The Doomsday Prepping Crash Course (2 page)

Avoid Frustration by Starting With the Easy Things First

When you're first getting started as a prepper, it's easy to focus too much on the "cool prepping gear".  You might spend your time day dreaming about that 2,000 square foot underground survival bunker that you've always dreamed of building. 

You may even fool yourself into believing that you're actually prepping by spending countless hours designing every last detail of your ideal emergency bunker.  The reality is that you're not really doing anything to prepare unless you actually have the funds to follow through and have the bunker built and installed. If you don't have the money to follow through with this project, you're just daydreaming and wasting time.  Instead of just daydreaming about prepping, you should spend your time
actually doing something
that will help you survive when doomsday finally arrives.

A great example of an easy way to get started is storing water.  As a matter of fact, one of the most important elements of any preppers's stockpile should be their water supply.  Ironically enough, storing water is one of the least expensive and easiest things a prepper can do. 

The main thing to keep in mind is that doing
something
is always better than doing nothing when it comes to prepping.  Putting up water may not be as fun as dreaming up all the cool features that you would like to have in your ideal emergency bunker but it needs to be done, and best of all, it doesn't cost much money to do. 

Properly Storing Water for Emergency Use

Did you know that according to FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the average adult should store at least one half gallon of water just to be used for drinking for each day that they won't have access to a safe water supply?   They actually advise us to all store at least one gallon of water per person per day.

Some preppers have huge water cisterns that they use to store thousands of gallons of water but most either can't afford or aren't equipped to store this much water.  The good news is that virtually anyone can start storing water while recycling at the same time.

In a document that FEMA has provided to teach people about storing water, (
http://www.ready.gov/water
) they suggest using empty two liter soda bottles to store water.  Two 2 liter soda bottles hold the equivalent of 1.056 gallons of water so based on FEMA's recommendation of storing one gallon of water per person per day; two 2 liter soda bottles filled with clean water would be adequate to meet the average person's daily water requirements. 

It's important to note that FEMA advises against using empty milk jugs or empty containers other than plastic 2 liter bottles. They advise against this because the containers will either break down and start leaking or it isn't possible to sterilize them adequately for safe water storage.

The process for storing water in empty 2 liter bottles is quite simple.   Simply wash the inside of the empty bottle with dishwashing soap and water making sure to thoroughly rinse any soap residue out.   You should then sanitize the bottle by adding a teaspoon of regular non-scented liquid household chlorine bleach and one quart of regular tap water to the empty bottle (Don't use any bleach that has any additives in it).  Shake the bottle thoroughly and then pour the sanitizing solution out and rinse the bottle with clean tap water.  Don't forget to sanitize the cap while you're sanitizing the bottle.

Now that you have a freshly sanitized bottle, simply fill it with regular tap water.  Please note that if the water from your tap is treated with chlorine at a commercial water treatment plant, there's no need to treat the water further.  You can use it straight from the tap as is.  If, however, your tap water hasn't been commercially treated, you should add two drops of non-scented liquid household chlorine bleach to the bottle after you have filled it. 

Next, tightly seal the bottle with the freshly sanitized cap being careful not to touch the inside of the cap with your finger which could contaminate the water.  FEMA says that you can store water like this for up to six months if you keep it stored in a cool dark place.  Be sure and write the date that you filled the bottle on the bottle with a permanent magic marker so you'll know when to replace the water.  It would also be a good idea to write the expiration date on the bottle as well.  Before the expiration date arrives, you should rotate the old water out and replace it with fresh water.

Money Saving Tip:
If you already drink soda, you can switch to buying it in 2 liter bottles instead of cans and start stocking up on water by filling the empty bottles.  If you don't drink soda, you can probably find some friends or co-workers who will save their empty bottles and give them to you.  This is a great way to acquire empty bottles for storing water and it won't cost you a single penny!

Note
:  The one gallon of water per person per day suggestion is just a recommendation.  Depending on the temperature, the level of physical activity, the health of the individual, and other circumstances, a person may need more than one gallon of water per day.

Collecting Water When Supplies Run Low

Most serious preppers do their best to store as much water as they can but they accept the possibility that regardless of how much water they do store, there is a chance that they'll eventually run out.  Since you can't survive without water, this means that you'll have to find another source of it if you intend to continue surviving.

One popular system that many preppers have in place is a rainwater harvesting system.  These systems can be as simple or as complex as you like.  Basically, you just need a catchment to collect rainwater, a simple plumbing system, and a holding tank.  In its most simple form, this system is comprised of a roof to collect rainwater, rain gutters for the water to flow through, and rain barrels to store the water.

Many people already have a roof and rain gutters.  This means that to construct a rudimentary rainwater harvesting system, they simply need to install some rain barrels at the end of their gutters.  While it's possible to bury these barrels to make them flush with the ground, this can present a problem when it comes to using the water that has been collected.  If your rain barrels are buried, you'll need to have some way to get the water out of the barrels like a hand pump or a small bucket or ladle of some sort.

A better solution would be to erect elevated stands for the rain barrels to rest on.  Then, a valve and hose can be fitted to the bottom of the barrel to make using the water very convenient.  If you choose to go this route, make sure that you secure the barrels very well so that they don't fall over and injure someone or spill all of the precious water that you've collected.

Of course, you can't really count on Mother Nature providing rain every time you need to fill your rain barrels.  This may mean that you'll need to resort to scavenging for water.  In this case, you'll need some way to transport water from the source that you find back to your home or bug out camp.  If you have the luxury of transporting water in your vehicle, you'll simply need some refillable containers.  Five gallon water jugs with screw on lids would work well for this.

If your home or camp isn't too far away from your water source, you could pull refillable water containers in a heavy duty farm wagon.  You can purchase one of these utility wagons for about $100 at most farm and ranch stores and they have the capacity of transporting about 400 pounds at a time.  This should be more than adequate for hauling water from your source to your home or camp.

Filtering and Treating Water to Make It Safe to Drink

If you must resort to scavenging for water, you should always treat it so that it is safe to drink.  You can purchase commercially available water filters at many camping stores but these devices aren't 100% effective at removing germs, bacteria, and viruses from the water. 

FEMA advises that if you do resort to scavenging for water, you should NOT collect it from a water source that has floating material in it, a bad odor, or a dark color.  They also advise you to filter the water prior to treating it to remove as many contaminants as possible.

According to FEMA, boiling is the safest way to purify water for drinking.  They advise that water should be boiled at a "rolling boil" for a full minute.  Then, let the water cool and oxygenate the water by pouring it back and forth from one container to another. Adding oxygen back into the water using this method should help improve the taste.

The other method of treating water that FEMA recommends is chlorination.  To do this properly they advise to only use regular unscented liquid household bleach that contains 5.25 to 6.0 percent sodium hypochlorite to treat the water.  They warn against using bleaches with added cleaners, scented bleaches, or colorsafe bleaches when chlorinating water for drinking purposes.  FEMA also advises to use bleach from unopened bottles or newly opened bottles because of the fact that the potency of bleach will diminish over time.

Simply add 16 drops or 1/8
^th
of a teaspoon to one gallon of untreated water.  Stir or shake the container to thoroughly mix the bleach with the water and let this mixture sit for 30 minutes before drinking.  FEMA advises that after waiting a full 30 minutes, the water should slightly smell of bleach.  If it doesn't, they suggest repeating the procedure and waiting for another 15 minutes.  If after waiting the additional 15 minutes the water still doesn't have a slight smell of bleach, they suggest that you discard the water and try collecting it from a different source. 

Note
: You can
and should
print this helpful document provided by FEMA and keep it on hand to refer to when you need to remember how to treat water to make it safe for drinking.  The link to the document is:
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/library/f&web.pdf
.

This document also contains instructions on how to purify water through a process known as distillation.  Boiling and chlorination will remove most microorganisms but according to this FEMA document, distillation will remove the remaining microorganisms as well as remove most impurities that might be in the water.

Distillation can also effectively desalinate salt water and make it safe to drink.  Knowing how to distill water is a skill that could come in very handy for those of you who live near the coast and have access to water from the ocean.

Warning
: You can never be too careful when it comes to purifying water to be used for drinking.  Be sure that you follow the steps outlined in the link to the document from FEMA precisely to minimize your chances of becoming sick from drinking water from a dirty source.

Preparing to Help Your Animals Survive Doomsday

It's extremely important to remember that your critters are going to need food and water when doomsday arrives.  If you have pets or livestock, don't forget to plan for their daily food and water needs when you are putting up supplies in you prepping cache. 

Many preppers keep livestock such as milk goats or milk cows to provide a source of milk while they are in a survival situation.  Others keep horses or mules to provide a means of transportation if gas becomes too expensive or unavailable. It's very important to remember that these animals will require a lot more water per day than a person requires.  If you are keeping livestock or if you have pets to care for, be sure and plan accordingly and store plenty of food and water for them as well. 

The worst case scenario would be for your family to have to go without food or water because you didn't prepare and store enough for your animal's needs. Another thing to keep in mind is that you might survive just fine on the items in your food storage but your horses won't do well eating canned turkey or dehydrated apricots.

When it comes to storing water for livestock, you don't need to be as cautious as you are when you're putting up water for human consumption.  Many farm stores sell large plastic water storage tanks that are perfect for storing water for your pets and livestock.  They range in sizes from 250 to 1500 gallons.  These tanks aren't cheap but the fact that your livestock can potentially help you survive doomsday means that they are a prepping expense that is worth paying. 

If you simply fill a 1000 gallon tank and let it sit in the sun for months and months on end, it's likely that quite a lot of algae will grow in the tank.  When storing water for livestock, keep in mind that it will stay fresher if you rotate through it occasionally.  It will also stay fresher if you keep it out of the direct sunlight.  One idea is to cover the tank with an insulated enclosure to shade it and slow it from freezing in the winter.

Keep in mind that if you are going to store large quantities of water for your animals, you'll need some way for the water to get from the tank to their water troughs.  This can be accomplished by positioning the tank so that it sits at a higher elevation than the water troughs. Then you can simply attach a hose to the tank, open a valve, and let the water flow with the help of gravity.  It can also be accomplished by pumping the water with a hand powered or pedal powered pump of some form.

Making Use of the "One Extra" Method When Shopping

Here's a tip that is really useful when it comes to building up a stockpile of food and/or emergency supplies.  The tip is to make use of the "one extra" method.  If you're buying canned beans, and you need one can of beans, buy two and put the second one back for storage.  If you're buying a package of batteries to use in your flashlight and you only need one, buy two and put the second back for use in emergencies. 

Of course it won't be practical to buy two of everything each time you go shopping; especially if you're on a tight budget. Instead, look for items that are on sale or items that are packaged in special buy one – get one free packages.  If you'll get into the habit of buying one extra whenever you find the right deal, you'll be surprised how quickly your emergency stockpile will build up.