Agree that this is best.
Use a large 12 volt battery, charged from a decent sized PV module.
Then charge all small gadgets from this large 12 volt battery by means of in car chargers.
The large battery may be either in a vehicle, or not as prefered.
For regular use a deep cycle battery should be used, but in an emergency vehicle batteries will do.

If a vehicle is being used, then remember that an extra battery may be charged at almost no extra fuel cost, when the vehicle is being driven. This second battery can then be used indoors for lighting or charging cellphones etc.

Exactly. In this America, there's a whole lot of "what about me" and "it's not my problem" mentality. In other words, "I deserve something without needing to work for it."

My personal plans DON'T plan for supplying half the planet. I'm more than willing to share knowledge, or somewhat sustainable resources. Heck, even if I have extras of stuff, they can have it, but I'm not going to intentionally "plan" for extras to get rid of. It's too difficult to decide in advance what will be desperately needed.

Sure, if I have a spare flashlight, they can borrow it. But when those CR123's run out, hey, sorry, you should have your own flashlight buddy.

Want some water? Go grab your water hose and I'll show you how to drain your water heater. Get a bucket too. It's too yucky? OK, well just go thirsty.

Hungry? Let's go after one of those deer in the woods by the freeway. What, it's illegal? OK, well don't come to my BBQ tomorrow night, cuz you might get arrested for eating illegal venison. Or rabbit, or whatever else I can hit (still need to get them better sighted-in, unfortunately no decent ranges by my house!)

I guess a big part of your plan needs to be knowing your community and your neighbours. None of us can predict how people will act in an emergency, especially if things get dire, but we get some important indicators the rest of the time.

It sounds to me, jenks, like you are part of a closeknit community that is building a great sense of cooperation. Will everyone buy-in? Probably not. Should you let that stop you from continuing to try? I don't think so. You don't need to turn your house into a refugee centre but that doesn't seem to be your intention either.

If I was you, I'd keep builing on that sense of community cooperation. I wouldn't want to take on full responsibility for everything and everyone, but rather, keep empowering your neighbours now, when things are calm. You've got buy-in from the school already and that's a great foundation to build on.

As an already outted leader, people will naturally look to you when things go south. Preparing to stay in that role may just give people that extra boost of confidence they need to pull through, just try to ensure that it's not at the expense of you and your family. (I think you've considered that.) It could be a blessing or a curse for you, depending on the scenario, but it sounds to me like you're already setting the stage for people to be more proactive in taking responsibility for themselves. Kudos!

Excellent knowledge base from this post alone. Thanks everyone.

I agree with the posts which recommend the building of the community before the disaster and then sharing knowledge after. If you share anything past the first day or so, it should be tools or mechanisms to make them self sufficient or help them contribute to the long term support of the community. Just having a role and some responsibilities will help them and the community. Your preparation will place you in a leadership role, and they will look to you not just for survival knowledge and guidance, but for leadership in general.

So much for the thread being "gearcentric" lol.
Great points and great discussion.

I totally agree with the posts in regard to building a stronger community. Ours is strong now but can always be better. One thought I had (not gear related) was having a preparedness column in our monthly community newsletter. There was a post somewhere about a schedule for slowly building a kit over a period of time to keeps costs down.

Has anyone done this? Maybe start a new thread and write one by consensus?

Jenks

I suspect most of us have improved our preparedness somewhat slowly over time rather than going out and spending a large sum of money all at once.

There are several aspects to a slow buildup that make sense. Rapid spending all too often makes for relatively poor decisions compared to slower paced spending. You also have the opportunity to buy on sale and take advantage of bargains.

Many of us also improve our preparedness by simply organizing existing gear more quickly and taking other low costs measures - anchoring the hot water heater, taking the mirror off the ceiling, finding the camp stove, etc.

Circumstances vary and we aren't beginning from the same spot. I have always had a fair amount of camping gear that adapts very easily to some sort of emergency/survival situation - if I have it organized and available, that is. Oddly enough, not everyone is like me in that respect.

Prepping is more than going on a spending spree.....

I am sorry, I didn't read carefully enough. In the realm of just gear and supplies:
String and rope (shelter construction and rescue)
Plastic sheeting and shelters
Water purification materials and equipment (Filter, purify and store; bleach, pots for boiling, cloth or coffee filters for filtering)
Enough food for about 1000 calories per person per day (bulk dry or canned storage)
Medications (known needs and treatment for things that arise; have hard copy medical references handy)
Sanitation and cleaning (bleach, alcohol, soap; TP would be nice, but be prepared to improvise)

Shelter, water, health and food; beyond that you will have to scrounge and build. Unless you are storing in a warehouse and you can afford to fill it.

Nice ideas here but unless you know your neighbors real well you might be better off taking your supplies intended for others to your local church.

Reguarding the Ax thing...

Good ones are expensive, some can be had very inexpensively at swapmeets or yard sales if they require some minor work. they might need a new handle(haft) or the edge may need some work. Some smaller sizes like a "boys ax", tomahawk or hatchet could prove invaluable if you need to process wood for fires, make stakes for tarp lines or set poles for a latrine.

My point is you do not need 10-20 of a specific tool, 3-4 of anything when loaned to the right individuals to make something happen is very amazing. if you do get some of the same types some spare handles is also a good idea, as in; "if you break it bring it back so (you or) I can fix it."

Or possibly some bow saws would cover the wood processing.

Very cool topic you brought up. Lots of good responses.