What Have You Done To Prep?

[recon]

Spare parts for all weapons. Inventory all food items. Same goes with firewood and other items for heating. Check car items for the up coming winter and such. Clothing update for all seasons. The big one is the Medical bag. Inventory and update it.

[Woogiebear]

Honestly I know I have a lot of stuff, but I could not give you any idea of what and how much. I have just been grabbing random items over the years and putting them away. I know I have enough 6" fixed blade knives for everyone on my street, and then some.

Crap, now I feel I have to go through my stuff and see what I have and what I need.

[alismith]

Medical supplies are number one on the list.

Number two is ammo. IF you have ammo, you will be able to barter for almost anything you might need....

[Nobeard]

We have long-term food storage put back and canned food that gets rotated to keep it fresh . . .
With two boys? Food doesn't hang around long enough to get stale

Water purification is important. Along with iodine tablets to kill the 'bugs' we have charcoal based filters to remove the iodine once it's done it's job.
Several bags of coffee filters for removing any silt and sediment in case it comes down to getting water out of the tank (known as a 'pond' for those not in The South).
Also have plenty of dog and cat food, which also gets rotated on a regular basis

Have made it a point not to let either propane tank get below 50% just in case the price jumps or there's a delivery interruption.

Good source for medical supplies was: http://www.chinookmed.com/
Checked and their inventory is pretty bleak + prices have gone way up!
Have plenty of sutures (silk and chromic) along with scalpel blades (#10 and #11). Also staples and several halo seals.
Sewing up a laceration isn't as difficult as you would think - especially if it's on somebody else
If you're not sure how, there are books available. Would be a good call to get a library of print material if you haven't already done so.
There's also a chance you'll run into a doctor or nurse practitioner willing to trade skilled services for food and safety.
Over the counter meds. like aspirin, antibiotics, antihistamine / allergy (like Benadryl) and antidirrheal.
This type of stuff is stored in 50 caliber cans in the hall closet.

Have spare parts for most of the weapons including magazines.
Plenty of ammo and cleaning supplies (oil, patches and q-tips).
Figured out how to stack 600 rnds. of .223 on stripper clips in a .30 caliber ammo can, will post pics when I get home
Decent stock of reloading supplies, a little low on primers but those are hens-teeth right now.

Good collection of blades for a variety of uses along with whetstones and blade sharpening files for the axes and chain saw blades.
Have several Arkansas whetstones and ceramic stones for finishing the edge. Note: those cheap 'diamond' stones from China will not last.

Fluids, filters and spark plugs for all the vehicles along with stored fuel <--(SEE BELOW).
Have two trucks (one Chevy 350 cid / one Ford 302 cid) and a car (302 cid) with carburetors in case of an EMP or another Carrington Event. Right now they have Pertronix ignition system but can be switched back to points and condenser in 15 minutes without pulling the distributor.
Have spare water pumps and hoses for all three along with a complete clutch set for the Chevy.
Probably should get starters, alternators and carb. overhaul kits

FUEL STORAGE
Ours is in a shed next to the barn, which is 100 yards away from the house.
Would NOT recommend storing gas in a garage or any building attached to your home.

There are 15 gallon blue plastic barrel available that will hold gasoline for long term storage. These can be found at some surplus store and were originally used to ship soft drink syrup (like Coca Cola and Mountain Dew) to bottling plants. Take to a car wash, fill about 1/3 with rinse water and add several ounces of baking soda. Roll around to break up any syrup residue then rinse out. It will still have some odor but you can tell when it's clean by the color of the water.
You might be able to get some from a local bottling plant but DO NOT tell them you intend to use for fuel storage (they run from potential liability).
Here's what to say: you need rodent-proof storage for critter food, which they also work quite well for.
Cut one in half around the center. Cut the top off two others, inside the rim, then slide the cut barrel onto them as a lid. Get a loop type drawer handle and bolt it to the outside of the lid half so it's easier to pull off.

Oh; when they ask "why do you need 20 barrels?"
Just shrug "I gots a lotta critters."

I used 2x the recommended amount to Sta-Bil and stored some 93 octane non-ethanol fuel for 12 month. There were zero issues in a fuel injected engine.
Damn good thing too 'cause that test was with Julie's Tahoe!
Carbureted engine just needed a little more throttle than normal for highway speed, but it started and ran fine.
Should be noted that both vehicles got 1 pint of 108 octane boost per 15 gallons of long-term stored fuel.

Find a big trucking company and see if they have any empty 55 gallon DEF (diesel exhaust fluid) barrels.
Note: I HAVE NOT tried using these for gasoline, but they work for long term diesel fuel storage.
Clean them out at the car wash, but be warned that DEF is 32% urea and smells like cat piss.
Use the same story as the 15 gallon barrels (critter food storage) or tell them they will be used as planters or something similar.

Well, crap.
Looks like I wrote a book or something

[Oswald Bastable]

If I told you, I'd have to kill you.

[Full Otto]

I have to admit I'm sorely ill prepared I really need to stock up
They have started airing Doomsday Preppers here
It's several years old now but some things are still very relevant these days
It does give me some incentive though I don't plan on buying a missile silo
Biggest thing I have in mind is a whole house emergency generator
I have an estimator coming next week I've put it off long enough I want to finally pull the trigger on one