When it comes to being prepared, the following are some essentials you should not overlook.
- Keep your vehicles gas tanks full. When your gauge shows 3/4 full make sure you fill up again at that point. A full tank of gas has essential uses. Never let your gas tank run down; keep it topped off.
- Keep at least 10, 5 gallon gas containers full, in a cool dry garage location and use Stabil to increase their storage life. Date the cans so you know when the gas needs to be used by.
- Have a 10,000 watt backup generator available and have an electrician wire it so it is ready to run your house if the power is out. Have a secure, security chain applied and locked to a secure exterior portion of your home to keep it from being stolen.
- Keep a 3 months supply of food and water stored for each member of your family. Don’t forget about your pets.
- Keep a 3 months supply of all common battery sizes available.
- Have your well maintained firearms available with a sufficient quantity of ammunition for self defense purposes.
- Keep pre-cut plywood available for boarding up windows if needed.
- Have a charcoal grill with a sufficient supply of charcoal for emergency outdoor cooking.
- Firewood properly stored is another essential item along with a sufficient quantity of dry matches.
- Make sure your garage doors have backup locks and that all your window and door locks are fully functional.
- Brace your front and back doors with rigid, vertical suspension bars.
- Keep your communications gear/cell phones/radios and flashlights fully charged.
- Keep at least $100.00 in singles and $50.00 in coins readily available.
rmactsc 
I have included 4 portable ham radios and a base station for in-house commo and outside area commo if needed.
What brand and model are you using and do you recommend them based on their performance 1stminstrel?
Yeasu brand….they are very reliable and trust worthy.
http://www.hamradio.com/
Thanks for the link 1stminstrel. I shall check it out.
Get the gas outta the (attached) garage! Major crisis potential. Mine does fine in the summer in a shed.
I’ve adapted this for my cycle! One thing I did learn the hard way was to check the tyres are pumped up at all times even if I don’t think I need it…as soon as they’re flat and got a puncture it is required as your “bike in shining armour” to rescue you from the latest emergency 🙂
I know when it comes to our SUV’s I never skimp on tires. They sell tires now with kevlar reinforced sides to resist punctures which I have on my SUV and they are pretty good for the price 🙂
I gave that idea serious consideration after the last unexpected puncture – I hadn’t been out on it for ages either. Changed my mind for now as the price is far from pretty good round here! It’s scary!! But I do like to know it’s roadworthy for SHTF situations when cars may and may not be available/adviseable. In a SHTF situation a bike could prove a far more trustworthy and reliable form of escape transport 🙂
I have a high wall mini barn in the backyard which gets really hot in the Summer. I have a 3 car attached garage with lots of airflow ports built in, which stays cool year round and is over sized as well so there’s a lot of room in there which makes it a better choice for me for fuel storage. My wife refers to our garage as the mini airport due to the size lol 🙂
well said
I also have a solar/crank/battery radio, a dynamo flash light and a few other “abnormal” things just in case.
Thanks. Crank flashlights and crank radios are my backups as well although I think with the amount of batteries I own I must have made the stock price in battery companies rise a few points lol 🙂