When we started prepping, we did not have the money to buy an old missile silo…or an old mine…or a ready-to-use retreat. We were “stuck” in the city where our jobs were.
Then we retired. We could sell our house and move to the middle of nowhere… From a city near the Twin Cities in Minnesota of over 100,000, my loving wife and I have relocated to a lakeside cottage in northern Wisconsin, a few miles outside a village of about 400 people.
Wisconsin has its own problems. Mostly Madison and Milwaukee. And to a lesser extent, Eau Claire. Those are gun-grabbing, liberal enclaves. But I really don’t care what they are doing. Other than Costco and Sam’s Club, they offer minimal value to my family.
Living in northern Wisconsin has many positives for a couple who wants to be prepared. It also has a few drawbacks. But we have learned to live with them. One of my primary problems is a lack of sources for inexpensive items to be ready for tougher times in my local environment. Our major concern is that our local environment requires addressing the cold climate, a means of heating, of finding water and food. But, isn’t that the problem that we all have?
Once someone starts preparing, they realize how many events there are to prep for, and how many things – from food to tools to weapons – are needed. Depending where you are living, it may be easy or it may be hard to “prepare”.
Once they have determined what is needed in their location and what specific SHTF scenario is most likely in their locale (my key concern is prepping for societal disintegration), the view of their local world changes.
The amount of items needed for prepping is almost overwhelming. Picking them up a few at a time spreads the cost. Having to accelerate the prepping accelerates the cost. Buying smart is imperative. Willingness to buy used or surplus is important.
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” And have it in place before the SHTF. These are famous words by Theodore Roosevelt. (I added that last phrase)
So, I am at my preferred location. I have some stored food and supplies ready. But, I am not totally prepared or outfitted. Like everyone, I need to more thoroughly set up my base and keep adding and adjusting. And this costs money… Money that I do not have enough of.
In this article I will touch on what I consider important and how to get what we need for our current situation and location. I will highlight some of the preps I have successfully and cheaply completed. (Note: When I use the word “cheap”, I mean inexpensively — not something that is flimsy or shoddy.) I will then go over actions to acquire preps with great potential and opportunities that I can see. Finally, I will hit on some of the things that I have learned will not work to inexpensively fill my needs.
First…What do I need?
What do I need to make it where I am? How can I get it? Buy it? Get it free from nature? Make it myself? Scrounge it? What exactly should I buy?
I went to the SurvivalBlog List of Lists [XLS spreadsheet] and used it to spur my planning. It would be wise for everyone to review against the List of Lists what they may need in their specific situation and location.
My review includes some obvious categories and issues I need to address. My most notable needs – in rough order of importance to me – from the list: (these may not match your specific situation)
Water and how to obtain it inexpensively
I live on a lake. By paying the high taxes I get the privilege of being able to walk just 75 feet and dip a bucket into the water if needed. I also have a shallow well just feet from the house. The water is good. If the power went out and the well failed, the lake is there for me. In the summer I can dip the bucket off my dock. In the winter the lake will get up to two feet or more of ice on it, but I am lucky in that there is a spring at my shore that keeps a couple of feet open along where my dock is in the summer. No power needed. No sound made. The effort required is just the labor of carrying the water up to the house. This gets me lake water. I do not care to risk drinking raw water, especially in the summer, with algae and other “pollutants”. Even in winter, I do not want to risk a stomach bug from the water. I can use an old T-shirt to do the initial filtering if necessary.
Then, boiling the strained water is an obvious solution. It requires the cost of the fuel…maybe gas, maybe propane, maybe just a wood fire. And, of course I have a Berkey water filter system. I also have some calcium hypochlorite which I bought from a major discount store. Study is required to determine if this is right for you. My water needs are covered. (I think).
Food and how to get it, store it, and prepare it
As I write this, food is still easy to buy and easy to get. However, it is not necessarily cheap here. We have to go 25 miles to get to a decent-sized grocery store or a discount store. Like many of us, I have a storage area with canned goods, food kits, preservation supplies and spices.
So for now, we are good. But what if the supply chains fall apart? Then everything is local. Fortunately there are quite a few independent marketers in the area who sell local honey, local produce including apples and strawberries, and seasonally large gardens. The Amish have a market a little ways away where they market many other items including spices.
I am set up to produce food by fishing, hunting and gardening. Fishing is good all year, and I have learned to clean fish very effectively. There are several means of preserving fish without freezing that I use; pickling, canning and salting are relatively easy. It beats starving.
Hunting, for some animals, can go all year round. If the SHTF and there are no authorities, I guess all hunting could go all year round. Our area has many deer, turkeys and even bear. Squirrels and the like are always present and a nuisance. My family used to eat them back in the fifties. I can make jerky, can meat and smoke it.
Great values with high labor “costs”
Pick your own food (in season)
Grow your own garden vegetables and fruit such as apples.
Kits that help you make your own, cider, cheese, and preserved meat.
I have gardened casually for years, and I know what grows well up here in the north. I have the long term storage seeds as well as discount store seeds. I experiment with the harvest from one year being the seeds for the nest year. “Luckily” we have long winters up here, so freezing is an option for food preservation from November to March.
One thing to look at regarding stored food is expiration dates and “best if used by” dates. I understand that there are many theories on the validity. Some expiration dates are believed to be just “Cover Your Tail” for the producer. Others are put in place just to satisfy the regulators. The best advice I have heard is to always evaluate the food as the container is opened. There is nothing more expensive than throwing away unused food. It is a 100 percent loss.
Inexpensive energy sources for heat and cooking
This area is heavily forested. We have some land, (thirty acres) that is almost totally covered with forest. There are also trees everywhere near our cabin on the lake.
During a blizzard in late 2022, we lost power for a few days. I wrote about this in my first SurvivalBlog article titled Lessons Learned from a Winter Storm, in 2022. (See: Part 1 and Part 2.) While we had plenty of liquid propane (LP) gas in the big tank, we did not have electricity at first to run the furnace. So the wood stove in the basement was the fall back. I still use the wood stove all winter to provide the bulk of our heat to the house. On a good day the furnace doesn’t run.
Wood is cheap, sort of. However, the price of the “free” heat is the labor needed to attain a large wood pile. This price is paid all year round. The cutting, transport, splitting, stacking and hauling is a stiff price to pay. The other hidden cost is the cost of tools and equipment…chainsaws, log splitter, axes, splitting tools, as well as the maintenance of all those tools and equipment.
We normally use a gas kitchen stove that is fed from a large tank and a propane grill using propane that we use often. We have many gas grills (garage sale deals) in storage that use white gas, kerosene, or propane. They will last a long while, but eventually the wood stove in the basement will be the cooking center.
Electricity is the basis of modern life. In a SHTF situation, I think this will need to be optional and probably more trouble than it is worth. With no grid power supply from the utility, I will have to make my own. Generators are noisy and smelly, so they are not very private. The fuel will eventually run out or age out.
Solar power is a good idea. However, it may be too expensive for some to afford, and a giant panel array is very obvious to others who want to take you stuff. I decided that some small solar systems with small portable panels might be an acceptable alternative to use to charge communication devices, flashlights and security cameras. I bit the bullet on the “solar generators” as I didn’t see a cheap alternative. I did apply redundancy however.
Medical
I am as ready as I can be for supplies for minor issues. I have stored supplies. I have CPR and first aid training from places I used to work. I have the manuals instructing how to use natural treatments. Lightly expired items from past employment make up some of the stored items. At the same time, I have decided I will not scrimp on the basic medical necessities. Knowledge and practice are the best cheap tools to use for medical treatments. Many books can help guide a person on herbal remedies and the use of local plants.
Defense
Defense is important, especially if you have goods that others may covet. Never pass up an opportunity to procure defensive weapons. Many items are for sale every day from people who are clearing out estates. Even if I don’t need them, they may make good, but carefully traded, trading items.
Vehicles
I am planning on only using the vehicles for a short while until the gas runs out or traveling gets too risky. I am planning on using the UTV/ATVs for short trips. I will have cans of gas with stabilizer for the relatively short term solution for vehicles. I have a collection of gas cans that I can use if scavenging has to occur.
General Tools
I have tools that support my skill base and activities. Tools are needed to support the other activities. Tools are expensive. Tools are dangerous. Tools wear out. Tools need maintenance….sharpening, straightening, and cleaning. In the past I had a great wood workshop and furniture refinishing business. So, I have many more tools than I need. But I still gather them whenever I can.
Many tools in use today’s world may not be practical in a SHTF situation. Electric tools without electricity?…Gas tools without gas?…Battery tools with no chargers or worn out batteries. Many tools in use today will be viewed as useless in tomorrow’s world. Conversely, many tools that are considered old and too hard to use may be the best we can get in the future. This gives us a great opportunity to buy these old “worthless” tools and items very cheaply now, and watch them go up in value as their reliability and usability helps them gain in value.
How can I get supplies and necessities inexpensively?
I have found some of the best places to shop for inexpensive items. Now that we know what we want and can use, how and where can we inexpensively get it, and keep it in supply, now and in a darker future?
As I mentioned, the wholesale warehouses are good. But they may not be the best. Is buying new an absolute must? Maybe not. The real question is, where can you buy what your need? If it is an item requiring perfect operation, as in “new”, then perhaps a discount store is best. But for most items, where a little wear is okay, the best deals I have found have been at rummage sales, estate sales, classified ads, and flea markets.
Garage sales have great potential for bargains on very workable items. Prices are often flexible and multiple item discounts are very possible. A sharp eye is needed to ensure the items being purchased are still usable and safe. Sales have great opportunity for household items, tools, and trading items.
Thrift stores are also great sources. The prices may be higher, but often I get a chance to ensure that the item is workable and has been tested by the shop staff.
One of my favorite category of things with the most opportunity, as mentioned, is tools. I feel that used tools purchased at garage sales are the best value you can get. Prices range from near zero for a wrench or a hatchet, to pennies on the dollar for more complicated power tools.
Tools worth stockpiling
Shovels, hoes and rakes – If the handles are good and not rotted
Chisels (if you can sharpen)
Hydraulic jacks – If they work
Bolt cutters (AKA “universal keys”) – Make sure they are sharp and in good condition
Siphons and funnels – for fuel transfers
Air pumps (check them carefully) – Ensure the ends are correct, and that the pump actually works.
Saws, many types…If you have a blade sharpener….
Other good items to carefully buy used:
Plastic gas cans are usually a good deal. Make sure they are cleanable and the screw top cover fits and works. In the old days the cans were vented and the pouring worked better.
Fishing gear may used but the fish don’t know it. Watch for rusty hooks and bad loops and swivels. Poles can be good. Reels may be shot. Look for damage, rust, missing parts. In good condition they are great trade items.
20 pound propane tanks sell for up to $55 retail, but I have purchased them at garage sales for $2. And then a person can trade them in and get refurbished. The key is to ensure the tank has the newer-style connector.
Lanterns and oil lamps – I have a “few” on hand for trading. I used to collect them, but now they are hoarded in boxes.
Camp stoves – all kinds
Plastic tubs and crate storage containers…The sellers may not need them, but you do
Traps – They are good for gathering food as well as dispose of pest animals that may contaminate your food supplies.
Plants – Look for locally grown and weather hardy for your environment. They are usable for food and medicine.
Other things to consider:
Meat grinders
Heavy towels
Nails and screws
Never pass up a good firearm.
Flashlights
Battery chargers (assuming you have that solar or gas generator)
Jackets and cool weather or water resistant clothes
Boots and water proof boots
Duffle bags and backpacks
Wire and fencing
Games – balls, bats, Frisbees, and indoor board games. Recreation and health are important.
If you have access to an electrical generator or power source, a grinder is a great item to have to sharpen tools.
Wheelbarrows – They are very valuable for moving heavy items without hurting yourself. Check the tires.
Stay away from
Used tool batteries – may not be a good value as they tend to wear out.
Filthy power tools – motors may be shot
Drill bits – they are often worn and not effective, unless you have a sharpener
Old food
Batteries – Don’t trust batteries, especially dead ones
Rope – may be rotted and weak
Bungie Cords – once they lose their tension, the only value is the hooks
Old radios (unless you are great at electronic repairs)
Other used electronics… maybe the batteries are dead, or maybe they are fired….Would they be selling it, if it worked?
If you are mechanically minded, it will open up a world of opportunity. If you can assure good operation, then these may be great for you:
Chainsaws
Laowers
Gardening machines with gasoline motors – Note: I bought two operational gasoline generators at a sale. I paid a lot and neither is operational now. So, I’ll never make that mistake never again.
My worst buys:
Generators, as mentioned.
Expired food
Cheap stuff from china
Dull unfixable tool blades
Items for post SHTF trade
So, once I have my supplies in place, or at least what I can afford, I need to see how to keep completing the puzzle. I have picked up various inexpensive items, even if I don’t need them, if they appear to have some potential as trading items to others. Some of my trading items:
Oil lamps
Gas cans
Knives
Screwdrivers, hammers, pliers
In closing
When society breaks down, I will be living as inexpensively as possible. I plan to have much of what I have on hand, even if it is used. Once the problems start, I want to participate in commerce, and participate in trading events to get items I find I need. Time is short.