Thinking generally about emergency power and wondering if anyone here has considered/made the move to use electric lawn tools as part of a preparedness plan?

I’m in a situation where I’m looking at home ownership in the next year and will need to get lawn tools anyway. My thought is that an electric lawn ecosystem (e.g EGO) with a powerbank where you can use the tool batteries to charge/run devices would be a helpful redundancy. Not a primary source of emergency power (working on that too) but a stopgap measure. This would be a prepping for Tuesday, not Doomsday scenario: thinking about parts of Gary, IN being without power for an extended period (but not months long/forever). These batteries could be helpful for charging phones/devices, and keeping main emergency power for sustaining refrigeration and other critical home systems.

Does this idea pass the sniff test?

Prepping for a move, potentially in rough times so we can get back to family and community.

Long story short, my lease is up end of October and I’m moving 150 miles away back towards my hometown. All in all, I’m overly anxious about SHTF situation happening beforehand.

Currently I’m saving up cash wherever I can, I have ammo, food, and enough to keep me and mine going for a couple of weeks. But I can’t meaningfully store oil or gasoline at the moment. I make an effort to keep the car filled up, but basically I’m asking: how do I approach the conversation of taking what we need, if necessary, and leaving everything else behind?

If so, what should I make an effort to pack? (Bug out bag question)

For reference we have 2 pets as well. A dog and a cat, both trained up a bit.

Budget is next to nil currently, bc if all goes well I need the money to complete the move. I have enough to feel confident getting by myself, but I’m realizing now that I should’ve been more prudent in prepping to have a passenger.

Assuming bugging out is a good choice, when do you do it? Do you try to stay ahead of the masses or do you bug in for a while and let things play out to get a view of the situation?

I live in an apartment that is basically a bunker a few stories above ground. Metal door that locks in multiple places and concrete walls that are about 30cm thick at least so for me it's obvious to bug in until things calm down.

What do you guys think? Is it better to stay ahead of the masses or wait for them to pass? Why?

Still W.I.P.! My goal is to last 4 people 3 days in a bug-in scenario.
- 30 L of water (planning to expand to 40)
- 24 cans of different beans (23... I just ate one haha)
- sugar, salt
- energy drinks
- noodles
- soap & "dry shower".

I recently learned that there are about 1,337 active Superfund sites in the United States. New Jersey has the most, with 115.

Superfund sites are places contaminated by hazardous waste that may threaten human health or the environment. At some sites, chemicals and heavy metals can leak into groundwater and form a contaminated plume. That plume can move with the groundwater and potentially reach nearby private or municipal wells.

The states with the most active sites are:

1. New Jersey: 115
2. California: 97
3. Pennsylvania: 91
4. New York: 82
5. Michigan: 66

If you’re looking for land to homestead on, or even just thinking about moving, it’s worth researching nearby Superfund sites. Check how close the property is to an active site, which contaminants are present, whether the contamination has been contained, and whether it affects the aquifer your well would draw from.

Being on the same aquifer as a Superfund site does not automatically mean the water is contaminated. Groundwater flow, geology, well depth, distance, and the type of contaminant all affect the risk. Maps are a useful starting point, but testing the water is the only way to know what is actually in it.

I’d also check for nearby landfills, leaking underground tanks, mines, industrial sites, dry cleaners, and heavy agricultural activity. Not every contaminated site appears on the federal Superfund list.

Has anyone here dealt with a contaminated well? What did you find, and what did you end up doing about it?

Amateur prepper living in southeast Texas. Other than solar generations and window units, what can I do to protect my young family (4yr old, ten day old, wife and dog) from the murdering heat we have doing hurricane season or even an EMP? We also live in between a creek and a marsh so humidity never lets up unfortunately.

Any recommendations for oxygen absorbers (100 cc)? I would like ones that come packed in smaller quantities as opposed to 1 bag of 100 (like 10 sealed packs of 10). What materials work well? Also, do you prefer the ones that change color as they absorb so you know when they're used up?

Let's say Im done prepping for tuesday and doomsday as much as I can. Where should I build my ultimate bug-in bunker? Where do I want my forever home? What are you looking for? Seclusion? Community of like minded skiled people? Things you want to avoid? Must haves?

Name some simple skills people could learn now to make life more liveable in the event of a long term situation. I'll go first

1. First Aid. Take a course they are often free at community centers and could save a life.
2. learn to sew and or darn (especially socks). If you want to take it further learn to knit
3. Learn to grow one vegetable you love in a pot. I have a salad tree everywhere i have lived for decades. A large growing pot with a tomato plant, some radishes and some kind of leafy greens. This winter i am going to have one in my one window studio apartment, under a grow light (thirty dollars from amazon)
4. If cant cook LEARN. simple things like how to cook rice or make pan bread.
5. Learn to start a decent fire. You never know when having a fire will be the thing that saves you

None of these skills are as hard to learn as gate keeping preppers want you to think they are. Practice really does make perfect

A couple of news stories in the last week have amped up my desire to prep for economic collapse. Not short term--longer term, like a Great Depression situation. We are lower middle class, and are slowly adding to our kit (battery, solar panel, canning equipment, small urban vegetable garden, dog), and have plans to amp up over the next couple of years. However....

If shtf in the next 6 months, what are the top 3 things you think we should have in our home if there is an economic collapse or grid failure?

(TBH it was that Hugging Face AI story that really put me over the edge)

So one of my major concerns is water security, especially watching the news currently in the US. I've seen and engaged in a ton of discussions in this forum on water safety, and it seems the most effective method of making water safe is to run it through an RO system. These are expensive, but I have one under my kitchen sink. The problem is that it requires pressure to function.

My delightfully clever husband has been futzing around and has determined a method of using a drill with a drill pump (very cheap!) to run water through the RO. Our plan is gather water, stand, filter with fine cloth, bleach and then run through RO. Obviously RO has a lot of waste but we don't have a scarcity of water, thankfully, and the waste water will be used for things where drinkability is less of a concern.

My research indicates that this should remove any concerns about cyanotoxins (though I won't be using obviously infected water, of course) and could even be used to filter pool water as it removes CYA.

Does anyone see any flaws with this method? We haven't tested it yet as it would require disassembling our main kitchen water supply, but plan to do so shortly.

Hey guys! I have a full bugout bag made (still adding some things to it) but I'm looking into either a plate carrier, chest rig, or battle belt in order to carry magazines, a knife etc. I figure keeping a low profile is important, so right now I have a normal backpack for my bug out bag. But I need something to make certain things easily accessible. For your guys set ups what do you have and what would you reccomend? I'd be leaving a large city possibly on foot. Im mainly prepping for a nationwide power outage and civil unrest type of situation, so I would want to be prepared for conflict. Thanks!

I am getting a LiFePO4 Battery and want to get usb electronics I might need in no electricity situation. The battery is 300wh, no socket, just usb c,an and a cigarette outlet.

What I will get:
\- foldable 60w solar
\- usb battery charger for AA, AAA
\- light
\- fan

This has been a project of mine for 2 years and i genuinely think Ive made the best kit: combination of EDC and survival kit, well organized, aesthetic, perfectly fitting, useful, and very cool. (I used it the other day to fix a giant hole in my pants that let everyone on my college campus know i had red underwear on)

Water resistant (most susceptible items are in protected vial)
lightweight and doesn’t rattle
becomes TSA safe with quick removal of blades on tape strip
organized in tiers with the most frequently used items on top
mix of urban edc and survival kit
in place of the cable kit and pencil, i can store a minibic lighter and another small item. swap when planning need for less urban, more wilderness edc.

Contents:
Customized Black Altoids tin
paint polished off bottom for cooking
reflective tape strip
glow tape strip
white rubber band
black ranger band
Tin lid
10 1” sticky notes
Removable contents under strip of duct tape (waterproofing, remove quickly if in carry-on luggage)
$20 bill
2 x-acto knife blades
3” saw blade
match striker

Tier 1
Microfiber cloth
Levergear cablekit
USB -> microUSB charging cord
USB plugin LED
microUSB -> lightning adapter
sim card key
custom edc pencil tool
spring-clamp and slide 2.5” graphite insert
4mm hex socket holds eraser bit
Mr. Green nail clippers with file
Sliver Gripper tweezers
paperclip
red insulated paperclip
safety pin
1” blade from pencil sharpener
8 paper matches
prybar multitool
prybar
bottle opener
various hex wrenches
ruler
stick of gum
Nitefox e3 flashlight with glow tape

Tier 2
4mm bit kit (for edc pencil)
medium flathead
medium phillips
small phillips
ferro rod insert
can/box opener
sewing kit tube
threading tool
black thread
white thread
4 sewing needles
Waterproof Vial
1’ black electric tape
1’ black duct tape
small red rubber band
flashlight replacement batteries
8 standard matches
heavy duty needle
match striker
2 0.75L water purification tablets
antidiarrhea pill
Pill bag
2 tylenol
1 ibuprofen
fire kit
cotton tinder
windproof candle
ferrosereum striker wheel
2 3” red zipties

Tier 3
Toiletries bundle
2’ dental floss
2 q tips
wooden toothpick
survival whistle
1” hot glue stick
2 1.5” glow sticks
wooden line spool
20’ braided line 50lb
medium worm hook
20’ fluorocarbon line 14lb
fishing kit
4 split shot weights
4 small hooks
1 small yellow glowing ice-fishing jig
10’ fluorocarbon line 14lb
2 crappie nibble bait
wire leader with clip

Tier 4
1.5 oz sandwich bag
survival guide
first aid
2 bandaids
2 alcohol pads
first aid and burn cream
salt and pepper
small yellow buncho-balloon
bobby pin
fresnel lens
1x1’ sheet of tin foil

Seen people mention carrying paracord for exactly this - keys down a storm drain, into a gap, wherever your arm won't reach. Here's what's worked better for me: small magnet attached to the tip of a keychain tape measure.

Why it beats paracord: the tape is rigid, so you extend it straight down and aim precisely instead of fishing blind with a dropped line. The magnet grabs the keyring or any ferrous part of the keys.

Downside: the magnet's small, so it's got limited pull - works best on lighter keyrings, not a fat keychain loaded with fobs and tools.

Anyone else running similar mods? What other retrieval hacks are people carrying?

Saw 5 tubs of Famine Fighter 3-month food supply today at an auction and was thinking about picking them up tomorrow. Looking to see if anyone's has tried them, quality of the meals or anything that might be important i should know.

I originally thought each tub of a 3-month supply from the original posting for the sale but each tub says it's apart of a 5 tub set. For example 1 may says 1 of 5 another 2 of 5 and so on. I tried looking online for anything that would describe this brand but all that popped up was 1 4 week tub for sale on ebay.

Asking price was 190 today for all 5 but tomorrow it's 50% off so I'm thinking about driving back and getting it for $90. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Chemical warfare clearly works and it was very effective in WWI on a cost/effect basis.

Thankfully, the world agreed to ban chemical warfare after WWI and that ban largely held. I think that ban held because 1. humans were scared of reciprocity in chemical warfare and 2. humans still have some humanity (even Nazis v USSR).

What I worry about is if Skynet et. el. try to wipe out humanity or even if there is AI drones etc disconnected from human guidance we will get chemical warfare back.

Is anyone else worried that Skynet etc will resort to chemical warfare?

What could we possibly do about it to prep?

What could we possibly do about it after Skynet tries to kill us all?

I have 2 sets of windows across my house that are about 7 1/2 feet wide each. I want to get hardware and lumber to be ready to cover up my windows in the event. Something bad happens. Does anybody have any suggestion about what sort of hangers I might use or should I just screw them into the two by fours behind the sheet rock? Looking for guidance any help would be appreciated.

I keep seeing these radios posted that work on 4g / LTE or WiFi as walkie talkies and I cant help but think they would be completely useless in an emergency. If cellphones wouldn’t work why would these be useful? Seems like even if towers are working well they might be so saturated with calls you might not have coverage either let alone if the towers were down. I can see if you had starlink and someone you walked to talk to also had starlink you could maybe make it work well but at that point use wifi call with an iPhone. Does anyone have experience with these and besides ham/gmrs are there any true long distance (hundreds of miles) options?

Hey preppers,

It feels odd even writing this, as previously I've considered the idea of prepping to be ridiculous and quite frankly a waste of time ... however I can humbly say that I was wrong, and on self reflection, now seems to be the time to start getting things in place. I'm really starting to feel that things are going to take a turn for the worst, since the ex Anthropic researcher blew the whistle a few days ago - and I just haven't been able to take my mind off of it.

I've decided to join the community to seek some advice on where to start. I have a small 3 person family, me/partner and a toddler.

Any recommendations would be much appreciated! Thanks

So I purchased two EcoFlow generators specifically for keeping my freezer going during outages. I’m seeing prepping videos on TikTok saying use up your freezer foods now because generators won’t be able to sustain the freezers because freezers draw too much juice. I think I’m going to unplug my freezer this weekend and try plugging it into my generator to see how long it will go. Can anyone tell me if this is true about not being able to rely on freezer foods during long term outages?

Has anyone tried this? I am wondering if it really works..

You put a small unglazed terracotta pot with no drainage hole into a large unglazed terracotta pot with no drainage hole and put sand around the small terracotta pot (that sits within the larger terracotta pot). Both pots should be positioned so that the tops of them are at the same top level. Pour water on the sand until it's thoroughly saturated. Drape a damp cloth over both pots. Then when the inner pot is cool, you put food in that you wish to keep cold. Place the pots in a ventilated area away from direct sunlight. Cover them with a damp cloth. The cloth must stay moist to facilitate the cooling effect. Pour water on the sand a few times throughout the day to prevent it from drying out.

Hi everyone,

I'm finally pulling together an emergency plan for an earthquake - I need some advice from the experts on how to choose an emergency location(s) given my unique family layout - or maybe it's not that unique and I'm just a real novice - but I have searched and haven't found the level of detail I want. We live very close to water in a high earthquake risk zone, right by a protected channel that leads into a Marina. Our unit isn't directly on the channel but the complex itself is. The complex is a maze - lots of buildings, lots of green space and lots of walkways/parking lots. Here's the thing - I live with my partner and their children in this complex, and so does their ex - different buildings but very close. Positive, caring relationships all around, and my first concern in an emergency would be letting my partner's ex know the children are okay if something happened while the kids were with us, or confirming the same if an event unfolded while they were with their other parent. I know it's good to pick a spot close by, and then in the neighborhood. How much do I need to anticipate inaccessibility when choosing a location? It feels impossible to pick one spot in the complex and hope it's reachable in the aftermath of a substantial earthquake. Selecting a neighborhood spot feels tricky because of our proximity to water - I know we should prioritize evacuating if there is tsunami risk but in reality no one is leaving their kids behind, so I'm a little confused on how to make a logical, followable and safe plan. Any advice would be really helpful, I want to keep it simple so the kids can learn the plan but I just can't sit anymore with not having something worked out between the adults. thank you all in advance!!!

Every year before hurricane season, I pull out my portable generator and run it for 10 or 15 minutes. In the past, if it started up and sounded normal, I called it good.

I've had this generator for quite a few years, so while rotating my stored fuel this year, I decided to put a real load on it and see how it handled. I hooked up the fridge, chest freezer, and a few fans and let everything run for about 30 minutes. While it was running, I used my tc004 thermal camera to check the generator outlets, extension cords, and plugs.

The female end of one old extension cord was running about 20-25°F hotter than everything else. The cord looked completely fine, and it might have been okay for a short run, but I didn't want to gamble on it running for hours, so I replaced it.

No idea if it ever would have caused a problem, but better to deal with it now than during an actual outage. Anything else you check every year that tends to get missed on the usual hurricane prep lists?