Winter is Still Coming… (Prepping for the Real World, Part III)

Well, it’s been a while since my last prepping update, but here we are! Even though it’s not technically winter just yet, it may as well be. The first snow in my home state was over 2 weeks ago, and we’ve dipped into the 20’s overnight more than a few times already. Even though winter doesn’t officially start until Dec. 21st, it sure feels like it outside.

I found the above image as a way to communicate what I’m ‘prepping’ for. Integrated Skills Group (awesome blog, by the way) would classify this as a Type II Emergency: Disaster, meaning that it is moderately intense and of moderate duration. Maybe not as long-lasting as a hurricane or massive earthquake, but at least a multi-day event where the electricity is out. In my part of the country, that type of event is most likely to be an ice storm, and they usually hit mid-to-late winter. Every year when we have such an event, some people are without power for multiple weeks! That’s not likely to be me, since I live in the middle of a city, but 3 to 5 days without isn’t a stretch of the imagination.

Alright, let’s get our Prepper Pete on!

Checklist

Water. Got back up to 10 gallons. I plan on reaching my goal of 15 gallons by the end of December. The 2.5 gal jugs I’m currently getting are a little on the fragile side, but I like the compact form factor and the fact that they each have a spout built into them. I considered getting 3L jugs (h/t to AKM295) to hit my goal, as they are more resilient, but the 3L jugs are round and waste too much space. If I lose more jugs, I’ll seriously consider changing.

Shelter. Still have a house. Count it.

Heating/Cooling. The firewood from last time is sorted and put away. I may buy some firewood to get up to my 3-day’s-supply target. Currently sitting at about a day and a half. Now as to lighting these fires…

Food. Still looking at the Mountain House 72-hour Pack. I’ll try to get one by the end of December, and one each month until I’ve got one for each family member who eats solid foods. [EDIT, Dec. 2019: AKM295 wrote an excellent piece about how to store away some food on a budget and why my idea isn’t very good.]

Dog Food. Still got a small bag of emergency dog food, though I’m not sure where I put it. Still counts. Check.

Ammo. Haven’t changed from the 206 of .223 and the 50-100 9mm. I need to get this squared away.

Emergency Money in the Bank. Lost some significant ground on this front over the last few months. It sucks, but that’s life. Still working towards this goal.

Emergency Money in Cash. A similar story as to the money in the bank, except it was spent on gun stuff. A red dot optic, specifically. I’ll be using some more of it to get said optic mounted on my M&P, though I’m still contributing to it bi-weekly when I get paid.

Battery Power Banks for Electronics. Still got the two 5,000 mAh power packs in their packaging, factory pre-charged and ready to go. Check.

Lighting. Need more candles. It’s still prime time for great cold weather candle scents, though the clock is winding down.

Gasoline. I really need to get this one squared away, and quick. It’s not expensive, and it’s not difficult to source, I’m just lazy.

Medical. No real progress on this one yet, though some articles are coming out that are helping me move towards a purchasing decision. I still plan on grabbing some RMT‘s from V Dev Group, two adult sizes and at least one child size. I don’t like the thought of having to put a TQ on one of my children, but the thought of not being able to is far worse.

Fire Extinguishers. Totally forgot about this one. This needs to be taken care of in the next few weeks.

Radio. I could use some reader input on this one. Any of you guys have some suggestions? Weather radios? Beofangs? Ham???

Storage. I’m going to have to take AKM295’s advice on the shelves. I’ve been planning on making some DIY shelves for my garage some weekend, but 3 months later I’ve only started drawing up plans. I also got a strong suggestion from the wife that any sort of shelving better be easily removable, so building a custom shelf system into the wall is basically non-starter (we are planing on moving when the time is right). *heavy sigh* I’m just going to have to accept my fate and get something from Home Depot.

Conclusion

I have done almost nothing prep-wise in the two months since my last update. I’d love to blame my family commitments, or the weather, or birthday parties, or football season, but I can’t. If something bad were to happen it would be me that has to figure out how to deal with it, so the responsibility to be ready for such events lies solely upon my shoulders.

With the holidays coming up, budgeting both the money and the time to do the work I’ve laid out is only going to get harder. Not impossible, but harder. But, like everything else in life, I’ll make time for what’s truly important. I just need to prioritize this.

Be safe out there, and I’ll see you next Friday. -S_S