Found a great condition Wedco fuel can today at a consignment shop, old NATO style 2.5 gallon.  Looks to have been actually made by Valpro (V stamped in the side).  Nice find.  

Picked up a couple more poly Scepter fuel cans yesterday, and ordered new caps and a funnel for them.  

Helped a buddy by phone to adapt his 2k Honda generator to his interlock system while his power was out a few days ago during the wind storm that followed the ice storm.

Got fresh fuel for my generators last week.  Need to finish up the conversion from a transfer switch to an interlock style system.  

MIL is giving me a bunch more mason jars for canning use.  I have canned a lot of smoked tuna and salmon the last couple of years, always like free jars.  

Stuffed most of an elk into our freezers after my kid killed one last month.  Let a good meat processor deal with that one as I would take a long while to process it and grind up the hamburger myself.  (But I have the ability if needed).

Bought another SBR AR and some 12 gauge ammo.  Oops.  Also did a bunch of reloading.  

Need to burn up some older fuel, work on freezer alarms, etc.  Also need to split a ton of wood that we cut a while ago.  It is a never ending cycle of work.  

Way to go on that mortgage.

Put 330 pounds of grass fed organic beef in the freezer. Only cost $1000 so per pound it’s a steal considering the ground beef price is half local grocery stores and 1/5th for steaks

Smart.  Insulation is always a good idea.

Finished splitting what wood I had near the house from cutting this fall and early winter before the snow got to deep. Not sure what I’ll do with my free time. This morning I bought some huge Christmas candles that smell good for .25 each at dollar general to put in my emergency storage. I’m hoping for an early spring to get back in the woods before the ticks do. I want to order a whole replacement of firebricks for my wood stove to have as an extra set if crap hits the fan it’s one less thing to worry about.






Pic is one of several piles split and ready to be stacked.

Local grocery store had premium boneless hams on sale for $.99lb. They had a BB date of 1/25 so they were marked down

I bought 4 hams (all they had marked down)

I'm swimming in ham this year
I might take 1 or 2 out of the freezer and can them...

Fired up the portable generator for its monthly run last week (been a couple months this time), and noticed a gasoline smell. Found out that the bushing in the bottom of the fuel tank had cracked. Installed a new one yesterday, tested for leaks, and all was good.

Fired it up again, still with a gas smell. Found that the fuel line had also rubbed thru in one spot from vibration where it was laying against another part. Got some new hose, some wire ties to secure it, and we’re good to go.

Haven’t seen any one post in this thread for a while let’s keep it going. I just got done doing some planting for my spring garden. Planted 20 tomato plants this year and am hoping once harvest time comes I’ll be able to use my canning set up that I got for Christmas. Last year gave a bunch away and even had to throw some out. Next week I’ll be planting some green beans and hope to be able to  have a successful harvest and can some of those as well. I’ve also been stacking up on ammo as usual and have been trying to stock the same types ie 62gr vs .223 and 55gr.

I actually did a few things this past weekend!  Finished breaking in my new cheap brand inverter generator while also breaking in my new air compressor.  Then changed the oil in the new generator after its initial first few runs.  I also put NGK spark plugs in the new inverter gen, and my old two stroke gen.  

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Made a spark plug list to go with my spare spark plug inventory.  Still have some new plugs in there that I have no clue what they go to, but moving forward if I get rid of something I will know what the plugs were originally for. I have two larger generators I have to double check and add to my list, along with my chainsaws and a few other small things.  Once I have all of them, I will type up a complete list.  I also keep a spare carb for anything of my rigs that have cheaper carbs and rebuild kits for the other ones that have consumable parts.

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While I already have a self-consumable amount of these specific goods, I figured between inflation, rising prices, possible ww3 or bank collapse. a few extras in my gear room wouldn't hurt.  It's all stuff I use so it even if it sits around for another decade, it will eventually get used up.  

-Another dozen pack of leather work gloves that I like to use.
-Zippo fuel.
-Lighter butane.
-A few new zippo lighters.
-Couple packs of Bic lighters.
-Matches.
-Bulk pack of stick candles.
-Bulk pack of tea lights & UCO tea light lantern.

Not massive quantities, but every little bit counts.  Might as well get it while its cheap and federal reserve notes are still accepted for useful stuff.

Is it normal for zippo lighters to dry out in days?

Yes.  They will go dry in an amazingly short time. They were better than carrying matches for many decades but the butane lighters are much longer lasting.

Agree.  You fuel them up when you need them.  They are robust, long lasting easy fire option so long as you have flints and fuel for them.  It is my outdoor activity fire option.  I don't edc one, just a regular clipper or bic.  I always have one fueled up and in my pocket when hunting or spending a week in the outfitters tent miles from my truck.  A full zippo will last me a few weeks, and a bottle of fuel will last me years.  They only need about a tablespoon of fuel to be good for a while.

Ordered some additional storage boxes and hydroponics supplies, took the oldest kid out for a short hike since the weather was nice and burned some calories exploring trails with him for awhile.

Searched for sale items online at the wally world.  Found a few different pairs of pants and button up shirts to add to my closet.  I don't really need any more extra cloths but if I can find something I like now on sale why not stash it away?  Buy something on sale before you need it, rather than waiting until you need it and paying top dollar.  I am not a brand shopper when it comes to regular wear clothing, so wrangler or similar brand stuff does just fine in my book.  The only time I tend to spend the big bucks on clothing or gear is my hunting stuff.  I spend a ton of time in the backcountry during hunting season and have found what works well and what doesn't, so I use what works well for me and spend my money on that type of stuff.  I get by just fine with LAPG brand pants, snag them on sale, or wrangler stuff from the wally world for everyday use.

Moral of it all, is I do believe the dollar is losing buying power at rate we have never experienced so get the basic things you need now.

I won't even mention the thought of what happens if China decides to play fuck fuck games with everything, they make and export to the good ole USofA.  Every day stuff will be hard to get, and/ or be very expensive.

Got off my butt today and started going through my Disaster Preparedness Plan inventories (see example below); updated them accordingly.



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Damn!

I've done a few things the past two weeks...

I picked up a bunch of stuff from Walmart, All on clearance. Some fishing line, a few baits, 2 Energizer headlamps with white, red, and blue, light, a few bottles of Breakfree gun oil, and some muzzleloading supplies.

I bought 10 Lpk's without the fcg to use as spares/repair but they'll probably get used to build lowers. I also picked up a bunch of springs and detents and roll pins all the easily lost stuff. Some spare buffer springs, end plates, castle nuts, etc, etc, and got all that organized into those Flambeau tackle boxes. Also picked up a few more of those while at walmart.

I got some jalapeño and poblano pepper seeds planted, and a couple apple seeds coming up. I ordered some seeds! pickling cucumbers, some long green beans to pickle. Some onions, tomatillos,  tomatoes, and some cilantro and dill. I'm a little late getting started. Not doing a full garden since I don't have a tiller yet but I'm gonna plant some stuff around the property or in raised beds. Gonna make salsa and pickles this year.

And I finally got back to working on the barn. I got a post put in on the end that was sagging. Somehow it made it through the winter and all this wind weve been having. I got the roof leveled out best I can and yesterday I poured another concrete footer with a bracket for the next 6x6 post. It's gonna be a long project but it's coming along.

Checked all the expiration dates on all the medical items I have.

Ordered new quick-clot gauze to replace the expired/soon to expire ones in my CLS Bag and IFAKs.  

I stored the expired medical stuff separately to give to the combat medics for the next iteration of CLS training.

Checked the solar bank yesterday and put it on to recharge. Also put in for GMRS license and got that back this morning. Going to be setting up a Motorola XTS2500 and learning it.

Got some new medical supplies (QuickClot Combat Gauze) in today and updated my workshop first aid kit. Been building a workshop over the past 8 months. One of my goals for 2023 was to learn at least 1 new skill per month, which ties into my workshop build.

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Yesterday I picked up a free 55gal barrel and today I got 6 more.

Now I need to work on setting up a rain catchment system.

Built some heavy duty shelving out of scrap lumber and getting some of my supplies organized.

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Replaced my 30 year old Sierra Designs 20 deg bag with a new Nemo Forte Long 20 deg bag and gave it a test run last week. Good piece of kit.

Added a Katahdin 6L gravity water filter.

Picked up a new MSR Whisperlite Universal stove.

Picked up more work gloves.

Started on a list of canning stuff I need to add like wax, salts, pickling stuff.

Buddy dropped of a couple of small emergency lights and a brand new pair of Docs that didn’t fit him and fit me perfectly so guess I’m “counter culture” now. 😂😂😂 he went home with some stuff I had aquired over the winter that was spare (button compasses for hi family’s bags, hand crank radio and some OC DECON wipes since it’s almost “peace season” and a few other goodies.




Finally after 2 years got to a major milestone on my reloading room. The framework for the bench is completed and the lower shelf has its deck on. This project got neglected for a while because of work and work travel. Next up is installing the bottom half of the bench top which will be glued and screwed to the framing. When that is in place I will then cut to fit the A Grade 3/4” plywood and glue it down and weight it with shot bags and then screw it right from underneath.

There is a lot more to the room to go.

Sub electrical panel and cabling

Extensive LED lighting

Plug strips across the entire back of the bench.

Air line with quick disconnects under the front lip of the bench.

Peg board behind the bench.

The killer on the project is tut unlike most reloading benches this one is 28 running feet of reloading bench. Anything I do is x4-5 of a normal bench.

Picked up a second small deep freeze. Prefer two smaller ones than one large one. Filled it partially with about 75 lb of beef we purchased from a local farmer. All vacuum sealed.

Just harvested a nice batch of pepperchinis this afternoon and will be doing some pickiling tonight. I have tomatoes that I should be harvesting in the next few weeks and hopefully can get enough that I can pressure can.  The canning bit will be new to me and something I’ve never done before. I got a canning set at Christmas and am super excited to hopefully try it out soon. Lately I’ve also been getting some nice green beans but apparently didn’t plant enough to preserve. I took my new Glock 21 to the range the other week and am now saving for an optic for it. Friday I’m hopefully headed to sportsman ware house. The last time I was in there they had buckets of ready wise food but I didn’t have the loot when I was in there so hopefully one will follow me home.

Sorry double post

I took advantage of that spike spot price on silver and traded it all for a nice watch. I bought years ago but was finally above water between bad buys and the dealer fees.

I figured this way I get to actually carry around a few $K dollars all day conveniently and it could still be used for emergency currency if something stupid crazy comes up. Weird but I consider it a prepper move in some capacity

Will people need or want a nice watch after SHTF?

I received 4 more nato fuel cans. Along with some spare gaskets and pins and couple more nozzles.

No idea, will people need shiny chunks of not food? But it’s a lot easier to carry and recognized all over the world than silver. Lots of stories about CIA guys and soldiers wearing a Rolex or similar overseas for a “get me out of here” amount of value in a small and non-descript package.

Finally picked up some land, 9 acres, small cabin, forested, very rural with fresh water source

and I made a deal with my boss so I can do my job from there 6 months of the year.

this feels far and away the best Prep I have ever done.

With Hurricane season here.  I started my annual fuel rotation.  Dumping the old stuff (treated), into my truck and topping off the jugs again.  I keep roughly 50 gallons of treated fuel in a dedicated shed.  Man gas is pricey.  

Need to top off a few propane tanks as well this weekend.

Sounds fantastic!

started cleaning out my  parents house / possessions...    filled in any remaining holes in my preps / upgraded some prep items that were  better than what I had etc , also came to the conclusion you CAN have to much stuff

finished my scuba diving training -  planning a vacation

Sorry for your loss.

& yes, I also agree you can have too much stuff.  A realistic amount of consumables is one thing but I, like probably many others on this forum have experienced gear overload.  I hit a point sometime in the last few years where I started running out of room in my small gear room.  Multiples variations of everything at a point just becomes too much.  I ramped up some of my repair related stuff that is easy and cheap to get on Amazon, most of it comes from china but figured that things will continue to get more expensive, or if we deal with some type of china embargo I figure having extra wouldn't hurt.  With that said I don't need any more "stuff" at this point, just need to re-organize and keep maintaining what I have.

I was having an issue with keeping up with recharging all the rechargeable batteries I have so I developed a mechanism to do a better job at tracking and recharging those batteries.  

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I feel your pain, and thanks for reminding me I have to get some cans in my shed filled!

Finally got a truck!

F-350 diesel with a 100gal auxiliary tank in the bed. This will let me store less gasoline on the property, which is an awesome safety improvement. Just a matter of getting it outfitted the way I want it.

Had 474 pounds of beef delivered today!

Lot up front, well worth it in the end.

Been picking and fishing.

I did good this summer not accumulating a ton more crap.  I got a few small portable solar panels and various power generators and power banks to use with them.  When I heard the news that Ontario Knife Company USA brand was bought out and going away, I ordered a few of their USA made models that I was always interested in.  I also ordered a few extra of some of my favorite models to put back for future sale, trade or use them myself.

In recent news it looks like we might be heading for another ammo shortage and since reloading supplies are somewhat available at the moment I placed a small order for some small pistol primers, 209 primers along with a few 9mm bullets and some powder.  I haven't ordered any in several years and figured now is as good a time as any to get a little extra.  I will be set on reloading supplies for a few years now as I don't shoot as much as I used to because it's so damn expensive.

I mostly use 209 shotgun primers in my muzzle loaders, and they have been unobtanium for a long while.  Didn't really need a brick of 1K but like all ammo and reloading supplies you never know when they will be hard to fine or super expensive for years at a time.  

Got a small amount of firewood put back last weekend, will be headed out this afternoon to procure some more.

World stage is a shit show at the moment...  Prep accordingly and keep your powder dry!

Looks like this thread is slowing down. Hopefully that's cause everyone is busy getting at it!
Just prior to Israel I ordered a case of 5.56 and 9mm. Prices were right. I don't NEED it, but I'm happy to have it. Wish I had some more .308. I ordered about 100 rounds for hunting season (new hunting rifle) and it's gotten stuck in UPS world. Not cool.

Got to spend a long weekend working with my in-laws on his land. Spend a day posting his land, it was good to get out in foot and walk the land.

The following day we got some trigger time in. Basically a warm up for what I'm used to, but for them it was a lot. Helped everyone get zeroed by calling out adjustments. Everyone shot decent.

Got to play Surgeon. My BIL kissed the scope and had a nice lac on his forehead. Super glue, I mean "dermabond" worked great! It was loctite brand and has 2 buttons to dispense. Very neat. Adding that to my shopping list. I even joked (kinda) with my FIL that we need to build a small infirmary in the basement of his new house.  

We got 1 deer stand moved, and set up 2 new ones. I have a feeling this is my year!

Trimmed up our apple orchard. I think we planted them last summer, so a few more years to go. Hopefully we get a nice outcome from our labor.

And on a final note, we had a blast drinking, cooking/eating, and just clowning around.
It's important to remember to live in the moment and although we are all planning and preparing for tomorrow, it's all a waste if we don't enjoy today!

Edit After Initial:
Should also mention my medical improvements. I assembled 4 robust IFAKs and scattered them around my FILs property. When you've got 60-120 seconds after you've severed your femoral with a chain saw, I'd rather not be making a 5 min ride back to the house to search for the med bag.

Now with my BIL's injury, I ended up pulling an ABD pad from my trucks IFAK (need to replace that and add 4x4's). Didn't need it but figured it beat using a greasy rag. We went back to the house and went through my FIL's med bag, typical orange EMS jump bag. I was actually impressed it had some decent trauma stuff in it. I was expecting one of those "100 band aids" and "100 4x4's" type of a bag. But it wasn't perfect. BP cuff, but didn't see a scope. So adding to the list next time I'm up there I need to go through the old man's bag and get it up to par.

Got a few pre ban smaller gas cans for 5$ each.  I prefer using smaller 2.5 gallon cans for gassing up smaller stuff.  I usually transfer/ rotate my oldest 5 gallon can to two 2.5 cans and use it out of those then refill the 5 gallon cans at the pump.

Made and canned (jarred) 4gal of stock for cooking this week. I usually make it in smaller batches more frequently but I couldn't bring myself to fight the air conditioning this summer and was waiting for the weather to cool down.  

I had 4 gal ziplock bags of kitchen scraps and made up a big batch in a turkey frying pot.



Picked up 4 jerry cans for $100 total off FB marketplace. Need to fill them and get a spout for them.

I have a half dozen plastic gas cans most with the crap spouts and no vents.  I bought a spout and vent kit. Still need to drill them out and install.

If you use the cans for storage primarily then I would recommend not using the vent kit and just using the spouts when needed.  It will help keep them sealed up during storage.  If you're not in a rush when gassing things up, then you can do without the vent.  I have a bunch of shitty plastic cans with short gutted spouts and that's one of the main reasons I transfer it to a couple pre-ban 2.5 gallon cans for actual use in my small engines.  But without the vent kits they stay sealed up.  I do occasionally vent them during super hot summer days.  I try to keep my rotation going so my oldest gas isn't much older than a year or so.

I rotate the gas in the plastic cans frequently and cant stand how long it takes to fill my cars from the non vented cans

They do suck don't they!  

Frequent rotation is probably the best plan with plastic cans.  If that's the case then vents trump the slow pour.

Oops, already mentioned

I have added roughly 20,000 bullets to my reloading room. About 1/2 of that is jacketed in every caliber from .223 to .475 and everything in between.

The other half are all case and most of that are heavy gas checked LBT style bullets. Including some 265 gr 41 mag bullets.

I have added some powder and a few primers.

Complete cast in setup including a hardness tester.


A significant amount of Gunsmithing tools.


Put two deer in the freezer earlier this month.

Tonight I redid my food bags that go on my pack with higher calorie winter foods. I also added a few more instant soup packs. Nothing makes me feel better than a cup of soup on a cold night.