Gunner Quinn
(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.)
Water List
This is an item for the first three days. This is super important and needs to be one of the first items confirmed.
Check locations and condition of water sources:
Bottled Water/Stored water containers
Well water (power dependent)
Lake water – are there containers to carry and larger containers to store lake water?
Is there a rainwater collection option available?
Is the Berkey/Filtered water system ready?
Can the tub be successfully filled with water from the system before the power goes out or the line pressure is gone?
Can I treat the lake water? Do I have the sanitizer in place?
Food Storage List
This is a first three days to do and can continue for a couple of weeks, or longer in my opinion.
Food is obviously important. Much of it is also dependent on refrigeration, good storage and age. The tendency is to stockpile and forget. The stockpile could end up being a giant mess with older items in the back.
Is food segregated to ensure the food with the shortest remaining shelf life is eaten first (no power type situation)
Can all the food be accessed?
Is the food that is affected by refrigeration in a place where it can be used first?
If the food is “strategically placed and not obvious”? Is there a map or layout to ensure the food is accessible in a logical order?
Is food organized by expiration or purchase date? Maybe color-coded?
Is the food secure?
Is there any sign of water damage, or animal or mold infiltration?
Is the coffee stockpile is accessible?
Medicines
This needs to be in place and confirmed in the first few days.
There are several classes of medicines. Some need to be used every day, other medicines are only needed during some activities, and some are only needed in emergencies. The storage plans will vary by type.
Are prescription medicines available? Is there any stockpile of key prescription medicines?
Are alternative or natural alternatives to prescription medicines identified and available?
Is there a stockpile of pain relievers, allergy, and digestive meds available? Salves and powders?
Are there hard-copy instructions for all medicines and natural alternative use, as well as hard-copy books for treatment and first aid?
Are first aid items available, stocked and clean? This includes bandages, clotting aids, and tourniquets.
Are there long-term medical devices such as crutches, braces, splints easily locatable?
How good is the medical treatment training?
Batteries and Chargers
This should be settled in the first few weeks.
Batteries run lights, radios, phones and a wide variety of electronic devices.
Are the battery testers available?
Are the batteries still good? All stored batteries should be tested. If the stores are open, buy more!
Are there small solar chargers? Where are they located? Are they currently charged?
Lighting
This will be needed immediately in an outage situation, short or long term.
This is reviewed separately from other power items because once the power goes out you will have maybe twelve hours before you are sitting in total darkness. I do not want to sit in the dark.
Are the locations of candles known and documented?
Are lighters and matches available?
Are flashlights located throughout the house?
Are the flashlights bright or are new batteries needed?
Are the solar lights operational?
Are oil lamps in place with stockpiled oil? Are there spare wicks?
Are there gas lamps in place with wicks, etc.?
Is the lamp fuel in place? Are there extra wicks available?
Note on lighting: Are there rooms you can use that close up enough that light cannot be seen from the outside?
Power List/Generators
If the power goes out, all bets are off. You are on your own.
Generation of electricity will be the immediate, and long term, issue for certain key items such as radios and telephones.
Are the solar powered power stations fully charged? Are the panels ready for use as well as all cords and accessories?
Are the gas generators ready to run? Is the gas fresh in them? Is there gas stabilizer in the gas? Is the spare gas fresh?
Are all the necessary power cords available?
Can the gas generators be run discretely?
Cooking/Food Preparation
This is needed in the first days.
What is the best way to cook food? Can the stove be used without power? In our case, yes but the ignition relies on electricity, but works via match light.
Are stove utensils for gas stoves in place – graniteware/enamel, cast iron?
Are the camp stoves that run on propane and/or on white gas accessible?
Is the barbecue grill with propane tanks operational?
Personal List/Hygiene List/Sanitation List
This needs to be in place because when it hits there will be little opportunity to react or restock.
Are extra soaps in place?
Are spare glasses and sunglasses in place?
Are there multiple toothbrushes and toothpaste?
Are there wind-up clocks?
Vaccinations should be in place now. When it hits you will either have them or you won’t. Do you have records available? Can vaccination records, passports, and other IDs be accessed easily?
What other things does the spouse want and need?
Transportation
This will be important immediately. However, a few weeks in it may be found that travel is not an option.
Are all vehicles properly maintained? Are fuel tanks full?
Is extra gas is stored and stabilized. Is gas labelled in order to use the oldest first?
Are bicycles maintained and usable? Are the tires good?
Are ATV/UTVs or snowmobiles operational?
Are boats, canoe, and kayaks ready to use. Are boat gas tanks full?
Are oars and paddles reachable?
Networking
This mutual support type network should be in place now, to be ready when needed. If it is not fleshed-out, it should be as soon as possible. There is a narrow window for this.
A network of knowledgeable individuals will be extremely important after a few weeks. This is a network of mutual support, and mutual defense, with experts in rural living, defense, food gathering, and hunting.
Is there an agreement to form a group or an already-formed one?
Is there at least a list of “candidates” with their skills identified?
Communications/Monitoring List
This should be in place immediately, but hopefully not needed immediately.
Are Baofeng radios charged and coded for best performance.
Are walkie-talkies ready and charged?
Are radios and other electronics stored in metal/EMP safe containers?
Is there a shortwave receiver in place?
Hunting/Fishing/Trapping List
This may not be needed immediately, but this is one of the areas that may not be replenishable once it hits.
Is fishing gear in place with new line, spare reels and rods?
Are lures ready. Nets ready.
Ability to get live bait: minnow net, and worm digging tools.
Are fish cleaning tools in place? – Scaler, fillet knives, buckets, live fish cages?
Is hunting gear in place? – Guns, ammunition, bows, arrow?
Are butchering tools in place with butchering location set up?
Are there convenient waste disposal locations set?
Food Preparation List
These items are going to be needed for the long term. If you don’t have these immediately on hand, you may be able to procure them, perhaps by barter. They will be in demand.
In order to process food for long-term storage, specific tools or utensils are needed.
Are these canning jars, lids, enamelware canner, funnels, and associated tools?
Gardening List
These items are also needed for the long term. If you don’t have these immediately on hand, you may be able to procure them, perhaps by barter. They will be in demand.
Do you have good, fresh seeds? Are they non-GMO?
Are the seeds stored properly?
Are gardening tools in place?
Are there means to water the garden/plants??
Are there means to collect water?
Tools List
There is no end to what may be needed. A person can never have enough tools. While important, once a minimal amount of tools are in place, any excess tools can be used for barter. Do not count on power tools for a long-term solution.
This list is too long for a single article, but the categories to be checked include:
Firewood processing tools
Woodworking tools; saws, hammers
Fasteners
Tarps
Building supplies/tools
Mechanical repair tools
Jacks and heavy-item moving aids such as winches.
Food gathering and harvesting tools
Food processing tools
Bartering
This is not an immediate need but preparation is needed to be able to participate.
There will be ample opportunity to honestly and legally get new things you need if you can barter. In JWR’s novel Patriots there is an event described called a Barter Faire. This type of event provides a relatively safe venue to show what you have to sell (trade for) and a chance to see what other people have that you may need. Bartering one-on-one may not be safe, unless you absolutely know the people you are bartering with.
Is there a place identified to meet for bartering? (Not at the home, in a public location.)
Some examples of easy-to-store goods that will be valuable at a Barter Faire in place:
- Food preparation items such as grinders, knives, fire fire-resistant cooking vessels.
- Oil lamps and wicks
- Canning jars
- Wrenches
- Ammunition – nope, as there is never enough, and no use arming your potential attackers…..
- Woodworking tools
- Mechanical tools and wrenches
- Booze
- Candles
- Rope
Money/Precious Metals
Commerce will ebb once the fan is hit. Cash (paper dollars) may work for a while. But once it is thought that it is only paper and not really backed by any value, attention will turn to silver and gold, and other goods of value.
Is the future currency and coinage in a secure location?
Is there a plan to get the money out of the banks and ATMs on an expedited basis?
What else is there to use as currency in trade or commerce?
Faith
Find faith. It is necessary now and at all times. Faith can provide guidance, encouragement, “rules” and comfort.
Are there hard-copy Bibles and study tools in place?
Is there a group of others nearby that share your religion and values?
THE CHECK-UP
To provide an example of the value of this type of exercise and how this can be made to work for you, I will share some of the results of my review. Once I had decided what I felt was important, I used the preceding lists to physically look for and evaluate the items in each category and each item.
I looked at my readiness measures as harshly as I could. Frankly, I was disappointed. I saw signs of neglect in several areas, mostly due to trying to do too much in the “fun and interesting” areas and not having time or inclination to do the drudgery.
Here is an example of a spreadsheet that can be used:
And so on….
My Own Grades
These were my “grades” in assessing my own preps:
Worst: The food stores were a mess. They were dry and clean, but the place they are stored makes it hard to put them in a good chronological “use by” order. A better storage system is needed, with easily sorted by color and/or codes on the containers.
Security: Lax. Physically the systems are okay but need to be used. Locks must be used. Alarms are used sporadically.
Networking: Minimal. I have a good friend who is fantastic with firearms. He and his wife grow their own food, make maple syrup, and have chickens. We have gardened with them. Another friend is an ex-SWAT team leader. I am not close to these guys’ caliber of skills, but I can bring engineering expertise to the team.
Communications: Marginal. I have the walkie-talkies and Baofeng radios but need practice and more knowledge on how to work with channels. I could get by but I hope I get more time to practice.
Medicine and first aid: Fair. Most of the physical items are in place. Training is getting old and should be refreshed as soon as possible. I need to immediately review my reference books.
Electricity: Maybe okay. I have some gas engine generators and a small solar power unit and several small solar smartphone and flashlight chargers. One generator presently has a bad pull start….
Hunting and fishing: Okay. Fishing is good on my lake. My hunting skills are an “F”.
Water: Good. I live on a lake. I have a shallow well. I have multiple Berkey filter units with spare parts. I have portable water filters and life straws. I have sanitizers for large quantities of water and water purifier tablets for portable use.
Tools: Good. I have many manually operated tools. They have been easy to get at garage sales, flea markets and junk stores. I think they will be worth a lot more soon and I will continue to get everything I can for future bartering.
Money: Okay. Silver coinage and some gold are in place. (Somewhere). There is too much that is still in cash at the bank. Inflation is a great risk to this money. I will not use ammunition as currency unless it with my absolutely best friends.
Heat: Good. I have LP gas fireplaces that will be good for a period of time, maybe a year. I have a wood burning stove that can heat the entire house. I have small propane heaters and many backup one pound tanks of propane. I just added a large stockpile of split firewood.
Cooking: Fair. The kitchen stove is LP, and I have a propane grill and backup propane camp style stoves. Cooking utensils are in place for cooking over flames.
Bartering: Good. Many tools are ready to go. I used to collect oil lamps so I have many available for trade. I have lamp oil and wicks. I have a backup supply of alcoholic beverages for trade.
In Summary
Is this the correct list and course action for everyone? No. It depends on your location, your skills, your age, your interests and experience, and of course what you are prepping for.
Is this a worthwhile activity? Yes. This activity can get a prepper thinking about what is important and how well they are prepared….and give a last-minute chance to fill in the gaps.
I did my review and found myself lacking in most categories. But now I know what to work on and what to do. I will immediately work to fix the problems and fill the gaps.
It is a straightforward exercise. It is doable in easy and clear steps…Review the Rawles List of Lists spreadsheet for your specific needs. Make a list of what you think is important. Evaluate yourself and your situation. Be severe. And then fix the areas you are deficient in.
You should do this evaluation soon.
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