# Lifestyles & Discussion > Freedom Living >  Help a Suburban Mama

## craezie

I have been following these threads with great interest over the past few weeks, but I just don't seem to relate to a lot of you.  I want to get basic preparedness for some kind of SHTF scenario, or even a bad earthquake (Southern California).  Where do I start on this?  Other than a VERY basic 36 hour emergency kit, I don't have any supplies.  I HAVE started a bit of vegetable and herb gardening on the terraced hill above our pool and I took handgun courses and will be getting my first handgun in the next few weeks.

I can't really imagine any kind of wilderness survival scenario with a baby and a toddler in an area with no water and little vegetation most of the year.  So what do I do to prepare as best as possible for an urban / suburban emergency survival situation? 

BTW my husband is SO not on into this survivalist stuff, so I'm on my own with preparing until such an emergency were actually to occur.  He does let me spend money fairly freely, though, so I should be able to get things I need within reason.

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## RSLudlum

Well if your husband isn't into it, how old is your toddler?  Get your kid into doing some simple tasks that involve preparation so if the time comes your child would be a huge asset.  Your kid may even teach your husband a thing or two in the situation.

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## youngbuck

Get a Berkey water filter so that you can filter contaminated water.  Make sure you have plenty of food on hand.

This forum has some decent info:  http://www.frugalsquirrels.com/vb/index.php

BUT, beware, there are many hardcore neo-cons there that believe Bush was sent by God.  You've been warned.

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## asimplegirl

Make sure to either have a stock of water or try and get a well and filter...it will come into handy, as you can use it to drink, bathe, cook, and water a garden.

It is one of the most basic, most important preparations you could take.

Other than that, try and extend your garden to involve many items that provide alot of the ESSENTIAL vitamins and minerals, so that in a tim eof need, you can provide a well balanced diet for your children to survive.

The only others thing I would recommend to start out is to stock up on ammo, learn to make certain foods from scratch, like bread., and learn to and began to preserve foods.

These are the MOST important tips I can think to give you.

Good luck, and I hope your hubby comes around.

::hugs::

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## sparebulb

Water

Food

Shelter

Defense

I would start with these basics.  Water and food are what EVERYONE else around you will not have if/when we experience a shortage.  I like soup, rice, and beans.  A trip to Aldi's with $400-500 will fill a small closet with enough food to get you by for a long time.  I would buy a good quality water filter and a few bottles of bleach to keep on hand.  Stop and think about what things you will need to prepare food, maintain hygiene, and take care of minor medical issues.  Everyone's situation is a bit different.  When you plan for defense, you should start buying ammo right now, because it has been very spotty finding many pistol calibers in the store.  Consider buying a shotgun because it will be the last firearm to be banned, and it is arguably the most effective for home defense.

You will need to make a decision whether you will make a stand where you are and face an Omega Man type of existence or whether you will bug out to another location.  If you pre-arrange a contingency plan out of town with friends or family, you will be much more welcomed if you arrive with your own food, supplies, and ammo.

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## TastyWheat

You may want to keep some canisters of gasoline full.  If survival in your neck of the woods seems impossible you may have to head down the road to greener pastures (small pun intended).  This kind of depends on the scenario though.  In a depression-style economic collapse the roads may be drivable.  If martial law gets thrown down don't expect to leave your town via public roadways.

Either way you'd want some extra gas for your generator if you have one.  And a shotgun is pretty much a necessity if you have a generator (i.e. they're not very quiet).

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## Kotin

http://www.efoodsdirect.com/


storable food


I have been ordering a little every month. this stuff is all organic and lasts a minimum of 10 years

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## asimplegirl

WOW! Thanks, Kotin, I am sure we could all use some of this stuff!

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## craezie

> Make sure to either have a stock of water or try and get a well and filter...it will come into handy, as you can use it to drink, bathe, cook, and water a garden.
> 
> It is one of the most basic, most important preparations you could take.
> 
> ::hugs::


Did you say WELL??!!??
Uh, in southern California, you don't just dig in the ground and find water.  The roughly 25 million of us who live here get our water from a rather elaborate aqueduct pipeline system which brings about 1/3 of the water from northern California and 1/3 of the water from the Colorado river/ Hoover Dam.  Only about the last 1/3 is in local reservoirs, which have been quite dry the last few years due to drought.  Local creeks are very seasonal, only in the winter and spring when there is runoff from the mountains.  They are dry already this year.  It does not rain at all from May to October.
I keep a stock of 15-20 gallons of drinking water for short term emergency purposes; they recommend a weeks worth for earthquake kits.  It is not practical to store more than that in a suburban home with a small garage.  So yes, I think some kind of a filter kit is definitely in order.  If things were to get bad and water service were interrupted, we could start with the water in our large swimming pool.  What kind of filter will remove all of the nasty chemicals and dirt from a pool?

Thanks for the other suggestions.  I don't think that "bug out" is a very realistic scenario due to the unique nature of Southern California.  Basically, when you have millions of people crammed like sardines in a can into a basin surrounded by mountains with only 5 or 6 ways out, evacuation would be very tricky.  Should you actually get to the other side of the mountains, you are greeted with the rather inhospitable Mojave Desert.  Obviously if there were a long term situation where we couldn't get any water or services, people would have to migrate mostly north to northern California or Oregon.  

As for the garden, I will try to work on getting more going.  Unfortunately, the aforementioned terraced hill above our pool is the ONLY land we have, and it is steep and difficult to work.  The good news is that we can grow year round and we have a sprinkler system, so as long as we are getting water I shouldn't have to store veggies for the winter.  I tend to think that the end of all civilization as we know it is not a likely scenario.  More likely we will have temporary extreme economic upheaval similar to Argentina in the early part of this decade in which people will have to become much more industrious about obtaining things and perhaps form neighborhood militias to protect what used to be a safe quiet city.

I think based on your suggestions my priorities will be:
Water filtration system
handgun and ammo (I also have a .22lr rifle of my dad's, but don't have any ammo for it nor do I know how to use it)
food storage for at least a couple of months
small amount of fuel storage

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## acptulsa

There's a ton more information on this site.  There's a search function you access by clicking the spot right under your login box in the upper right hand corner.  It's a little persnickety and only handles a word or two, but if you learn to use it you'll find a wealth of info.  If you have any questions about something you find in an old thread, add a post to it and ask.  Some of us will be grateful to have some of those old threads come out of the woodwork.

You might start by searching 'shtf'...

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## rpfan2008

Atmospheric Water generator

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## acptulsa

> Atmospheric Water generator


Cute!  A clever repackaging of the age-old dehumidifier.

Don't forget the even older practice of collecting rainwater.

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