Looking for lists of necessities

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Please help!

I've been researching the Y2K problem for about a month now, and as each day goes by I become more and more alarmed.

I've seen MANY partial lists of what you should have or will need for survival, but some contradict each other, or give the impression of being too general. I've been a haus frau for years, and doing the weekly/monthly shopping is a breeze for me, but now I feel like I'm running in circles!

Does anyone know of a source (preferrably on the net) of good, thorough lists of things like food, water and essentials? And if we have a wood stove, how much wood will we need to get by in Upstate New York?

I have tried to find a site for Stan & Holly Deyo, as suggested, but no luck.

Thanks!

-- Debbie Lavoie (lavoierd@gisco.net), June 26, 1998

Answers

Debbie,

None of us know how big the disruption is going to be, nor how long it will last. So, any list can only be one person's thinking, based on how bad they think things will be and how long they think disruptions will last.

A good site for putting together a first list is Paloma O'Reilly's Casandra Project at:

http://millennia-bcs.com/prep.htm

Keep in mind that your family will have preferences and tastes. Your situation might differ from someone else's. Adjust accordingly. The biggies, of course, are: Water Food Something to cook food on (unless you want to eat cold stuf) Heat Protection......can range from prayer to an assault weapon Medical supplies Communications Perhaps something to start a garden with in the spring

Wood stoves have different burn rates, depending on the stove They'll also vary depending on whether your're just cooking on them or also using them to keep warm. You may want to ask whoever it is you buy it from if you don't have one now. Rocky

-- Rocky Knolls (rknolls@hotmail.com), June 26, 1998.


I think that Casadra project site is missing a few things. For example, she states that your only source of meat will be dried meat. Not true, meat comes in cans like tuna and chicken. And don't forget that old camping standby pork and beans, great if you are on a budget. Also meat can come at the end of a fishhook. As far as water, you will definitely need some water collection containers. Also nuts are a good source of protein, you can stock up on those. Bread is problematic but crackers can be substituted. I think aluminum foil is a great thing to stock up on, you can eat off it and cook off it without the necessity of washing dishes. Washing anything is going to be problematic. Just imagine yourself on a camping trip, what would you need?

-- Amy Leone (aleone@amp.com), June 26, 1998.

Stan and Holly Deyo are at:

http://www.millennium-ark.net

-- Rocky Knolls (rknolls@hotmail.com), June 26, 1998.


Try http:www.eckent.com/prepare/foodstor.html

Or search engine "Emergency Preparedness". There's a list of different categories and the amounts you will need for your family. It gives you a pretty good idea of what you will need. I'm staying away from the dehydrated packaged one-meal stuff (too-pricey). I'm purchasing canned goods like pork & beans, canned potatoes, mixed vegetables, tomato sauce and tomatos, chicken broth, corned-beef hash, SPAM, dried beans, pasta, peas, rice, peanuts, etc. As for breads, I bought Marie Callendar's corn bread mix because all you have to add is water! If it is stored beyond the expiration date, use the mix for griddle cakes! I haven't had to do that yet cause none have gone bad after the expiration. I go to a canned food outlets where they sell factory seconds. I've checked with companies for expirations dates, and they are perfectly safe to use after expirtation as long as the cans are not leaking or bulging. SPAM for instance has an indefinite shelf life! Bought pork and beans today 4/$1.00, expiration date is 2001! I think a lot of people are going to be in trouble in this department because many families eat at fast-food restaurants and really don't know basic nutrition. Learn how to grow vegetables, etc. Use vegetables for landscaping if you have a limited amount of space for growing. Good Luck! P.S. Buy a good multi-vitamin mineral supplement to take during this time of trouble.

-- Barb-Douglas (bardou@yahoo.com), June 26, 1998.


Debbie,

I stumbled upon some excellent preparedness literature that is brief, yet effective. It is about 20 pages long and has some excellent lists that cover almost every category of preparedness to concern yourself with. I can burn a copy and send it to you if you like. It is not on the Web to my knowledge and it too much info to type in.

-- Alan Sneary (asnear1@tandy.com), June 28, 1998.



Alan, you mentioned to Debbie, that:

You "stumbled upon some excellent preparedness literature that is brief, yet effective. It is about 20 pages long and has some excellent lists that cover almost every category of preparedness to concern yourself with."

Is this something that you could share with the group?

Thanks,

Dave Jones

-- Dave Jones (dfj@fea.net), June 28, 1998.


Sunset Research Group 8918 W. 21 Street N. Suite 200-224 Wichita, KS 67205

They put out a publication called "Crash". About half of the publication is preparedness info. Be prepared, the author of this info believes we are headed for nothing less that a global depression

-- Alan Sneary (asnear1@tandy.com), June 30, 1998.


Hi Debbie,

There is a book called Making the Best of Basics by James Talmage Stevens, it's a family preparedness handbook, and it really has a lot of great information, for example it shows you how to figure out how much kerosene you would need to store to burn a lantern for 5 hours a night, from a month to a year, it also has food information on quantity, and it has a HUGE list of retailiers, and contact info, it has recipes and a website www.getready.net.

Also Alan I just wanted to say I have the Crash report, they also put out an Awareness report, which is great to share with family or friends who will freak out about eating dog meat & rats!!! But I'jm sure you knew that, just letting the others know!

God Bless!

Billie Pattschull

-- Billie Pattschull (jimbil@ffia.net), July 01, 1998.


Debbie, I personally think the Cassandra site is pretty pathetic, unless you believe that we are going to have problems for only a few days. Much better is the y2knet.com site, but a lot depends on where you are and the resources that you may have nearby, and it especially depends on how severe the problem turns out to be. Are you putting together a plan that would take care of necessities for a few weeks, or for a few years. I recommend that you look at what some of the preparedness companies are selling to get ideas. Two to start off with would be Nitro-Pak, www.nitro-pak.com, and Emergency Essentials, www.beprepared.com.

-- Ryan Booth (ryanbooth@hotmail.com), July 01, 1998.

May I offer some suggestions for survival lists try....

http://www.ionet.net/~rbrocato/survivalism.html

for survival skills try....

http://www.artrans.com/rmsg/toc.htm

Brandie

-- Brandie Rugh (Bugbite@kfalls.net), July 02, 1998.



Debbie, on the subject of how much wood. A good wood stove that will burn all night if shut down(air source closed)10-15 cords of wood should last the rest of winter. A cord of wood is measured 4ft by 4ft by 8ft.

Vic

-- Victor Kandle (Light_Servant@yahoo.com), July 02, 1998.


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