Hello All,

I have always been into prepping in order to give myself and my family a step up in case shit goes down hill. However, in the past couple years I had so much on my plate that I took my eyes off of the management and was happy with the stocks I had. Now with the new earthquake activity I realize that within 2 years my supplies dwindled due to use, misplacement or expiration dates. Anyways it was a real wake up call that preps are not a one and done thing and that I need to get back on top. So I wanted to make this thread to get some advice/opinions/ideas on what I need.

Right now we are currently rocking:

(2) 55-Gallon Water Barrels

-Filled about 1 year ago and treated with bleach
(3) Buckets of staple food

-Beans, Rice, Oats, Flour all "pre-cooked" so less water is needed to prepare
(2) weeks worth of misc canned goods

-Tuna, Salmon, Sardines, Corn, Beans, Chili, Peas
(1) Coleman Propane Camping Stove with (8) spare small propane bottles

We also have back-up water filtration (sawyer minis and tablets), basic first aid kits, alcohol bottles wet-wipes and about 2 weeks worth of toilet paper. On defense supplies I feel confident that we are set, could always use more ammo and some spare parts but I feel that I could scare away any possible threat with what I have now and use what we have to safely leave if the threat truly constituted firing a weapon.

I live in a densely populated desert city where temps reach 110 in summer consistently. So water is a main concern along with the human element of people looking for water and food during extreme heat. People are dicks now in the heat, I couldn't imagine after 1 week of no running water.

My goal is 30 days worth of food and water for me, my wife and my 2 year old girl. After that I would like another 2 weeks worth of mobile supplies in case we need to leave. So what holes do I need to plug first? What kind of food should I add? Sanitation? Cooking?

Thanks

Water first before anything else

Might as well replace the water and probably get more.   No fuel on your list?  It will be like gold.

Might add a few cases of Top Ramen, last forever and is light to carry.

Ive been a little... weird... when it comes to stocking fuel. I do not have a separate shed or anything so all of my supplies are either stored indoors or in the attached garage. I was always worried about keeping anything more than 1 small spare fuel container filled and stored in the garage. Especially with the earthquakes that we have, I am expecting to have some sort of fire that I will have to deal with. Hopefully my large fire extinguisher will handle anything but in case it doesnt I dont want extra fuel lying around. I could be thinking of this all wrong though....

I would add many many cases of bottled water in the heavier plastic bottles designed for vending machines. If you have to hit the road you're not taking those 55 gallon barrels with you.
And you could barter a few bottles of water or even give them away if you're a nice guy without letting someone know how much you have..
And for me prepping is about thriving not surviving so I have a dedicated 2000 watt Honda generator and a window unit and enough fuel.
And yes I have a secured location for my generator.

water. I'm in Dallas so similar temps but more rain. I have 5 of those barrels (On top of a dozen 5 gallon water cooler types) and have them tied into the gutters. you will need that over anything else.

For gas, get these: https://deutscheoptik.com/20-Liter-Jerry-Can-SET-OF-FOUR they would need to be punctured to leak, so leave them at the ground level with nothing heavy above them. You'll be fine.

Generator and window unit AC. It's crazy to try and cool a whole house but one window unit so one cool room and enough gas to run it a while is essential. I have a baby and toddler so it's not luxury.

Otherwise don't worry, most of what you have is good past the expiration date. Start using it up and replacing. Start shopping for deals. Stick some stuff away as you find it and you'll replenish.

one of the things I've learned about having your shit together is that it's a journey, not a destination.

You might want to add a very large pry bar to your preps along with heavy duty gloves.
Keep outside the hose so you can get back inside to your preps if it is damaged.

I bought two of the 50 gallon Brute (Rubbermaid) industrial trash cans and filled them with charcoal. The lids are basically watertight to rain and the cans are very tough. The two cans and charcoal only cost a couple of hundred and provide enough for one cook fire a day for a year. The gray cans look nice also and arent an eyesore in my garage.

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If you go mobile, you might want to consider a silcock key. Commercial/industrial buildings often have exterior water outlets for powerwashers etc. even if the power is off you can get water out of some lines.

I also bought a firehydrant key for the same reason. Even without pressure you could potentially get some water out of them with a siphon hose.

Knipex cobra pliers with the thin nose would work in place of a silcock key..

Eta: do you own your home? A lot of the farmer types around me bury watertanks below ground....so you could easily have a 500 gallon tank for $4-500 plus the cost of a shovel. Attached File

This.

Coming from a desert dweller.

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Water has to be your number one priority (as you know) so let’s do that first.  The minimum daily recommended quantity of water is generally considered to be one gallon per person, per day.  For your 30 day supply that puts you at a minimum of 150 gallons.  That number is for regular folks doing normal stuff in an average environment.  You’re potentially dealing with extreme heat so you’re going to want more than that and I would, at the very least, double it.  If it’s possible to do more than that I would, but this is getting to be a lot of water to try and store.  Do you have a naturally occurring water source available?  Being able to make potable water on demand gives you an unending supply, which is about as good as it gets.  If this ends up being part of your plan you’re going to want more than Sawyer Mini’s and some tablets but this would be a thread unto itself.

Hygiene matters and hot water is a pretty useful thing for bathing and cleaning up in general. You could throw a pot on the stove and boil it but that takes fuel, which may be a precious commodity.  Living in a desert implies you have plenty of sunshine, so having a way to heat water using nothing but the sun would seem like a good idea.  Having a way to store the hot water for when you need it would be pretty useful as well.  There are plenty of online instructions for solar hot water heaters that look to work pretty well and wouldn’t be too expensive to build.

Regarding food, your best option is to store more of what you eat now.  Introducing your digestive system to new foods in the middle of a disaster is libel to provoke all manner of things you don’t need.  This is true for you and it’s certainly going to be true for your kid.  Obviously canned and dried food are going to store best but dried food requires water to cook or reconstitute so we’re back to water again.  For the sake of your kid (and your wife if she’s not fully on board with all this) you may want to go heavy on the comfort foods, whatever they may be for you.  Any disaster is going to create a stressful environment and a good meal goes a long way to calm folks down.  You can get started on this by simply keeping track of your consumption.  Very few people have a real handle on what they go through over the course of a month and keeping a written record is the only sure way to know.  Once you have a month or two of real numbers to play with, figuring out what you need to have on hand for your 30 day supply is going to be a lot more manageable.  This is just as true for consumables other than food.

For cooking you have a propane stove, which is a good thing, but cooking everything you and your family eat on the two or three burners of a camp stove (so no baking or roasting) may be a bit of a struggle long term.  What does whoever the cook is in your house think about this?  Coleman sells a small oven to fit on some of their camp stoves and this may be an option for you, as may adding an additional stand-alone burner.  Anyway, something to think about.

And while you’re thinking about stuff, do you have any idea how long your eight small bottles (I assume you mean the little green one pounders) are going to last when you’re using them to cook everything your family of three is going to eat?  Coleman (and others) sell an adaptor so you can use the larger 20 pound tanks (the white barbeque tanks) that are ubiquitous in suburbia.  You say you’re uncomfortable with having gasoline stored in your house (understandable) but how do you feel about these tanks of propane?  I don’t know how long you’ve been out of prepping but small inverter generators that run on propane (usually dual fuel, gasoline and propane) are a thing now.  If you’re going to deal with the tanks of propane for cooking then this may make a generator an option for you as well.  Being able to keep the fridge and freezer running long enough to use up the food inside or run a small window air conditioner for an hour or so before trying to get some sleep have real value and are worth a bit of effort, IMO.

Sanitation, for as long as the city sewer system is up and running, is best handled by continuing to use the bathrooms in your house.  You can flush a toilet by simply filling the bowl with a bucket of water, so long as you have water to do that (here we are back to water again).  You’re not going to want to waste potable water on this but you’re probably not going to want to use raw water straight from a creek or pond either.  Stuff lives in that water and I wouldn’t want anything crawling out of it when I’m sitting on the can with my junk hanging out.  I’m pretty sure you, your wife or your two year old daughter wouldn’t want that either.  Being able to filter raw water to at least get the creepy crawlies out of it make this workable.  As well, pre or partially filtered water like this may also help your potable water filters last longer, as opposed to trying to make potable water directly from the raw source.  If this is something you end up doing be aware of the need for three separate kinds of container (at least two of which you’re going to be manually moving around), raw water, semi-clean water and potable water.  If you’re dealing with any kind of volume at all this could be a lot of containers.  You need a method to separate these so no one gets them confused.  Color coding is probably your best bet since your two year old is going to know her colors before she can read.  Personally I think color coding works best even for adults.

At some point the city sewer is going to fail and, with the threat of earthquakes causing broken pipes, that may happen sooner rather than later for you.  I suppose you could buy one of those little camping stools with a toilet seat and stock up on plastic bags but that’s going to be a short term solution at best.  For anything remotely longer term I don’t think there’s an alternative to a properly constructed latrine (got a shovel?).  Instructions for this are available online.

Another thing to think about in regards to sanitation isn’t yours, but everyone else’s.  If you’re making potable water from a natural source (I know, here we are back at water again), unfortunately you can’t count on your neighbors not to contaminate it with all sorts of things, including their own waste.  You’ll often hear people say that the threat of water born viruses in the United States is minimal because of our first world treatment of waste water.  Should that stop, I don’t think really nasty things like cholera are off the table.  Keep that in mind when planning your water filtration/purification.

Anyway, that’s enough for now and a lot more than I intended to write but hopefully you find at least some of it useful.  Oh, one last thing, which you probably already know but I’ll say it anyway.  The prepper fantasy of the rugged individualist holding out alone against the odds is just that, a fantasy.  History shows us, beyond any doubt, that your best chance of surviving a serious, long term event is going to be as part of a group.  Be open without being blind and be generous without being taken advantage of but get to know the people around you.  They are your neighbors and they might be the best resource you have.  More mouths to feed, sure, but more heads to figure things out, more eyes to see threats and opportunities and more hands and strong backs to deal with all of it.  You need to be smart about it of course and certainly not everyone you meet is going to be a buddy but most of them probably aren’t your enemy, they’re just regular folks trying to deal with a crappy situation, just like you.

A bit off topic but did you store any match light type charcoal or was it regular stuff. Just asking cus i figure the match light stuff would off has a bit and be a potential breathing hazard. Thanks.

Many/most hydrants (especially in the frozen north) have a drain valve that opens and empties the body of the hydrant when you shut the valve via the nut on top.
Not a bad idea to have a hydrant wrench but I wouldn’t put too much hope in a no pressure situation..

Good to know, thanks for the info.

Good point. Mine is just the cheap Royal Oak Briquettes. I don’t believe the stuff I have is soaked in any kind of accelerant.

When I lived in California I went through a couple of big earthquakes. So here are my take aways from my experience. First off I never needed a firearm for any of the natural disaster stuff. Secondly most people just camp outside until they are comfortable going back inside. So if you had to camp for a month what would you want. Water is a priority and the first couple of days it can get scarce if the pipes are broken or power is out to pumping stations. For food I like food that is freeze dried but MREs are good because they don't require extra water or heating.  The freeze dried stuff is hard to beat because it doesn't go bad very quickly and is so lite I can carry several days worth with no effort. Normally I would say a 4 season tent would be a good thing to have but many people just camp out of their vehicles in the extreme quakes. In the desert environment I would not plan on bugging out on foot. It is just to easy to get into trouble that will kill. So if you had to bug out I would use a vehicle and look for a better climate maybe something at a higher elevation. Also have a paper map with preplanned routes to bug out as well as some preplanned rally points depending on direction of travel. Tires are the weak point of your bug out vehicle in this event as much of the debris on the road or trails will leave you with a flat tire. So prepare accordingly. If you can just travel far enough to where the situation isn't very extreme. In my previous situation we would meet at a family farm that had everything from a RV to a large propane tank and well water. It wasn't a very far distance to travel I believe it was 30 mile from home to the farm. However the farm always worked because it was fairly self contained. Water and electricity for the freezer were the only issues but were easily solved with a couple of water tanks and a generator. Fuel can be a problem but if you can get a hand pump to syphon gas you get a fair amount from two or three vehicles. I generally store 5 to 10 gallons of gas but I also use it frequently as I don't want it sitting around getting old. In fact I use all of my supplies for weekend adventures because that is how you know what works and what needs work to do its job. For something like this just be prepared to camp. And try to use the buddy system when possible.

Why 30 days of water?

If you need that, you're better off driving 500 miles away to someplace not affected.

Because in some places you might not be able to leave because the roads or bridges would be out.

Also most places will demand a shelter in place as there emergency response.
Emergency responders will not let you leave.

Lastly if everyone tries to leave you'll just be stuck just like most hurrivacs when everyone runs out of gas.

As a example I live near slc. A couple rock slides would make it impossible to get out of the valleys here.

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I'm not sure where you want to go with this but here goes my two cents....
I've long thought that "densely populated urban desert environments" (AKA Las Vegas, etc) were traps.  Those cities exist only due to a constant influx of everything, from water to power to food.  While no urban environment is invulnerable, those big desert cities are more vulnerable than most.  Power goes out and all those homes instantly become ovens.....

I'm thinking you might be on the right track.  A few weeks of supplies. I cannot see 'long term survival in place" in a blacked out LV or city like it.  If it were me, I'd up water stores, and consider adding a generator, some fuel, and a very small window AC unit.  Powering a whole house AC is fuel prohibitive for long term.  However, a 2200 watt inverter generator, some fuel, and a very small window shaker AC can turn one small bedroom into an oasis....

For anything over a couple weeks, I think you are bugging out.  You have three major concerns then:  Mobility, security, and resources.  Mobility:  Do you have a solid, reliable vehicle, capable of carrying a decent load, and the stored fuel to operate it?  Consistently keeping your tank a min of 2/3 full helps.  An addition 15 gallons stored will help tremendously.  Fuel will be unavailable.  Security:  Roads likely will be a nightmare.  Ensure you can keep the family safe.  Do you know of less well travelled routes out of town?  Got the maps?  Have the lighting and firearms to deal with issues?  Resources:  Even if its not total mayhem on the roads (Fl evacuates during hurricanes, and while its really ugly, its not Mad Max...)  do you have the cash to deal with the dislocation?  Is there enough cash, in the house, right now, to buy a couple tanks of gas, refill a cooler, pay for a few nights hotels, buy the miscellaneous stuff an unexpected road trip would entail?  There are very few problems that cannot be fixed with the application of sufficient money.

Sanitation:  I know us guys just piss anywhere, but its a bigger issue for ladies and girls.  Walmart, $20, buy a sanibucket.  basically, 5 gallon bucket with a toilet seat lid.  Add a few dozen large garbage bags, and a few containers of cat litter.  Instant shitter..... primitive but it works....

If "The Big One" does hit in Southern California, you can figure that Vegas won't be getting supplies from the LA area for quite some time.  A huge amount of commerce is shipped to Vegas via trucks over the 15 Freeway.  If the quake is big enough, you can bet that there will be a ton of bridges down, the SoCal freeway system (which already sucks ass) will be a fucking mess and undriveable for quite some time.

It took about three months to fix the freeways that were fucked up by the Northridge quake in '94... and that quake was a 6.7.  An 8+ will be an enormous blow to the freeway system.  Add in the fact that the Port of Long Beach may be wrecked, and you have a real recipe for disaster.  There is a reason the Berlin Airlift was such a miracle - it is damn near impossible to keep a major city supplied via airplane.  Granted, more relief supplies will come via Utah and the Salt Lake City area, but it will take time to get the output spooled up.  You can figure that there will be major shortages of everything from food to fuel to water until things stabilize - which make take months.

So, where does this leave you?  Do you have enough food, water, fuel, and other necessities to get by for at least a month, maybe more?  Will you even have a job?  If you work for anything other than public safety or a utility company, you may be out of a job and not even have a reason to stick around.  Which reminds me - keep a stash of cash in your safe.  $500+ is a good start.

You mentioned that you aren't comfortable keeping fuel in your garage.  Quite prudent, to be sure.  Have you looked into getting one of those small storage sheds?  You could get a small shed and keep in your back yard, away from the house.  Granted, it will not be temperature controlled, but I currently keep my gas in a detached third-car garage, and I haven't had any issues with the gas - just make sure to rotate it regularly.  I have four metal 5-gallon cans, and I rotate them through my cars about every other month.  To make your life easier, get a small battery-operated pump so you don't have to hoist the gas cans to gas up your cars.

For water storage, I have a 55 gallon rain barrel (need one more), and a dozen 5-gallon Sparklett's style water jugs.  The 5-gallon jugs are much easier to move around than a nearly 500 pound water barrel.  If you have a water source that isn't too far, you can also fill the 5-gallon jugs and filter/treat the water later.  In a pinch, your hot water heater holds a good amount of water, too.

If you don't have them already, get a window AC unit and a generator / inverter.  You can run a window unit and your fridge off a smallish generator / inverter, which will make life far more pleasant.  A dual fuel generator that can run off propane can really stretch your fuel supply, and propane stores much more easily than gas does.

Good idea!  What type of charcoal and where did you get it from?

I bought Royal Oak from Lowes when it was $4 per bag.

I grew up in SoCal.

There aren't enough cops or Natl Guard to hold everyone from leaving.  Shelter in place is for a small short event, not weeks and weeks.

And few things are impassable.  You just need an alternative route.  Or wait a week for airlines.   Or jump on the evacuation busses that get sent.

Sure if you leave, you're stuck in traffic.  For, what, 2-3 days, max?  How long did people get stuck in lines for Rita? Bring your gas and water and leave after the quake lifts.  Believe me, 911 will be busy enough that they won't be bothering people bot needing help.

so I assume you're a earthquake expert then because you grew up in socal?

also assuming getting out a of a mountain valley, that could be easily blocked by a rockslide is fool hearty (my situation).

Assuming the roads are usable for evac is retarded, a pre hurrivac is a shitshow with supplies available  and THE ROADS ARE NOT DESTROYED. You tried getting around after a disaster? Some people are trapped for weeks.

I guess you can wait on your evacuation bus when the roads are unusable

ASSumptions will get you killed.

Thanks for the awesome replies everyone. Gave me some great points to work on, especially the small A/C and generator option. I honestly did not even put that on my list of worries.

The "small" 7.1 earthquake in Ridgecrest was big enough to split the main highway apart, only by a few inches, but the difference between a 7.1 and a 8.0+ could be enough to completely makes roads and bridges impassable. So I know that leaving the area after a large earthquake will not be possible. Hopefully after a couple weeks organized evacs will be possible and that is when I would like my two weeks worth of movable supplies to kick in.

A window ac unit is part of our hurricane preps here in Florida.  It is also coming in handy now when the ac in our brand new house just went out.