[Opinion] 5 Rules for PO Prep.

[PrairieMule]

I think the bottom line is never stop evolving.

One of the biggest things I have tried to do in the last 2 years is to solicit opinions and learn from people OUTSIDE my normal circle.

While I have entrenched a redneck attitude about our guns and simpler life on a ranch, I have learned that the hippies, lefties, libretarians, and assorted weirdos are right about our civil rights. I'd advise anyone new to the doom culture to first own and frequently read a copy of The Bill of Rights. Then read sections starting with sec 200 on up of the Patriot Act II. It will effect even the mildest "retreater" or "homesteader" in the next 5-10 years.

[Ludi]

I just have a heck of a lot of trouble evaluating the information I get, especially here on peakoil.com. Like all the conspiracy theories, etc, and "zombie hordes" etc which people swear on a stack of Bibles are "realistic" scenarios. The word "realistic" gets thrown around here by all kinds of people. I just don't know how to tell what's realistic to be concerned about.


But I'm probably going off topic. Determining what's realistic is more appropriate for the Assessments thread or maybe even the Psychology forum....


Maybe I should start a thread....

[Olaf]

11) Get good, sturdy underwear and socks. These may be in short supply.

A few years back I discovered the joy of good socks. I had no idea that there is such a thing as good underwear. How much better then fruit of the loom can you get and what makes it better?

Loose fitting underwear, such as boxers, leave room for crawly things that don't belong. In survival situations, I'd vote against boxers.

Olafr

[Olaf]

Crap, this is the best thread I have started in a while!

Come on – let’s hear something different – maybe something from the folks in town or...

We know you are out there so pipe up; you must have a plan if you are reading here.

You might save somebody's kids, maybe talking about it could save yours.

Be able to outcompete the other competitors or be able to remove yourself from having to compete.

With that said, I don't think you can have too many skills. Refine as many of them as you can. Know more than the next guy. Hunting, farming, energy generation, edible plants, tracking, skinning and hide preservation, etc...Things that most people rely on other for these days. You will be able to help yourself and make yourself a potential valuable asset to others.

Be flexible and mentally prepared. Try to never panic.

Debt free is always good.

Know who your real friends are. Who can you rely on?

A good multi tool and a sharp knife can go a long way.

Olafr

On edit: Wanted to add that one should consider medical needs as well. Do you have a condition that requires medication? Could that condition be corrected (ie surgery) to remove the need for medication?

For example, I have a hiatal hernia (sp?) which causes chronic haeartburn when I do not take medication. It can be potentially fixed through surgery an I am considering having it done so that I will no longer be dependent on that medication.

[Farmboy]

1) Prepare mentally for the unemployment line
2) Adjust mentally and apply for food stamps
3) Fake a disability (get a free bus pass)
4) get section 8 housing
5) Give up your privacy and self respect.

You are poor.

[Bytesmiths]

You are poor.

In the bipolar US, you're either rich, poor, trying to be rich, or trying not to be poor.

So move to a country where simplicity and frugality is admired and respected.

[ironborne]

1. Move out of the desert and buy a piece of land farther north.
2. Teach/Train my children.
3. Continue my own skills education.
4. Get projects started with like-minded individuals.
5. Do 1-4 as quietly and efficiently as possible.

[cantom]

Man- I'd hate to wear underwear so tight that it'd keep out crotch critters...

<Loose fitting underwear, such as boxers, leave room for crawly things that don't belong. In survival situations, I'd vote against boxers.

Olafr[/quote]>

[Pops]

Price means nothing unless you are buying or selling.

I got that line from George Ure over at UrbanSurvival.com, thanks.

I thought I would copy it here because it pretty well sums up my 5 rules, which are all about minimizing the things you need to buy and maximizing the things you have to sell.

My Dad said they didn’t really notice the Great Depression; they didn’t need much cash because they had always raised or made most of their stuff anyway…

[graycycle]

For a few years now I have been trying to distill my view of a few general rules folks can consider while preparing for the possibility of energy and resource depletion.

I might add #6: Make friends who can and will help one another when the bad times come. It's the old story about how it is easy to break a single twig. However, when you combine several twigs in a tight bundle they can withstand much greater stress. There is strength in numbers.

[Sloper]

OK, I'm coming out of the closet, I've been lurking for awhile now but have been deeply concerned about Peak oil for a couple years.
Lots of good ideas here but my top 5 are to:
1. Establish a home place that is able to provide your groceries, not in an extreme climate and with adequate water.
2. Be mentally prepared to be a bad-ass - there will be a LOT of desperate people perfectly willing to kill you and your family to take what you have. From my stoney little heart I can't see what the poiint of making plans to survive if your not willing to go all the way... with whatever it takes to survive. so-get guns and ammo and be prepared to use them
3. Avoid debt and focus on purchases that will help you survive Already covered in previous lists. Things like upgrading medical skills, hand drives garden tools, reference books, guns and re-loading supplies, carbide lamps and a case of extra carbide, canning equip. solar system components etc.
4. The Depression gives us a pretty good working model of the lifestyles we'll end up living except this will be a bit more on the barbaric side with people having fewer inhibitions against taking what they want. so get in shape, build your fall-back shelter, plant the fruit trees, prepare a garden spot and build the fences
5. Start TODAY - I believe we may be in the early stages of the meltdown, traders and governments have openly picked up on the idea that peak oil is a reality and are acting accordingly. If this is the case then we are probably seeing a long slow crash in action

[Cornelian]

My 5, many of which have been covered by others:

1. Accept that trying times are ahead.
2. Learn as much as I can. Knowledge is power.
3. Relocate to a more sustainable location.
4. Establish a food garden.
5. Start to explore other areas of self-reliance and self-sufficiency.

How am I managing?

1. I did that that many years ago. For me it was the realisation that western society exists only via fragile supply lines, whether of energy or of food or of other life-sustaining necessities.
2. Am still learning - it is a process which never stops.
3. I relocated 3 years ago away from an inland, arid area with poor transport links to a much more temperate and well watered area several thousand miles away - deep water port, train lines, good agricultural land. And it is a lovely place, to boot.
4. In the process of the garden. Already it is supporting me with vegetables and soft fruits, but it needs to be expanded.
5. Combined with point 2 - always learning - but this is an area which for me still needs much work. It would be nice to go off-grid, but, oh, the expense ...

And one which really should go in there but which doesn't quite fit - get out of debt, as fast as I can. The only debt I have is a third of the mortgage (I have paid two thirds off within 3 years, but the last third will be a bit longer) but I really, really want to lose that.

And, oh yeah, one more. Keeping a wary eye on the stock market. All my retirement finds are tied up in that. I run my own retirement fund so I am 100% responsible for how it does. A week ago I actually sold the majority of my shares - first time in 12 years I have got the jitters. I have made 400% on most of them, and I simply didn't want to lose that money! If there is an opportunity, a 'market correction', I'll buy back in, although not to the extent I was exposed previously.

[Pops]

2. Be mentally prepared to be a bad-ass - there will be a LOT of desperate people perfectly willing to kill you and your family to take what you have. From my stoney little heart I can't see what the poiint of making plans to survive if your not willing to go all the way... with whatever it takes to survive. so-get guns and ammo and be prepared to use them

Thanks for posting, Sloper and others.

I agree building toughness is a good thing, but mind games are useless.

Maybe raising a few rabbits or chickens and butchering them.

And then go shoot a dear and clean it.


And on the PR front, let it be known, in the most circumspect and offhand way, that you have the wherewithal and ability to be a bad ass and perhaps even lie a little about your experiences with such.


Hiding a big stick behind your back waiting for a chance to whack some unknowing stranger seems less efficient than mentioning some intimate knowledge of the stick which may inspire the stranger to look elsewhere.

Or am I posting too late…

[RedStateGreen]

I've been thinking about this for a while now.

My rules:

1) Learn as much as you can and think about what you've learned.

2) Priorities: Food, water, shelter. If you have those, the rest falls into place.

3) Decide what course of action fits best with your morals and lets you sleep at night.

4) Have or develop a skill that makes you irreplaceable to the community. If they have any sense, they'll [help] protect you. It's a rule anyone can use to good advantage.

5) Don't be afraid to live or to die. Aspire to do both well.

[CarlinsDarlin]

Having been out of the loop for a while, I have yet to read through all the pages of this thread... so I haven't yet completely decided on my own 5 rules. But, that being said, Red, I do like yours, so for now I think I'll adopt them
Kathy

[Iaato]

While I have entrenched a redneck attitude about our guns and simpler life on a ranch, I have learned that the hippies, lefties, libretarians, and assorted weirdos are right about our civil rights. I'd advise anyone new to the doom culture to first own and frequently read a copy of The Bill of Rights. Then read sections starting with sec 200 on up of the Patriot Act II. It will effect even the mildest "retreater" or "homesteader" in the next 5-10 years.

Ha. While I have entrenched a commie leftist attitude about civil liberties recently, I have learned that the redneck right has a real point about guns. I have developed a new fondness for guns, and am taking up target practice.

[BigTex]

My 5 Rules:

1. Think through your spirituality fully. Finding out that you don't really believe in God or Jesus or whatever when you have a Job-like loss of everything really sucks.

2. Study the weaknesses of "just in time" inventory systems. Understanding these weaknesses creates a long list of obvious preparation steps.

3. Understand what good leadership is all about. If you are a leader it will make you a better one. If you are a follower it will help you select good leaders to follow. Every crisis finds examples of courageous leaders. Think about it beforehand.

4. Balance physical and mental fitness. Many are good at developing one but not the other. You will need both in any crisis. I think it is the mind that probably breaks down under prolonged stress more often than the body. By breakdown I mean poor decision making, onset of hopelessness, inability to interpret subtle messages...things like that.

5. If you have been hypnotized by the notion that the human race is marching toward an ever-rosier future, try to replace that idea with one of cycles of good times and bad times, plenty and scarcity, enlightenment and barbarism. Human society is like every other system in the physical world--it has cycles and rhythms. Study them and you will be well-positioned to react appropriately.

[Pops]

I stuck this for a test:
1/23/08 6:40p
21311 views

[patience]

My 5 rules have been being modified since 1974. Here's the latest version.

1. Plan your life for sustainability, based on how you see the future. Stored food ain't enough. Better plan to grow some.

2. Get where you want to be to live out the future as you see it. A community is the key to this. Going it alone is close to impossible.

3. Set priorities, based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs that include air, water, food, clothing & shelter, and companionship.

4. Diversify your position, especially kowledge and skills, so you can adapt to changing conditions. Your vision of the future is at least partly wrong. Expect to be surprised. Dad said that even a rat has sense enough to have more than one hole.

5. Make it happen. NOW.

I feel like I'm running a bit late on some things.... Ain't we all?

[oldstyle]

Much great information and ideas are in this thread. I dont wish to repost what has already been said so I'll go in a slightly different direction. In preparations I have considered many different scenarios and how they might affect me, my job and my family. Some are easy to mitigate, some not so much. Most things have simple homeade workaround type solutions, some require things be purchased and either built or stored for later. In evaluating these purchases here are the 5 rules I apply to every decision.

1. Keep it simple. When I worked in chemical plants a decade ago it amazed me to see a million dollar an hour operation get shut down for a 50 cent valve. Along the same lines, in my house I have a 40 dollar coffe pot break and not work again due to some gizmo timer that malfunctioned. Every car I have owned with power windows after a few years the motor starts going to shit. The moral being dont buy bells and whistles that will just break over time and leave you without. Get sturdy items with very little to nothing to break. If something does break, simple items are easier (possible) to repair.

2. Scrounge. It amazes me how much crap people buy. An example, I have a problem with people buying fire starting devices. If you have to carry something around for a fire, buy matches. You dont need a 30 dollar magnesium striker when a 50 cent bic lighter will work. Similiarly look around at what you have, it's amazing what items can serve multiple purposes.

3. Avoide impulse buys. I have been doing this for a few years now. When I see some gizmo that catches my eye and I think I want it (be it on the shelf or something on tv), I make myself wait a week or two. If I still think I need it after that I'll buy it. 90% of the time I dont even remember seeing it. Fight that consumer mindset people. Make do with what you have, that's the mindset. My wife is still quite the consumer and even she agrees that this works and is a good idea.

4. Keep the tank(s) full. A few years ago I was at a gas station convenience store and was in line behind a largish woman. She had a coke, bag of ships, some candy and after hearing the total she asked for 4 dollars of gas. I wanted to yell at her, put that crap down and put some gas in your car. Anyway, the point being that when a purchase meets a few conditions load the truck up. If your going to use it anyway, it's not going to go bad if it waits, if there is even the slightest chance of price increasing, and you can afford it without going into debt buy as much as you can. I cant think of anytime in my life where I had a full tank of gas and said to myself I dont know if I am going to use it all.... same with peanut butter, spagetti noodles, water, cough drops, and a million other things that my family will use on a long enough timeline and can easily be stored at my house instead of a store shelf. Keep the reserves full. I even apply this to non preps, anyone else have a stockpile of sandpapers in various grit?

5. Sustainable. This is a goal and not a rule, but where possible I always try to pursue the option that has less dependance. For example, a push mower with circlular blades versus a gas operated mower that requires gas, oil, spark plugs, new pull string every few years. It is encumbered with dependencies and is not sustainable, the push variety will go as long as I have a rock to hone the blades with a few times a year and some oil to keep the axle lubed with. (crushed nuts or even rendered animal fats should work just fine for that). I gave an example, but it's the mindset behind it that I try to adhere to. Sometimes it just isn't practicle tho.