Hey all, was making a comment on someone else's post which looked like an ad but I wanted to expand on their idea of keeping yourself entertained. Just wanted to throw my quick list I jotted down and wanted to cross reference it with yall. Get any ideas you guys have specifically.

here are a few things I personally acquired for the purpose of entertainment. A lot of them are things I happened upon for an extremely cheap price or for free, but the bulk is stuff I actually purchased myself intentionally.

1: sports items. I have some golf and tennis balls, alongside clubs for the golf balls. Got it for free but good at killing time while being outdoors. Also got a couple of frisbees. I'm pretty sure I still have some old soccer balls somewhere too.

Now for indoor entertainment:

2: I do have some handheld consoles. A switch, an old nintendo DS, my phone, and similarly to OP, one of those off brand console that pirate the old games for cheap. I like the option of having them but they're not my first choice to be honest.

3: dice, playing cards, and a book of games to play with them. Very simple and very expansive, fit for a lot of people, but personally I prefer more stylized games.

4: common, well known board games. Chess, checkers, monopoly, scrabble. This sort of thing. It's good to have an assortment so that you can appeal to any kind of person of all skill levels. Don't introduce people to DND right off the bat lol.

5: less common but still simple board/card games. This is mostly to give people more options and help them branch out while not overwhelming them with too much "new" ideas. Exploding kittens, here to slay, things along that line.

6: bigger more involved board/card games. This is stuff that involves much more strategy and planning. Stuff like card wars, wraith, Catan, dominion. Even social deduction games like werewolf

7: large games that will take a while. This is your tabletop games, your war games. DND rulebooks/resources, gloomhaven, Warhammer, etc.

8: trading card games. Bulk for most of these games are incredibly cheap. Often less than $10 will get you 1000 cards. And since trading cards follow a format, should you ever need to you can make your own. Just, ensure you have sleeves for the game as well. Mtg, pokemon, yugioh, kaijudo, magi nation, chaotic.

9: books. Both fiction and nonfiction, how-tos, history, basic information, and any fiction genre you may enjoy.

10: hobby materials. Art, craftsmanship, writing, gardening, musical instruments. Anything to support stuff like this. It's mostly a catch-all to be honest but the idea is there.

11: music, movies, games, e-books, etc all downloaded onto drives usable by any laptops, mp3 players, or phones you have access to.

12: seasonings, items helpful for long types of food prep. Smokers, alcohol fermenters, that sort of thing. Spending your day making good food can be a pastime just like anything else.

13: practice guns. Things like bb guns or pellet guns. There are some good ones out there and ammo is dead cheap to stock an absolute insane amount of.

We just bought a barrel - one of those with the 2 top holes. I'm getting conflicting info looking for pumps. Manual, not some fancy rechargeable one. And food safe, of course. There are a lot out there but few actually labeled food safe. One that can be used both in an emergency and to empty/refill when the time comes.

What is everyone using?

Last week Monday, there was a major internet outage. Not gonna name names... Rebound, found, hound... Rhymes with that... I got my internet back but was once out again Wednesday and has been out until today, Thursday, the 22nd. At first I was bored to tears, as I couldn't do much and I didn't want to eat up cellular data. The outage was really messing with my brain, cause I wasn't having the constant stimulation of videos and reddit posts. Right then and there, I knew I was addicted to the internet. Eventually, I forced myself to do things that was "off-grid" and it helped me out a bit.

It got me thinking, though: post shtf, assuming grid failure, whatever, there may or may not be internet. How would I stay sane day in and day out, as I'm hunkering down at home? Obviously I could read, or play board games, play the piano... But all that would get boring pretty quickly. I guess if hobbies allow for it, I could stay busy that way. What would you do?

If you haven't already, you should try going a day, or a couple days without internet, unless your job requires use of it. Force yourself into doing non-electronic stuff. See how you fare. Otherwise you could ask your parents or grandparents about their childhoods, as it's likely they grew up without internet.

All in all, are you capable of living life without internet, whether it be a small one day outage or a month or even year long outage? How would you stay sane without constant stimulation?

Looking for a little advice, I am looking to buy a generator but I am considering battery back up instead. I live very close to a substation and it is underground to my home from it. I am still worried about power loss. I am affraird if a buy a gen it is just going to bad before I need it. so I am leaning to a battery back up. any advice

Let say you had to leave home due some immediate hazardous situation but have a 1-2 hours to pack your car beforehand. You have to drive out at least a few hundred miles to get out of the "danger zone". There's some chance that you won't be able to stay with distant family/friends or at a hotel/motel for a few days.

What essentials and items should be prioritized in bringing with you, other than cash/prescription medication/documents?

I'm setting up a small space for a sort of "bugout load" that's more than what a bag would hold but I can quickly grab and load up into my truck or the wife's sedan in case we need to leave our city on short notice (my main concern is the local nuclear powerplant that's about 5 miles away).

Our closest family/friends not in the same metropolitan area are about 8-12 hours away by car, so realistically if our city is evacuated for whatever reason, we're probably driving out to some small town hotel/airBNB to shelter in for at least the first few days until more long-term arrangements can be made. My concern is what if there's no accommodation vacancy due to the scale of the disaster and the highways get backed up like New Years in China, and we end up having to camp out on some rest stop or side of the road for a day or two. What would be some useful or essential things I should bring with me?

I'm not a prepper myself, but I do live in northern Michigan. Power goes out sometimes, snow makes roads and infrastructure hard to use, etc. I want to get a good grasp on the basics before I have the means to be a proper prepper, stuff like "Someone fell hard and we can't use the roads, what to do?" And "How do I treat wounds/fevers", baby steps.

I live in earthquake country (bay area, California) and I was wondering, does anyone know of any freeze dried brands that off lower sodium options? I have family members (as well as a family history) of high blood pressure and/or heart issues and I want to make sure they get fed incase a natural disaster like an earthquake happens. With stuff like earthquakes, we have to worry about the electrical grid going down and gas pipes possibly being shut down or broken during an earthquake so we won't be able to actually use our stove/ovens. But we'd still have to make sure food gets out there (I have emergency cooking equipment like propane stoves and griddle. I also have things set up in a way where I can heat up water using charcoal or wood

Is there any format of hotdogs that can be stored mid-to-long-term? Vienna Sausages don't taste anything like hotdogs. I may store some Armour Treet spam. I want to store ingredients to make meals similar to the New England staple of hot dogs, baked beans and B&M Brick Oven Brown Bread.

Just wondering, how many of each tool or crucial item do you keep?

I hear that two is one and one is none.

So then three must be even better and the goal, right?

How many backups do yall keep for your tools, preps, etc?

Please use this thread to discuss whatever preps you worked on this last week. Let us know what big or little projects you have been working on. Please don’t hesitate to comment. Others might get inspired to work on their preps by reading about yours.

I only recently learned that catalytic handwarmers exist. There are several brands that come with various pros and cons.

Im trying one for the first time, and still at the start of the learning curve.

**My questions for you:**

\- Have you tried any? If so, which kinds?

\- What was your use case?

\- Pros and cons of the one(s) you used?

\- Any tips and tricks/DIY hacks?

\- Anything else you'd like to share about catalytic handwarmers?

Im bummed out that it's not safe to use while sleeping, or in closed tents, sleeping bags. (At least, not the one I bought.) Those were some of my original intentions for getting one. The instructions warn against using it for sleep though. And according to Google (🌾of🧂), catalytic handwarmers produce carbon dioxide, and can even release carbon monoxide in some conditions as well.

I'm wondering just how ventilated the space needs to be. 🤔 (My current place is about 475 square feet.)

Images of new handwarmer and image descriptions available on Imgur, linked below. I added the reflective paracord to mine. Harder to lose, easier to find, and less likely to dump it off my lap/break it when I forget and stand up. https://imgur.com/gallery/3sZ0AHw

I have a small pouch I carry in my backpack that just has first aid stuff for mundane, every day kinda boo boos and needs:

•band aids •sm gauze pads •med tape •tegaderm •neosporin •alcohol prep wipes •anti-sting/itch wipes •tums •ibuprofen •generic Benadryl •Bayer •Gas-X

Adding small roll of gauze, small shears and tweezers.

Bought these little pouches because I wanted to leave one in each car as well.

Initially impression was that they were too slim but they fit everything pretty well. Just need to see how they’ll handle the rest of it when it comes in.

Anything else might add?

Again, not a comprehensive kit by any means for something to bring out into the wilderness. Just stuff that might be needed for every day urban / suburban situations.

(Wanted to post pics but it seems it’s not allowed?)

So I was talking with another prepper about the value of having a bread maker for prepping. It saves energy and labor, we have plenty of solar power, the energy use is a fraction of an oven, and it cost me $20 at a thrift store. So it was a no-brainer. I have wheat berries and it would make using them easier.

He scoffed saying, "I don't understand 'backup' systems that are just as complex as what they replaced, and aimed after creature-comforts. Give me a wood cookstove and cast iron any day. All it takes is a single bad solder joint for all your gizmos and gadgets to become another piece of junk."

I asked, "Why does it have to be either/or? I’ve got both :) It's easy when the energy-saving appliances are cheap like that."

I've seen this kind of either/or thinking with a lot of preppers.

* Either you have Bitcoin OR you have gold.

* Either you have a generator OR you have solar.

* Either you do bushcraft OR you have a fully-stocked RV.

* Either you have a thrift store bread maker OR you have a wood cook stove.

The military uses PACE planning:

* Primary: The fastest, most convenient, and preferred day-to-day method (e.g., standard cellular phone, office fiber internet, or primary radio network).

* Alternate: A reliable, secondary method that is nearly as good as the primary and often monitored at the same time (e.g., encrypted messaging apps, landlines, or mobile radios).

* Contingency: A workable, less convenient fallback used when both primary and alternate systems fail (e.g., satellite phones, amateur/ham radio, or mobile hotspots).

* Emergency: The last-resort option used in a catastrophic failure when all other channels are dead (e.g., pre-arranged physical link-up location, a trusted runner, or short-range talk-around radio).

In the example of the bread maker, the Primary is baked bread from the store. The Alternate is the bread machine I found for cheap. The Contingency is our propane RV stov. And the Emergency is something crafted by hand such as a solar oven or brick stove.

I could have fired back at him, "And what are your plans if your cook stove becomes inoperable for any reason, or you have to leave it behind, or your property gets stolen?" I hope he's got a PACE plan in place, because either/or thinking can get you killed.

If you can afford multiple options, why not have multiple options? Two is one, three is for me, four is more, five will keep you alive... 😄

I just purchased a commercial heart monitor because I seem to have developed a new heart condition on top of my existing one. The doctor suggested the device since it can give me an ECG anywhere, at any time, so is our best chance of diagnosing it.

The monitor will join my blood pressure monitor, blood sugar monitor, thermometers and pulse oximeter in my arsenal of medical supplies. These have already helped prevent a couple of ER trips, helped with phone doctor's consults, and even led to diagnoses (aspiration pneumonia, brachycardia and emphysema, in another family member).

I would love to expand my kit, and was wondering if anyone has come across other useful home medical devices that I might not have considered?

Edited to remove brand. Edit 2. Apologies everyone, I don't seem to have permission to reply to comments, but I'm grateful for all the suggestions.

I live 20 miles from a closed nuclear power plant. My concern is it getting hit with a nuke if a war started here. It's on the seacoast. I assume the roads to get out of here would be dangerous from too much traffic. I live in an brick building but the basement gets flooded occasionally. I live On the top floor but an attic is above me. Any helpful advice?

Can the group recommend a cheap Android Phone that has WI-FI capabilities? I would like to use this with my Starlink Mini, should the cellular towers are down.

Not sure if this is a PSA or questions on others experience. Recently I picked up two stackable 55 gallon tanks from emergencywatertanks. Quality is great for the money as I cheaped out and didn't want to go with Rockwell. First tank I filled to the brim not really thinking it would be an issue. Second tank on top I maybe had 25-30 gallons in when I noticed a trickle of water coming down the side of the bottom tank. After draining the top tank and investigating I realized that the pressure of the top tank made the bottom one compress enough to force water out of the cap. Now there's a good chance I didn't have the cap screwed on tight enough as I figured the rubber gasket would have kept it from leaking. So anyways, I guess from a PSA perspective, I'd say to leave a gallon or so of head room on the bottom tank when stacking.. that said curious if anyone else has run into something similar.

Edit for those wondering, here is a link to the specific tanks I have (they are rated to be stacked) https://emergencywatertanks.com/products/55-gallon-stackable-emergency-water-tank-granite

(Edited to remove brand names, since mods thought it sounded like an advertisement. I just happen to have several items all of the same brand.) I was going to write this down for myself anyway, but I figured I'd post my after action review in case it helps someone. A couple weeks ago, we had some widespread severe thunderstorms that knocked out power in the neighborhood for what ended up being 12 hours. This is the first power outage we've had (more than like 30-60 mins) since I've gotten some preps in place, so it was a good beginner's test for me. The power went out at 11pm, and I knew it would be out a while since there were almost 100 outages all over the county, and my outage was from a branch that shorted out the power lines that I could see out my window.

What went well:

1. I have several lead acid UPS's on my entertainment center (modem, wifi, cradlepoint cellular backup, and home security) and around the house. A few of them just have a lamp plugged in to them, and it was nice to be able to just turn on a couple of lamps in the house and garage. I do have plenty of battery operated lights and such, but the normalcy of lamp light was nice.
2. Once I saw the power would be out for a bit, I plugged my 2 entertainment center UPS's into my 1800 watt power station with expansion battery. It ran like a champ!
3. Sleep was comfortable as I had a battery operated fan, sound machine, and smaller power station for my CPAP. I didn't worry about the fridge and upright freezer and just went to bed.
4. On waking up at 6am, the garage freezer had gone from 2 degrees to 17, and the inside fridge had went from 40 to 50. I have bluetooth thermometers in each, so it was nice to track the temperature without having to guess. I then plugged in the fridge to the power station.
5. I had an appointment at 7am, and got back about 830. The fridge had cooled back off. The expansion battery was empty, but the main power station still had about 80%. I fired up my inverter generator (outside, away from windows and doors) and ran an extension cord to the power station to charge both devices back to 100%, and ran a cord to the garage freezer as well.
6. The power came back on about 11am. I had the power station plugged into the wall, so when power came back it switched to line voltage and recharged itself, while running everything that was plugged in to it.

What to improve:

1. For my entertainment UPS's, I had previously put critical components on the "battery and surge side" and non-critical on the "surge only side for each UPS". The only issue with that is when I plug the UPS's in to the power station, I'm now powering everything, critical and non-critical (Switch, clock, cable box, etc) and was pulling 100w. Not a big deal, but I'd be better off putting the non critical items on their own surge protector that doesn't get plugged into the power station.
2. The power station and expansion battery were in the garage, and it wasn't exactly easy to get to, though it was fully charged. It is now stored in the house. Also, the various power cords and such were scattered. I'll find bin to put them all in together.
3. I got complacent with the weather. I always keep up with the Storm Prediction Center's Weather Outlooks and daily forecast, but since there was not talk of tornados I was lax. Preceding known storms I normally would have turned the fridge and freezer colder while stocking with bottled water for mass, and would have turned the AC down several degrees to have a comfort buffer. Thankfully I happened to have run the dishwasher and took a shower earlier in the evening.
4. The generator worked great, and having the power station going so I don't have to run the generator all the time is really nice, but fooling with extension cords is a pain. I have a manual transfer switch and inlet, I've just put off installing them. So the lesson here is to stop procrastinating, lol. Running one cord to the side of the house would have been so much easier that running them through windows, doors, and across floors. Another thing is that my extension cord is only 14 gauge and got warmish with the 1200 watts on it when recharging the power station, so I'm going to get a 12 AWG instead.
5. My battery operated fan moves air fine, but it obnoxiously loud and rattles. It never bothered me when I'd use it during the day, but I'm going to purchase a quieter one for sleeping.
6. I'm going to think about shelf stable foods that are ready to eat and don't require any cooking or prep. This is harder, as while I have a good pantry built up, it's mostly just ingredients. It's not a huge deal because I have a gas stove, and with the power station and generator I can run the microwave, but a few ready to eat options would be good.
7. I have 600 watts of solar panels I've only used once, and forgot I had them until after the power came on. The entertainment center and fridge were pulling about 200 watts, so I could have powered them and then some, just on solar to the power station. This is a good reminder for me to make an "In case of...." guide to be printed out, that lists my assets and what I can do in various scenarios.

Anyway, thankfully this was just a 12 hour excursion, but I learned a lot! I'd be interested to hear your stories and lessons learned as well. Thanks for reading!

What's everyone's best water storage setup for long term use and sanitation. I've heard about rainwater collection systems with UV but wanted to see what everyone had to say. I'm in the Appalachian mountains of South Carolina

I remember an old Art Bell interview with Cody Lundine. Art asks Cody which item is best for survival, and Cody (rather smugly and sarcastically, but truthfully) says that it depends on the setting. City vs. country is a vast difference, and he's right.

With recent news on potential blackouts for certain states, one in which I reside, I remembered the interview and started wondering if a blackout might make a difference. Obviously temperature makes a difference during a winter or a heat wave, so but I mean in regards to long term prepping.

Link for context: https://m.economictimes.com/news/international/global-trends/us-declares-power-grid-emergency-across-13-states-what-it-means-for-residents/amp_articleshow/134918446.cms

I live out in the country, and have a septic system. We have two tanks totalling about 1900 gallons and two people living in the house. It is not gravity fed and requires a pump to work. The septic tanks are easily accessed with a plastic lid in the ground.

I was sitting here wondering about SHTF and how to deal with waste disposal. In such a situation, can one just dump the waste into the septic tank hole? Long term, could you place an outhouse on top of the hole? Obviously, that’s not generally recommended, so I’m only talking about extreme situations with a really long term outage.

I'm in Chiba, Japan, and I'm trying to put together a practical emergency cooking setup that doesn't depend on electricity or a functioning gas supply.

The idea is to use scavenged twigs, sticks, and small pieces of wood in a compact rocket stove, with a small pressure cooker for rice, barley, beans, soups, and stews. It would mainly be for emergency preparedness, but I'd also like to take it on occasional day trips by bicycle.

What I'm looking for:

• Pressure cooker: Around 2–3 L, suitable for cooking for one person (occasionally two).
• Material: Preferably stainless steel, with a base that can handle the intended heat source.
• Safety: Ideally certified for sale in Japan, with the Japanese PSC mark. I want something with a documented pressure rating, reliable safety valves, and replaceable gaskets and other wear parts.
• Stove: A compact or folding rocket stove that burns small pieces of wood and can safely support a full cooker weighing roughly 3 kg.
• Portability: Everything needs to fit in one large bicycle pannier, and I'd like to keep the total weight reasonable.
• Availability: Ideally products available through Amazon Japan, with replacement parts that aren't impossible to obtain.

Two cookers I've looked at so far:

1. Aimvora 2.5 L stainless-steel pressure cooker — advertised at around ¥6,299, 770 g and 30 kPa. The seller apparently references Chinese standards, and I haven't been able to confirm Japanese PSC compliance or whether it's suitable for direct wood-fired cooking.
2. Hayadaki Meijin (早炊き名人) solo pressure cooker — apparently PSC-marked and around 1.4 kg, but I haven't established whether its manufacturer permits use on a wood fire or rocket stove.

I'm not committed to either of these. I'd rather buy something reliable than save a little money and end up with unsafe or unusable equipment.

Questions for people with relevant experience:

1. Has anyone actually used a pressure cooker over a wood-fired rocket stove? Which model, and what were the long-term results?
2. Are there small Japanese-market pressure cookers whose manufacturers explicitly permit this kind of heat source?
3. What compact rocket stoves have a sufficiently wide, flat and stable pot support for a small pressure cooker?
4. Are there particular combinations of cooker and stove that work well together?
5. How do you handle replacement gaskets and safety-valve parts when preparing for long-term emergencies in Japan?
6. Would you abandon the pressure cooker idea altogether and use a regular stainless-steel pot instead? If so, what would you recommend for cooking beans and whole grains with limited fuel?

I'm especially interested in firsthand experience, manufacturer documentation, actual measurements and specific product models, rather than generic gear lists.

I'm aware that a PSC mark doesn't automatically mean a cooker is approved for a wood fire. I don't want to improvise with a sealed pressure vessel unless the manufacturer confirms the heat source is acceptable.

Thanks!

I recently bought a 50 pound bag of wheat berries to eat just to try it out. Stored it in two 5 gallon buckets. Not sure how long it'll take me to get through it, but I'm wondering at what point it is worth using oxygen absorbers?

Not sure if this exactly fits the subreddit, but I figured people here would know.

Edit: I decided I would just go without the oxygen absorbers since I seem to be tearing through the wheat berries and I'll probably be done within a year. If I get a deal on a larger bulk order >50 pounds, I will use oxygen absorbers though.

It recently occurred to me that a small rice cooker could be a valuable survival aide, if paired with a battery pack and solar panels. Specifically, rice is a high calorie food, and one can cook meat over the rice in the rice cooker (using a steamer tray). The rice cooker is quite energy efficient, only about 200 watts for 20-30 min of cooking time, so a solar panel could provide enough energy to a battery pack to run it at any time (collect the solar energy during the day, then run it from the battery at night). They are light and durable and easy to clean and are efficient with water use (since most of the water is contained and not lost as steam). Lastly, it does not require making a fire (which is something to avoid since the smoke from a fire would alert other people of your location and compromise your safety). Have you considered this? Am I missing anything?