Down and Dirty No Frills Prepping on a Budget

[Gothmolly]

I like it! Agree with others of giving yourself some variation in the food category. I have gotten in the habit of getting extra ketchup, salsa, salt, pepper, dipping sauces when I get fast food. Keep them in a ziplock in the fridge to extend their shelf live and rotate them as I use them. Food courts in Malls stock lots of those things and I find myself grabbing extras all the time. Thanks for the listing.

Sounds very self-reliant.

[Doombuggy]

This started kit is what I've been telling my non-prepper friends to have and some of them are starting to come-around.

Great post

[PLENTYOPETER]

So your're not terribly detail oriented. You are not rich nor do you own a car. You live in an Apt. Bldg. You are reasonably fit and have the proper mind-set to prepare. Is there a KISS method for preps? I offer these suggestions for a cheap, bare essentials 30 day prep per person.

FOOD
Store 30 cans of beef stew, 30 cans of mixed veggies, and 30 gal. of water . Do not store any food that requires water to prepare.

LIGHT
1 hurricane lamp and 2 gal lamp oil. The oil burns 1/2 oz per hour. Batteries don't last long enough. Use a flashlight only when you have to search outside.

HEAT
The lamp puts a surprising amount of heat...especially in a small room. Otherwise, have a lot of warm clothing and wool blankets. No fires...too dangerous. Remember ventilation.

SANITATION
5 gal toilet bucket and a box of garbage bags. Toilet paper based on your usage.
Bottle of waterless soap. The stuff mechanics use will do.

HEALTH
Alcohol, pain killers, and bandages(dish towels, pillow cases ,or sheets can be used) to stop any bleeding. Anything more serious will require improvisation.

SECURITY
Throw some 2x4's under the bed. Use them to nail across the door and windows. In a pinch, you can use closet or bathroom doors for the same thing. Also have a hammer, nails, and screw driver on hand. I'm assuming your building will have fire escapes or firestairs for emergency egress.

If possible where you live, have a shotgun for apt. defense, and a concealable high-cap pistol to carry if you have to go outside.

You can assemble this stuff fairly quickly and easily. The food can be rotated into your daily food consumption when you need to replenish. Any SHTF that exceeds your supply will have become TEOTWAWKI. In that case, your are going to have suck it up and start getting out and finding what you need. Just remember to keep a low profile and try to stay out of sight as much as possible.

Agree 100%. Also keep your eye open at garage sales, flee markets, etc. I found 12 coon traps on Craiglist the other day for $1 each. The old lady had no idea what to do w/ them, or what they were worth. I also found a couple 25 lbs propane tanks on there for free. People purchased new grills, and wanted tou trash the old ones. You would be suprised what ya could find for little or nothing.

[dport]

Gotta love Craigslist and yard sales. My wife got two Coleman catalytic heaters for a buck a piece a while back from an older lady whose husband passed away. I've found too many deals to list here.

[Forgul]

Good list, I would add a few jars of peanut butter and hard tack too. Gives you the carbs man

for defence prolly good to have a baseball bat if the apartment is not gun friendly.

Heavy curtains or black out blinds are a good idea for light discipline, no need advertising you still have hot food.