Prepper essentials: Here’s why you need to stock up on water before SHTF – NaturalNews.com

(Natural News)
Water is vital to your survival. In most disaster scenarios, people will die within three days if they don’t have access to clean drinking water.

Protect your family from dehydration when SHTF by stocking up on water, using sturdy water storage containers and knowing how to filter and purify from various sources. (h/t to PreppersWill.com)

A growing population and water availability

Water pollution is on the rise due to various causes, like pesticides and untreated human wastewater. Unfortunately, many groundwater sources are also becoming more contaminated because industrial chemicals continue to leach into underground aquifers.

High levels of pollution can make you sick right away and cause massive illness outbreaks. Their effects can also be long-lasting and go unnoticed for years, causing widespread and often irreparable damage to the environment and public health.

The human population has more than doubled in the last 50 years, increasing the strain on the planet’s resources due to industrialization and increased world hunger.

The global population has hit eight billion and more people are moving to cities, resulting in megacities that are now bigger than New York and London. This has also resulted in peri-urban slums where people live in close proximity to livestock.

Population growth in general and people’s land-use decisions have resulted in increased encroachment on open spaces and ecosystem disruption. Because humans often settle down near water sources, the world’s population growth has put a strain on its water basins, reducing availability of fresh water on Earth. (Related: Prepper storage guides: Which containers should you use to store water for stockpiling?)

This highlights the importance of setting up a water supply if you want to help your family survive when disaster strikes.

Agriculture and natural disasters

A shocking 70 percent of the world’s freshwater supply is used by agriculture, but at least 60 percent is wasted because of factors like ineffective water application methods, faulty irrigation systems and the cultivation of crops that require too much water in the wrong environments.

This then dries out the world’s rivers, lakes and underground aquifers. In turn, countries are at risk of running out of water resources.

While natural disasters don’t always result in long-term water scarcity, they still have a negative impact on communities in the short term, often causing increased disease transmission and pollution.

Hurricanes aren’t the only natural disaster that can cause a water crisis. For example, Haiti experienced one of the world’s worst earthquakes in 2010. The disaster claimed more than 92,000 lives.

Following the earthquake, a cholera outbreak linked to unsanitary water conditions killed almost 10,000 people. At least 890,000 Haitians were displaced because of the disaster, straining the already limited freshwater infrastructure.

The 2010 earthquake in Haiti proves that human migration and displacement exacerbate the scarcity of fresh water.

Stock up on freshwater for your personal and gardening needs

Don’t be like civilians who don’t prioritize storing fresh water in their survival stockpile. Even if there is no immediate and large-scale disaster, when SHTF you may face an event that causes subtle and gradual collateral damage.

You should also prepare for diverse disasters and water scarcity that can affect the area you live in. As preppers know, it’s better to plan ahead since you should already know what disasters may affect you based on where you live.

Stock up on enough water so you can deal with long-term power outages or other scenarios that are frequent in your state.

Water storage options for your supply

There are many ways to store water on your homestead depending on the space, your budget and your knowledge of storage and filtration principles.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that people should drink at least one gallon of water per day. But if you actually track how much water you need for other tasks, like cleaning and hygiene, you will need more than a gallon of water each day.

You have various water storage considerations depending on where you live. If you live in a desert with no readily available water sources, you will have to store water differently than if you lived in a rural area with a nearby stream and options to filter that water.

You should also stock up on more water if you are living with children, the elderly, pregnant women and pets. Based on your needs analysis, you need at least two weeks’ worth of drinkable water.

Store clean water in water-specific containers, like buckets or bladders designed for water storage. Choose containers that are made of sturdy and quality food-grade materials.

Do not use containers that were previously used to store chemicals or other potentially harmful or unpleasant ingredients or odors.

Here are some food-grade options to consider for properly storing water:

Collapsible water containers

Collapsible water containers have a great storage capacity. They often come with a spigot and a handle.

However, the materials used in these containers are not as rigid as those used in more permanent water containers because they are collapsible. Most collapsible water containers can hold three to five gallons, but it’s better to avoid overfilling them because the increased pressure can cause them to rupture the longer they are kept in your stockpile.

Heavy-duty barrels

A 55-gallon blue barrel made of rigid, food-grade plastic can store enough water for one person for at least two months.

If you have a large family, you can either get more blue barrels or spend money on an upgraded version of a heavy-duty water container that can hold hundreds of gallons.

One downside to using these larger barrels is that once you decide on a storage location, it is almost impossible to move it once it’s filled with water.

Rain barrels

While some stored water is not safe to drink unless properly filtered and purified, water stored in containers like rain barrels is ideal for non-potable purposes like plant irrigation.

If you have a garden on your homestead and are worried about what to do with your plants during a water shortage, you can water them with collected rainwater in rain barrels.

Stackable water containers

Most stackable water containers are made of heavy-duty, dark plastic, usually color blue, and can be stacked on top of the other to maximize storage space.

The containers usually have a spigot and a handle to transport and dispense water and they can store five to seven gallons of water. The containers may cost $15 to $30 per piece.

When stacking these kinds of containers, avoid doing so excessively since overstacking can make the containers at the bottom crack under the weight.

Two-liter soda bottles

If you don’t have the budget for expensive storage containers, two-liter soda bottles are a cheap and readily available option.

If you live in the city or a small apartment, collect two-liter soda bottles. After thoroughly washing the bottles, fill them with water and store the bottles in a closet or food pantry.

Water “bladders”

Large water “bladders” like a waterBOB are best for home use if you have a bathtub or large sinks.

These bladders can hold a large amount of water and some products can even store up to 100 gallons of water. They may also come with siphoning kits.

Water bladders also have some disadvantages. Since they are almost as big as a bathtub, you won’t be able to use them unless you have more than one bathtub or shower.

Once filled, a water bladder is difficult to move since a full bathtub bladder can weigh over 100 pounds.

You can buy a heavy-duty water bladder that can be stored outside, but the material’s integrity might be jeopardized because of the heat or punctures.

Tips for long-term water storage

Once you decide on water storage options, keep these storage tips in mind:

Even if you’re not a prepper, long-term water storage is crucial to your survival when disaster strikes.

Go to Survival.news for more tips on how to build a survival stockpile before disaster strikes.

Watch the video below for more tips on efficient water storage.

This video is from the .

More related stories:

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The Importance of Silence After the SHTF

Imagine the following scenario: an economic collapse has forced thousands of people outside of the cities throughout most of the world. Thousands of people without survival or tradable skills plague the countryside, and the number of gunfights one can hear about from their front porch is increasing. Those farms closer to the cities and main roads are forced to institute a 24/7 watch. Special taxes and ammunition scarcity add fuel to the fire.

Where you live is isolated, however, and there is nothing to be afraid of.

At least, so you think.

Getting in your diesel pickup, you drive a few minutes up to the place where the recent storm knocked down some old trees. They will be a good firewood source.

You start to cut the trees with the gasoline chainsaw. The chainsaw can get pretty loud, and to protect your ears, you’re wearing hearing protection. You don’t realize that three creepy-looking guys have surrounded you. One of them is halfway between you and your truck, where the shotgun is. The lookouts in the compound spotted them from a distance and tried to warn you some guys were roaming around, but the mobile radio was inside the truck, too, and the chainsaw noise masked the call.

It’s a nightmarish scenario. Don’t get caught in one of these.

You have to control your noise.

I know it’s almost impossible to be 100% silent in a compound. It’s just not going to happen, and we need to be realistic about our expectations. Tractors, generators, car engines, bike engines, ATV engines, snowmobile engines…everything with engines will make noise to a degree.

The last few days, we had severe power blackouts as many people were hit by the Caribbean storms. Heavy rain made some towers collapse. My family spent over 48 hours without power, other than my old car battery with two 13W solar charger.

The town was silent. The neighbor’s generator 300 meters (maybe more) away only lasted for one night. When I woke up the next day, there was not any noise. At all.

The silence in a world without electricity is impressive.

On a quiet night, in our mountain home, we can even listen to our closest neighbors, who live 150 meters away uphill. We could hear someone walking down the road, or even better, the dogs would catch it and start barking. Once the power goes out, something that happens fairly often during these windy, stormy months down here, the only entertainment we have is talking to each other.

Being simple countryside people, families here only light a couple of candles and keep on with their business as usual. They don’t care too much about the risks of being spotted. Not these days. Things are not as dangerous here as they once were, after all.

It’s funny, how even in the worst of the Argentinian crisis, we were actually fortunate that our garden was not producing as we had hoped it would. We mainly grew some coffee and limes. That was about it. I wonder what would have happened if our plants were productive amidst a famine. If we had chickens running everywhere, plenty of fruits on the trees, or some other valuable edibles, these may have been easily spotted.

Concealing your activities as much as you can when your nation collapses is the best idea. But when it involves noise, it’s hard.

I’ve been in some places where the level of productivity behind closed doors and high walls was outstanding. It’s almost a tradition nowadays in Venezuela to conceal businesses like workshops, car repair shops, and other businesses. Other countries would have these same shops out in the open. We’ve learned we can’t do that here.

Well, maybe this isn’t only something that Venezuela struggles with. I’ve noticed it’s standard practice in many other countries with a high crime rate.

Sound is associated with machines, and for a criminal, machines mean money these days.

Criminals like machines. These are things they can steal, disassemble, transport to some other place, reassemble, and sell to someone without too many questions. Sound means working people, maybe with cash in their pockets. Sound means a patron in charge, a great target forexpress kidnapping. The old style robbery of a mugging is not “in” these days. We now face the “new school” of crime.

Thieves now will take the family patron hostage and will “escort” him to empty his accounts, or, best case scenario, they will loot his entire business and home, leaving him and his family well tied up and alive for the next “harvesting” season.

Imagine what would happen in a world without the rule of law.

Eventually, people will learn the lesson and shoot an arrow, a stone, or whatever they can at someone trespassing. I know that many thugs send “scouts,” bold teenagers, to check who is there, what is on the property, and how many people, and will collect all the needed intel in ways that any military would do. And they will do it quietly.

If they get an attention call from the landowner, the theatrical play starts. With their best innocent, childish face, they will say, “Oh, we were just looking for some fallen fruit/vegetables…or were looking for our lost dog/cat/chicken/pig.”

They will then take all the information they have collected to the gang. Once the older ones have their guns cleaned, cocked and locked, they will also know how many people they will have to take care of at the target building. This happened in many haciendas here. It still happens. Owners, of anything, are vulnerable every day.

You have to understand the relationship between noise and distance.

Depending on the “pitch,” or how deep a sound is, the sound waves will travel further. This is why a bass drum’s noise will travel further than a triangle’s shrill note. Scientists have discovered that elephants generate infrasonic waves which are too “deep” of a sound for humans to hear, but they travel huge distances, allowing elephants to “talk” to other elephants. The features and traits of these extra-long sound waves allow them to reach such distances.

High-tone sounds do not travel as far, depending on ambient factors like humidity and others. You can read a good explanation of all this , which I recommend so you can measure your “noise comfort zone” in your compound (Check the links at the bottom of the article, too).

I know my place is secluded enough that you need to know where it is to find it, but with the (still-to-be-rebuilt) generator or the machinery in the still-to-be-installed-workshop running, it should not be hard to realize where it is once the world goes silent. That is the reason I am using  to get a noise reduction of up to 45 dB. It is not so hard to DIY it, and I highly suggest some prior testing so you can prepare your own “recipe.”

How do you make your weapons silent?

I am going to avoid giving any advice on the use of silent weapons other than the obvious. I am not qualified for this. I’m sorry if this is disappointing, but OPSEC is paramount down here. Even regular thugs have some degree of military training, and this is a globally increasing trend. Use this to your favor; a few cracked skulls without noticeable noise should make wonders to keep the marauders away if they are smart enough. If they are not, and they come back for revenge…Oh, well…

“A silent workshop? Yeah, right…”

An angle grinder or a disc cutter will make enough noise to be evident from many meters away if they are in the open. Usually, in a workshop, the noise will bounce around and will be more audible in some directions than in others. Always use ear protection: inner plugs and sound-dampening earphones. They’re a system that works together…and your hearing will be a crucial survival tool once SHTF!

The better advice would be to use some common sense. If you can soundproof your workshop on the cheap, do it without hesitation. Use some free time now before you have to do it in a rush after your nation is in the toilet. Cardboard egg trays covering the walls will dampen the sound a lot. They’re not pretty to look at, but they are very effective. Just paint it to make it look a bit better.

Air tools may be quieter, but there are some other considerations for long-term use, like the shelf life of the hoses. Modern air hoses, albeit rugged and durable, use chemicals to keep them flexible and airtight. However, I like to plan for the next 50/60 years. In my mind, my concern for future generations is the horizon I would like to cover. I would like that my grandson(s) and granddaughter(s) can say, “Jee. Grampa thought about a lot of things”.

(Want to know more about emergency evacuations? Check out our free QUICKSTART Guide.)

How do you silence a generator?

Let us elaborate a little bit on this. I am talking about liquid-fuel generators here. There are great electric ones out there, but I want to focus on what you likely have in your garage. One piece of advice from  is to install the generator far away from the dwelling quarters. No bueno.

You may need to get there in a rush for an emergency and check what is happening there without leaving your home. I already have the place for our generator. It’s not that far away (my cabin surroundings are not too extensive, maybe you saw it in my channel already). It will be in a housing dug out in the hillside, with the exhaust pointing straight up and enough space around for maintenance. I will have a direct view from my second floor. A good steel door will keep it safe.

Earth is an excellent sound dampener, also.

(Dirt is free, that is why it is my favorite!)

Remember that if you build a shelter for your generator, the sound will bounce into the walls and look for an exit. Usually, this sound escapes through the roof and/or the openings. If you build a cinder block shelter for your generator close to the main housing, fill the hollow space inside the cinder blocks with dirt. If you want to make it rocket-proof, use cement then, or cellular cement, which has even better soundproofing properties. This is kind of a waste unless you are waiting for a foreign power invasion but to each one their own. After 2020 and the way geopolitics is going…

Remember your generator housing will need ventilation to keep the generator running cool and allow venting of the fumes.

You may want to try before applying the cement, only stacking the cinder blocks and checking the gaps between each block to see what seems to work better to dampen the sound.

Not everything is a disadvantage. After a few months, your hearing will be so accustomed to silence that you will listen to the lowest of noises.

Use proper isolators for the skid of your generator!

Read the manual: every manufacturer will direct the owner to use rubber or wood as a platform for your generator. And if yours is portable, getting it on a frame and rubber wheels will make for a dual purpose.

If you are a DIY kind of guy, this will help: .

And PLEASE! be very careful with where you place your portable generator.

The fumes must be conducted away from your location. In my home, the most suitable place would be the front porch. However, my house is in a position where the air comes from this direction. Thus, I cannot drop the thing in there and start it. My backyard is enclosed, too, and airflow is somehow restricted. It’s all just a couple of meters wide, 7 meters long inside, like 2.5 meters high. I will have to run a pipe high enough so the fumes go over the wall and catch the winds coming from the front of the house. However, I have been working on this already and found a couple of solutions that you will see once it is in place.

If you are not a builder, then you may want to check the market for products like this: , a company I do not have any commercial relationship with.

(Want uninterrupted access to The Organic Prepper? Check out  .)

Bonus tip:

If there is plenty of silence around your compound, you could set up some noise/movement detectors.  should work for decades, be easy to repair, and are affordable. Again, for DIY people, check .

Some companies in the field are these:

Silence after SHTF is quite an extensive topic.

When the rest of the world is in silence, a compound with illumination, food, and noise, will be a target. Even worse, it is very likely that your neighbors will be the attackers. I have seen it happen. Building a soundproof basement with all the modern comforts, even a good sound system to listen to music or movies without the meth-heads ten blocks away finding out about it will surely pay for itself.

Keep safe, stay tuned, and tell us your tips in the comment section below. Is keeping the noise down something you have considered? Are there other purveyors of noise not mentioned in this article? Let’s discuss it.

About Jose

Jose is an upper middle class professional. He is a former worker of the oil state company with a Bachelor’s degree from one of the best national Universities. He has an old but in good shape SUV, a good 150 square meters house in a nice neighborhood, in a small but (formerly) prosperous city with two middle size malls. Jose is a prepper and shares his eyewitness accounts and survival stories from the collapse of his beloved Venezuela. Jose and his younger kid are currently back in Venezuela, after the intention of setting up a new life in another country didn’t  go well. The SARSCOV2 re-shaped the labor market and South American economy so he decided to give it a try to homestead in the mountains, and make a living as best as possible. But this time in his own land, and surrounded by family, friends and acquaintances, with all the gear and equipment collected, as the initial plan was.

 Follow Jose on YouTube and gain access to his exclusive content on Patreon. Donations: paypal.me/JoseM151

The post The Importance of Silence After the SHTF appeared first on The Organic Prepper.

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What If Neighbors Come Begging for Food After SHTF?

If we are deep into some kind cataclysmic event and desperate people arrive at your door, what do you do? Your hard work, money, and family are all at play when people come a knockin! So, what is your gameplan? 

The simple answer is to say, “NO!” and not let anyone into your home. The truth is that things are a little more complicated than that. Also, there might be some value in the people you bring on board. You are going to need some help to get through tough times. 

Article continues below.

Just look at any natural disaster to see proof of that. 

In this article, we are going to look at what you should do when neighbors keep knocking. There are some things you should already have done if you are going to deal with people at your front door. 

Know Their Value 

Its easy to look at even family members as a burden on your supplies. The idea of taking more people in is often frowned upon by preppers. However, there is immense value in having people. People are eyes and ears, they are hearts and minds, and if they are family or friends, they could even have your best interest in mind! 

When I say “know their value,” I am not just talking about their survival skills. Instead, I am talking about their innate human value. 

If you plan on conducting any kind of security, then you are gonna need a bunch of people. It is unreasonable to assume that you can secure anything with yourself, your spouse, and two kids. Its just not possible. Now, if you have eight people, then you could make a difference. 

More hands for work is also another huge benefit. We will talk more about this later in the article.  

Can You Support Them?

I know you are prepper. I understand that you think yourself prepared for many things, and you assume that people will come to you for help. However, it is important to be honest with yourself about whether or not you can support anyone other than your family. 

Taking people in that you cannot support can be just as dangerous as telling people to leave. If they settle in and feel safe, then have the rug pulled out from under them again, they are going to get hostile.

So, understand where you are, truly, with your resources. Can you handle more people? How many calories do you have in total? How many resources do you have to spare? Know these things like the back of your hand and taking people, or not, will become much easier.

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Example: “We have 4 months’ worth of dry food for all of us. So, we need to start producing / hunting / trapping / trading for food NOW to be prepared in 4 months and to stretch our current stores.” 

Work Starts That Day 

Preparation is everything when it comes to taking in neighbors and family. I want you to develop a daily to-do list or work schedule for your home. You can develop that schedule today, even though many of the tasks could change in a grid down or TEOTWAWKI situation. 

Things like daily cooking, weeding, security, and waste management, and water collection may not be on your schedule now, but they will be if we have reached a point where essential services are all gone and the world around you has collapsed. 

Write these jobs out or create a simple schedule on Excel and leave the names empty. Get as many things on that schedule as you can think of, and leave some blank spaces to add tasks if you need to. Print out at least 52 of these for a years’ worth of schedules. 

When people show up for help or a place to live, one of the first things you should hand them is this list of duties. Assure them there is work to be done. Get them started on something right away and get their names on the schedule next certain tasks. 

I like the idea of letting them choose some tasks based on their skills. You could learn about them that way. There will be plenty to do and they should start DOING immediately upon arrival. 

Be CRYSTAL Clear About Rules 

What happens at your place when someone doesn’t get their daily work done? What happens if someone steals?

I don’t know the answer to this because only you and yours can establish that. You need to sit down and develop that rule set. It would be helpful to post these rules or put them on work schedules. This way there is no argument later. 

If someone has a job to do and decides they would rather walk the woods or sleep late, then it shouldn’t be up to you to explain the punishment. Instead, they should already know. 

Miss Work, Miss Dinner

Something as simple as that would suffice, or it could be more severe. You make the rules. Its your home. However, you must explain them very well and you also must be able to enforce those rules. Most people forget about enforcement when it comes to people who want to help.

You can always say NO, but can you make them go away? This doesn’t have to be a lethal approach, but your rule must have teeth. 

Who NEVER Comes In

The reason I focused so much on why you should bring people into your home is because we often forget about the value of humans in a collapse. We go to UBER isolation and that can be serious problem. We are weak when we are isolated. It just feels like we are safe because we are so far from the problems. But problems will come. 

That said, there are some people that you better never let into your home. There are people who have no business joining the ranks and will only cause you trouble. 

Addiction is always going to be the number one concern of the addicted. That means their family, your family, safety, food, water, security—all of it plays second fiddle to the addiction. Addicts are not people you want in your corner. If you love them, then you must come to terms with the fact that they will likely meet a dark end. 

Want to prep but not sure where to begin?
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You cannot afford to let addicts into your group, help them, tell them all about your system, storage and so on. They will sell you out. 

Violent Criminals

People with a criminal record or people with a questionable past might have their use in the SHTF world. However, that doesn’t mean their place should be in your home. These are not people that you want around you on a daily basis. Do not let them into your world.

Most people will not outright tell you they have a criminal past. However, if you are privy to that information then you should use it. 

Remember, violent criminals might not go away just because you tell them to. They might decide violence is a better option and go after you. So be prepared. 

Strangers With Kids

What happens if a total stranger happens upon your home, begging for help, and they have kids? We build something called refuge buckets. Into these we throw different grains and foods in small packages. These are going to be handed out to people with kids should they show up. Give them some food and a gallon of water and send them on their way. 

While it might feel good to bring in a mom and her children, there is no way of knowing their true intentions. What if they already belong to a much larger community and they are simply reconning you to go back home and tell the others what you have? You could be inviting trouble. 

We are living in a very divisive time. The people of this nation disagree on things, and we let it get between us. We let it shade our actions and how we build our society. It’s very dangerous. This is why so many people are talking about civil war. 

Depending on where you fall on the spectrum, you might have to consider the ideologies, religions, and beliefs of the people you bring into your home. Some of the issues of the day have gotten so extreme that people may struggle getting along together. 

Even if you do not like the idea of taking others in, you need to understand that YOU NEED OTHERS. You need to have some people around you. These people are going to be a key to the safety and longevity of your surviving party. 

Remember, it’s not as cut and dry as random people coming to the door. What if it is a good neighbor and their kids, cousins, siblings, or parents? Its not as simple as a resounding “NO” to all. 

Get your plan in place. Create your work schedule and make sure that everyone is pitching in. Having extra people around might prove to be the best thing that ever happened to you! 

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