Bugging' IN and Lockin' up!!

It seems that several of us for whom bug-out is really not an option (I also have little kids)I will post my first ideas, and we can break it all down systematically. It's cool to meet others in the same circumstances. We will make this thread the "all you need to know about bugging in" thread.

I think we should break this down in 4 important sectors. I think that Food, Water, Medicines as protections should be the 4 main brackets.
1. Food
· How much food needed for # of family members for a 2000 calorie daily intake for 12 months
· Food allergy considerations (I have celiac disease for example)
· Vitamins
· Fruit servings everyday is a MUST
· Dried stored food
· Make your own (garden, fish, poultry)

2. Water
· Water filtration system
· Rain water collection system
· Hopefully access to fresh water
· Water supply stored indoors for at least 6 months (remember # family members)
· Water treatment chemicals

3. Medicine
· Antibiotics (Azythromycin, Keflex, amoxicillin, penicillin, augmentin, cipro and rocephin or levaquin (more expensive) are the most important one, can be bought for animal/pet med suppliers for cheap, just need to look up human recommend doses and do the equivalence). This can protect you from skin, lungs, and urinary infections and save someone’s life.
· Fever/pain meds, Tylenol, ibuprofen, vicodin
· Topical and subQ pain relief like lidocaine
· Bandages, dressings and bandaids
· Anti-infectives like Neosporin
· Flu-Cold medicine
· Diarrhea/ nausea and vomiting medicine
· Electrolytes
· Suture kit
· Trauma kit
· First aid kit
· Airway help such as OPAs and bag valve masks

4. Protection
· Weapons, at least 1 handgun for each adult, a 12g shotgun, a precision hunting rifle and semi auto rifle (at least 1000 rounds per weapon but the sky is the limit)
· Knives and machetes
· Enough wood to reinforce doors and windows.
· Anti assault door jammers
· Sand bags
· Heavy duty plastic covering and tape
· Arctic grade tents (for all family members) sand clothes/sleeping bags and boots
· Fans and summer durable clothes and shoes
· Spare boots/heavy duty shoes for all family members
· Spare heavy duty clothes for all family members
· Bullet-proof vest?
· Various tools, including manual drill, saw and an assortment of everyday household tools, make them heavy duty and always manual is possible
· Nails and screws, the bigger and stronger the better

Ok, now this is just a skeleton list, we can continue later by adding to it and adding instructions about what to do with each item.
What do you think?

 

All great ideas, I will add all those to the list later. About the medicines and trauma kits I intend to teach you guys how to use them. The water amount you are obviously right but I will keep it to a 3 month minimum in case that you are dealing with a pandemic. The more ideas the merrier, keep'em comin

 

I consider Septra or Bactrim (same medication - trimethorprim with sulfamethoxazole) to be the most important antibiotic. It is first line for urinary infections, prostatitis, traveler's diarrhea, sinus infections, ear infections, bacterial bronchitis, community acquired pneumonia, mouth infections and skin infections. It is often the only oral antibiotic that works against MRSA (methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus). Some folks are allergic to sulfa, but not as frequently as penicillins.

Not being allergic to sulfa, if I could only prep with one antibiotic, it would be this drug.

 

Septra is a must get for sure, it just skipped my mind somehow, I'm sorry. The stocking up only one antibiotic idea doesn't make sense. Airway always comes first, and in the case of a flu pandemic, secondary bacterial lung infections will be the biggest killers. So those are must gets too

 

As for the body armor make friends with local Deputy or PD they probally have some old ones laying around they will give you or sell to you for a few bucks. I would tell them Im wanting to do some test with ammo or training my dog and wanting to have them made into a bite sleeve. That way it kind of protects your reason. Alos even if all they have is pannels that is fine the carrier runs about $50.00 to a $100.00 bucks. I collected the ones from my Dept last year we was cleaning out the stock room and after they have been issued to one officer they are not suppose to be re-issued. The company warrenty won't stand behind them that way. Don't worry about that I have talked to several companies about it and they said its a way out just in case. Also if out dated the factories told me that being worn everyday after experation they are still good for an average of 12 years properly maintained. I also collected a bunch of old ones about three years ago and had my mom put together two packing quilts and slid them down in it and stiched in place to use as barrier's behind the plywood cut outs for my windows. Sounds like alot of work but not as bad as you think.

 

Thanks for the advice alpha, I have befriended many of the local PD over the years in the ER. Do you know anywhere else I can buy them at a decent price? Even used?

 

Fantastic post TraumaHawk, this is my situation as well (bugging in w/ small kids) so I'll be following closely. As for water, I have a private well that was just drilled along with a backup generator-anything hits the fan here and we will go right in to water storage mode. I've been looking at large bladders for storage, just haven't found anything yet. I'm a bit of a nut when it comes to spare parts, so I've been looking for a spare well pump just in case.

What's the best way to store antibiotics for max life? I have a small frig that is not being used, would that help extend shelf life?

 

a method to keep the house warm.... wood burning stove might work and also meet your cooking needs... and a toilet of some description

 

I would like to suggest that you consider expanding your list of areas or including these in one of them.

All of this reflects my own thinking based upon my concepts for my homestead / sustainable / renewable lifestyle, today and should some future grubby times come along. They work for me, but of course each to his own.

That's freedom for ya ain't it?

Sanitation:

Toilet Paper and alternatives
Septic system / composting toilets / out houses
Cleaning supplies
soap and soap making
Tooth paste / dental (this may fit under medical also to some degree)


Disposal of bodies and dangerous waste
Cemetary vs. cremation
bio hazards
dead animals, possibly diseased

Shelter
cloths
buildings
building accessories from candles to alternative energy

Transportation and fuels
even bugging in one will eventually want to go to places to trade , forage etc.

So my homestead list while not set up this way would look something like this

1. Consumables: This would contain food, drink, and things like soap and toilet paper. Also means to replenish / substitute as needed. Perhaps for Barter also.

2. Shelter: This would begin with clothing and move up through buildings along with necessary infrastructure such as heaters, and maintainance items including repair stuff. Also means to provide more raw materials from cloth to boards. And repair facilities for all items (i.e. the workshops)

3. Transportation / fuel / maintaince

4. Barter / income production

5. Health and Sanitation: Medical and day to day maintainance of the lives on the homestead. This to include any animals.

6. Security: Everything under this from things such as OP sec and homestead design / landscaping, and weapons and training.

7. Commo / intelligence gathering. Everything from simple FRS and cell phones to internet and ham radio. Knowing what is happening and being able to communicate. While it may also fit under security here would come listen and observation post commo, and patrols and commo back to the homestead. Also providing energy (probably batteries and recharging) for any electronic items. Also simple letters and notes and things like trail signs and blazes and perhaps signage such as posted or quarantined to keep unwanted away. (possibly op sec items) Recording devices from voice to pics to video. (pics of edible plants or to record photos of persons on the way to the cemetary come to mind as examples, as would trail cams for watching places one doesn't see from the homestead.) Perhaps one would prefer to put commo under security.

*** PlaceHOLDER Reserved for what I forgot.

Some other random thoughts that I just had jump into my head

For anything less than TEOTWAWKI. (i.e. when society is not going away such as tornado or such) CASH IS KING.

education and knowledge (library). Writing / recording / history materials to produce references for future use by self /descendants should the situation be multi-generational.

An emergency document kit of everything one might ever need to prove stuff such as birth and deaths and deeds of ownership. Also any other important life restart items for something as simple as a fire destroying stuff (reason for an offsite stored copy) or as complex as rebuilding from the ashes.

Maps (and compass) of AO along with places of interest marked on them. for current and future reference. (consider a salt lick, or caches etc and need to locate them by someone should the maker of the map die, etc.)

Fire fighting

Recon / foraging / other is kind of leaving home with plans to return as would be trade and other reasons for moving about.

What to do with persons seeking to join with you and yours. How to bring them on board or get rid of them and sustain op sec. Plan now so you don't have to invent on the fly.

SOP's and IAD's for any anticipated events would be helpful

Weather and weather forecasting. (even a thermometer and barometer and hygrometer and some knowledge could be useful. More would be better.)


While it is under shelter, a food preservation system from a outdoor prep kitchen, canning area, and root cellar / shelter are areas to address. Knowledge of ways to preserve /build methods for preserving such as smoke houses and dehydrators and spring houses and root cellars. Tools to use here such as canners and salt and pickeling stuff.

Recipes and cook books for stored and foraged and grown food. Practicing what you plan to eat today will help tomorrow with less difficulty adapting to unusual foods. Also it will point up missing items needed in your preps.

Which triggers the concept of drills to test and evaluate stuff before you need to use it for real emergencies.

Seeds. Trade and garden. While seed saving is a topic in itself, understanding hybrid and heirloom and the impact of generational seed saving is important. could be food , and library. tools to grow garden would be another overlap.

Animal husbandry including prep and preservation of meat, eggs and dairy to include milk cheese etc.

I am seeing my bias is coming forward for owning a homestead that is as close as possible to self sufficient and also allows production of trade / barter items for obtaining wants and needs. I plan for worst case bug in's as anything else is covered if you are ready for major up upheavals.

The self and soul

This is dependent upon each person, and could run the gamut from Bibles to mental health texts and such. Maintaining the mental well being of people in a bugin or any other situation is a starting point. Once one gives into certain behavior, one becomes much less likely to survive anything at all.

Control of persons and creatures who may be suicidal, contaminated, contagious, and any prisoners. What would be done with criminals should there be no legal system.

Government of the homestead. Who is in charge, how will decisions be made, what if there are disagreements etc. Planning now for those possibilities will be better than any ad hoc choices later.

For what it is worth I find much merit in some of the early systems used by people including the hue and cry of many European cities, and shunning and banishment. For now I will leave my opinions on this at what I have written, but much more needs to be thought about and now before one has to deal with it in real time.

Tools This area spreads throughout all categories, and ranges from guns to wrenches to needles to stoves to any items used to maintain and enhance life and preservation of it.

OK, enough of my ramble, and I appreciate the gigantic task that OP has set for this thread.

One thing that may also help would be to ask anyone with other useful posts to link them here so there is a kind of one post to link to all others.

If this post becomes truly as excellent as it has the potential for then eventually it could be stickied and used as a faq / link to all other connected posts and references.

I would like to say that I composed this off the top of my head. While I think I got the big picture covered, I do have an extensive set of notebooks / binders and such where I have delved deeply into every area of my long term homestead / bug in plans, and as I recall / note mistakes I made or come up with stuff I forgot in my haste I will attempt to add it back as separate posts , linked here also.

I approve of this effort, done well, it will probably save lives and enhance those still seeking knowledge's ability to locate useful resources.

In a way this entire site is a collection of ideas that fit with bugging in and all are worthy to consider.

Hopefully the cream of the crop will end up here or linked here.

Thad.

 

Great post, as soon as I get some time I will put it together, I think from now on and having so many great contributions I will create a word document with all of this and replace it with a new one from time to time (updated version) so it doesn't get too confusing. The only thing I disagree is the cash is king thing, if SHTF dollars will worth nothing, trade will revert to more primitive nature and value items will be king. Please keep adding ideas, together we are stronger

 

"Female items" for the ladies in your life... And I'm not talking makeup guys.

 

Please note that I said if it was not TEOTWAWKI that cash is king. For example during a hurricane when stuff is still available for sale, but power is out so no clearing Credit cards and such. during that type of problem cash would be king.

At a certain point cash would have no value.

I consider survival a spectrum from survival as life exists for me today to survival should we find ourselves thrown back to stone age living conditions.

Under all but total collapse cash will have value.

For some reference try looking up what was going on in places like Bosnia during the fighting in the early 90's.

Not picking at ya, just wanted to make clear that I agree that a total breakdown would mean barter if even that was possible. I suspect for a time one would not even be able to barter, and had better have supplies or be able to forage.

XD.

Thad.

 

Sorry I originally misunderstood you, makes sense now

 

I just wanted to make the point about cash cause so many people just carry a debit or credit card these days.

I have spent many many days working on a bug in plan that might work for most of what life throws my way. Since my stroke there is little hope of me going long term bug out, but I do have alternate places to move to. Think great depression load up the flat bed type moves more or less.

My daughter and her friends get a kick out of me talking with them about what if's and eventually she has to chase me out of the living room so they can do their "kid social watch a dvd or eat a pizza thing. Their reactions give me hope for the next generation however since many of them now spout my own words back at me and don't make fun.

In trade they teach me how their world works (texting with a phone for example)

Bug in offers so much more viability for so many reasons. Slowly I have managed to feel out the area I live in and pretty much know how most folk will jump under duress.

Many moons ago when the concept of survivalist was in its infancy (as a term, survivalist is probably something that has been practiced since some cave man put back a bit for tomorrow of food and such.)

Anyway I read Mel Tappan's "Tappan on Survival". While much of the analysis is a bit dated a lot of that book influenced me to locate where and how I did, and it is still available off the web as a free PDF download with a bit of google fu.

His concept of a small farm (homestead) located in a small mostly self sufficient community always appealed to my common sense.

Humans figured out a long time ago that living with a town structure was an efficient way to enhance survival. So among my other quests has been the study of how different communities managed to evolve and survive and regulate themselves. A lot of northern European communities had things to recommend them. Especially with dealing with miscreants.

The frontiersman towns of America found ways to live when not only nature had to be adapted to but also roaming groups of local Indians that did not particularly want them living there.

The towns along borders such as in the southwest and other "no law" lands during the settling of the west had to find ways to deal with their versions of mutant zombie bikers.

Now it seems that as a society the wealth produced by Americans during it's first 150 years of so have allowed a huge portion of folk to live as parasites off the back of those who produce things of value.

Martha Thatcher said that best, the problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other peoples money.

Every day I can read the news and watch Atlas Shrugged come to life. And lately I'm starting to think I'm seeing signs of other works like civil war II and EFAD etc along with john ross' Unintended Consequences.

I have even been re reading classics like Gulag Archipelago as we may find ourselves living in a police state similar to the old soviet Russia if things continue as they are and gooberment manages to retain a power base even during the collapse of the economy that seems inevitable.

For everything I can imagine, or find historically or have experienced myself, having a homestead in a rural area with a well stocked pantry, food production, good neighbors with whom one already has a lot of i"ll help you you help me / barter going on seems the best solution.

My big thing is that no matter how well I can set myself up I know that there is still many many things that I can improve and learn.

I look forward to seeing what others have to add here. Each new thing I learn increases my ability to make good choices to enhance the probability of survival come what may.

Ya'll have fun out there and keep smiling, it makes the JBT's wonder what you have been up to.

Thad

 

If the power is out, cash may not do you any good either. When was the last time that you went into a store and saw price tags on the items you bought? If the scanner isn't working, the clerk does not know how much to charge you for the stuff you want!

 

LoL