PLEASE READ. INFORMATIVE POST IF YOU'RE EVER IN A SITUATION LIKE N.O. -

[Bullwinkle925]

I spent time last evening in the home of a person who has always volunteered in his city's emergency preparedness department:

In case you are ever in a disaster area and your home is still 'liveable', however all your services are cut off - i.e. water -

For sanitary purposes - line your toilet with a large black plastic garbage bag - then you can remove the bag - double-bag it and set it outdoors until the restoration of city services.
He has 50 gallons of water reserved at his home and is thinking of adding to that supply. Also - keep a butane stove and reserves of butane on hand.

Hope this helps.
If anyone has other ideas - please fill us in.

:loveya:

[valerief]

1. What about northern states in the winter?

Any ideas?

[Bullwinkle925]

7. Aside from the sanitary suggestion - the only thing I can think of

is to make sure people use butane heaters (CAREFULLY) and tons of warm clothing/blankets.

Doesn't look like we can rely on government any longer.
We do need to start having these discussions.

[mattclearing]

10. But if we stop relying on the government, then won't the R's have won? n/t

[Lindacooks]

16. We can 'arm' ourselves and be prepared and still scream

about repukes' incompetence.

[preciousdove]

8. I got arctic sleeping bags for myself and elderly relative

Rotate stored canned ready to eat foods. Remember to have enough matches and batteries for radios.

[blue sky at night]

11. purchase a woodburner......

and a chainsaw...I have had both since the early eighties. I have yet to purchase wood, as I am always looking for free firewood...warning this involves hard manual labor, and it is good for you! See my post about camping below! This is called self-reliance! (BTW, a pickup truck is also nice to haul said wood in)

[amandabeech]

49. If you have a fireplace, you can purchase a fireplace insert.

They take up less space than purchasing a wood- or coal-burning stove, and put out lots of heat.

The parents of my best friend in high school put one in during the '70s energy crisis, and they had lots of heat in their large family room, while the bedrooms remained cool.

I do not know if you could convert a gas-burning fireplace to wood burning in order to use one of these things.

[DemBones DemBones]

28. If there's snow, you can melt it to flush the toilets.

I did that during the blizzard of '93, using a camping stove ourdoors since our propane tank (heat and cooking) was uprooted by a large falling tree. You wouldn't believe how much snow it takes to get enough water to flush a toilet!

In the future, I'd go with the garbage bag idea, if we had no water.

Without electricity, our pump doesn't work so we had only the drinking water we had saved. Our generator quit working after just minutes and needed a new part to be repaired. Mr. Bones tried to fabricate a substitute part for four days without success.

We survived by wearing lots of clothes and sitting very close to the fireplace night and day, sleeping in our chairs. When it was 9 degrees outside, it got down to 45 in our living room (as measured about 10-12 feet from the fireplace.) The fire had to be stoked every half hour. We drank a lot of hot chocolate.

Later, we bought a new generator and installed a new woodstove, too. (Fireplaces are not efficient heat producers.)

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

40. Yes.

Sawdust buckets for toilets (see post elsewhere) will work in northern climes.

Make sure you have heavy duty sleeping bags and at least one down comforter. Have wool socks and mittens, not gloves, to wear inside.

If you have a fireplace, have an expert check it out and make it as efficient as possible. If possible, get a wood burning stove-not one of those cutesy ones that look nice, but one of the ugly brown ones that put out the heat. Vent the thing properly. Also check and sweep out your chimneys!

Insulate and insulate some more. Block off any rooms you don't need to use.

Do you have a root cellar? Remember that the ground temperature stays year round at about 50 degrees-there are many days in winter when you can go into a root cellar to feel warm!

Have a generator ready in case power goes out. Or do what we're doing-putting up solar panels and using inverters to run important things like the fridge and the computer!

[kestrel91316]

45. Sawdust bucket toilets are GREAT, and they work anywhere. In a mild

climate you can put them outside to keep from having indoor odor issues (though with lots of sawdust there is NO odor).

[kestrel91316]

46. Sawdust bucket toilets work great, even in mild climates ............

and remember to have baby wipes on hand for hygiene when water is in short supply.

[jeffreyi]

51. Here's a link for sawdust toilet systems

http://www.jenkinspublishing.com/humanure.html

The book is available free via download on this website.

Someone I know has been using this system for about six months, it works really well. Start-up costs were next to nothing. The collecting system has no vermin and no odor. The compost pile has no vermin and no odor. This system works much better than the commercial composting toilets I've been around; there is no stink, no hassle, and it doesn't cost $1000+. There are quite a few advantages to not using or needing drinking water for flushing commodes!

[spuddonna]

53. Make a snow toliet outside?

I kid... we lived in Webster, NY and the amount of snow piled to the side of our driveway in the wintertime was over 5 ft...

But couldn't you dig a hole in the snow to cover the waste? I have no idea if it would attract animals... Would it freeze?

Is anyone drinking their coffee and feeling queasy like I am?:puke:

[blue sky at night]

2. become a camper......

that way if your house does become uninhabitable, you will everything you need to live outside. Purchase large tarps to build a "house" with, then your tents and stuff go under it. The times are a changin and I don't things are going to get better for some time. This is going to be a very hard winter, lets hope it doesn't get real cold!

[phusion]

17. And keep all that stuff ready and easily accessible

That way you can grab it at a moments notice and have enough to survive for however long...

[niyad]

3. candles, canned goods (and a manual can opener) batteries, and a plan for

evacuation and where to meet if loved ones get separated.

[elehhhhna]

4. also : fill the bathtub, have bleach on hand,

(can purify water), sturdy shoes ON YOUR FEET (lol, shout out to seabeyond!) and Hormel (IIRC) makes packs of stuff like chicken & mashe potatoes, etc. that are microwaveable but cooked and need no refrig.--and can be eaten at room temp.

[elehhhhna]

6. Batt OP RADIO. A Must have.

[Coexist]

9. they have the battery-less ones that you can hand crank

every twenty minutes at Sharper Image for $40

[Cassandra]

37. I have a Freeplay radio and flashlight

A bit heavy but never needs a battery. During the last blackout I was happy to have them.

[bushcrab]

39. cabela's has one with a cell phone port $50

http://cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=search&id=0033921620106a&navCount=1&podId=0033921&parentId=cat20684&navAction=push&catalogCode=XF&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat20684&hasJS=true

[Maru Kitteh]

52. This eBay seller has them for $40 with free shipping

price: US $39.98

http://cgi.ebay.com/Grundig-FR200-Emergency-Radio-crank-powered-FREE-SHIP_W0QQitemZ5805052231QQcategoryZ15051QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[spuddonna]

54. I think someone already mentioned the dynamo handcrank...

I have one that uses batteries and has the dynamo hand crank - works well, I should pull it out and check to make sure the batteries aren't in it leaking...

[Benbow]

19. "microwavable" - assumes electricity supply ... n/t

[elehhhhna]

25. as I mentioned, they can be eaten at room temp, no problem.

[kansasblue]

5. excellent advice.

a bunch of garbage bags and you could 'go' for days.

[Fleshdancer]

12. thanks for this post

the garbage bag tip makes perfect sense.

on edit: it would probably be a good idea to have antibacterial hand gel or handiwipes on hand too for when you have to handle the bags.

[Bullwinkle925]

14. ABSOLUTELY.

Another excellent suggestion.

[Bullwinkle925]

13. Excellent suggestions from all of you.

I shall be looking for these items. Especially since I live in earthquake country.

[XanaDUer]

15. ALWAYS keep regular bleach for water treatment.

None of the scented stuff.

[tjdee]

18. How do you do that?

I mean, pouring bleach into water and drinking it is probably not good, right?

How would you treat water with bleach?

[Joebert]

29. 9-10 drops with an eye dropper per gallon.

You wouldn't need it with water from the city, since it's usually fine. But if the water is questionable, the 9-10 drops of bleach can kill off some of the stuff in there.

I read this at the Red Cross, and several other sites.

[fasttense]

30. It is a tablespoon of bleach to a gallon of water. Drinking straight

bleach may make you sick (in the stomach) but it wont kill you like other cleaning products. A tablespoon of it in a gallon of water kills Most germs but is till not the best.

[FlaGranny]

43. One thing that works with bleach -

bleach evaporates out of the water in time. What you can do is put the bleach into the water in a gallon jug, put on the cap and shake it up to dispense. Every once in a while remove the cap to allow the gas to escape. After a day or two, the bleach smell will disappear. Or you can put the water with bleach in a large clean bucket, stir it in, and allow it to evaporate out, then fill your water jugs and cap them. This will remove most of the bleach.

[Benbow]

21. How do you drink it after you have treated it with bleach? n/t

[shraby]

24. Look it up, but I think it's 12 drops of bleach

to a gallon of water.

[XanaDUer]

26. Yup.

Thanks.

[Benbow]

32. OIC thank you n/t

[jmowreader]

56. The same way you drink water that doesn't have bleach in it

Chlorine bleach is just water with a huge amount of chlorine dissolved in it. Put a teaspoon of it in a gallon of water and the chlorine is diluted to a reasonable level.

[Minstrel Boy]

20. A hand-crank radio

something like this:

http://www.hammacher.com/publish/65939.asp

[PA Democrat]

22. I have a case of cans of sterno and canned goods.

Large jar of peanut butter, crackers, cereal bars, portable battery operated radio, flashlights, plenty of spare batteries, matches, candles, several cases of water, and several gallon jugs of water.

Another piece of good advice is to fill your bathtub with water that can then be used for washing. A bucket of water from a swimming pool can be used to flush the toilet if there is no water.

[CanOfWhoopAss]

23. A Shotgun so when moral NRA assholes come, you can fight fire with fire.

No one is above looting when survival is at stake. Share if you can and shoot pickup trucks if you can't.

[Lerkfish]

27. if water is cut off, hot water heater units contain multiple gallons

turn off the heating mechanism, and open the unit hose to drain out.

if power gone, and extremely hot, refrigerators will still be cold as long as opened sparingly for quite some time.

in a flood, take a walking/ poking stick with you if you travel -- the water is too murky to see through, and there could be dangerous debris unseen below the surface. besides, a stout stick has a variety of uses in all situations. A converted mop handle works very well.

[Child_Of_Isis]

31. Candles and a manual can opener. eom

[DemBones DemBones]

33. I highly recommend Coleman lanterns and campstoves.

When the blizzard of '93 hit and we were without water, power, and heat, our Coleman lanterns and campstove worked, even though we hadn't used them in years. We figured out it had been something like 17 years since we'd last gone camping in our tent and used the campstove. The fuel had been in it all that time so we found it quite amazing that it worked. We cooked delicious meals on it for the four days we were snowed in.

Also, never lend your tent to Deadheads. We did and they folded it up wet and ruined it.

[Cleita]

38. Yes, I use Coleman laterns instead of candles or feul operated lamps

because of the fire risk. Since we lose our electricity in earthquakes, lighting candles or kerosene like lamps could cause fires if aftershocks knock them over.

[fasttense]

34. If you are in a flood prone area, keep an axe, saw and/or hammer in the

attic. That way you can cut yourself out of the attic when the flood waters reach too high.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

35. flashlights that don't need batteries

you can get them that you can crank to power them. I got one free from my bank last year-had a flash light, radio, and a siren all in one. Worked really well when we lost power for a week and were snowed in during the winter.

You can get 7 liter plastic jugs for water. We keep our wash water from our well in one color can, our spring water (drinking water) in others. Since we drink the spring water all the time, we don't need to refresh it, but I do try to use and refill the wash water from time to time.

Another thing you can do for toilets is to get buckets of sawdust. Use the buckets for your toilet, and "flush" with sawdust. This will keep down odor and can be dumped outside in a compost pile. Of course, this wouldn't be good for floods, but if you have some other disaster it will work (I have a composting toilet and this is a makeshift version of one).

Besides canned goods, now you can get several different types of dishes in foil pouches that don't have to be refrigerated. These will stack in a box or pantry and can be opened merely by tearing the flap. If you do stock up, be sure to rotate your stock so that what you have is still good.

Have a plan ready for different types of disasters. Do you know your neighbors? Do you know what they have - do they know what you have- so you can share supplies?

In a real disaster, knowing your neighbors can be vital.

[Cleita]

36. I discovered in our last earthquake that cell phones become

inoperable and my fancy digital wireless phone on my land line doesn't work without electricity. So I invested in a cheap $10 phone that doesn't need batteries or electricity because the land lines ususally still work when nothing else does. Also, a cheap battery operated radio keeps you in touch with emergency and rescue operations.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

42. Yes..we have both wireless and regular wall phones

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

41. But if you live in a gas powered home, manually shut off your gas lines

if you are going to use butane

[Pobeka]

44. and, make sure you have a wrench handy to shut off the gas.

If you live in an earthquake zone like I do, you may want to buy a spare wrench, put it in a sealed bag and put it outside the house.

Your wrench in the toolbox may not be accessible because it is covered with debris (like my garage would be :eyes: ) -- you may want this wrench *fast*.

[theHandpuppet]

47. Advice for those who have children!!!!!!

Take a waterproof black magic marker and write your child's name, your name, address and phone number (plus a contact #) directly ON THEIR CLOTHING. That way if you get separated, relief personnel will at least be able to identify your child and contact you or get y'all back together.

[Zenlitened]

50. Heck, write it on their skin if it looks like things are going to be bad.

Clothing is often torn right off during flooding.

[auracat]

48. i

lived for about 6 years without electricity or running water.
it's very do-able, and not that bad really.

to prepare for living without them:
have everything you would normally have for a camping trip.

if you live in a temperate zone, you can use an innertube for hot water heater for showers, if need be.

[Zynx]

55. Humans drink a surprising amount of water. You'll need a lot on hand.

A gallon jug might look like a lot, but it won't last long at all, especially in a hot climate. Multiple five-gallon cans recommended for ANY length of time. Fill bathtubs prior to disaster if you can.

Food is not as important if you don't have young children or elderly around. Healthy adults can go for quite some time with minimal food. A stockpile of sports bars, candy and Trail-Mix stuff is good enough.

If you live in an urban area, you SHOULD have some sort of weapon to protect your home from any criminals that try to take advantage. This was a major problem after Hurricane Andrew, to say nothing of the LA riots and New Orleans.

If you have pets, pets will need water as well. Pets don't need to drink as much as we do, but they still need a decent amount.

Alcohol and mild cleaning chemicals make excellent disenfectants for hands in lieu of washing in water.

People have already mentioned using bleach to make raw water drinkable. Chemical-tainted water is STILL NOT DRINKABLE, even after adding bleach. That means stuff like oil, gas, etc.

Superglue can be used to fix small cuts. It works surprisingly well.

[Maru Kitteh]

57. Keep a basic tool and first aid kit

First Aid kit
Tourniquet
Guaze
Super Glue for closing wounds
Benadryl for hystamine reactions
clean scissors
asprin
alchohol
sturdy rods for splinting

Tool kit
Hammer
Hatchet
small saw
Knife
multi-function screwdiver
nylon rope
waterproof matches
oil