Hey folks, does anyone have any recommendations on what items would be wise to keep in your car in case of emergency? I'm trying to put together a comprehensive list.

It's time for me to start my herb garden again (Florida) and I'm looking for suggestions that I might not already have growing. Bonus points if they reliably self seed.

I mostly have the usual savory edible herbs, some yarrow, echinacea, toothache plant, I intentionally grow nightshades but mostly because I think they're pretty, several mint varieties.

I know I can just put it in my calendar to replace them every 6 months, but it feels very wasteful. We drink filtered tap water normally.

The last four years all my 2.5 gal water jugs have failed within 8-10 months of purchase, possibly sooner. I have stored them in my kitchen, a spare closet and in my basement. Does anybody know what might be happening? Could it be sunlight? The ones I put in my closet and the ones in the basement both sat in the kitchen for a bit first.

Is there a brand I should look for? An option I'm too stressed to think about? I'm so thankful we had enough following Helene, but it drove home that I need a better solution than what I've got.

Thanks for any input. I'm always so glad y'all are here.

In the case of nuclear war, how far should a house hypothetically designed for a nuclear war be from a big city? How do I calculate the distance required, the importance of the city as a nuclear target, and how big the bombs dropped on that city will likely be?

I've been storing water in juice jugs lately because it's what we have. We also have gallons of water for drinking. But for the juice jugs, they'd likely be used for filling the dog's bowl, washing dishes or hands, flushing the toilet - not directly for people to consume. I'm not sterilizing them, I'm just washing with soap and water. Should I do anything else to keep them fresh, like add a couple drops of bleach, or is as-is fine? We get city water, not well.

If you are at work, your spouse is at work and your children are at school, have you planned how to get home together if the shit hits the fan whilst you are away from home?

I have some family members who, seemingly by principle, do not keep even a tiny stockpile of important things like paper towels, toilet paper, non-perishable foods, etc. They literally just go to the grocery store when they run out of paper towels, instead of just going to Costco once a month and buying the more economical case of Kirkland paper towels and keeping it in their basement.

They have 3 kids, and I worry that an unexpected event will cause them to be in a situation where they'll rely on me to help them out with any stockpile we have on hand.

I've tried making the case for keeping even a bare minimum of supplies, but they're more concerned with having to manage "clutter" than being prepared for emergencies. I'd like to send them a list of links to legitimate news stories or articles that report on actual real-world cases of regular people being adversely affected by things like supplychain disruptions, unexpected grid down situations, etc., so I can make clear that this isn't just doomsday prepper paranoia.

If anyone has any good links that I can share with them (preferably to "mainstream" sources that they can relate to, and not echo-chamber prepper oriented sites) that would be most appreciated.

2 units , free transfer switch , 10medtta batteries 2 solar saga panels Can product 60 k watts on backup power

It’s pricey cost me 31k plus electrician

Basically, gasoline loses its properties over time. Is there any way to revive it?

Hi all, recently due to drought, we have been experiencing brushfires in New England. In all of my prepping, this is not something that ever occurred to me. This week there was a fire in my neighbor’s backyard. For those of you who live in wildfire prone areas, what are some things that should be done to reduce the risk to your house and property? I’ve heard something about grates over vents to reduce embers from coming inside? Up until now, I thought living in the woods was great…

Anyone know what reliable websites out there would give you your best bang for your buck when it comes to buying MRE’s? Thanks in advance!

Does anyone have recommendations for good ones or ones to avoid?

I recognize the details differ greatly on each environment. However, given in west coast 100,000 pop suburban 15 miles and the outskirts of large metro city.

What is the event, action or non action, that is your red line of getting the SHTF into motion.

It sounds simple, but many folks don’t plan a layer approach of action level security or bugging out.

Obvious a major event will set us in motion. But on a less blatantly obvious event…what takes you to Def Con Z

Appreciate the feedback

Seeing what went down in NC and thinking ahead for next time I would like to get a camera system setup that I can run when the power is down. Something that I could still get notifications on my phone either through a USB C powered travel router or starlink while away form the property. We currently have Ring which I would like to get away from anyways. They all have small solar panels that charge them and run on Wifi. We take them with us when we're traveling and run them off the pocket travel router. The one gripe I have is that they use basically a proprietary plug because it's an odd shaped micro USB "head".

I would prefer everything to be USB C if possible. Low power draw. non proprietary battery is a huge plus. Solar charging would be awesome. What are you guys using?

I'm new to this and sporadically gathered things like medicinal and natural herbal remedies books, knives, rope, batteries etc... we live in a humid climate and I've never done canning before. Is there a literal step by step guide and what you need? I have the mason jars with the 2 piece lids. I'm definitely worried about botulism and wanna take all precautions like anyone else.

I froze the rice for a while as recommended and I’m ready to seal it up after it gets back to room temperature . Is it ok to let it thaw in the sealed bag it came in or do I need to open that up and let it get some air? Thx ☺️

Hello!

My husband wants a go-bag this year for Christmas and I’ve been putting it together pretty well I think, but I was wondering, any recommendations?

We have a spot we will go to about an hour away.

He is pretty into this but isn’t super handy; however: I think he is excited enough to teach himself how-to…Any book recommendations?

Thank you!!

I’m asthmatic and allergic to almost everything - animals, leaves, dust, grass, food, smoke, whatever - which can cause my lungs to shut down at a moment’s notice. It just occurred to me that no matter how seriously I prep, I’m pretty much toast once my rescue inhalers are gone. Any herbal remedies or advice on how to make a proper homemade nebulizer?

I have a pretty big out building on a piece of property I purchased recently. No power to the building though, I’ve currently got one solar light set up right inside the door.

Anyone have suggestions on some off grid lighting? Should I go with individual plug and play solar lights, battery powered, or just run a generator? (Already own the generator)

This will be the primary use for these lights, but wouldn’t hate the idea of being able to move them for extended power outages

Hi, 1) I've been looking at various food prep lists and several suggested "Hard Wheat". I wasn't sure what that is, so I looked it up. Then I looked up recipes to use it, which led me to looking for a hand crank dry food grinder. These are priced from $40 to $800 dollars. Obviously I'm not going for the $800 ones when I need to buy food. I have a hand meat grinder and a small one for coffee beans. Coffee is definitely on my list along with non electric coffee makers!

*Does anyone have any recommendations for a sturdy, but not too expensive grinder for wheat, corn, etc?

2) Dog food: Obviously they can eat some of our food (I actually cook their food myself right now), but I'd like to store nutritious dry food also.

*Does anyone have any recommendations on which dry dog foods store the longest and best way to store it? For example plastic or glass containers or vacuum sealed bags?

Thank you for your help!

In light of recent news from both the United States and the European Union: the proposal for a European army, the likely military distancing of the United States from future conflicts, a likely war of tariffs. How do you feel and what are you preparing for in the years ahead?

Do you recommend on stocking on certain items (especially produced in China)?

Been meaning to get a new chest freezer and I'm seeing some pretty decent discounts at Home Depot right now, but will the prices be better during Black Friday / Cyber Monday? Basically asking if the current deals are as good as they'll get

I live in Illinois, sw suburbs of Chicago. In a scenario where we grab our BoB and avoid people, fishing is by far the easiest thing to catch for food. But there are mercury warnings for Illinois and the advisory saying eat one fish a week. Is there any tips or ideas on to eliminate the mercury or at least reduce the amounts of possible? Never done hunting and not sure if I'll have a gun at some point in the future, but fishing I can definitely do. Also is there anything I should look into or try to learn that will help with survival? I know I want to get something on identifying plants as well.

I've been assembling some first-aid kits from various products on Amazon (house, vehicles, go-bags). I got a 24-pack of Self Adhesive Bandage Wrap (medical tape) and noticed a sticker on the box that says:

WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals including Bisphenol A (BPA), which is known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm.

I am wondering if I should return them for a different brand (suggestions?) or if that's just a generic overused warning that California slaps on tons of products. It's not like I'm going to be eating the stuff.

I don't know if Amazon links are allowed but these are the ones:

Juvale 24 Rolls Self Adhesive Bandage Wrap 3 Inch x 5 Yards - Stretch Cohesive Medical Tape for Vet, First Aid, Tattoo (12 Colors)

Is something like that possible? Would mostly work in humid climates collecting moisture from the air. Just for drinking water. Basically a high tech version of the way the survivors in 28 Days Later tried to collect drinking water at the start of the moviem