Thanks for sharing your thoughts. It is posts like this that get us all thinking and seeing things from different perspectives. In the end knowledge will be your greatest resource.

Be well and good fortune.

a friend of mine recently told me that prepping is a "waste of time, and money" well if this is true then why are so many people doing it? Are we crazy? i seriously doubt it! If there is no real threat from things like floods, wildfires, earthquakes etc, then why do most major cities have emergency prepardness information on thier websites?? why do these government bodies want us to be "prepared"? I thought everything was "just fine" i think that some people don't want to believe that it will "happen to them" or that because it hasn't happened yet,it "never will" If you look around your neibourhood, will those happy smiling people still be smiling when a major crisis happens? i think alot of people are in for a rude awakining.

I believe that 99% of the population would be in the position for a 'rude awakening'! It's weird that when you tell some people that they see what your doing is something negative and put it down. And what we do really makes sense to us. And the fact that most communities have an emergency plan, yet most people just ignore it and think nothing of being prepared. But it is good that the word is getting out there. There is a movement underway. Just hope more people get prepping sooner than later. It would be the best for all of us.

Would like to know what your doing to get you family prepped! I need to do the same.

Its funny you say that G about the "being crazy". I just started and was worried I was nutty like some of the folks on Doomsday preppers. However yesterday I rationalized and today I started prepping and putting money where my mouth was.

This is how I rationalize:

Every month people pay insurance to protect their house
Every month people pay insurance for when they die!

I am paying insurance so I don't die (prematurely). Thats all it is. We are only crazy if we are wrong! If we are then they were.

Besides we still get to eat the food as we go and replenish. No harm or money wasted.

a quick post for today, i sure hope that when and if the time comes, all the time i have spent networking with others preppers pays off!!!!

Ah, there's the rub. No one is prepared who has not got a network. You have come a long way along the road gmurphy. Your friends whom you are networking with are not going to let you down.

I agree completely with chilcotin. This is about building a community and developing a group of people who can and will support one another when the need arises. That said I believe we should be able to extend that hand well before the SHTF... to include our daily lives. The quickest and most effective way to build friendships is to demonstrate the willingness and ability to ask for, accept and give assistance with no expectation of compensation other than knowing that when YOU need a hand.. it will be returned to you.

ok here i go again, container homes!!! yep im serious, i have been wandering around the internet and came across this concept. taking 40ft shipping containers and welding them togerther to make a house!!! Maybe some of you have heard about this concept, its new to me but i think it really cool. upon further review i found used shipping containers on craigslist for around $2000 a piece. As i looked a little futher on the net i found different sites that have floor plans and useful tips on building these types of structures. The floorplans for shipping containers is endless, obviously the money in your bank account would be a factor, but hey, a solid steel structure, that will last a hell of a long time. A couple cots and a wood stove, ok ther would be alot more involved then that but i think you can see where im going with this idea.
So there it is, out there for all of you, just another thought rolling around in my head.

www.residentialshippingcontainerprimer.com

I've seen these also. And they can get pretty elaborate too with designer cabinets etc. But you don't have to start off fancy. just let the whole thing evolve. Over time yard sales, thrift stores etc. will provide you everything you need, window frames, flooring, decking for the outside. One just has to be patient and wait for the stuff to come along. It is amazing what people throw out. Initially it can be moved to a location and set up as a summer retreat, then converted to a permanent residence. The practicalities of this are endless.

got a few new preps this weekend,

1-medium sized bug-out-bag
1 coglans emergency blanket
4 flat files
2 8kg bags of white rice
The total cost of these items...... Free!!! thank you father-in-law

" oh that stuff... yah you can have it, its just junk sitting in my basement" ---my father-in-law

Thats the beauty of prepping. One persons junk is anothers treasure. My mother in law is temporarily moving in with us before she heads to New Zealand to live out her retirement. Well she has spent years collecting stuff. And almost everything she is leaving behind. So besides a whole wack of free furniture we get to keep, we are also getting dozens of cans of soups. 4 bags each weighing a few kilos of rice. A few bags of different types of noodles. A big box of dried sidekick noodles. So for a cost of $0 I have managed to store an additional 1-2 months of food for a family of 4. Thats a pretty good deal!

im going to throw this out there, mostly because i don't know much about the topic. Solar panelsenergy??? i understand the basic idea, you put the panels on the roof of a housestructure and nature does the rest. But there must be more to it! im doing some research on the topic, but figured id write about on here for the sake of conversation. So, are these solar panels really expense?? Im guessing you cant find these panels at the thrift store!
Umm, does anyone collect rain water?? sounds weird, i know. But i've heard that there are ways a person can set up catch basins on a roof top to collect rain water for storage. i've seen those big blue barrels around peoples houses every-so-often.....
just my thoughts on a few things

I found some used Blue barrels, but have been unable to find new ones locally. The used ones had flavoring in it so im sure all the water would be Caramel flavoring. Unfortunately I live in an apartment so moving that thing around would be a little tough.

im going to throw this out there, mostly because i don't know much about the topic. Solar panelsenergy??? i understand the basic idea, you put the panels on the roof of a housestructure and nature does the rest. But there must be more to it! im doing some research on the topic, but figured id write about on here for the sake of conversation. So, are these solar panels really expense?? Im guessing you cant find these panels at the thrift store!
just my thoughts on a few things

gmurphy,

If you post your solar panel question on the Ontario forum or the Canadian page as a separate topic, there are some well informed folks who will answer your questions.

As for cost, they have come way down in the last 10 years. $299 for 15W panels seems to ring a bell in my head. 4 - 8, 15W panels and 2 - 4 deep cycle 12V batteries in parallel, a controller and an inverter and you can be just about go off the grid. Many of the new panels are fairly tough, I seen a demo where they walked across the panels. Peavey Mart, Canadian Tire, and many other hardware type stores now carry a selection of panels. For portable solar power check out GoalZero. They have some good looking gear and they seem to know what they are talking about.

I guess it would depend where you live, but most thift stores would not have solar panels around for long, if they got them in. Many of the new landfill location now have some form of recycling facility co-located. These recycling places may be a good place to start for finding used panels??????

Good luck,

Mountainman.