Reply 2:

The trash bins for toilet water storage is a great idea! 

I'm sorry, I don't understand that.  Are you talking about using that water for flushing the toilet?

A camp porta-potty works fine and you could use that trash-can water for other things.

Help me here?

I keep about a week's worth of  provisions which I work through, constantly replacing outdated stuff.  (The expiration dates are observed, although my personal feeling is that they're pretty much meaningless.)

These are pretty good for "survival" since they don't require refrigeration and if push comes to shove, you can eat them cold. They're also "packable" if you need to bug out.



You can also heat them by putting them in a pan of hot water --heated on your propane camp stove.  (I keep about eight torch-sized bottles of propane around for mine.)

Terry, 230RN

REF and pic credit:
http://www.hormel.com/products/Variety.aspx?ID=16

Yes, I plan to use the water in the refuse bins(I have 4) for the toilet.

I figure I have at Least 200+ gall of toilet water.  New toilets only need a few gallons.

Plus, If it gets Really bad, I think I can get water from my neighbor's swimming pool.

I save the Sweet tea gallon bottle when the Wife gets thru drinking the tea.  I must have saved at least a 100+ gallon bottles.

Not  to mention that I Brita and Pur pitcher water filters to filter the water in the gallons.  I don't like the taste of our tap water.

I know to most of you the sodium content of those prepared meals don't mean much, but, for me, my ankles swell up like balloons.

If you plan on cooking on an open fire, pick up some quality cast iron to use. A Dutch oven, frying pan and griddle can meet most needs for a family or small group.

Dry goods like pasta, beans and grains can be cleared of most insects by freezing it for a few days before sealing it in a plastic bag or bucket for long term storage.

Small amount of Clorox or idodine can be used to keep stored drinking water safe.
And can also be used in part to purify suspect water .

My house is always prepared, I have two Eagle Scouts and one Boy Scout to rely on.

Brown rice doesn't keep well because it naturally has a high oil content, spoils faster. For food prep, go to Wally World and spend the fifty bucks to buy a vacuum sealer. I use it for everything from food to reloading supplies to first aid stuff. I even used it to seal and shrink down underwear and socks for bug out bags, makes them much slimmer. For first aid gear, I'll usually make a "kit", such as a 4x4 sponge with gauze roll for abrasions, 4x4 sponge, gauze roll, butterfly suture, and ointment for lacerations, etc. Label it with a fat marker so others will be able to ID it, and rest assured that your IFAK will stay sterile since you're grabbing an individual bag instead of rummaging through your trauma bag with dirty paws and making everything else bloody. You can easily put together a decent kit by spending ten bucks a week at WalMart or Long's.

Oh, and that canned chicken from Costco will make your Wiser freeze-dried food taste so much better.

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AmbuBadger great tip on sealing First aid items!  Which vacuum sealer are you guys using?  My first one the horizontal Foodsaver crapped out quickly.  Got the newer vertical one but it wastes a lot of bag material and those bags don't reliably hold a seal even if tripled.  Is why I want to get mylar and HD sealer iron thing.  Then toss in a bunch of dessicant and check later the bag squeezed down on it's own to verify O2 absorption.  Or something like that.

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Brown rice doesn't keep well because it naturally has a high oil content, spoils faster. For food prep, go to Wally World and spend the fifty bucks to buy a vacuum sealer. I use it for everything from food to reloading supplies to first aid stuff. I even used it to seal and shrink down underwear and socks for bug out bags, makes them much slimmer. For first aid gear, I'll usually make a "kit", such as a 4x4 sponge with gauze roll for abrasions, 4x4 sponge, gauze roll, butterfly suture, and ointment for lacerations, etc. Label it with a fat marker so others will be able to ID it, and rest assured that your IFAK will stay sterile since you're grabbing an individual bag instead of rummaging through your trauma bag with dirty paws and making everything else bloody. You can easily put together a decent kit by spending ten bucks a week at WalMart or Long's.

Oh, and that canned chicken from Costco will make your Wiser freeze-dried food taste so much better.

Great idea with the vacuum saver.  I bought a 50 lb bag of jasmine rice from costco, unopened but I think I may and vacuum seal smaller bags.

Works for ammo too!

aloha AB
what kind of binder is that?
what do you have the ammo laid out on?

Works for ammo too!

MacsAK: They're just 9mm FMJs on 5.56 stripper clips. I folded index card paper around the ends so the edges wouldn't punch through the plastic. I have ammo stored either like this or in Otter/Pelican cases for the long-term. I've read tons of stuff online stating that this isn't really necessary, but I feel better, especially when it comes to my shotshells. The bags are the FoodSaver brand, from Wally World, decent and thicker than the cheaper ones I had before, but nothing like an MRE pack.

The big problem here will be power of course.  I am sure that people understand that our power grid here in Hawaii is fragile, but I don't think most people are aware of exactly how fragile it really is.  Without getting into the problems with the power supply (plants) and their grid, the supply ability to the public is very fragile.  Most of the power poles are not high wind rated, not to mention that rot and / or termites have done a lot of damage.  It won't take a strong hurricane to topple a large number of them throughout the island.  Hell we lost power on this island for a week in some areas because of a spike and a trip in the system.  Just trying to roll the system back online to supply power throughout the island took a week.  Even a medium sized hurricane is going to wreak some serious havoc.  They will not only need to get the system up and running again, but will need to get the supply to the demand which means fixing a lot of things.  We don't have enough poles on island to replace the number of poles that could / will go down.  Preparing for 2+ weeks to be self sufficient is a good idea.

Short to medium term storage and food saver bags work well, just be aware that the food saver bags will fail and leak air over time and are not ideal for light sensitive items.  Better options for overall storage or for longer storage are mylar bags and O2 absorbers.  Garbage bins are good for quick easy fill up, but be aware in a prolonged outage the sewer system may back up and if you continue to use your toilets they will back up.  Everyone should have a good filtration system.  They can be small, lightweight, portable and easily constructed if you make your own.  Good filters like the Berkey will do just about everything.  Many of the cheaper carbon filters like Brita are good for particulate and taste but not for bacteria's.  As mentioned plain bleach works well for purification and if you use a correct recipe for pool shock a very small, inexpensive, easy to store bag will last for thousands of gallons of purification.  Another tip for saving on cooking time or morso fuel for cooking especially rice, beans etc is to use a thermos.  A solar oven or solar stills are also options for more prolonged problems.  First aid / medical supplies are a must.  Batteries, radio, firearms and ammunition. 

FYI:  SPAM on SALE at SAFEWAY  $1.67 @  Limit 8 

Don't forget Price Matching at Wal-mart, K-mart and Foodland

Brst price yet.  8 cans for less than $14.

Wife will kill me when she sees how much I bought.   

Foodland does price matching?

Reply 2:

I'm sorry, I don't understand that.  Are you talking about using that water for flushing the toilet?

A camp porta-potty works fine and you could use that trash-can water for other things.

Help me here?..................

Some people don't like pooping in a 5 gallon bucket.

On a side note, Walgreens has the 32-load Arm & Hammer detergent at 2 for $6 (so 64 loads for $6), just gotta sign up for their rewards program. My friend was at Daiei and said their "sale" price was a 44-load jug for $8. I know this isn't really a prep item, but since we're on the subject of stockpiling...

FYI:  SPAM on SALE at SAFEWAY  $1.67 @  Limit 8 

Don't forget Price Matching at Wal-mart, K-mart and Foodland

Brst price yet.  8 cans for less than $14.

Wife will kill me when she sees how much I bought.   

I'm on it! thanks