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Oh, my gosh. I love what you did with your son and daughter-in-law! You guys are awesome. Very productive, and yet not overbearing. More seeds were planted, and God will water them. I’m so happy for you that the kids were willing to go, learn and have a fun time as well. Oh, and I loved your, “I tried to sssshhhh him a bit.” hahaha. Your example will not be forgotten by me, and I pray the Lord will give me a similar opportunity… All I can say is, well done.
An excellent example that for under $50 young professionals in a metro city can be ready for an emergency. Puts to rest the “I can’t prep because…” excuse. Good for you parents!!!
Back in 1991 when I left home for a college approximately 250 miles away, I knew I had to build a BO kit that would allow a single young 20ish man an opportunity to walk home. Virtually no budget, just whatever I could scrounge from what I already had or save. What i came up with was an Pilots SEEK Kit, pouches which had straps securing the kit to the person. Mail order surplus, I think from an ad in a magazine.
There were no contents in the kit – I had to insert them.
It is the U.S. Navy SV-2B vest from what I could find.
Hopefully they used pot-holders, much safer and easier to use than mitts IMO.
Victorinox has a Little screwdriver, which fits into the corkscrew on a SAK,
A good story and fun too — even in the face of such a serious subject!
$1 shopping works — at least for some things! We pick up refill bottles of hand sanitizer (much smaller now, but it used to be that we could even get the large bottles for $1), shampoo and conditioner, soap, bleach, toothbrushes, toothpaste, some OTC medical supplies, pads of paper, pens, and more. In fact, we were just there and spotted garden seed packets at 25 cents each or 4 for $1 (squash, radishes, corn, eggplants, beans, etc). The dates were good, and although we have a good seed stash, it seemed prudent to pick up a few extras.
We are also stocking up on masks and gloves, although these are increasingly difficult to find. Gloves are being restocked slowly, and we found no face masks of any kind at the local pharmacy.
This article has nice light humor coupled with a few key concepts which are: start small, think of a few scenarios you are solving for, and have fun. Really enjoyed the article.
Thank you
I hope that your son listens and learns. The old adage: (You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink) is true but at least he now knows where the water is.
Get dawn soap,and use it for everything..laundry,dishes,bathing..whatever,nothing better!
Great common sense article. Thank you
This is GREAT article. So good that I, an experienced prepper who does not even live in a city, archived it for future reference. Thank you.
If you are still looking for face masks try Lowes or Home Depot in the paint department. They even have respirators, which are much better.
After 911. The #1 thing is fire and smoke escape tools. Why, most people in NYC live and work above 1st floor. Second thing is ability to get OUT of the city if extreme event takes place. Your basic preps, like food, water & filtration you covered. Next is maps, bikes/kayaks and gray man clothing to get out. Then you need place to go….PA or up state NY. Also, NYC not gun friendly place, so have to plan accordingly (not easy thing to do without breaking the law). Remember all the bad guys are armed. All IMHO
If you arm yourself, make sure to train regularly. Failure to use your weapon properly will likely lead to, as Jim says, Remember all the bad guys are armed. You will be arming anothr one if you mess up.
Remember what Col. Jeff Cooper said, “Owning a handgun doesn’t make you armed any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician.”
Carry on
N.y.c. is the pits. Right to retreat. Weird terms for thier laws. Weird laws to start with.
On weapons it’s basically none. Any weapon (from my research) that is modified to do a human harm is illegal and using it is doubly so.
Max knife blade size is 4 inches and must be carried in a concealed not quick deployment way.
Unless your kids is planning on bugging out super super fast their car is a lost cause. You should have a designated pick up point for them with in bicycle range.
Keep in mind for them and others in NYC if things look like they are getting hairy stop taking the subway (it’s service is spotty enough in good times) the bus system (which is slower but not unmanageable) will allow you to exit the bus at any point you have to.
Case in point Wuhan breaks loose and quarantine is called. If your on the train your stuck. There will be CDC and Leo’s enforcement of the quarantine. No way to move around no choice just go to quarantine center which ever
If you’re on the bus… It’s easier to see a road block and get loose. (When times square subway station was bombed I was safely away because of that.)
Sorry to sound like I do. But you need to have a solid early actionable g.t.h.o (get the heck out) plan for what happens when the car work work for it.
And btw if you ever see me running watch out I don’t do that for fun …. Lol
You can be armed just fine in NYC….
1) Slingshot and practice with 30 weight ball-bearings
2) Pellet gun, sawed off rifle type or handgun and no need for permit
3) bear spray – you can have the 8 oz ones like in Montana
4) Smoke grenades are perfectly legal in NYC
5) Body armor is legal, even level IV – Wear grey man jacket over vest – you may look fater but you will be still walking when shot in the chest by a bad woman/guy or LEO. BE sure the entire body armor is covered up with a yatching jacket type.
6) Hairspray with a lighter will deter any close encounters with muggers
7) umbrella with strong supports and one that is golf course type for a foursome… Longer handles to whack people
8) You can have night vision in NYC and thermal vision
9) Fireworks are legal (some types firecrackers, M80s sound like grenades)
10) Steak knives are legal and kitchen butcher knives. I would carry them in their original case in your backpack or on your personhood.
Be creative…
Slingshots and pellet guns are NOT legal in NYC. You WILL go to jail. Neither are fireworks (sparklers are okay) or walking around with a steak knife or butcher knife. If the SHTF, then all bets are off.
Best to obtain a NYC target pistol license. You must carry it unloaded in a locked box to and from the range (and only direct routes from your home). Mandatory range membership is expensive in NYC. It is also expensive and time consuming to get the license with a lot of hoops to jump through, but it is there in your home if you need it. I have carried mine on a few occasions when I felt I needed to. It is only an administrative code violation if you have the target license. You’ll lose your license if caught, but not arrested because you have a license that authorizes possession.
I’m sometimes amazed that folks don’t have some kind of manual can opener, much less redundancy. Church keys are cumbersome and slow but work fine.
If you buy the sideways looking can opener it will allow you to use the cut out as a lid. Originally I picked one up after my daughter got into an only flapped open (my wife technique of can opening) to get a green bean and needed stitches.
The side ways one opens smoothly and can have cut off for a lid it also keeps the lid from dropping into can when cut its good
I love Dawn soap!! How can you go wrong at 50 cents for the small bottles!! (I must have 3-4 dozen of these)!!
Topical antibiotic (like Neosporin) speeds up cut healing, but my father always recommended Bacitracin (available at Walmart for roughly $2.50). I’ve used Bacitracin for 60 years and it works, no need for the risks of Neosporin. Neosporin can cause allergies in some people (my father was an allergist). I found the same info online. https://www.healthline.com/health/infection/bacitracin-vs-neosporin
A few additions.
Frequently those $1 sizes are much cheaper per oz when buying larger containers. Of course they also take a larger investment. Some items, however, are just the right size at $1. To get the larger sizes without increasing your investment substantially, consider the other 2 dollar stores: Dollar General and Family Dollar. Both have apps that offer $5 off $25 almost every week of the year. DG frequently includes $5 off coupons on their receipts. I NEVER pay full price in either. Both stores have more variety, more name brands, and larger sizes. I am in both weekly. I have a 6 month larder of normal every day products, not counting my preps.
To give you an idea of the savings I obtain, I made a list of products I use at least weekly: baking soda, toilet paper, vitamins, canned tomatoes, etc. I took that list to Sam’s, as well as the grocery store and drug stores within walking distance of me. Purchasing only $25 at a time using my coupon to make that $20 out of pocket, Dollar General beat out all of them, including Sam’s. Wait, you say you need more than $25 worth of groceries a week? No problem. Look around the parking lot. Most people toss their receipts within a few feet of the door. I know they won’t be good till next Saturday, but if you’ve been prepping awhile, you should be able to wait that long.
Yes, I shop regular grocery stores for their sale items. And I buy 6 months to a year in advance when something I want goes on sale. I supplement my garden with out of season or out of area produce. But that’s another story that goes beyond the dollar store concept.
A few of those D-Day Prepper tv shows had some good tips. I loved the ESCAPE FROM Manhattan NYC episode where the best tip of all was to keep a 25 dollar bolt cutter in your BOB there.
While the ‘escapee’ toiled along at 2 mph with his backpack, the ‘coach’ pulled a bolt cutter out of his pack, cut a bike lock, and was mounted and moving along the street at 15 mph within 30 seconds.
Speed is everything when escaping danger, especially as danger levels increase exponentially or even logarithmically within the first 12 hours.
A folding bike(s) in an apartment or vehicle, especially a battery powered one such as the folding Rad bikes can go up to 20mph and go 40 miles or more on a full battery, are game changers for survival.
Another area that needs more attention is one I am teaching our CERT team: scrounging.
In disaster, have a mental attitude of teaching or showing people how to help themselves with what they can use from what is on hand.
Medicine cabinets, cleaning supplies, towels, bedding, pillowcases and string or computer wires for homemade backpacks, etc.
God Bless, and thanks for a fun article. I loved it.
For Coffee I have used the individual coffee packs, they are used like a tea bag, have used them for camping and the longer they stay in your cup the stronger your coffee. They store very easily and have a long shelf life. Just a thought.
Rita Miller
Great stuff, I love low cost prepping. Agreed on the bike, it’s good to have in a city in general and a huge plus in an emergency.
For my coffee I have stashed away thousands of little packets of microground coffee. These are compact little foil packets that you just add hot water to. I worked at Sbux for 16 years and there were boxes and boxes of these that we had to mark out because they were expired. We couldn’t sell them to the public but I got permission to have them with my mind on this being for my preps and for barter. This was a major score as I love my coffee!!
That day I also got take 4 bags of 1000 each the tiny salt/pepper packets because they were also expired .
Point being is they were going to throw them away because of expiration dates. You never know where you might be able to forage items from for free or low cost!!