If you are stuck in a fallout shelter for two weeks, waiting out the fallout, it's propably going to get hot in the shelter. Most people have small shelters, and with people living in them for a couple of weeks, it will get hot and humid. Your shelter should have some sort of ventalation to let some fresh air inside and let CO2 out, but that may not be enough to keep from overheating. I advice everyone to keep one person on guard duty near the entrance of your fallout shelter. The guard should have a gun nearby (in case anyone should try to force their way into your shelter) and a hand fan of some sort. It can be something as simple as a heavy peice of cardboard about two feet square. Most of the time, the gun (hopefully) will not be needed, and when it starts to get hot in the shelter, the guard can use the fan to get some cool air flowing.
What about once you come out of your shelter? I have a powerpack 200 plus, a small generator that does not run on gas, and a small foldable solar panel that plugs into the emergency generator. Once the radiation is gone, you can use the sun to charge the generator (you will once again need a guard because any who hasn't prepared and has survived the fallout won't mind stealing from you), and at night you can plug a small rechargable camping fan into the generator. If you have a solar powered battery charger, you can charge two AAs by day, and use them to run a small handheld fan that you can buy at Wal-Mart or Target.
Not only does the powerpack plus 200 have a regular outlet, it also has a built in light. It won't light up an entire room, but it will give enough light to read or cook by. This model is not strong enough to use a hotplate to cook with (I tried it when our power was out for days). It weighs about 20 pounds, and I think it was $90. The powerpack plus 400 is supposed to have twice the power. I am going to get one of those, but since it costs around $120, it may be a while before I get it. The solar panel I use to charge my generator was around $20.
June 20, 2009
June 12, 2009
Entertainment
During a nuclear event, our entertainment choices will be limited. There will be no electricity or cable or satalite. Even if you have the solar panels to generate electricity, which may not work unless it is protected from any EMP, it will be wiser to use this electricity for cooking, running small heaters or fans, or recharging batteries.
So, what do you do without electric entertainment? My family likes several board and card games. I keep a regular deck of playing cards in the fallout shelter so we can play rummy or poker. Within a few days it should be safe to come out of the shelter for short periods of time (provided we keep fallout out of the shelter), and we could bring a few board games as well as any needed supplies into the shelter. Most of my family like to read, so I also keep a few magazines, novels, and books with short stories in the shelter. I also have sudoku books, pencils, and paper (we can copy the puzzle onto the paper so everyone can do the puzzle, if they want).
My fallout shelter is my basement, which has nothing over the concrete floor. I keep chalk in the shelter so we can play tic-tac-toe, hop scotch, or just keep score for some other game.
In all honesty, between cleaning, preparing meals, raising a garden, caring for animals, and guard duty, there probably won't be much time for games of any kind. But it's nice to be prepared.
So, what do you do without electric entertainment? My family likes several board and card games. I keep a regular deck of playing cards in the fallout shelter so we can play rummy or poker. Within a few days it should be safe to come out of the shelter for short periods of time (provided we keep fallout out of the shelter), and we could bring a few board games as well as any needed supplies into the shelter. Most of my family like to read, so I also keep a few magazines, novels, and books with short stories in the shelter. I also have sudoku books, pencils, and paper (we can copy the puzzle onto the paper so everyone can do the puzzle, if they want).
My fallout shelter is my basement, which has nothing over the concrete floor. I keep chalk in the shelter so we can play tic-tac-toe, hop scotch, or just keep score for some other game.
In all honesty, between cleaning, preparing meals, raising a garden, caring for animals, and guard duty, there probably won't be much time for games of any kind. But it's nice to be prepared.
June 5, 2009
Pets
I am an animal lover. I have a few dogs and cats, and one chicken. My mom (who lives nearby) also has a few dogs and cats, and about thirty chickens. The rest of my family doesn't see the need to stockpile and prepare for a nuclear event - yet. We were part of Southern Illinois who lost power after strong winds a month or two back. We didn't have power for five days, and in the nearby town that did have power, the stores were packed because people from 30 miles away were coming to get supplies. My mom already stocked up on a few extra things in case the winter weather got too bad to go to town, but not enough for anything long term.
Five days in the dark opened her eyes a bit. While she personally doesn't think anyone will survive a nuclear war, she has decided to prepare for other long term emergencies. She is keeping more layer feed and dog and cat food, but not much more.
I store the dog and cat food I am using in 5 gallon buckets with Gamma seal lids, one color for dog and another color for cat food. Since dry pet food begins to loose nutrition the longer it is opened, I only store 4 buckets of dog food and 3 of cat food. But I also have one 55 gallon trash can (never used for trash) for dog and cat food. In these trash cans, I can store 3 big, unopened bags of dog or cat food. I also have a trash can for layer feed for my chicken. Dry dog and cat food won't store forever, so I also store can food. I buy the Kroger brand canned cat food in the 5.5 ounce cans. My cats only like the fish flavors, so I store the non-fish flavors for my dogs.
Each of our family's cats eats about 1 can of food a day, and the dogs eat anywhere from 5-9 a day. That's about 35 cans a day. So, for a years' supply, I need 12,000 cans. At $.27-$.31 a can, this is not cheap, but it is a comfort knowing that they will be cared for. Pets also add to the water need. On a hot day, the dogs go through a gallon a day (2 2-liters) each, the cats about a gallon combined, and all of the chickens 3-5 gallons a day combined.
Our animals are important to us for more than just emotional reasons. Chickens lay eggs, which would become our main source of protein after an event. Dogs alert you if someone is near your house. Cats (well, half of ours) will be able to chatch any mice that come into your shelter. I hate the thought of people abandoning a pet for any reason, but especially when the pet won't survive. Please, prepare for your pet.
Five days in the dark opened her eyes a bit. While she personally doesn't think anyone will survive a nuclear war, she has decided to prepare for other long term emergencies. She is keeping more layer feed and dog and cat food, but not much more.
I store the dog and cat food I am using in 5 gallon buckets with Gamma seal lids, one color for dog and another color for cat food. Since dry pet food begins to loose nutrition the longer it is opened, I only store 4 buckets of dog food and 3 of cat food. But I also have one 55 gallon trash can (never used for trash) for dog and cat food. In these trash cans, I can store 3 big, unopened bags of dog or cat food. I also have a trash can for layer feed for my chicken. Dry dog and cat food won't store forever, so I also store can food. I buy the Kroger brand canned cat food in the 5.5 ounce cans. My cats only like the fish flavors, so I store the non-fish flavors for my dogs.
Each of our family's cats eats about 1 can of food a day, and the dogs eat anywhere from 5-9 a day. That's about 35 cans a day. So, for a years' supply, I need 12,000 cans. At $.27-$.31 a can, this is not cheap, but it is a comfort knowing that they will be cared for. Pets also add to the water need. On a hot day, the dogs go through a gallon a day (2 2-liters) each, the cats about a gallon combined, and all of the chickens 3-5 gallons a day combined.
Our animals are important to us for more than just emotional reasons. Chickens lay eggs, which would become our main source of protein after an event. Dogs alert you if someone is near your house. Cats (well, half of ours) will be able to chatch any mice that come into your shelter. I hate the thought of people abandoning a pet for any reason, but especially when the pet won't survive. Please, prepare for your pet.
June 2, 2009
Supplies: food
Food is very important when stockpiling for a nuclear event. The question is, what should you stock? Buying enough feeze dried food to last a year (which I think is a good amount to store) would be very expensive. Instead, most of your stored food should be things that you already eat. Do you like mashed potatoes? Try some of the instant potatoes. There are different brands and flavors. If you find some you like, buy a box from time to time for your storage.
I store instant potatoes, instant rice, instant cream of wheat, instant oatmeal, powder milk, pancake mix, and ramen noodles. I store cans of fruit, vegietables, and baked beans. I also keep a few cans of freeze dried items that might be hard to come by for a while after a nuclear event: powder eggs (Even though my mom lives nearby and has chickens, after a tramatic event they do not lay well for several days. I also don't know how many would survive.), cheese, butter, and bananas. I also store non-hybrid seeds so that I can plant a garden by the next growing season (if the radiation levels are low enough).
It will take some thought as to how much food you will need to store, but having it will be a comfort. Plus, if for some reason you loose your job, your stored food can help you get through the crunch - without the government handouts. Once you get another job, you can start rebuilding your food stores.
One thing to keep in mind about storage: ROTATE. Twice a year I look through all of my stored food, bring what will get outdated before the next rotation out of my basement and into my pantry. I also make a point to gradually use my stored water to make sure it stays fresh.
I store instant potatoes, instant rice, instant cream of wheat, instant oatmeal, powder milk, pancake mix, and ramen noodles. I store cans of fruit, vegietables, and baked beans. I also keep a few cans of freeze dried items that might be hard to come by for a while after a nuclear event: powder eggs (Even though my mom lives nearby and has chickens, after a tramatic event they do not lay well for several days. I also don't know how many would survive.), cheese, butter, and bananas. I also store non-hybrid seeds so that I can plant a garden by the next growing season (if the radiation levels are low enough).
It will take some thought as to how much food you will need to store, but having it will be a comfort. Plus, if for some reason you loose your job, your stored food can help you get through the crunch - without the government handouts. Once you get another job, you can start rebuilding your food stores.
One thing to keep in mind about storage: ROTATE. Twice a year I look through all of my stored food, bring what will get outdated before the next rotation out of my basement and into my pantry. I also make a point to gradually use my stored water to make sure it stays fresh.
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