Misc If you had 30 days to prepare for the end of the modern world

[larry_minn]

Gut says stay where I am. It gets cold in the winter. So multiple heat sources, blankets, shelters.
I recall seeing 8’ high by 10’ wide square culverts. Cement. I think they said up to 16’ wide. You can drive a tank over with 16” packed soil?
So track hoe on a hill I own. Slight slope, drain lines down hill… 4’ soil over it should be @55f? year round before ventilation. few decent low air inlets, warm air goes out should give some circulation?
There were hand crank up fans. Any source for modern ones? Kinds like child’s swing. Crank up it runs 15 minutes.
I would really try to keep some generators, freezers, fridge. As wife just found out diabetic. Stuff she is using needs to be used 30 d@us after room temp for a hour. Shallow well likely @45F? I might get till winter (then keeping it from freezing) but how to get quantity! “The dog ate it and died” only works once.

 

[raven]

what have you done? you know, "in real life"?

We've had corona, the vax, couple of bank failures, Ukraine, illegal immigrants, conversion from Petrol to Electric . . .

All those are SHTF concepts . . . what did you actually "DO" for these?
You are likely to do exactly the same thing if you have 30 days warning.

 

[mecoastie]

There is so much that goes into this. Does the world know or is this some supersecret insider info?

In the ideal scenario:

If it was 100% for sure move all my crap back to parents. Rally round the family. They have an extensive orchard and gardens as well as a good amount of arable land. House is heated with wood. Several hand dug wells. etc. It was built in the 1770s. Buy a plow and harrow for the tractor down there and enough treated diesel to last a couple years. Buy 2 bred American Milking Devon cows, a young bull and a young pair of steers that have already started breaking to a yoke. Fill the barn with hay and mend all the pasture fences as they havent been used in years. Get some new LIFEPO batteries for my solar system. Get a load of coal delivered for my forge. Couple drums of good kerosene for the lanterns and lamps. Party like its 1899.

Reality. Hunker down where we are.

 

[larry_minn]

There is so much that goes into this. Does the world know or is this some supersecret insider info?

In the ideal scenario:

If it was 100% for sure move all my crap back to parents. Rally round the family. They have an extensive orchard and gardens as well as a good amount of arable land. House is heated with wood. Several hand dug wells. etc. It was built in the 1770s. Buy a plow and harrow for the tractor down there and enough treated diesel to last a couple years. Buy 2 bred American Milking Devon cows, a young bull and a young pair of steers that have already started breaking to a yoke. Fill the barn with hay and mend all the pasture fences as they havent been used in years. Get some new LIFEPO batteries for my solar system. Get a load of coal delivered for my forge. Couple drums of good kerosene for the lanterns and lamps. Party like its 1899.

can you start, run that tractor with no electric of any kind? i own two that in warm weather,or shot of ether. They will start rolling down slight hill. everything mechanical. Just no gauges, lights

 

[nomifyle]

I have seeds, but I just ordered more seeds. I see a couple of small propane tanks that need to be filled and probably a can or two gas cans.

I do need more allergy meds, I've let my stash get low.

 

[mecoastie]

can you start, run that tractor with no electric of any kind? i own two that in warm weather,or shot of ether. They will start rolling down slight hill. everything mechanical. Just no gauges, lights

If the emp is close enough to fry a starter then I have bigger issues than a tractor not
Starting

 

[hawkhavn]

OGM, I picked up one of the kindling crackers a few years ago. Wouldn't do without it now, I can safely break down a seasons worth of kindling in a few hours. Much safer than using a hatchet or axe. I use a 2# engineers hammer to drive the wood through the blade. It makes kindling from coarse to fine just depends on how far down you want to go. If something slips and I'm using the hammer I get a crushed thumb, with a hatchet it could be much worse.

 

[larry_minn]

Thought of many things. Everything from handles for hand tools, writing down best woods to make them from. LP fridge, meds, more meds, fertilizer. Feed for livestock, chickens, animal meds.
go to dentist, Dr. stock up, get tetanus shots.(likely every shot except rabies/Covid) but get rabies shot meds to store in well with other meds. @50F. I would pick up a lot of animal meds.
Plus seed. Let’s be honest. Heirloom seeds, saving your seeds is way to go. But first years using bought seeds should give better yields. As tillage harder. Spray could save a lot of work.
Roundup is still cheap. Hand pump sprayer you could kill a large area in fall to make hand tillage easier in spring.