innacurate or someone has a strong opinion that differs please post it so that I may learn but don't bother to take offense that was not meant.

1) Water - 2 or more gallons per person per day. Used for drinking and sanitation.

2) Defense - Whatever is allowable and fortifications

3) Communications - I prefer Ham over cell but make sure it has reach and runs on batteries. It will not be sufficient to listen you will want to talk as well.

4) Sanitation - Have a honey bucket (5 gallon pail with toilet lid is minimal) and have some bio-blue or equivalent on hand and a large number of trash-bag liners for the pail. Plan a place for digging a trench and have a sturdy shovel available. This is critical for anything longer than a week and barely adequate for anything as long as a month. Beyond that, you will need an out-house. You will also want washing equipment - dish pan, wash-tub, wash-board, clothes line, soap, toothpaste, etc.

5) Food - For staying home nothing beats cans of beef stew and the like. These can be eaten cold, store nearly forever, survive building collapse, require no refridgeration and some are even tasty. Watch out for salt content as it will drive up you water requirements. If you have vegatables canned in water without too much salt you have increased you water storage by that much. ( Off forum topic note: - If you are preparing for a potential real long-term societal break-down type of scenario then you should become a good gardener and have food production competency proven and in-place before hand if possible.)

6) Heat - If you heat with gas or oil you won't be doing that during the crises. (or after TSHTF) install a wood stove if possible and lay in some fire-wood. If that is not possible then look into something like the alpaca kerosene heater / cooker . These will also provide cooking facilities. If you bother with one of these then figure out how much kerosene you will likely use if it is your only heat and cooking source for a year ( or double the timeframe of the worst-case scenario for which you will prepare) and store that much somewhere.

7) Light - Real short term you can use battery-powered lights. Medium term, if you have solar generating capabilities and the sun cooperates you can continue to use battery-powered lights. Longer term, or if the sun doesn't cooperate you might be better off with candles. Real long term, you might want to consider raising bees.(for the wax to make candles - the honey's not bad either)

That's the basic minimum. If you have all of this covered and you are feeling comfortable then you should probably add water and defensive capabilities as they are probably inadequate - they always are. The most likely of these 7 to kill you is a lack of water. The most likely of these 7 to be inadequate is defense.

I store a fair amount of stuff in my apartment: water, food, flashlights, first aid kits, firearms, etc., but the bulk of my 'survival' gear is stored in the trunk of my car. My theory being that I'm rarely more than a few hundred yards from my car, and so if I'm at home, my car is right outside the front door.

You still need to cover the 7 basics: Water, Food, Shelter, Fire, Knife, First Aid, Signalling.

Shelter may seen easy since you are in your home. The problem may be that most homes are not designed to work well without electricity. Rooms are often vary dark because of too few or too small windows. Homes may only have a single fireplace that is designed to look pretty but is not terribly efficent for cooking or heating an entire house.

Also think about common problems that might happen to cause you to shelter in. Severe weather has shutdown the roads and community. Weather also freqeuently knocks over trees causing damage to homes. You will need materials to at least keep out wind and water. Sheet plasic, duct tape, box of roofing nails, staple gun and hammer will seal up most holes in homes temporarily.
If you have a package or two of matching shingles, you might even be able to make a permanent repair to your roof.

Think about sealing off most of your house and living in just a few rooms. It will make heating the space easier. You will need an alternate heat source like a fireplace, kerosene heater, or propane heater. Fireplaces heat that room relatively well but not usually the other rooms. A wood stove or heater usually requries a permanent installation prior to event. A portable kerosene heater can be effective at heating a room and some can be cooked on. Kerosene stores indefinely with no degradation and is relatively inexpensive. There are two models of propane heaters APPROVED for indoor use. MR Heater and Buddy heater. About $100 US. Propane stores indefinetly with no degradation. Make sure you have a battery operated CO2 detector in case the heating device works improperly. Also might open a window just a bit to provide fresh source of O2. Some people even set up their tents inside their houses to make best use of body heat while sleeping.

If you are prepared for outdoor survival, you can survive indoors. Just move out to your backyard, deck, patio and perform some tasks outside. Others you just need to prepare by stocking extra supplies like bottled water, 30 days of non-perisable food, batteries, candles, matches, extra blankets.

Check out the Red Cross and FEMA websites for additional equipment lists.