Emergency Preparedness

What would happen if your local grocery stores weren’t able to get new product shipped to them? If there are mass protests and/or strikes, that could be a reality.

Do you know how much inventory an average grocery store has on hand at any given time? About three days. Of course, that’s figuring at normal levels of business too. Gone are the days when stores had massive amounts of stock on hand in their back rooms. Most of them now operate on what is called “just in time” (JIT) inventory. The idea is to keep just enough inventory on hand to satisfy the immediate consumer needs, thus allowing for more building space to be devoted to selling floor instead of stock room shelves.

What this means though is if there is an unforseen mass increase in business, the shelves get wiped out fairly quickly. Anyone who has visited a grocery store the day before a big storm is predicted to strike knows that I mean. And with the JIT inventory model, it might be a day or two during normal times to get replenished. Notice the key phrase there – during normal times. If strikes or protests were to impact deliveries to grocery stores, guess what? Yeah, might be a while before they get more Ho Ho’s on the shelves.

Plan ahead. Have enough in your pantry to see you and yours through situations like that.

Do you measure the difficulty of a home repair chore by how many trips you’ll need to make to Home Depot or Lowes to get the job done?

Replace a window screen – 1 trip.

Fix a leaky faucet – 2 trips (one to get the part, another to exchange the part you got and get the right one).

Install new flooring – yeah, you’re better off hiring a guy to just run back and forth to Home Depot for you all day long.

What if you no longer had the luxury of running to the store to get new parts or tools? While installing new hardwood flooring probably won’t be a priority immediately following a societal collapse, fixing a window or door sure might be.

Take a look around your garage or workshop. Do you have enough supplies on hand right now to handle most basic home repairs? Extra tools to replace ones that break?

Perhaps most importantly, do you have the knowledge on how to use all that stuff?

[On a side note, please consider tuning in tonight to the Prepper Podcast. I'll be the guest tonight and will be speaking about prepping on a budget, setting priorities for preps, as well as dispelling some common survivalist myths. Here's a link to the information about the podcast.]

Think back to the news footage we saw following 9/11. How many people did we see trying to evacuate the area while wearing suits, skirts, and/or dress shoes?

I consider myself fortunate in that I only have to wear a suit and tie on rare occasion for my day job. Personally, I’ve never understood the purpose of wearing ties but maybe that’s just me. In any event, while I don’t need to be “formal” at work, I do have to wear “business casual” attire. I’m able to get away with cargo pants and pull over shirts most of the time, which when coupled with a good pair of sturdy shoes is probably enough for most bug out scenarios.

But, I do still keep spare clothes with my car kit. What I’ve done is set up a separate bag with a pair of cargo pants, long sleeve flannel shirt, thinner undershirt, a pair of underwear, two pair of socks, and hiking boots. If need be, I can grab that bag when I grab my kit, then change out of my work clothes along the way.

During the colder months, I add a knit cap, spare gloves, thicker socks, and long underwear to the bag. While I always have a hat and gloves with me in the car, it doesn’t hurt anything to have spares.

If you end up in an evacuation or bug out situation, you don’t want to try doing so in a suit or dress. Keep a set of comfortable yet sturdy clothes with your kit and grab it on your way.

Most of us aren’t wealthy. In fact, most of us are probably just getting by. Yet, we still want and need to continue with our preps. How can we do that on little money?

As I may have mentioned in a previous post, my wife is a genius when it comes to “repurposing” things. Heaven forbid I toss out a box or container without checking with her first. She can almost always come up with a way to put it to use. Sometimes it is just a toy for the kids but other times it’ll be a new drain tray for her plants or something else a little more practical.

Buying in bulk? Great, if you have the means to not only pay for it but have some way to store it all. Maybe consider going in on the purchases with one or two other trusted friends or family members.

We’ve previously discussed using coupons.

What are some ways YOU save money on preps?

Many people seem to be under the misconception that firearms and ammo should be if not the number one priority, definitely in the top three in the list of “stuff” to acquire for disaster preps.

While important, firearms and related supplies are (or should be) further down the list. If you don’t have clean air, you won’t live past about three minutes. Three days without water and you’re wearing a toe tag. More than a couple weeks without food and you have some real problems.

Without clean air, water, and food, you aren’t going to have the ability to use that whiz bang armory you acquired.

Yes, I know some folks plan to use those firearms to get their food and water. Not the greatest plan, whether you’re talking about hunting or about pirating. These people are making the presumptions that 1) there will be plentiful game to hunt, and 2) other people will have stuff worth taking.

I’m not at all saying that firearms don’t have a place in your preps. Naturally you’ll want some method to protect what is yours. But, you need to stock up on what will keep you alive first.